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This page intentionally left blank Laurie Rozakis, Ph.D.
The State University of New York Farmingdale State College New York Chicago San Francisco Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City Milan New Delhi San Juan Seoul Singapore Sydney Toronto

Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Manufacturedin the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means,or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: 0-07-148848-0.
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Definition of the Research Paper What are the Qualities of a Good Research Paper? Sample Schedules Chapter 2—How Do I Choose a Subject for
My Research Paper?
Step 1: Brainstorm Subjects Start with Your Own Ideas and Interests Consult Experts for Subjects Step 2: Consider Your Parameters Step 3: Evaluate Subjects Chapter 3—How Do I Narrow My Subject into
a Research Topic? (and Why!)
Subject vs. Topic Shaping Your Ideas Further Examples Chapter 4—How Do I Write a Thesis Statement?
Draft a Thesis Statement Sample Thesis Statements DOING RESEARCH
Chapter 5—How Can I Find the Information
The Information Explosion Primary and Secondary Sources Secondary Sources Basic Search Strategy Checklist of Sources Chapter 6—How Do I Use Online Sources?
Searching the Web Databases 47Wikipedia 49Newsgroups 50E-mail 50 Great Places on the Web Hints for Searching on the Internet Chapter 7—How Do I Use Books for
My Research Paper?
Classification of Books Dewey Decimal Classification System Library of Congress Classification System Finding Books on the Shelves Using Subject, Title, and Author Searches Useful Books to Consider Chapter 8—What Other Sources Can I Use
for My Research Paper?
Periodicals: Newspapers/Magazines and Journals Original Research Interviews 64Surveys 65 Audiovisual Sources Other Sources of Information Government Documents Pamphlets 67Special Collections Chapter 9—How Do I Track My Research?
Making Bibliography Cards Bibliography Cards Electronic Sources Periodicals 71Books 71Interviews 72 Creating Bibliography Cards Developing a Working Bibliography Developing an Annotated Bibliography Chapter 10—How Do I Evaluate Sources?
Misrepresentation 79 Appropriateness 80 A Special Note on Evaluating Internet Sources Header, Body, and Footer Additional Resources Chapter 11—How Do I Take Notes on My Sources?
Reading for Research Overall Guidelines Note-Taking Methods Taking Direct Quotations Summarizing 89Paraphrasing 90 Chapter 12—How Do I Outline—and Why?
Why Create an Outline How to Create an Outline Form of an Outline Types of Outlines Chapter 13—What Writing Style Do I Use?
Audience 102Purpose 102Tone 103 The Basics of Research Paper Style Words 103Sentences 105Punctuation 105 Writing the Introduction Statement Used as an Introduction Anecdote Used as an Introduction Statistics Used as an Introduction Question Used as an Introduction Quotation Used as an Introduction Chapter 14—How Do I Use My Source
Material?
Use Cue Words and Phrases Document the Material Use the Material to Make Your Point Showing the Material Has Been Cut Who Gets Credit? Setting Off Long Quotations Chapter 15—What is Plagiarism—and How Do I
Avoid It? 117
What Is Plagiarism? 117 Plagiarism Detection Programs 118 Buying Research Papers 118 How Do I Avoid Plagiarism? 119 Document Quotations 119Document Opinions 120Document Paraphrases 120Understand the Difference Between Facts vs. Common Knowledge 121 Example of Carefully Documented Research Paper 122 Chapter 16—How Do I Use MLA Internal
Chapter 17—How Do I Use Footnotes
and Endnotes? 131
What Are Footnotes and Endnotes? 131 Why Use Footnotes and Endnotes? 132 Using Footnotes/Endnotes to Document Sources 133Using Footnotes/Endnotes to Add Observations and Comments 133 Guidelines for Using Footnotes/Endnotes 134 Footnote and Endnote Format 135 Citing Books 135Citing Periodicals 135Citing Government Documents 136Citing Internet Sources 136Citing Lectures or Speeches 137Citing Interviews 137Citing Television or Radio Shows 137 Chapter 18—How Do I Create a Works Cited Page? 139
MLA Citation Format 139 Citing Internet Sources 140Citing Books 141Citing Periodicals 143Citing Pamphlets 144Citing Government Documents 144Citing Lectures or Speeches 144 Citing Interviews Citing Television or Radio Shows Chapter 19—How Do I Present My Research Paper? 147
Table of Contents Foreword and Preface Visuals 149Glossary 150 Presentation Format Additional Guidelines WRITING THE FINAL COPY
Chapter 20—How Do I Revise, Edit, and Proofread? 155
Correcting Misused Words The 60 Most Often Confused Words Proofreading Symbols Chapter 21—Model Papers
Model #1: Prozac and Other SSRIs: Salvation or Model #2: Comics and History Schaum's Quick Guide to Writing Great Research Papers This page intentionally left blank Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. This page intentionally left blank Research is a way of life dedicated to discovery. Few of us are ever going to become professional researchers,but all of us will find times when research is indispensable toour lives. Whether you're looking for information about acar's safety record, a community's schools, or a company'sstocks, you'll need to know how to gather, sort, and track thefacts and opinions available to you.
That's why you need to know how to do a research paper. A research paper is such a useful and efficient methodof gathering and presenting reliable information that prepar-ing one is frequently assigned in high school, college, andgraduate school. It shows your instructor that you can gather,evaluate, and synthesize information—in short, that you canthink.
