How to Write a Research Paper

How To Write a Research Paper

Writing a research paper is an important skill you need to learn. In order to do a paper properly you need to keep a few things in mind which will be outlined below. The most important thing is to be complete, be consistent and be thorough. Remember, the process is the important part. Before we begin, keep the following terms in mind:

Plagiarism: This is what you want to avoid. Plagiarism means using someone else's work and claiming it as your own. In reality it is a crime. Plagiarism can occur on purpose as well as by accident, either way it is wrong and must be avoided. If you plagiarize by accident the same penalties apply. The way we avoid plagiarism is by citing sources. After the paper is written and the sources have been cited then we must create a works citedpage. If the proper format for citing sources and the works cited page is followed then plagiarism can be avoided.

Citing Sources: Most high schools use the MLA (Modern Language Association) format. Check with your teacher to see if this format is acceptable in your school. Sources in these formats use the in line citation format. What this means is that anytime you cite a source, whether it be a direct quote or a paraphrase you must then insert an in line citation into the text of the paper. Typically the in line citation would consist of the authors last name followed by the page number with the entire citation in brackets. Here is an example: (Winthrop 24) The sentence period comes after the citation. More is to follow on proper in line citation format after this introduction.

Paraphrase: A paraphrase is an important part of writing a paper. Simply put the paraphrase is when you read another authors work and put it into your own words. It is also considered paraphrasing when you use statistics and research from another source. This is the most common citation in a paper. Proper paraphrasing is an art. This does not mean changing a few words around. It means taking the authors ideas, summarizing them into your own words and then using them. Of course you must cite every paraphrase with an in line citation. Paraphrases are mostly used to summarize paragraphs and main themes. Paraphrases are also used to cite statistics and other information. YOU DO NOT USE QUOTATION MARKS WHEN PARAPHRASING. More is to follow on citing the paraphrase.

Direct Quote: A direct quote is when you use another persons words directly in your paper. Knowing when to use a direct quote is important. Do not quote everything you want to say. Most things should be paraphrased. Use a direct quote when you want the reader to read an important historical line or it is something someone said that is important. Use direct quotes sparingly, there should only be a few in the paper and they better be good ones. The key difference in citing a direct quote is that you must put quotation marks around the sentence and then cite at the end. IF YOU FAIL TO USE QUOTATION MARKS AROUND A DIRECT QUOTE YOU ARE SAYING YOU WROTE THE SENTENCE. THIS IS PLAGIARISM!!! More information on direct quotes and direct quotes over four lines to follow.

Works Cited Page: This is the last page of your paper where you list, using the format shown below, all the books, articles, web sites, SIRS articles, magazines articles, etc. you have used. This must be done in the proper format. Proper format will be outlined in the following pages.

I highly recommend the following sites:

Citing A Paraphrase A PARAPHRASE IS:

your own rendition of essential information and ideas expressed by someone else, presented in a new form.
one legitimate way (when accompanied by accurate documentation) to borrow from a source.
a more detailed restatement than a summary, which focuses concisely on a single main idea.

Here is a sample paraphrase:

Original Text: (From Ron Bachman, "Reaching for the Sky." Dial (May 1990): 15.)

While the SearsTower is arguably the greatest achievement in skyscraper engineering so far, it's unlikely that architects and engineers have abandoned the quest for the world's tallest building. The question is: Just how high can a building go? Structural engineer William LeMessurier has designed a skyscraper nearly one-half mile high, twice as tall as the SearsTower. And architect Robert Sobel claims that existing technology could produce a 500-story building.

Paraphrase:

How much higher skyscrapers of the future will rise than worlds tallest building, the SearsTower, is unknown. The design of one twice as tall is already on the boards, and an architect, Robert Sobel, thinks we currently have sufficient know-how to build a skyscraper with over 500 stories (Bachman 15).

Note the following. The writer never uses the exact words of the author therefore there is no need to use quotation marks. The writer summarizes, uses his or her own words and then cites the source at the end. Sometimes a paraphrase will be large and must be broken up. A good rule of thumb is to break up a paragraph that is completely paraphrased into two or three citations. The writer has given credit to the author and thus has avoided plagiarism. Now the author would just continue writing after double spacing.

