WRITING CENTER
Welcome to the Writing Center at Northwind Theological Seminary
Northwind uses a modified version of the Turabian style of formatting for all required papers in all courses.
Turabian is the student version of The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) designed for high school and college students writing papers in courses on the humanities, social, and natural sciences. (Sometimes the names "Turabian" and "Chicago" are used interchangeably.)
Turabian (and other formatting styles) provide a clear, consistent format for students to follow when writing papers, with specific guidelines on the use of everything from title pages, to page numbers, headings and subheadings, paragraphs, citations and bibliographies.
Please note: There are two acceptable citation methods within the Turabian style. One uses footnotes and a bibliography; the other uses parenthetical references and a reference list. Ask your professor which Turabian method is required for their class.
Correctly citing sources is important. It helps you:
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Avoid plagiarism
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Demonstrate academic honesty and courtesy for the work of others
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Build credibility by citing experts to support your arguments
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Allow readers to learn more about the topic by exploring your sources
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Allow others to conduct further research based on your work.
Whether you choose to use a direct quotation, summary or paraphrase, you must cite any information or ideas that are not your own original work. This includes but is not limited to words, images, computer code, charts and diagrams.
Remember when in doubt, cite it!
Click on the image to order the Ninth Edition of the Turabian Manual from Amazon (hardcover, paperback, or spiral-bound).
Download a free Turabian QuickStart Guide that includes a sample paper.
(link to pdf)
Download a quick guide to formatting footnotes from Northwind Faculty.
(link to pdf)
Additional Resources
Purdue OWL
A free online writing lab with extensive resources for academic writing.
Microsoft 365 or Word 2010 or newer
Select the Reference tab to create citations and a bibliography in Turabian.
NoodleTools
This software allows you to digitally organize your outline and note cards and create citations for footnotes and bibliographies by scanning a book's ISBN with your smartphone.
(Use the "Chicago" style setting.)
Quick Tips for Paper Submissions at Northwind
Unless otherwise instructed by your professor:
1. Use 12 point font, Times New Roman, Arial, Georgia, or Calibri.
2. Set all margins at 1".
3. Include a title page, with the title of your paper centered in the middle of the page. On the bottom third of the paper, center your name, followed by the name of the course, the name of your professor, and the date submitted.
4. Include page numbers for every page AFTER the title page, either on the top right, bottom right, or bottom center of the page.
5. Double-space the body of your paper.
6. Indent the first line of each new paragraph (don't use block paragraphs).
7. Include properly formatted footnotes throughout your paper AND a bibliography at the end.
8. Submit your paper in a *.doc or *.docx file format.
Northwind Theological Seminary has adopted the Narrative Research in Ministry approach for all courses.
We are, in a real sense, our stories. Who we are, what we think, and how we act are shaped by the many large and small stories that make up the discourse embedded in our multi-sensory social experience.
This postmodern understanding of identity and reality has prompted the authors to fashion a new way of thinking about notions and approaches to ministry.