In addition, research papers are often important in busi- ness, especially in fast-changing fields where facts and opinionsmust be sorted. These businesses include law, manufacturing,retailing, security, fashion, computer technology, banking,insurance, and accounting.
A research paper presents and argues a thesis, the writer'sproposition or opinion. It is an analytical or persuasive essay Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. that evaluates a position. As such, a research paper tries toconvince readers that the writer's argument is valid or at leastdeserves serious consideration. Therefore, a research paperrequires the writer to be creative in using facts, details, exam-ples, and opinions to support a point. The writer has to beoriginal and inventive in deciding what facts will best sup-port the thesis and which ones are superfluous.
When you write a research paper, you have to read what various recognized authorities have written about the topicand then write an essay in which you draw your own con-clusions about the topic. Since your thesis is fresh and origi-nal, you won't be able to merely summarize what someoneelse has written. Instead, you'll have to synthesize informa-tion from many different sources to create something that isyour own.
A research paper is not just a collection of facts on a topic a summary of information from one or more sources merely reporting what others have said expository or descriptive For example, here is how typical college-level topics could be developed for research papers.
Not Suitable for a Research Suitable for a Research Paper Because It Doesn't Paper Because It Argues a Point Argue a Point A flat tax should replace our Survey of different current system of graduated methods of taxation rates of taxation.
Standardized tests are an Different types of accurate measure of success standardized tests Year-round school will raise Survey of topics taught in secondary schools Thomas Hardy is the Chronology of Hardy's greatest English novelist of No matter what the topic or length, all effective researchpapers meet the following ten criteria: 1. Successful papers stay tightly focused on their thesis, the point they are arguing. 2. The paper shows that the writer has a strong understand- ing of the topic and source material used.
3. The paper shows that the writer has read widely on the topic, including the works of recognized authorities in the field.
4. The paper includes an acknowledgement of the opposi- tion but shows why the point being argued is more valid. 5. Proof for the paper's thesis is organized in a clear and logical 6. Each point is supported by solid, persuasive facts and by 7. The work is original, not plagiarized. Every outside source is carefully documented.
8. All supporting material used in preparation of the paper can be verified.
9. The paper follows a specific format, including the use of correct documentation and a Works Cited page.
10. The paper uses standard written English. This is the level of diction and usage expected of educated people in highschools, colleges, universities, and work settings.
Whether you're writing a research paper as a class assignmentor as part of a work-related assignment, the odds are verygood that you're not going to have all the time you want. Innearly every case, you'll be working against a deadline. You'llhave to produce a paper of a certain length by a certain date.
Since you're working under pressure within narrow con- straints, it's important to know how to allocate your time from the very beginning of the process. In fact, one of themost challenging aspects of writing a research paper is plan-ning your time effectively. You don't want to end up spend-ing the night before the paper is due downloading inferiormaterial from second-rate Web sites and keyboarding untilyou're bleary-eyed. Your paper will be a disaster—and you'llbe wiped out for days.
No one deliberately plans to leave work to the last minute, but few novice writers (and even some more experi-enced ones!) realize how much time it takes to select a topic,find information, read and digest it, take notes, and write suc-cessive drafts of the paper. This is especially true when you'refaced with all the other pressures of school and work. No onecan produce a good research paper without adequate time.
That's why it is crucial to allocate your time carefully from the day you get the assignment. Before you plunge intothe process, start by making a plan. Below are some plans toget you started. Each plan assumes a five-day workweek, soyou can relax on the weekends. Notice that the last step is "wiggle room." When it comes to any major project such as a research paper, things can oftengo wrong. Perhaps the authoritative book you really need is outof the library and it will take too long to get it from anotherlibrary, so you'll have to rely more heavily on other sources,which means more time doing research than you had countedon. Or maybe you lost some of your bibliography cards, thedog ate your rough draft, or your hard drive crashed.
Several sample schedules for different time periods are given below.
4-Week Plan (20 Days)
If you have 4 weeks (20 days) in which to complete a researchpaper.
1. Selecting a subject 2. Narrowing the subject into a topic 3. Crafting a thesis statement 4. Doing preliminary research 6. Creating an outline 7. Writing the first draft 8. Finding additional sources 9. Integrating source materials 10. Using internal documentation 11. Creating a Works Cited page 12. Writing front matter/end matter 13. Revising, editing, proofreading 6-Week Plan (30 Days)
If you have 6 weeks (30 days) in which to complete a researchpaper.
1. Selecting a subject 2. Narrowing the subject into a topic 3. Crafting a thesis statement 4. Doing preliminary research 6. Creating an outline 7. Writing the first draft 8. Finding additional sources 9. Integrating source materials 10. Using internal documentation 11. Creating a Works Cited page 12. Writing front matter/end matter 13. Revising, editing, proofreading 8-Week Plan (40 Days)
If you have 8 weeks (40 days) in which to complete a researchpaper.
1. Selecting a subject 2. Narrowing the subject into a topic 3. Crafting a thesis statement 4. Doing preliminary research 6. Creating an outline 7. Writing the first draft 8. Finding additional sources 9. Integrating source materials 10. Using internal documentation 11. Creating a Works Cited page 12. Writing front matter/end matter 13. Revising, editing, proofreading 12-Week Plan (60 Days)
If you have 12 weeks (60 days) in which to complete a researchpaper, remember that longer is not necessarily better. With along lead time, it's very tempting to leave the assignment to thelast minute. After all, you do have plenty of time. But "plenty oftime" has a way of evaporating fast. In many instances, it'sactually easier to have less time in which to write a researchpaper, because you know that you're under pressure to produce.
