© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

College Writing SkillsCollege Writing Skills, 5E , 5E and and College Writing College Writing Skills with ReadingsSkills with Readings, 5E, 5E

John LanganJohn Langan

Chapter Twenty-Two

Writing a Research PaperWriting a Research Paper

© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E

Chapter 22

Writing a Research Paper

1) Select a topic 1) Select a topic that you can readily research.

2) Limit your topic2) Limit your topic and make the purpose of your paper clear.

3) Gather information 3) Gather information on your limited topic.

4) Plan 4) Plan your paper and take notes.take notes.5) Write 5) Write the paper.

6) Document 6) Document accurately.

© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E

Chapter 22

Writing a Research Paper

Step 1: Select a topic that you Step 1: Select a topic that you can readilycan readily research. research.

• Check your library’s catalogcatalog (or that of a major online library or bookseller) to be sure there are booksbooks on your topic;

• Check periodicals indexesperiodicals indexes to be sure there are articlesarticles on your topic;

• Do an online searchonline search to see whether reliablereliable sitessites on your topic exist.

If sufficient information exists, go ahead! Otherwise, modify your topic.

© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E

Chapter 22

Writing a Research Paper

Step 2: Limit your topic and Step 2: Limit your topic and make the purpose of your paper make the purpose of your paper

clear.clear.• A research paper should thoroughly

develop a limited topiclimited topic -- one that can be developed fully in 10 pages or so.• Pay attention to subject headingssubject headings as

you research your general topic -- these can help you limit your focus.limit your focus.

© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E

Chapter 22

Writing a Research PaperStep 2: Limit your topic and make the Step 2: Limit your topic and make the

purpose of your paper clear.purpose of your paper clear. Remember, research papersresearch papers generally have one of two

purposespurposes:1: to make and defend a pointto make and defend a point of some kind

(e.g., elected officials should be limited to elected officials should be limited to a single term in officea single term in office);

2: to present informationto present information about a topic (e.g., the the most recent scientific findings about the most recent scientific findings about the effect of diet on heart diseaseeffect of diet on heart disease).

© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E

Chapter 22

Writing a Research PaperStep 3: Gather information on Step 3: Gather information on

your limited topic.your limited topic.Try to gather all the information you need in

one place:• Check out booksCheck out books you need from your library,

or request them via interlibrary loaninterlibrary loan.• Make copies of relevant articlesMake copies of relevant articles, or read

them and make careful notes. (Some online articles can be printed out in their entirety.)

© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E

Chapter 22

Writing a Research PaperStep 4: Plan your paper and take Step 4: Plan your paper and take

notes.notes.• Prepare a scratch outline for your paper that shows

both its thesisthesis and the areas of supportareas of support for the thesis.Thesis: There are things parents can do to There are things parents can do to

overcome the negative influences hurting their overcome the negative influences hurting their familiesfamilies..

Support: (1) (1) Create quality time with familiesCreate quality time with families(2) (2) Increase families’ sense of Increase families’ sense of

communitycommunity(3) (3) Minimize the impact of media and Minimize the impact of media and

technologytechnology

© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E

Chapter 22

Writing a Research Paper• Write your notesnotes on index cardsindex cards or

loose-leaf paperloose-leaf paper, or type them into computer filescomputer files.• Notes should be in the form of–direct quotationsdirect quotations–summariessummaries in your own words–a mixa mix of direct quotation and summary

© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E

Chapter 22

Writing a Research Paper•Direct quotations Direct quotations must be reproduced

faithfully: if you omit unnecessary words, supply an ellipse ([. . .])ellipse ([. . .]) in their place; if you supply a word or capitalize a letter to clarify meaning, you must indicate that you have done so using [[bracketsbrackets].].

• Otherwise, quotes must be written exactlyexactly as they appear in the original.

© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E

Chapter 22

Writing a Research Paper• In summariessummaries, you condense original

material by expressing it in your own words. •SummariesSummaries may be written as lists, brief

paragraphs, or both.• In paraphrase,paraphrase, you also express the

original material in your own words, but do not condense.

© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E

Chapter 22

Writing a Research PaperKeep in mind the following:Keep in mind the following:

• Write on only one sideone side of each card or piece of paper, and only one kind of informationone kind of information on each. (If using a computer filecomputer file, decide whether each file should contain notes on a single topicsingle topic or from a single sourcesingle source.)

• Write a topic headingtopic heading at the top of each card.• Identify the source and page numbersource and page number at the

bottom.

© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E

Chapter 22

Writing a Research Paper

Beware of PlagiarismPlagiarism!If you do not document

specialized information or ideas that are not your own, you will be plagiarizingplagiarizing -- stealingstealing,, in

other words!When in doubt, When in doubt,

DOCUMENTDOCUMENT..

© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E

Chapter 22

Writing a Research PaperNotecard:Notecard:

Direct QuotationDirect Quotation

Movie content

“We cannot guarantee that bad things will happen, but we can argue that good things are not happening[. . .]. [I]ncreasing numbers of young people are left to their own devices at a critical point in theirdevelopment.”

Medved and Medved, 62

topic heading

ellipse: indicates omitted material brackets: indicate

capital not in original

source, page number

© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E

Chapter 22

Writing a Research PaperNotecard:

SummaryMovie content

Study conducted in 1996 showed that of PG-13 movies, 91 percent had crude language, 89 percent had obscene language, 45 percent had actual or suggested sex. Worrisome because most parents assume PG-13 movies are OK for their kids.

Medved and Medved, 62

© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E

Chapter 22

Writing a Research PaperStep 5: Write the paper.Step 5: Write the paper.

• Make a final outline and use it as a guide to write your first full draft.first full draft.–a topic outlinea topic outline contains your thesis

plus supporting words and phrases;–a sentence outlinea sentence outline includes the

above excpressed as full sentences.

© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E

Chapter 22

Writing a Research Paper• In an introduction,introduction, include a

thesis statement expressing the purpose of your paper and indicating the plan of developmentplan of development that you will follow.

© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E

Chapter 22

Writing a Research Paper• As you move from your

introductionintroduction into the main main bodybody and conclusion, strive for–UNITYUNITY–SUPPORTSUPPORT–COHERENCECOHERENCE–SENTENCE SKILLS!SENTENCE SKILLS!

© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E

Chapter 22

Writing a Research PaperStep 6: Document accurately.Step 6: Document accurately.• You must tell the reader the sources

of the borrowed material in your paper. • The documentation style used by the

Modern Language AssociationModern Language Association is relatively simple and widely accepted. Follow the rules for this system described in your text, unless your instructor specifies another.

© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E

Chapter 22

Writing a Research PaperSample In-Text CitationSample In-Text Citation

Book with a single authorBook with a single author

Other parents work at home, even if it means earning less money than before. “[H]eading home is a real possibility for those parents who can master the new home-office technology [. . .]. If enough people can manage to do this, the neighborhoods might once again come alive for workers and their children” (Louv 285).

start of quoteellipse: indicates omitted material

source, page number

end of quote

capital in brackets indicates capital not in original

© 2000 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.College Writing Skills / CWS with Readings, 5E

Chapter 22

Louv, Richard. Children’s Future. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990.

Writing a Research PaperSample Works Cited EntrySample Works Cited Entry

Book with a single authorBook with a single authorindent second and subsequent lines .5 inch

author’s name, last name first

publisher

place of publication

title, underlined or in italics

year of publication