Writing Research Papers: A Complete Guide Book

1. Finding A Topic.
Generating Ideas for a Research Paper Project.
Using a Computer Search to Discover a Topic.
Using Printed Materials to Discover and Evaluate a Topic.
Drafting a Research Proposal.
Narrowing the General Subject to a Specific Topic.

2. Gathering Data.
Learning the Organization of Your Library.
Developing a Working Bibliography.
The Electronic Library: Using a Computer Search.
Using the Printed Bibliographies, Indexes, and Catalogs.
Searching the Printed Indexes.
Searching the Indexes to Government Documents.
Searching for Essays within Books.
Using the Microforms.
Using the Printed Catalog Cards.
Collecting Data Outside the Library.

3. Organizing Ideas And Setting Goals.
Charting a Direction and Setting Goals.
Using Academic Models (Paradigms) to Stimulate Your Note-taking.
Writing a Formal Outline.

4. Finding And Reading The Best Sources.
Finding the Best Source Materials.
Reading All or Part of a Source.
Responding to the Sources.
Selecting a Mix of Both Primary and Secondary Sources.
Preparing an Annotated Bibliography.
Preparing a Review of the Literature on a Topic.

5. Writing Notes.
Creating Effective Notes.
Writing Personal Notes.
Writing Direct Quotation Note Cards.
Writing Paraphrased Notes.
Writing Summary Notes.
Writing Précis Notes.
Writing Notes from Field Research.
Avoiding Plagiarism.

6. Writing The Paper.
Writing a Final Thesis Sentence.
Writing a Title.
Understanding your Purpose and your Role as a Writer.
Drafting the Paper from Your Notes and Outline.
Writing the Introduction of the Paper.
Writing the Body of the Research Paper.
Writing the Conclusion of the Research Paper.
Revising the Rough Draft.
Editing before Typing or Printing the Final Manuscript.
Proofreading Before the Final Computer Printout.

7. Blending Reference Material Into Your Writing.
Blending a Reference into Your Text.
Citing a Source When No Author Is Listed.
Identifying Unprinted Sources That Have No Page Number.
Identifying Internet Sources.
Establishing the Credibility of the Source.
Citing Indirect Sources.
Citing Frequent Page References to the Same Work.
Citing Material from Textbooks and Large Anthologies.
Adding Extra Information to In-text Citations.
Punctuating Citations Properly and With Consistency.
Indenting Long Quotations.
Citing Poetry.
Altering Initial Capitals in Some Quoted Matter.
Omitting Quoted Matter with Ellipsis Points.
Altering Quotations with Parentheses and Brackets.

8. Handling Format.
Preparing the Final Manuscript in MLA Style.
GLOSSARY: Techniques for Preparing the Manuscript in MLA Style.
Sample Paper: A Short Essay with Documentation.
Sample Paper: A Formal Research Paper.

9. Works Cited: MLA Style.
Formatting the "Works Cited" Page.
Bibliography Form-Periodicals.
Bibliography Form: Newspapers.
Bibliography Form-Government Documents.
Electronic Sources (CD-ROM, Internet, E-mail, Data Bases).
Bibliography Form-Other Sources.

10. Writing In Apa Style.
Writing in the Proper Tense for an APA Styled Paper.
Using In-text Citations in APA Style.
Preparing a Working Draft or Publishing the Manuscript.
Preparing the List of References.
Writing the abstract.
Sample Paper in APA Style.

11. Form And Style For Other Disciplines.
Using The Name and Year System.
Using the Number System.
Using the Footnote System.

Appendix A: Reference Sources.

Appendix B: Finding Internet Sources For A Selected Discipline.

Index.