Writing a Research Paper
Notes
Types of Research• Primary: generating new ideas and
information on your own.– Ex: experiments, interviews, personal
responses• Secondary: gathering and analyzing
the results of other people’s research– Most of your research will be secondary
research
Research Process• Choosing your subject• Doing preliminary research• Limiting your subject to a specific
topic• Finding an angle and writing a
statement of controlling purpose• Preparing a list of possible sources
(working bibliography)• Taking notes and developing a
working outline
• Organizing your notes & making a final outline
• Writing your first draft• Revising your first draft• Writing a final draft, with a complete
list of Works Cited
Preparing Bibliography Cards
• For each source you may use or not, you need to prepare a bibliography card– 3 purposes
• Helps you find the source again• Helps you prepare documentation• Helps you make your Works Cited page
Bibliographic Entry-Author, title, place & date of publication, page numbers
Source Note-Location of the resource
Source Number-upper right hand corner-new number for each source
Card catalog #-helps with relocating the source
Gathering Information
• Look through the resources for information relevant to the thesis or statement of controlling purpose.
Taking Notes• Direct quotation: repeats the words
of the source exactly. This requires quotation marks around the words.
• Paraphrase: States an idea expressed in a source, but not in the same words.
• Summary: A shortened statement of an idea in a source. Says the same thing in fewer and different words.
• When you quote, it is EXTREMELY important that you copy each letter and punctuation mark EXACTLY as it appears in the text.
• For paraphrasing/summarizing, put the material in your OWN words. Do not change the source’s meaning.
• Give a reference page for any and all information taken from a source, except from an encyclopedia or a dictionary.– Single page: write the page # after the
note.– 2 or more consecutive pages: write the
1st and the last pgs. Ex: 18-21– Non-consecutive pgs in a periodical:
write the 1st page followed by a plus sign. Ex: 76+
When to use a…• Direct quotation: when the idea is
especially well-stated, and when the exact wording is historically or legally significant, or if it is a definition
• Paraphrase: this is your basic note form
• Summary: when a passage or a source is too long to be quoted or paraphrased
Preparing Bibliographic Entries
BooksRuiz, Ramon Eduardo. Triumphs and
Tragedy: A History of The Mexican People. New York: Norton, 1992.
Last, First. Title. Place: Publisher, date.Last, First, and First Last. (Two authors)Last, First, First Last, and First Last.
(Three authors)Last, First, et al. (Four + authors)
No author:Title. Place: Publisher, date.
Editor:Last, First, ed. Title. Place: Publisher,
date.2-3 Editors:
Last, First, and First Last, eds. Title. Place: Publisher, date.
4+ editors:Last, First, et al., eds. Title. Place: Pub, date.
Periodicals and EncyclopediasSmith, Shelly. “Baseball’s Forgotten
Pioneers.” Sports Illustrated. 30 Mar. 1992: 72.
Last, First. “Article Name.” Title. date: pgs.
No author:“Article name.” Title. date: pgs.
Encyclopedia:“Zuni.” Encyclopaedia Britannica:
Micropaedia. 1992 ed.“Article name.” Encyclopedia name.
year ed.
Electronic SourcesStephan, Ed. John Steinbeck: The
California Novels. 30 Sept. 1999 <http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/Steinbeck/index.html>.
Last, First. Title. Date referenced <Address>.
No Author:“Name of Webpage.” Main site. Date
<Address>.
In-Text Citation• A citation contains just enough info
to help the reader locate the info from the source
• After the info (quote, paraphrase, summary), in parentheses, include the author’s last name and the page #. (Morris 14). Punctuation goes after the citation.
Types of Citation• Basic: (author #).• Basic with author name in text: (#).• One author, multiple works: (Author, Title
#).• No author (“First alphabetized word” #).• More than one page (Nardo 104-106). • Long quotation: After the end punctuation,
indent the entire quote (4+ lines)
Drafting your Report• Do not use informal language.• Do not use I, me, my, mine, and our. • Do not state opinions without
supporting them with facts.• Do not use slang or contractions.
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