Your paper will more or less be paraphrase after paraphrase linked together by your own words and analysis. You need to introduce, analyze and put into context the paraphrases you use. This is the nature of the research paper, after all, you are not the expert, they are. If you cite from the same author in the very next citation you do not have to put the authors last name in the in line citation, just the page number.

Example:

Citing a Direct Quote

Citing a direct quote uses the same form as citing a paraphrase. The differences is that you are using someone else's words directly. In order to avoid plagiarism you MUST USE QUOTATION MARKS unless the direct quote is over four lines.

Here is a sample direct quote:

Original Text: (From "Captain Cousteau," Audubon (May 1990):17.

"The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our planet, just as the sun is the source of our heat, and it exerts tremendous control on our climate," [Jacques] Cousteau told the camera. "The cold ocean water around Antarctica flows north to mix with warmer water from the tropics, and its upwellings help to cool both the surface water and our atmosphere. Yet the fragility of this regulating system is now threatened by human activity."

Direct Quote:

The importance of the sea to the environment of the earth cannot be underestimated. "The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our planet, just as the sun is the source of our heat, and it exerts tremendous control on our climate (Cousteau 17)."

Note the following. The first sentence is neither a paraphrase or a quote. It is the writers own words. The writer is introducing and placing the Cousteau quote into context.

Direct Quote Over Four Lines:

Use these VERY RARELY. A great speech or famous quote might justify using a direct quote over four lines. To do this skip a line, indent five spaces on both sides of the quote, single space and use italics. Place the citation on the next line to the lower right of the quote. Go to the next line and then continue with your paper. DO NOT USE QUOTATION MARKS.

Example:

Abraham Lincoln said in his famous Gettysburg Address:

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

(Winthrop 67)

What Lincoln was saying was that those that died had died for a cause. They had died to preserve the Union and to keep the United States together (67 - 68).

Note the following. The long quote follows the format prescribed above. The quote is also followed by a paraphrase from the same author.The citation is the name of the book you found the quote in, not the name of the writer of the quote, if they are different. You must however say who made the quote in prefacing or concluding use of the quote.

When the book has no author use a keyword from the title. Usually the first word in the citation. When there are two book by the same author designate one as book one and the other as book two. For example: (Winthrop1 282) and (Winthrop2 58-71).

Writing The Works Cited Page

Your works cited page is an essential part of the process. The works cited page is the last page of your paper and it tells the reader where he or she may find the sources cited within your paper. It is essential you use the correct form. Remember a few thing when organizing the works cited page:

The works cited page must be labeled Works Cited Page. The label should be at the top center of the page.
The sources on the page must be listed IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER BY THE AUTHORS LAST NAME.
The first line of each entry is flush to the margin, all consequent lines within the entry must be indented five spaces.
Entries in the works cited page should be single spaced. Double space in between entries.

Books and Reference Books

One Author

Frye, Northrup. Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays. New York: Harper Collins, 1957.

Two or Three Authors

Gesell, Arnold, and Frances L. Wilson. Child Development: An Introduction to the Study of

Human Growth. New York: Macmillan, 1960.

Four or More Authors

Spiller, Robert, et al. Literary History of the United States. New York:

Macmillan, 1960.

No Author Named

Encyclopedia of Photography. New York: Crown, 1984.

A Work With More Than One Volume

Smith, Page. A New Age Now Begins. 2 vols. New York: McGraw, 1976.

A Work With An Editor

Swisher, Cleary, ed. The Spread of Islam. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1999.

Two Or More Books By The Same Person

Boroff, Marie. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. New York: Norton, 1967.

---. Wallace Stevens: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:

Prentice Hall, 1963.

Newspapers, Magazines, Journals, and Other Sources

A journal or magazine whose page numbers continue to the next issue (continuous pagination)

Deluch, Max. "Mind from Matter." American Scholar July 1978: 339-53.

A journal whose pages start anew with each issue

Barthe, Frederick, and Joseph Murphy. "Alcoholism in Fiction." Kansas Quarterly

August 1981: 30-37.

A weekly, biweekly, or monthly magazine

Miller, Tyler. "The Vietnam War: The Executioner." Newsweek 13 Nov 1978: 70.

An article in a newspaper

Strout, Richard L. "Another Bicentennial." Christian Science Monitor 10 Nov. 1978: 27.

