Chapter 16 Writing the Research Paper

Chapter 16 Writing the Research Paper

The Research Paper Defined

The research paper is a long documented essay based on a thorough examination of your topic and supported by your explanations and by both references to and quotations from your sources. The traditional research paper in the style of the Modern Language Association, typically called MLA style, includes a title page (sometimes omitted), a thesis and an outline, a documented essay (text), and a list of sources (called "Works Cited," referring to the works used specifically in the essay).

Ten Steps to Writing a Research Paper

Step 1 Select a Topic

Select a topic and make a scratch outline. Then construct a thesis as you did for writing an essay by choosing what you intend to write about (subject) and by deciding how you will limit or focus your subject (treatment). Your purpose will be wither to inform (explain) or to persuade (argue).

• Your topic should interest you and be appropriate in subject and scope for your assignment.
• Your topic should be researchable through library and other relevant sources, such as the Internet. Avoid topics that are too subjective or are so new that good source material is not available.

Step 2 find Sources

Find sources for your investigation. With your topic and its divisions in mind, use the resources and the electronic databases available in your college library and on the Internet to identify books, articles, and other materials pertaining to your topic. The list of these items, called bibliography, should be prepared on cards in the form appropriate for your assignment.

Books

Today most academic and municipal libraries provide information about books on online computer terminals, with databases accessible by author, title, subject, or other key words.

Printed Material Other Than Books

For the typical college research paper, the main printed nonbook sources are periodicals, such as newspapers, magazines, and journals.

Computerized Indexes and Other Online Services

Computerized indexes, such as Infor Trac, Periodical Abstracts, and Newspaper Abstracts Ondisc, can be accessed in basically the same way as the online book catalogs, using key words and word combinations.

Step 3 List Sources

List tentative sources in a preliminary bibliography

Bibliography and Works Cited, MLA Style

You will list source material in two phase of your research paper project: the preliminary bibliography and the Works Cited list. The MLA research paper form is commonly used for both the preliminary bibliography and the list of works cited. This format is unlike the format used in catalogs and indexes.

Step 4 Take Notes

Take notes in an organized fashion. Resist the temptation to write down everything that interests you. Instead, take notes that pertain to divisions of your topic as stated in your thesis or scratch outline. Locate, read, and take notes on the sources listed in your preliminary bibliography. Some of these sources need to be printed out from electronic databases or from the Internet, some photocopied, and some checked out. Your notes will usually be on cards, with each card indicating key pieces of the information:

• Division of topic (usually Roman-numeral part of your scratch outline or the divisions of your thesis)
• Identification of topic (by author's last name or title of piece)
• Location of material (usually by page number)
• Text of statement as originally worded (with quotation marks; editorial comments in brackets), summarized or paragraph (in student's own words, without quotation marks), and statement of relevance of material, if possible.

Step 5 Refine Your Thesis and Outline

Refine your thesis statement and outline to reflect more precisely what you intend to write.

Step 6 Write Your First Draft

Referring to your thesis, outline, and note cards keyed to your outline, write the first draft of your research paper.

Plagiarism

Careful attention to the rules of documentation will help you avoid plagiarism, the unacknowledged use of someone else's words or idea. You can avoid plagiarism by giving credit when you borrow someone else;s words or ideas.

Step 7 Revise Your First Draft

Evaluate your first draft and amend it as needed (perhaps researching an area not well covered for additional support material and adding or deleting sections of your outline to reflect the way your paper has grown).

Use the writing process guidelines as you would in writing any other essay.

• Write and then revise your paper as many times as necessary for coherence, language (usage, tone, and diction), unity, emphasis, support, and sentences (CLUESS).
• Correct problems in fundamentals such as capitalization, omissions, punctuation, and spelling (COPS). Before writing the final draft, read your paper aloud to discover any errors or awkward-sounding sentence structure.

Step 8 Prepare Your Works Cited Section

Using the same form as in the preliminary bibliography, prepare a Works Cited section (a list of works you have referred to or quoted and identified parenthetically in the text).

Step 9 Write your final Draft

Write the final version of your research paper with care for effective writing and accurate documentation. The final draft will probably include the following parts:

• Title pager (sometimes omitted)
• Thesis and outline (topical or sentence, as directed)
• Documented essay (text)
• List of sources used (Work Cited)

Step 10 Submit Required Materials

Submit your research paper with any preliminary material required by your instructor. Consider using a checklist to make sure you have fulfilled all requirements.

Notes:

The research paper is a long documented essay based on a thorough examination of a topic and supported by explanations and by both references to and quotations from sources.

The research paper is no more difficult than other writing assignments if you select a good topic, use a systematic approach, and do not get behind with your work.

Asystematic approach involves these then steps:

• Select a topic
• Find sources
• List sources.
• Take notes.
• Refine your thesis and outline
• Write your first draft
• Revise your first draft
• Prepare your Works Cited section
• Write your final draft.
• Submit required materials.

Your library almost certainly mixes traditional and electronic indexes and sources; you should become familiar with them.

MLA styple for works cited differs from that used in traditional and electronic indexes.

You can avoid plagiarism by giving credit when you borrow someone else's words or ideas.

Source:Brandon, Lee. Brandon, Kelly. Paragraphs and Essays with Integrated Readings, Tenth Edition. Boston, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008