Chapter 22
1) Select a topic that you can readily research.
2) Limit your topic and make the purpose of
your paper clear.
3) Gather information on your limited topic.
4) Plan your paper and take notes.
5) Write the paper.
6) Document accurately.
Step 1: Select a topic that you can readily research.



Check your library’s catalog (or that of a
major online library or bookseller) to be sure
there are books on your topic;
Check periodicals indexes to be sure there
are articles on your topic;
Do an online search to see whether reliable
sites on your topic exist.
If sufficient information exists, go ahead! Otherwise, modify your
topic.
Step 2: Limit your topic and make the
purpose of your paper clear.
 A research paper should thoroughly
develop a limited topic -- one that
can be developed fully in 10 pages or
so.
 Pay attention to subject headings as
you research your general topic -these can help you limit your focus.
Step 2: Limit your topic and make
the purpose of your paper clear.
Remember, research papers generally have one
of two purposes:
1: to make and defend a point of some kind
(e.g., elected officials should be limited to a
single term in office);
2: to present information about a topic (e.g., the
most recent scientific findings about the effect
of diet on heart disease).
Step 3: Gather information
on your limited topic.
Try to gather all the information you need in one
place:


Check out books you need from your library,
or request them via interlibrary loan.
Make copies of relevant articles, or read them
and make careful notes. (Some online articles
can be printed out in their entirety.)
Step 4: Plan your paper and take notes.

Prepare a scratch outline for your paper that shows both
its thesis and the areas of support for the thesis.
Thesis: There are things parents can do to overcome the
negative influences hurting their families.
Support:
(1) Create quality time with families
(2) Increase families’ sense of community
(3) Minimize the impact of media and
technology


Write your notes on index cards or
loose-leaf paper, or type them into
computer files.
Notes should be in the form of
◦ direct quotations
◦ summaries in your own words
◦ a mix of direct quotation and
summary


Direct quotations must be reproduced
faithfully: if you omit unnecessary
words, supply an 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 [brackets].
Otherwise, quotes must be written exactly
as they appear in the original.
In summaries, you condense original
material by expressing it in your own
words.
 Summaries may be written as lists,
brief paragraphs, or both.
 In paraphrase, you also express the
original material in your own words,
but do not condense.

Keep in mind the following:



Write on only one side of each card or
piece of paper, and only one kind of
information on each. (If using a
computer, decide whether each file
should contain notes on a single topic or
from a single source.)
Write a topic heading at the top of each
card.
Identify the source and page number at
the bottom.
Beware of Plagiarism!
If you do not document specialized
information or ideas that are not your
own, you will be plagiarizing -stealing, in other words!
When in doubt, DOCUMENT.
Notecard:
Topic
Heading
Movie content
Direct Quotation
Ellipse: Indicates
omitted text
“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 their
development.”
Brackets: indicates
capital not in original
Medved and Medved, 62
Source,
page
number
Notecard:
Movie content
Summary
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
Step 5: Write the paper.

Make a final outline and use it as a
guide to write your first full draft.
◦ a topic outline contains your thesis
plus supporting words and phrases;
◦ a sentence outline includes the
above expressed as full sentences.
 In
an introduction, include a
thesis statement expressing
the purpose of your paper and
indicating the plan of
development that you will
follow.
 As
you move from your
introduction into the main body and
conclusion, strive for
◦ UNITY
◦ SUPPORT
◦ COHERENCE
◦ SENTENCE SKILLS!
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 Association is
relatively simple and widely accepted.
*Follow the rules for this system
described in your text, unless your
instructor specifies another.
Sample In-Text Citation
Book with a single author
Capital in
brackets indicate
capital not in
original
ellipse: indicates
omitted material
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).
End of quote
Source, page
number
Sample Reference Entry
Book with a single author
Publisher

Louv, Richard. (1990). Children’s Future. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin.
Indent second and
subsequent lines
.5 inch.
Author’s name,
last name first
Year of
publication
Title in italics
Place of
publication