Create a title page for your academic paper that includes your name, the title of your paper, the department name, the course number and the submission date. Then, place a blank sheet of paper in back of the title page.
Format your document. Set the line spacing to double and the margin setting to 1 inch for the page's top, bottom, right and left.
Number your pages. Place the page number at the bottom center of the first page and in the upper right-hand corner of all pages that follow, including the bibliography pages.
Do not align your paragraphs with right-hand justification.
Spell your numbers. Numbers under 100 and those used as the first word of a sentence should be spelled out.
Write the complete citation the first time you use a source. When listing a source in a note the first time, be sure to write the author's full name, the publication's title, any specific reference such as volume, the page number, the publication location, the publisher and the publication date.
Shorten the details next time around. When a source is reused in a note, use the Latin abbreviation "ibid" or a condensed title name. If need be, list the page number, too.
Arrange your footnotes (which list sources at the bottom of the page) or endnotes (which list sources at the end of the paper) in numerical order.
Space appropriately. When listing the notes and bibliography, use single space for each entry and separate entries using double space.
Arrange the bibliography in alphabetical order using the author's surname, which is followed by a comma and then the first name.