If you have 12 weeks (60 days) in which to complete a research paper.
1. Selecting a subject 2. Narrowing the subject into a topic 3. Crafting a thesis statement 4. Doing preliminary research 6. Creating an outline 7. Writing the first draft 8. Finding additional sources 9. Integrating source materials 10. Using internal documentation 11. Creating a Works Cited page 12. Writing front matter/end matter 13. Revising, editing, proofreading Writing is no trouble: you just jot down ideas as they occur to you. The jotting is simplicity itself—it is the occurring which is difficult. —STEPHEN LEACOCK This book presents a clear, effective, and proven way to writea fine research paper. The steps are arranged in chronologicalorder, from start to finish. Be aware, however, that writersrarely move in such neat steps. While it is strongly recom-mended that you follow the steps in order, don't worry if youfind yourself repeating a step, doing two steps at the sametime, or skipping a step and then returning to it.
For example, let's say that you choose a subject, narrow it to a topic, and create a thesis statement. Then you set offto find the information you need. Once you start looking atsources, however, you discover that there is too much mate-rial on the topic or not enough material on the topic. In thiscase, you might go back to the previous step and rework yourthesis to accommodate your findings and the new directionyour work has taken. Of course, you always have the optionof sticking with your original thesis and creating the researchmaterial you need. More on this in Chapter 7.
Here's another common occurrence. You think you have found all the material you need and so you start writing. But Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. part way through your first draft, you find that you're miss-ing a key piece of information, a crucial fact, an essentialdetail. To plug the hole, you'll go back and find the material—even though you are, in effect, repeating a step in the process.
That's fine.
The process presented in this book is effective, but remem- ber that one size may not fit all. As a result, you may find your-self adapting the information here to fit your particular writingstyle. Now, turn to the first step in the process of writing aresearch paper, selecting a subject. The subject of a research paper is the general content.
Subjects are broad and general.
Sometimes, your teacher, professor, or supervisor will assignthe subject for your research paper. In these cases, you usu-ally have very little choice about what you will write. Youmay be able to stretch the subject a bit around the edges ortweak it to fit your specific interests, but most often you willhave to follow the assignment precisely as it was given. To dootherwise means risking failure, since the instructor was pre-cise in the assignment.
However, in other cases, you will be instructed to develop the subject and topic on your own. Very often, this is part ofthe research paper process itself, for it teaches you to generateideas and evaluate them. It helps you learn valuable decision-making skills in addition to writing and research methods.
Choosing a subject for a research paper calls for good judgment and solid decision-making skills. Experienced writ-ers know that the success or failure of a research paper oftendepends on the subject; even the best writers find it difficult(if not impossible) to create a winning paper around anunsuitable subject.
The right subject can make your paper; the wrong one can break it. Unsuitable subjects share one or more of the fol-lowing characteristics: They cannot be completed within the time allocated.
They cannot be researched since the material does not exist.
They do not persuade since they are expository ornarrative.
They are trite, boring, or hackneyed.
They are inappropriate, offensive, or vulgar.
Nearly every subject can be researched, but not everysubject should be researched.
There are a number of reasons for this. For example, why bother researching a subject that many others have donebefore you? Trite, shopworn, and boring subjects often lead totrite, shopworn, and boring research papers. Give yourself (andyour teacher) a break by starting with a fresh, exciting subject.
As a result, it's important to think through a subject completely before you rush into research and writing. Inaddition, your writing will be better if your subject is suitablefor your readers and purpose.
Where can you get ideas for research paper subjects? You have two main sources: yourself or outside experts. Let'sstart with what you already know.
START WITH YOUR OWN IDEAS AND INTERESTS
All writing begins with thinking. When you come up with a subject for a research paper, as with any other writingassignment, you must draw upon yourself as a source. Allwriters depend on their storehouse of experience—every-thing they have seen, heard, read, and even dreamed. People often worry that they have nothing to write about, especially when it comes to a mammoth project suchas a research paper. Often, however, you know far more thanyou are willing to give yourself credit for. Your task? To dis-cover which of your ideas will be most suitable for theresearch paper you have to do now. Below are some proventechniques for generating subjects.
Since not every method works for every writer, experi- ment with these techniques to find the one or ones that suityour writing style. And even if one method works very wellfor you, don't be afraid to try other ones. They may uncoverstill other possible subjects for your research paper.
1. Keep an idea book. Many professional writers keep an
"idea book" as a place where they can store their ideasand let them incubate. You don't have to be a profes-sional writer to use an idea book; it works equally well fornovice writers. Think of this as a scrapbook rather than asa diary or journal. Here are some items that can serve asthe seeds for a great research paper: • newspaper clippings • magazine articles • personal letters • other visuals 2. List ideas. You can also brainstorm ideas for possible
subjects. This method allows you to come up with manyideas fast because you're writing words, not sentences orparagraphs. To use this method, number from 1 to 10 andjot down any ideas you have for research paper subjects.
Here's a sample:1. immigration 6. Affirmative Action 2. vegetarianism 3. eating disorders 8. censorship of novels 4. sport utility vehicles 9. Salem witchcraft trials 5. sealed adoption records 3. Make a web. Webbing, also called "clustering" or "map-
ping," is a visual way of sparking ideas for subjects. Sincea web looks very different from a paragraph or list, manywriters find that it frees their mind to roam over a widervariety of ideas.
