Student Guide to Writing a Research Paper

by Goldenberg, Phyllis

• ISBN13: 9780821507605
• ISBN10: 0821507605
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-01-01
• Publisher: William H Sadlier

Table of Contents

Foreword	iii
Preface	vi
Choose a Topic
Before You Begin	7	(1)
Make sure you understand your assignment	7	(1)
Choosing a Topic	8	(2)
Choose a workable topic	9	(1)
Computer Connection	10	(1)
Clustering	10	(2)
Research Questions	12	(6)
Word your limited topic as a research question that you are going to investigate	12	(1)
Computer Connection	13	(4)
Checklist Review	17	(1)
Locate Sources
Two Kinds of Sources	18	(1)
Evaluate the sources that you find	19	(1)
Library Resources	19	(5)
Start by exploring library resources	19	(2)
Computer Connection	21	(1)
Computer Connection	22	(2)
Community Resources	24	(5)
Find primary resources by exploring community resources	24	(5)
Bibliography Cards---Keeping Track of Sources	29	(2)
Record complete information for every source you think you will use	29	(2)
Computer Connection	31	(1)
MLA Style of Documenting Sources	31	(6)
Checklist Review	36	(1)
Take Notes
Working Outline	37	(3)
Before you start taking notes, make a working outline	37	(2)
Skim your sources to locate information for your paper	39	(1)
Taking Notes on Note Cards	40	(2)
Take notes in your own words. Enclose a direct quotation in quotation marks	40	(1)
Follow the guidelines for taking notes	41	(1)
Computer Connection	42	(1)
Three Kinds of Notes	42	(6)
Checklist Review	47	(1)
Write a Thesis Statement and Title
Organizing and Evaluating Your Note Cards	48	(1)
Sort your note cards into stacks having the same heading	48	(1)
Evaluate your note cards	48	(1)
Unity	49	(2)
Make sure that all of your information fits the scope of your paper	49	(2)
Coherence	51	(1)
Arrange the information in a way that readers will easily understand	51	(1)
Audience and Purpose	52	(1)
Identify your audience and your purpose	52	(1)
Thesis Statement	53	(2)
Draft a working thesis statement that tells what you will cover in the paper	53	(2)
Writing a Title	55	(4)
Draft a working title that reveals your topic and your narrowed focus	55	(3)
Computer Connection	58	(1)
Checklist Review	58	(1)
Write a Final Outline
Content and Organization	59	(2)
Choose either a topic outline or a sentence outline	59	(2)
The Form and Logic of an Outline	61	(10)
Follow the correct outline form	61	(1)
Identify the major sections of your paper	61	(3)
Divide the main headings into subheadings and then into sub-subheadings	64	(1)
Computer Connection	64	(1)
Word the headings within any level, so they are parallel in structure	64	(6)
Checklist Review	70	(1)
Write the First Draft
What You Do Not Have to Do	71	(2)
Computer Connection	72	(1)
Writing an Introduction	73	(3)
Write an introduction that attracts your reader's attention. Include your thesis statement in your introduction	73	(1)
Computer Connection	74	(2)
Writing the Body of Your Paper	76	(5)
Keep careful track of your sources	76	(1)
Write in the present tense. Use the past tense only to refer to historical events	76	(1)
Each paragraph in the body should state a main idea in a topic sentence. The rest of the sentences should support the main idea	77	(4)
Writing the Conclusion	81	(2)
Write a conclusion that brings your paper to a satisfying close	81	(2)
Using Direct Quotations	83	(4)
Follow the conventions for using direct quotations. Make sure you clearly identify the source of each quotation	83	(3)
Checklist Review	86	(1)
Document Sources
Parenthetical Citation	87	(8)
Follow the style of documentation that your teacher specifies	87	(1)
Give credit for every quotation and paraphrase	87	(8)
Works Cited List	95	(4)
Prepare your Works Cited list. Place it at the end of your paper	95	(3)
Checklist Review	98	(1)
Revise
Before You Start	99	(2)
Computer Connection	100	(1)
Read your paper several times, focusing on a different aspect each time	100	(1)
The Paper as a Whole	101	(3)
Check to see that you have met all of your teacher's requirements	101	(1)
Computer Connection	101	(1)
Focus on the paper's unity	101	(3)
Coherence	104	(3)
Focus on the paper's coherence	104	(3)
Sentences	107	(4)
Focus on each sentence and on the way that related sentences work together	107	(4)
Diction: Choosing the Right Word	111	(2)
Focus on word choice	111	(1)
Checklist Review	112	(1)
Proofread
Before You Start	113	(1)
Computer Connection	113	(1)
Proofreader's Symbols	114	(1)
Learn to use the proofreader's symbols	114	(1)
Spelling	115	(3)
Check the spelling of words	115	(1)
Computer Connection	115	(3)
Capitalization	118	(1)
Check your paper carefully to make sure you have observed the rules of capitalization	118	(1)
Punctuation	119	(1)
Read through your paper and correct any errors in punctuation	119	(1)
Grammar and Usage	120	(2)
As you proofread your paper, correct any errors in grammar and usage	120	(2)
Documentation	122	(2)
Check your parenthetical citations against your Works Cited list	122	(1)
Checklist Review	123	(1)
Prepare the Final Manuscript
The Paper's Form	124	(2)
Follow the format that your teacher requires	124	(1)
Computer Connection	125	(1)
Last But Not Least	126	(1)
Proofread your final manuscript one last time	126	(1)
Make a copy	126	(1)
Annotated Student Research Paper	126	(11)
Suggested Project Timetables	137	(1)
Appendix A: What Every Research-Paper Writer Needs	138	(4)
Appendix B: APA Style; Footnotes and Endnotes	142	(8)
Appendix C: Writing Across the Curriculum	150	(8)
Index	158