Hughie Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Hey,Good news: I finished my EE. Yeah, I still gotta write up my bibliography, have to cut down on some words (though I know exactly where to cut it down) and choose between my two versions of introductions, write the contents page and my abstract and my title page BUT I'm done with my contents.And now I've hit a brick wall because I have no idea what document style to use I had a look at all those styles - MLA and the others - before I started writing my EE, but I got confused by them and decided to leave it until later when I finish writing EE. But now, having to write my bibliography according to ONE style at least, I have no idea which document style to use I'm doing my EE in Economics - apparently MLA is used mostly for humanities so I think I might go for that, but then I'm not so sure. If anybody has a recommendation for me, I'd love to hear that. I'm not even bothering to consult my supervisor because I know she wouldn't be reading my e-mail And when I researched MLA style, it said:"Double-space the text of your paper""Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks"I thought double-spacing meant you leave two spaces after periods, so I got confused by this instruction. I asked my friend (who speaks English as her first language) what double-spacing meant and she said exactly the same thing as I thought it was. But then another friend told me it has something to do with the space between each line or something, so I'm really not sure Someone please tell me what this is? Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abu Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Double spacing is a double space between the lines. That's all it is, nothing more, nothing less. You can access it by going to 'Paragraph' in Microsoft Word. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyperbole Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Double-spacing is the space between the lines: your "second" friend is right. There is a button for it in Word that looks like the alignment buttons but has vertical arrows at the side. Highlight all the text you want to double-space, click the button and choose 1.5 or 2. (I usually think 2 looks waaay weird, so I often go with only 1.5.) It makes it so much easier to read, and leaves space for your teacher to comment!As for what style to choose, it really isn't the end of the world. The important thing is that you use an official style, and use it consistently. Don't do footnotes in one style and the bibliography in another, for example.Also. Don't forget to put your candidate number on every page of the essay: I had to reprint my final draft because I forgot to put it on the front page of all pages. Anyway, YAY finishing the EE! Good luck with it. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abu Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Btw, I think the IB prefers MLA. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughie Posted January 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 (edited) Er...I don't have a candidate number. I guess my IBC will give it to me when I hand first draft in......[Edited. Guess I wasn't thinking much when I wrote this post] Edited January 24, 2009 by Hughie Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abu Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 I don't know why you're bring mother tongues and first languages into this. It's not like double-spacing is a word in the English dictionary, it's a procedure adopted for academics essays. Personally, I think it looks hideous and sort of destroys the formatting, but the IB requires it for making marking easier. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughie Posted January 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 (edited) I'd assume someone who's born in English speaking country would've seen instructions requiring double-spacing more than someone who moved recently to the country. But yeah, that was sort of racist I guess I'd edit that later.So is it ok for me to select 1.5 instead of 2.0? Or am I supposed to "double" it to 2.0?Oh, and am I supposed to double-space it for footnotes and bibliography as well? Edited January 24, 2009 by Hughie Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abu Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 I'd assume someone who's born in English speaking country would've seen instructions requiring double-spacing more than someone who moved recently to the country. But yeah, that was sort of racist I guess I'd edit that later.So is it ok for me to select 1.5 instead of 2.0? Or am I supposed to "double" it to 2.0?Oh, and am I supposed to double-space it for footnotes and bibliography as well?Any academic document in any language requires double spacing when submitting it officially. You need to do it 2.0. No double spacing required for footnotes or bibs. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughie Posted January 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 *sob* I just edited the whole thing having selected 1.5. Oh crap, gotta do some more pushing-and-pulling-diagrams *sob* This looks hideous, now that I've done it 2.0. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vvi Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 The IB seriously prefers MLA format Aboo? I know the references in parentheses don't count for word count then, but is there a way to exclude them from the computer's word count? Or do you have to count the number of words in parentheses by hand and subtract it manually from the word count Word gives you?I just put those numbers at the end, and then have footnotes at the bottom. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abu Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 The IB seriously prefers MLA format Aboo? I know the references in parentheses don't count for word count then, but is there a way to exclude them from the computer's word count? Or do you have to count the number of words in parentheses by hand and subtract it manually from the word count Word gives you?I just put those numbers at the end, and then have footnotes at the bottom.I said that I thought they preferred, unfortunately I don't have any proof to refute my claim I think it was my IBC that said that they prefer MLA.I would think that the IB accepts anything, and I just used footnotes so use whatever is easier for you. There is no way that Word would take out the citations, you'll have to do that manually. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBStuck Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 i was told that IB didn't perfer anything as long as you cited everything, and did it properly. MLA is usually used for English paper is is what i was told, and then APA was used by most colleges, and Chicago was used for History papers.and VVi: when i did my EE i used internal citations, and i had to count them by hand and then subtract them manually. you could highlithgt it and jsut not highlight the internal citations, but i felt that it would take more work to do that. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughie Posted January 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 Wait, Title page. This site tells me to NOT make a title page unless I'm required to, but I'm assuming I am required to do so. So is it okay for me to just make one in any random format of my choice? Do I have to include my name and date on it?I think the "first page" they're referring to here is the abstract......And does anybody know how to make "all footnotes start four lines after the text" or something? I've been trying to figure it out for 1 hour or so last night, then my dad was on it for 2 hours or so but we couldn't find out how to do it. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vvi Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 A title page should be on all of your submitted work, and definitely EE. It should have the following on it:-Extended Essay, English Literature A1 (or whatever your subject is)-Title/research questionThe above two should be in the middle of the page, in big font.In the left bottom corner, in about size 14 font, you should have the following:-Candidate name-Candidate number-School and centre number (which is 4 digits long)-Supervisor's name (in full, e.g. Mr. John Smith)-Word countYou can also put in the session e.g. May 2009 but you don't have to.Also, your EE should have a header at the top of each page which has you candidate number, the words "Extended Essay" and EE subject area at the very least. Also make sure that there are page numbers on every page except for the title page. Imagine if one page of your EE gets torn out accidently, and they have no idea who's it is because you didn't put your candidate number on it. Fun times ahead.For the footnotes, mine started automatically 4 lines after the end of the text. There shouldn't be a need to fiddle with it. And to be honest, I don't think the IB cares about how many spaces you leave in between. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyperbole Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 Hm. We were never told to put our supervisors' names anywhere in the essay. On the other hand, we were instructed to put session and year on the front page, in the upper left hand corner together with "Extended Essay: Subject". The title of the essay should be in big font somewhere in the middle, and then your name, candidate number, school and word count should be in the lower right hand corner.And yeah. Candidate number on every page. But that goes for all IB work! I've lost count of how many papers I've had to reprint because I forgot to put my candidate number on it, and because I don't like the visual appearance of having added it by hand.I agree with the space thing. Just use Word's footnote function: that will make the practical part of it right. Then just make sure to get the right information in the right order, and it'll be fine! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughie Posted January 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 Huh...it differs from school to school I guess. When I get back to school, which is...this Thursday...*sob* I'll ask my IBC about title page format and my candidate number.Er, wait. Candidate number has to be on every page for every one of my IA? This is off topic, but what about maths portfolios? I did two of mine before I got my candidate number, and of course there's no candidate number on any of their pages. Neither is my name, come to think of it. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyperbole Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 It's fine to fill that in with ink once you get your number. It's just important to have it on every page because if there's a mess, they want to be able to see what goes in what pile... (I even had to put my candidate number on a newspaper article for my appendix in the Written Tasks. That was weird, since I didn't write it or anything. Still had to show it was "mine".)It's just prettier if it's in style with the rest of the stuff, imo! But you don't lose marks for having it handwritten or anything. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
avrila Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 Reading through this, I notice that I am not the one who face the problem with the format: header, footer, candidate number,...I have to print my TOK essay several times because of missing the "May 2009"and great job Hughie that you have done your EE although your final is on November. Well, is good to get things done earlier. I still fixing my EE here. I guess by now you should have clear about the EE format. Ok.. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.