When you create a web, first write your subject in thecenter of a page. Draw a circle around it. Next draw linesradiating from the center and circles at the end of eachline. Write an idea in each circle. Here's a model: Bilingual education Children and day-care Research paper subjects Medical malpractice Hamlet and revenge Teenage curfew laws 4. Draw visuals. A web is only one type of visual format;
there are many other visuals that you can use to generateideas for research paper subjects. Charts work especiallywell for some people; Venn diagrams or story charts forothers. Experiment with different visual formats untilyou find which ones work best for you in each writingsituation. 5. Use the 5 Ws and H. The "5 Ws and H" stand for who,
what, when, where, why, and how. They are also called "TheJournalist's Questions" because they appear in the firstparagraph (the "lead") of every news story. Asking thesequestions forces you to approach a subject from severaldifferent angles. Many people find this approach usefulfor starting highly detailed papers.
6. Freewrite. Freewriting is nonstop writing that helps jog
your memory and release hidden ideas. When youfreewrite, you jot down whatever comes to mind withoutworrying about spelling, punctuation, grammar, or style.
Select the method of composition that allows you tofreewrite most quickly: keyboarding or longhand. The key to freewriting is letting your mind roam and seeingwhat subjects it uncovers.
7. Read. Reading widely can help you come up with great
research paper topics. Try different genres to get ideas.
Don't restrict yourself. Here are some possibilities: • short stories • professional journals • critical reviews • autobiographies • plays and drama CONSULT EXPERTS FOR SUBJECTS
Can't come up with anything you like? Why not consult outside experts? In addition to speaking to people who havewritten research papers, check with the teachers, parents, andprofessionals you know. Doctors, lawyers, accountants, realestate salespeople, computer programmers, and other busi-ness people are all excellent sources for ideas.
If you are asked to develop your own subject for a researchpaper, how can you decide which of the subjects you havebrainstormed shows the most promise? Start with these fourguidelines: 1. Time. The amount of time you have to write influences
every writing situation, but especially when it comes towriting a research paper. Since there are so many aspectsof this situation that are out of your control—such asavailability of research materials—it is critical that youselect a subject that you can complete in the time youhave been allotted.
2. Length. The length of the paper is also a factor in your
choice of subjects. It will obviously take you much longer towrite a 50-page research paper than it will to write a 10-pageresearch paper. Weigh this consideration as you select a subject. The shorter the paper and the longer the timeyou have to write, the more leeway you have to select achallenging subject.
3. Research. The type of research you use also determines
the subject you select. For instance, if your assignmentspecifies that you use primary sources, such as letters,interviews, and eyewitness accounts, you might notwish to do a paper on Shakespeare, since there are rela-tively few primary sources available and they are diffi-cult to read. Conversely, if your assignment specifiesthat you use secondary sources such as critical reviews,a paper on one of Shakespeare's plays would be verysuitable.
4. Sources. The number of sources you must use and their
availability is also a factor in your choice of a subject. Ifyou have access to a major university library with a mil-lion or more volumes and extensive free databases, you'reprobably going to find the material you need. But if youdon't have an extensive library in your area or access tohigh-quality databases, it might be much harder for youto get the secondary material you need. In this case, youmight want to consider a subject that requires more pri-mary sources such as experiments, interviews, and surveys.
See Chapter 5 for a full discussion of primary and secondarysources.
You shouldn't select a subject hastily, but neither should youspend too much time sifting through ideas. Here are sixguidelines to make the process easier: 1. Consider your purpose. With a research paper, your
purpose is to convince. Persuasive writing succeeds inlarge part because it has such a clear sense of purpose.
Keep your purpose in mind as you weigh the suitability ofvarious subjects. If you can't slant the subject to be per-suasive, it isn't a good choice for a research paper.
2. Focus on your audience. As you select a subject,
always focus on your audience—the person or people whowill be reading your paper. Always remember that you'rewriting for a specific audience. Tailor your subject to suityour audience's expectations and requirements. Don'tselect a subject that condescends to your readers, offendsthem, or panders to them. Don't try to shock them,either—it always backfires.
3. Select a subject you like. If you have a choice, try to
select a subject that interests you. Since you will be work-ing with the subject for weeks and even months, you willfind the process of writing your research paper muchmore enjoyable if you like the subject matter you haveselected.
Start with hobbies, sports, favorite courses, career plans,and part-time jobs. For example, if you're interested incomputers, you may wish to persuade your readers of thenegative effects of computers on children. You mightargue that we are raising a generation of sedentary chil-dren as a result of an over-emphasis on computer skillsand the abundance of computer games. School courses can also be an excellent source of topicsfor your research paper. If your favorite class is physicaleducation, consider a persuasive paper related to the sub-ject. For instance, persuade your readers that physicaleducation classes should be mandatory in grades K–12.
What happens if you have been assigned a subject youdetest? See if you can find an aspect of the subject thatyou like. Of course, always check all changes with yourinstructor before you begin to write.
4. Be practical. Even though you want to choose a subject
that appeals to you, look for subjects that have sufficientinformation available, but not so much information thatyou can't possibly read it all. Writing a research paper ischallenging enough without making the task that muchharder for yourself. For instance, avoid research papers onthe entire Civil War, U.S. transportation system, or modern American literature. These subjects are simply too vast tobe covered in a research paper; they require a book-lengthdissertation.
