Paper Comments - General

1. How to use secondary sources:
   • When using the work of other scholars, unless you are specifically writing about those scholars (comparing the interpretation of Historian A versus Historian B, for example), do not quote them (note: "Quote" is a verb, and "quotation" is a noun). Instead, describe their findings in your own words, and cite them.
2. Ellipses:
   • You do not need to use ellipses at the start or the end of a quotation, even if you start or stop in the middle of the sentence. Just use them when skipping parts in the middle.
3. Quotations:
   • When quoting more than about three lines of text. Skip a line, indent from both sides equally, do not tab in as if starting a new paragraph, do not use quotation marks, single space, and insert your quotation. Footnote the end of it. Then skip a line before beginning the next section of your prose (and go back to double spacing).
   • Generally, after using a quotation (whether indented or not), you need to tell the reader why this quotation is important. Do not let the quotation do your work for you, do not assume the reader will "get it."
4. Past tense:
   • When writing about things that happened in the past, use past tense.
   • There is something called the "narrative present." If a text contains information, even if it was written 1000 years ago, it still contains that information - note the present tense. Hence, when describing the contents of your source you may use present tense, but this way danger lies. If describing something that happened in the past, even (generally), the writing of your text, it's got to be in the past tense.
5. Contractions:
   • Do not (don't!) use them in formal writing. Remember that formal writing has different rules and norms than informal writing.
6. Page Numbers:
   • Number your pages. No excuse for this.
7. Title:
   • Have one.
8. Analysis over summary:
   • Many of you have produced fine summaries of your source. But so what? What are your ideas about the source, about the time period, about the people, about crusade and/or jihad as reflected in the source? Do not just summarize the text without a reason. I wrote in detail about this on your papers where appropriate.
9. Finally, cite everything:
   • For citation guides, go to: http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/cite/works_cited.htm.
   • The first time you cite any source, give the expanded citation (author, title, publisher, year, page - more or less), and then you can just use abbreviated forms (author, page - or author, title, page, if you are using more than one source by a given author). Parentheticals just don't cut it for a paper of this length.
   • If you are using one source repeatedly, you can put a "List of Abbreviations" at the top of your bibliography, and then shorten it throughout (i.e. CS = Andrea, A. J. Contemporary Sources for the Fourth Crusade. Boston: Brill, 2000. Then you just use CS in your footnotes).
   • Most importantly, any time that you use information from anywhere else, you must cite it or it is plagiarism. The only time you do not have to footnote a statement is when it is purely your own idea or common knowledge. But what is common knowledge in the context of this assignment?

Footnote exercise:

The following sentences are adapted from your papers. Which ones have to be cited?

1. Richard the Lionhearted was king of England from 1189-1199.
2. According to Saladin's biographer, Baha al-Din, Saladin hated peas.
3. France was a kingdom in Europe.
4. At the time, France was a kingdom in Europe ruled by Philip Augustus.
5. At the time, France was a kingdom in Europe ruled by Philip Augustus who labored to expand the powers of the French Monarchy.
6. In 1204, Franks and Venetian crusaders conquered Constantinople.
7. In 1204, Franks and Venetian crusaders conquered Constantinople. Many people died.
8. In 1204, Franks and Venetian crusaders conquered Constantinople in one of the bloodiest conquests in all of history.