An anonymous article

"Drunkproofing Automobiles." Time 6 Apr. 1987: 37.

An article from a reference book

"Mandarin." Encyclopedia Americana. 1980 ed.

A signed article from a reference book

Coble, Parks M., Jr. "Chiang Kai Shek." Encyclopedia of Asian History.

Ed. Ainslee T. Embree. Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1988.

A government publication

United States Dept. of Labor. Bureau of Statistics. "Dictionary of Occupational

Titles." 4th ed. Washington: GPO, 1977.

A radio or television program

"The First American." Narr. Hugh Downs. Writ. and prod. Craig Fisher.

NBC News Special. KNBC, Los Angeles. 21 Mar. 1968.

Electronic Sources

Periodical information on CD-ROM

A source from NEWSBANK

McCullough, Peggy. "Juvenile Drug Use Prompts Test Push." (Memphis, TN)

The Commercial Appeal. 15 Jan. 1987. Newsbank: Health (1987):

fiche 3, grid G2.

A source from NY Times Ondisc

Angier, Natalie. "Chemists Learn Why Vegetables Are Good for You."

New York Times 13 Apr. 1993, late ed.: C1. New York Times Ondisc.

CD-ROM. UMI-Proquest Oct. 1993.

A source from Information Access

Shearson Lehman Brothers, Inc. "Reebok: Company Report." 29 July 1993.

General Business File. CD-ROM. Information Access. Dec. 1993.

A Source from InfoTrac

Anderson, George M. "Organizing Against the Death Penalty." America 3 Jan. 1988: 10+.

InfoTrac: Student Edition. CD-ROM. Gale Group. Nov. 2000

A Source from SIRS

Paliokas, Kathleen. "Trying Uniforms on for Size." American School Board Journal

May 1996: 33-35. School. Vol. 2. Art. 46. SIRS Researcher. CD-ROM.

SIRS. Inc., 1999

Other Electronic Sources

E-mail

Danford, Tom. "Monday Greetings." E-mail to Terry Craig. 13 Sept. 1993.

Newsgroup Posting

Shaumann, Thomas Michael. "Re: Technical German." 5 Aug. 1994.

Online posting. Newsgroup comp.edu.languages.natural.natural. 7 Sept. 1994.

Material accessed through a computer service

Guidelines for Family Television Viewing. Urbana: ERIC Clearinghouse

on Elementary and Early Childhood Educ., 1990.

ERIC. Online. BRS. 22 Nov. 1993.

"Foreign Weather: European Cities." Accu-Data. Online. Dow Jones

News Retrieval. 20 Aug. 1993.

Web site - Article in an Online Newspaper, Magazine or Newswire

"Endangered Species Act Upheld." AP Online. 22 June 1998. 5 Dec. 1999

Note: the first date in an online entry, if it is available, is the "date published" and the second date is the date accessed. If there is only one date listed it is assumed it is the date accessed.

Web site - Information directly from a home page

The Hemlock Society. 14 Dec. 1999 <

Web site - Information on a section of a site with a link from the home page

Miller, David. "Abolition of Slavery." SocialStudiesHelpCenter. 26 Jan. 2001. 29 Jan. 2001.

"NYCLU Opposes Internet Censorship in the Schools." NYCLU, New York Civil

Liberties Union. 9 Nov. 1999. 21 Dec. 1999 <

Style and Other Hints

Make sure your grammar, punctuation and spelling is perfect. Have someone else read and proofread your paper for you. We often do not see our own mistakes.
Make sure you answer your thesis, stay organized and make sense!
Never use "I" or write in the first person. Always write in the third person.
Never begin a sentence with "because," "and," "however," or other linking words.
Do not wait for the last minute. Your research will be shoddy and your presentation poor.
Use a computer word processor. The enable you to be neat and to make changes. If you don't have one start early so you can use the computers available at school.
Keep your paper on disk so that you can make changes and store the disk in a safe place. You may even want to have a copy of the disk for security.
Make sure you organize yourself when writing the paper. Keep your notes together with the bibliographic information you will need. You don't want to forget where you found your information.
Do not throw anything away until after your paper has been returned, you may need to defend yourself against plagiarism.
Do a professional job, my expectations are very high!
Putting together a research paper is like a puzzle. You have to fit together all of your research, quotes and paraphrases into a well organized document.