5. Beware of "hot" subjects. "Hot" subjects—very
timely, popular issues—often lack the expert attentionthat leads to reliable information. The web pages, books,articles, and interviews on such subjects have often beenproduced in great haste. As a result, they are not carefullyfact-checked. In addition, such research papers get stalevery quickly—sometimes, the issue can seem dated evenbefore you finish writing the paper.
The media can be an excellent source of research papersubjects, especially newspapers, magazines, radio shows,and web sites. But rather than focusing on the side every-one else sees, probe a little deeper for the story behind thestory. This can help you avoid getting trapped in a subjectthat's here today but gone tomorrow.
6. Recognize that not all questions have answers.
When you write a research paper, you are attempting tofind an answer to the question you have posed or the onethat has been given to you. Remember that not allresearch questions lead to definitive answers. Rather,many questions invite informed opinions based on theevidence you have gathered from research. Dealing withquestions that don't have definitive answers can makeyour paper provocative and intriguing.
Now that you have learned how to choose a subject, we'll turn to the crucial issues of narrowing the subject to atopic. You will discover why this is such a crucial step in asuccessful research paper.
This page intentionally left blank Writing is just having a sheet of paper, a pen, and not a shadow of an idea of what you're going to say. —FRANCOISE SAGAN In virtually all cases, your next step is narrowing the subjectyou have chosen into a topic. This means you find smalleraspects within the subject to be your topic and the basis ofyour research paper. For instance, sometimes you choose orare assigned a subject that is very broad. How can you dealwith this challenge? You narrow the subject into a topic.
Other times, the subject is the appropriate scope, but notargumentative. In this case as well, you must narrow thesubject into a topic that can be argued. In this chapter, you'lllearn how to narrow your subject into a research topic.
First, review the difference between a subject and a topic.
Recall that a subject of a research paper is the general content.
As you learned in Chapter 2, subjects are broad and general. Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. Examples of possible subjects for a research paper:
• Revolutionary War • Charles Dickens • genetic engineering of foods • foreign policy • big box stores The topic of a research paper is the specific issue beingdiscussed.
The topic of a research paper, in contrast, is the specific issue being discussed. The following chart shows some sub-jects narrowed into topics for a research paper: If zoos are cruel rather than educational If testing medical procedures/drugs onanimals should be increased or decreased If K–12 school should be year-roundIf advanced placement high schoolclasses should be eliminated If English should be America‘s officiallanguageIf bilingual education is valid If casino gambling should be madeillegal in the United StatesWhether compulsive gambling is adisease, not a moral weakness Whether the government should increasefunding for rare, so-called "orphan"diseasesIf hepatitis testing should be mandatedfor all healthcare workers If the Electoral College should beabolishedIf voting should be mandatory Every time you narrow a subject into a topic, remember yourboundaries and parameters: time, length, audience, and pur-pose. Keep all other special considerations in mind as well.
Always consider what you can handle within the restrictionsyou have been given—as well as what you would most enjoywriting about for several weeks or months. Follow theseguidelines: 1. Start with a general subject that interests you and fits the parameters of the assignment.
2. Phrase the subject as a question.
3. Brainstorm subdivisions of the subject to create topics.
4. Consult different sources for possible subtopics. Possibilities include the Internet, card catalog, reference books, maga-zines, friends, and the media.
5. Sift the ideas until you find one that suits the assignment, audience, and your preferences.
6. Write your final topic as a question.
Below is the process that Samantha followed to narrow a subject into a topic. Samantha wanted to write a researchpaper on some aspect of television, a very broad subject.
By looking through the Internet, skimming the card cat- alog, talking to friends, watching television, and readingsome general interest newsmagazines that had articles on thesubject, Samantha came up with these ideas: What do I want to find out abouttelevision? Television as "vast wasteland"Television as "chewing gum for the mind"Children and televisionEducational televisionCable televisionTelevision documentariesGolden Age of televisionTelevision and ethnic stereotypesSex and violence on television Amount of television watched andits effectTabloid television Reading over the list, Samantha realized that some of her ideas were still very broad. For example, "children andtelevision" is large enough to be the subject of a book—or aseries of books. The same is true of "television documen-taries," "Golden Age of television," and "cable television." Further, even narrowing down some of these topics might not lead to persuasive essays. "Cable television," for instance,seems better suited to an expository essay that explains the his-tory of the field, its impact on viewers, and so on.
One evening, Samantha was watching reruns of a chil- dren's educational television show she had loved years agowhen the idea came to her: Is educational television really edu-cational? Maybe educational television was indeed beneficialin teaching numbers, letters, and other necessary content—or perhaps it affected children negatively.
Now Samantha had her narrowed topic and could con- tinue with the next step, writing a thesis statement. This iscovered in the next chapter.
Here are some additional examples to study: Whether all boaters should be requiredto earn a license If eating disorders such as anorexia andbulimia are caused by the media'semphasis on appearance and weight Whether college education necessarilyprepares student to obtain a well-payingjob. And whether or not it should servethis function Whether intelligence is determined bynature or nurture If competitive sports, such as footballand basketball, are over-emphasized inAmerican culture Whether the Supreme Court is moreimportant than Congress in settingsocial policy Deciding on a suitable subject and narrowing it down to man-ageable proportions is crucial to the success of your researchpaper. How can you decide if you have correctly narrowedyour topic? Use this checklist every time you select a topic: 1. Is my topic too limited? Problem: Sometimes in your zeal to make the topicmore precise, you may narrow it so much thatyou don't have enough left to write about. Solution: Always remember how many pages youhave to fill—say, six pages (1500 words). The overlynarrow topic may be just right for a 350–500 wordessay, so save it for that assignment. Then find a topic that will fill the length required by the researchpaper assignment.
