Meridian follows Turabian’s A Manual for Writers, 9th edition, but with several exceptions and specifications, as outlined below.
Additional editing information and visuals for front/back matter pages are available on the Library Website.
Abbreviations and Numbers
• Only endnotes are used in the submittal (not footnotes or parentheticals) - multiple endnotes are streamlined into one superscript number.
• For more than three authors, the term “et al.” is used, as opposed to “and others” in the text and endnotes (all authors are listed in the bibliography).
• All numbers under 10 are written out. All numbers 10 and above are expressed in Arabic numerals. When numbers begin a sentence or heading, they are always written out.
• Avoid the use of ampersands (&) and percent signs (%) except when they are used in an original source which is quoted.
Spelling and Punctuation
• Avoid over-punctuation. Omit italics, bold face, quotation marks, parentheses, and dashes, except when necessary and correct.
• Insert an Oxford (series) comma in a sentence containing three or more items before the final and or or.
• Commas and periods are always inside the closing double quotation mark. Question marks and exclamation points are inside the closing double quotation mark if they are part of the quote and are placed outside the quotation mark if they relate to the whole sentence.
• For single quotation marks, punctuation is placed outside the closing quotation mark.
• Ellipsis points are spaced periods ( . . . ).
Capitalization, Italics, and Quotation Marks
• Use italics (instead of single or double quotation marks) to set off special terms at their first use. (However, this does not apply to special terms used in the Abstract, which should appear in normal typeface.) See what qualifies as a special term here. Do not italicize special terms after the first use.
• Capitalize the term ‘Research Problem’ at every use.
Quotations
• Use quotes sparingly—the majority of writing must be the student’s work.
• Authors are always mentioned when quoting; each quote should be discussed, however briefly; Stand-alone quotes—those inserted without either explanation or a preparatory statement—are not allowed.
• Quotations of five lines or more are set off from the text by skipping down a space from the text, indenting one-half inch, single spacing, and omitting the quotation marks (block quotations).
• Block quotes must be limited to eight lines. Options for block quotes over eight lines can be found here.
• Avoid distancing from the text by placing quotation marks around words or phrases (e.g., I am committed to living a “psychological” life). Quotation marks should only be used for actual quotes and things such as article or chapter titles used within the text.
• Do not characterize theorists or authors (e.g., “Jungian psychologist, John Doe.”).
• Use an author’s full name at first mention, use only the last name of the author in second and subsequent mentions.
• Do not mention an author ’s degree or title, such as “Ph.D.” or “Doctor”
Notes
• Use only endnotes (superscript numbers) at the end of the sentence when citing.
• Multiple citations should be streamlined into one endnote.
• A superscript number in the text should be inserted after the period ending the sentence. An extra space should be made after double-digit endnote numbers (i.e., double space after the superscript number).
• When an endnote number directly follows a quotation mark at the end of a sentence, place a space between the final quotation mark and the endnote number. See examples of superscript spacing here.
• If personal journal entries or poetry are cited, the student is referenced.
Notes Section
• Notes are divided by chapter. Numeration restarts at one for each chapter.
• Endnotes are listed on a separate page after the text at the end of the paper, printed in 10-point font (including the endnote number), and entitled NOTES.
• There should not be a separator line inserted above or between pages of endnotes, even though it is a common default setting in word processing applications.
• The endnote number should be typed on the line (not superscript) and the same size as the text (10-point font), followed by a period and then two spaces.
• The first line of each endnote entry (including its number) is indented half an inch; the second and subsequent lines are flush with the left margin.
• Endnotes are single-spaced with a blank line between notes.
• Authors’ names are listed in their natural order.
• Use Ibid. to indicate the same author and text (or article) as in the immediately preceding endnote (e.g., Ibid., 112.). Ibid is followed by a period and a comma when listing page numbers, and a period only without page numbers.
Bibliographies
• The bibliography is listed on a separate page entitled REFERENCES. (Do not confuse this with Turabian’s Parenthetical Citations-Reference List Style formatting.)
• The bibliography is in alphabetical order only and not divided into chapters/categories.
• The bibliography uses hanging indents.
• For two or more names in an entry, invert the order of the first name only, (last name, then first name). The second and any subsequent names are written in their natural order (i.e., Aguero, Joseph E., Laura Bloch, and Donn Byrne).
Formatting
• Use Times/Times New Roman, 12-point font for all text unless specified.
• Use Times/Times New Roman 14-point font in small caps and bolding for the title on the Title and Signature Pages.
• Use Times/Times New Roman, 10-point font for endnotes in the Notes section.
• Use Times/Times New Roman, 13-point font and bolding for Chapters and Chapter Titles on Chapter Title Pages (Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc.) and Section headings (Contents, Appendixes, Notes, References, etc.)
• There are three blank single spaces (no spaces before or after paragraphs in the formatting) after a Chapter (i.e., Chapter 2). There are three blank single spaces after the Chapter before the Chapter Title (i.e., Literature Review), with no spaces before or after paragraphs in the formatting. There are two blank single spaces after the Chapter Title and the start of the text (no spaces before or after paragraphs in the formatting).
• Use Times/Times New Roman, 12-point font and bolding for all primary and secondary subheadings. No other subheadings are used with two single blank spaces (no spaces before or after paragraphs in the formatting) before and after subheadings.
• Avoid widows and orphans.
• The left margin is one and a half inches throughout.
• The top, right, and bottom margins are one inch, aside from front matter, back matter, and the first page of each chapter, which are one and a half inches.
• The right margin is never justified.
• All indentations are one-half inch.
• Specified sections (endnotes, references, block quotations) are single-spaced with one space between items within the section. All other text is double-spaced
• All pages are counted. However, page numbers are only visible starting with the Abstract Page. Front matter pages are counted in Roman numerals. Chapter 1 starts with Arabic numeral 1.
• Page numbers right aligned using Times/Times New Roman 12-point font, without any periods or dashes.