2. Is my topic still too broad? Problem: You may think you have narrowed yourtopic sufficiently, but it may still be too vast forthe assignment.
Solution: Check your sources. How many pages dothey devote to the topic? If it takes other writers abook to answer the question you have posed,your topic is still too big.
3. Is my topic too technical? Problem: The topic you have selected is highlytechnical and you don't have the background toaddress it.
Solution: Get a new topic. Unless you have thebackground you need for the topic, you're goingto end up spending most of your time filling inthe gaps in your knowledge. This is not the timeto teach yourself nuclear physics, calculus, orcomputer programming in C++.
4. Is my topic stale? Problem: Everyone seems to know everything aboutyour topic. Who wants to read another paper aboutlegalizing street drugs, euthanasia, or gun control?If your topic bores you before you've even startedwriting, you can bet it will bore your audience.
Solution: Get a new topic that is fresh and original.
A sparkling topic automatically gives you an edge,even if your writing is a little weak.
5. Is my topic too controversial? Problem: You fear that you are going to offendyour audience with a controversial topic such asabortion, gay marriage, or sex education.
Solution: Don't take the risk. Start with a new topicthat suits both your audience and purpose. Papersthat shock and offend take unnecessary risks.
6. Is my topic not controversial at all? Problem: If there's only one opinion about yourtopic or the vast majority of people think thesame way as you do, there's no point in arguingthe issue.
Solution: Since you can't argue two sides of the issueif your topic has only one side, get a new topic thatis controversial (without being offensive, of course).
7. Is the topic too new? Problem: If the topic is too recent, there may notbe sufficient information available yet to fill apaper on your specific subtopics.
Solution: Find a topic that affords you sufficientinformation to cover the issue thoroughly. 8. Do I like my topic enough to want to write a research paper on it?Problem: Your instructor likes your topic, your par-ents like your topic, your buddies like your topic.
Even your dog likes your topic. The problem? Youdon't like your topic.
Solution: You guessed it: Get a new topic.
In Chapter 4, you'll explore the next step in the process: writing a thesis statement. This is essential, for everythinghinges on your thesis.
This page intentionally left blank Writing is a deliberate act; one has to make up one's mind to do it. What do you want to discover through your research? Inwhat order will you present your ideas? An effective thesisstatement is designed to answer these questions. That'swhy once you have narrowed your topic, it's time to turnyour attention to your thesis statement. A thesis statementis the central point you are arguing in your research paper.
A thesis statement is the central point you are arguingin your research paper.
Here are the five basic requirements for a thesis statement: 1. It states the topic of the research paper, the main idea.
2. It shows the purpose of your essay; in this case, to per- suade your readers that your point is valid and deservesserious consideration.
3. It shows the direction in which your argument will pro- ceed. A good thesis statement implies (or states) the orderin which your ideas will be presented.
4. It is written in focused, specific language. 5. It is interesting, showing a clear voice and style.
Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. Since your thesis statement is the backbone of your paper, it's crucial to spend the time to craft exactly the thesisstatement you want and need. Here's how to do that.
What do you want to know about your subject? What ques-tions do you want answered? Start by listing topics and pos-sible subtopics.
Don't be afraid to make your list long, since your pur- pose at this point is to see how many subtopics you can gen-erate. In addition, you don't know how much informationyou can get on each of these subtopics. As a result, your listwill likely include specific details as well as broad topics.
Here's how one writer started writing a thesis statement for a research paper on the women's movement. Contemporary women and work High-quality educationAppropriate trainingPay gap between men and womenEnormous progress in workforceEconomic necessity for workWomen and the "second shift"Women's traditional rolesWomen taking "men's jobs"Personal satisfaction from workFight against discriminationThe "glass ceiling"Personal ambitionRestricted jobs/"women's work""Pink-collar jobs""White-collar jobs""Blue-collar jobs"Sexual harassment on the jobSexual stereotypes about womenIssue of child careWomen's movement By developing and refining your list of subtopics while you're forming your thesis statement, you won't lose timedoubling back. But keep in mind that this is a first step—nothing that you write is set in stone.
Having trouble? There are a number of computer soft- ware programs available that can help you with this step inyour research paper. You may wish to try one and see if itsuits your needs.
After you have narrowed your topic and drafted a list ofideas, you're ready to write a preliminary thesis statement.
How can you turn this list of subtopics into a thesis state-ment? Follow these guidelines: 1. Sort the ideas into categories.
2. Select the categories that you want to use.
3. Formulate your thesis around these categories.
4. Write your thesis as a declarative sentence, not a question.
5. Be open to revision.
Follow this pattern: (I expect to prove that) Make an assertion about your topic.
Example
Here's how one writer did it:
Contemporary women and work High-quality educationAppropriate training The "glass ceiling"Pay gap between men and women"Pink-collar jobs""White-collar jobs""Blue-collar jobs"Women taking "men's jobs"Restricted jobs/"women's work"Sexual harassment on the job Reasons women work
Personal satisfactionEconomic necessityAmbition Women and the "second shift" Women's traditional rolesSexual stereotypes about womenIssue of child care Possible Thesis Statements:
•
Women won't achieve true equality in the workforce untiloutmoded sexual stereotypes, discrimination, sexual harassment,and internal and external pressures are eliminated.
We've come a long way, baby, but women still face significantpressure and discrimination in the workforce.
With quality education and training, female workers can overcomethe discrimination and pressure they face in many jobs.
Despite pressure and discrimination, women have made greatstrides in the workforce.
The women's movement has been instrumental in eliminatingmuch of the discrimination and harassment women face onthe job.
Let's look at the first possible thesis statement developed with its main ideas: Example
Women won't achieve true equality in the workforce until outmoded
sexual stereotypes, discrimination, sexual harassment, and internal
and external pressures are eliminated.
Thesis: Women have yet to achieve equality in the workforce.
Main points in order:
1.
Discrimination must be eliminated.
Outmoded sexual stereotypes must be eliminated.
Sexual harassment must be eliminated.
Internal as well as external pressures must be eliminated.
Research may lead you to revise your thesis, even dis- prove it, but stating it upfront will point you in the directionof your investigation.
Many writers use models to help them shape and evaluatetheir work. Here are some sample thesis statements that youcan use as models for a paper of between 7 and 10 pages.
Compare these statements to the one you are writing: Too General
On Target
Bilingual education isn't Bilingual education should be eliminated because it limits students'success, burdens students unfairly,and isn't cost-effective.
Too Narrow
On Target
Bilingual education helps Bilingual education should be continued students maintain their because it preserves a students' heritage as well as their native language.
Too General
On Target
Rain forests must be preserved because they offer people many resources wecannot replace.
Too General
On Target
"The Yellow Wallpaper" is The wallpaper in "The Yellow Wallpaper" a great short story symbolizes the narrator's suffocating life.
Too Narrow
On Target
"Mothers Against Drunk Some programs designed to eliminate Driving" is an excellent drunk driving have been effective, but far more efforts are needed, especiallyconcerning teenager drunk driving.
Too Narrow
On Target
A flat tax would benefit the government, business, and consumers.
Too General
On Target
The cafeteria isn't The cafeteria could attract more business if it improved the quality ofits food, its appearance, and the attitudeof the staff.
Use this checklist to evaluate your thesis statement: 1. The thesis statement clearly states the main idea of my research paper.
2. The thesis statement indicates that I am writing a persuasive essay.
3. If the thesis statement is in response to an assign- ment, it fulfills the requirements and meets theparameters. 4. The thesis statement is the appropriate scope for the assignment, neither too broad nor too general.
5. From the thesis statement, readers can see the order in which my ideas will be presented.
6. The thesis statement uses specific language rather than vague, general terms.
7. The thesis statement is interesting, lively, intrigu- ing; it makes my audience want to read the entirepaper.
8. The thesis statement shows evidence of original thought and effort. The topic is fresh and worthmy effort to write.
Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. This page intentionally left blank The beginning of research is curiosity, its essence is discernment, and its goal is truth and justice. —ISAAC H. SATANOV We are living in the midst of the greatest explosion of infor-mation the world has ever seen. No other generation hasbeen blitzed by the avalanche of books, newspapers, maga-zines, journals, surveys, advertisements, videos, televisionshows, movies, maps, charts, graphs, CDs, and tapes that weencounter daily. And that doesn't take into account all theonline sources, including Web sites, electronic bulletinboards, Listservs, blogs, newsgroups, and e-mail. More infor-mation has been produced in the last fifty years than in theprevious five thousand. Consider these facts about the amount of information available to us today: Fifty thousand books and ten thousand magazines arepublished every year in America alone.
Every day, seven thousand scientific studies are written.
Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. One daily edition of the New York Times contains moreinformation than an educated person in the sixteenthcentury absorbed in his or her entire life.
The amount of information produced doubles every two years.
There is so much information that the huge Library of Congress in Washington D.C. has converted and stored all theimportant information it contains into digital form, "TheAmerican Memory." All new information is added to the col-lection as it is acquired. The information includes written andspoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images,prints, maps, and sheet music that document the Americanexperience—millions of pieces of information. Futurists predictthat this onslaught of information will only increase.
What impact do these facts have on you as you prepare your research paper? All the information you need is proba-bly available, but you must know how to locate and sort theuseful facts from the useless ones. And with so much outthere, knowing how to do research can save you many frus-trating hours. Start this process by examining the differentkinds of material you can find.
All research can be sorted into two categories: primary sourcesand secondary sources. It is important to know the distinctionbetween these two types of sources because they affect howyou gather research. Primary sources are those created by direct observation.
The writers were participants or observers in the events theydescribe. Primary sources include: eyewitness accounts historical records photos taken at the scene maps prepared by direct Secondary sources were written by people with indirect knowledge. These writers relied on primary sources or other sec-ondary sources for their information. Secondary sources include: books written by nonparticipants critical analyses government documents literary criticism Primary sources are not necessarily better (or worse) than secondary sources.
provide facts and viewpoints that may not be availablefrom other sources; often have an immediacy and freshness that secondarysources lack; may be affected by the author's bias.
may offer a broader perspective than primary sources; tend to be less immediate than primary sources; may be affected by the author's bias.
Most effective research papers often use a mix of both pri- mary and secondary sources. For example, a research paper onthe history of comic books might include primary sources suchas interviews with industry editors, artists, and writers as well astheir blogs. The writer will also use secondary sources such as web pages, books, magazine articles, and newspaper articles onthe subject. This model research paper appears in Chapter 20.
Other topics, in contrast, require more of one type of source material more than the other. A research paper on landuse will likely draw data mainly from secondary sources. A paperon bilingual education might use mainly primary sources.
Always check with your instructor before you start your research to see if you must use a specific mix of primary andsecondary sources.
You will need to evaluate each source individually, whether it is a primary source or a secondary source. This iscovered in detail in Chapter 10.
Before we get into how to use specific resources, let's coverthe general guidelines for research. The following suggestionscan make your task easier and less frustrating.
1. Use key words. Start by listing key words for your topic
that you'll use to search for sources. For example, keywords for a research paper on Charlotte Perkins Gilman's"The Yellow Wallpaper" might look like this:• Gilman, Charlotte Perkins (author) "The Yellow Wallpaper" (title) mental illness (a topic in the story) nineteenth-century medicine (another important topic) feminism (a movement that embraced this story) 2. Include related words. As you list your key words,
think of synonyms that you can use to expand or narrowyour search. For example, if the topic of your researchpaper is overcrowding in national parks, you might includesome of these synonyms:• national monuments Can't think of any synonyms or related terms for yourresearch topic? Check the Library of Congress Guide toSubject Headings. This set of reference books identifies thesubject headings used by the Library of Congress. It canhelp you find key words as well as related terms. 3. Learn the lingo. Nearly every research tool has an
abbreviation—or two. The Dictionary of Library Biography,for example, is abbreviated as DLB; Something About theAuthor is called SATA. You can learn the abbreviations forprint sources by checking the introduction or index. Foronline sources, check the Help screen.
4. Know your library. All libraries offer some special ser-
vices. Many libraries will get books, newspapers, andmagazines for you through interlibrary loans. While thereis rarely a charge for this service, it does take time—oftenas much as two to four weeks. See your reference librari-ans when you start researching so you know what specialservices are available, their cost (if any), and the timeinvolved. Be sure to know your library's hours. Of course,get a library card, if you don't have one already.
Also know which databases your library subscribes tobecause these proprietary databases contain informationthat you often cannot access from free sources. 5. Consult reference librarians. After reading this
guidebook, you should be able to locate nearly every ref-erence source you need on your own. Every once in awhile, however, you might get stumped. Maybe you'retired; perhaps you're in an unfamiliar library.
Whatever the reason, when you have a research questionthat you can't answer on your own, turn to the referencelibrarians. They are the experts on research methods andtheir job is to help you find what you need. In addition,they are very well educated. Most librarians in collegesand universities, for example, are required to have earnedtwo master's degrees, one in information retrieval meth-ods (library science) and one in a subject area (such asEnglish, history, math, and so on).
Many libraries now have live online librarians available24×7 so you can get your reference questions answeredeven if the library is closed. You can find this service onyour library's home page.
Click here to chat with a Icons such as this on yourlibrary's home page help youaccess a librarian even when thelibrary is closed.
The list below summarizes the different sources available.
Skim it now. As you research, return to the list to help youuse a range of sources. Almanacs Archival materials (rare books, charts, maps, and so on) Atlases Audiovisual materials Blogs Books Databases Dictionaries (online and print) E-books (electronic books) Encyclopedias (online and print) Essays Government documents (online and print) Indexes Interviews Magazines (online and print) Newspapers (online and print) Online databases Online card catalog Pamphlets Primary sources (letters, diaries, and so on) Reviews of books, movies, plays, and TV shows Surveys Web sites Yearbooks This page intentionally left blank You should always collect more material than you will eventually use, —WILLIAM ZINSSER Radio was around for nearly 40 years before 50 million peo-ple decided to tune in. Television was around for 13 yearsbefore 50 million viewers got hooked. It took 16 years for 50million people to buy PCs. How long did it take 50 millionpeople to use the Internet? Only 4 years. The Internet is indis-pensable for research, as millions have discovered. In thischapter, you'll explore some of the most effective techniquesfor researching on the Internet.
Unfortunately, the Web is not like a library where informa-tion has been arranged within an accepted set of rules. It'smore like a garage sale, where items of similar nature are usu-ally grouped together—but not always. As a result, you'll findtreasures side-by-side with trash. And like a garage sale, themethod of organization on the web shifts constantly.
So how can you search the web for information to use in your research paper? There are several different ways, each ofthem surprisingly easy. Here's how they work.
Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use.

A search engine is a computer program that finds infor- mation stored on a computer system such as the World WideWeb. (Search engines have also been designed for corporateand proprietary networks.) The search engine allows the userto ask for content meeting specific criteria and retrieves a listof references that match those criteria.
At the present time, Google is the world's most popular searchengine.
Search engines that work with keywords help you locate Web sites. You type in a keyword and the search engine auto-matically looks through its giant databases for matches. Themore specific the word or phrase, the better your chances offinding the precise information you need. For example, ifyou're interested in a college, don't use "college" as a keyword.
You'll get millions and millions of responses. Instead, name aspecific college, such as "Farmingdale State University." Thiswill send to you the precise web page you need.
Below are the most popular search engines and the dates Search Engine Search Engine Search Engine Webcrawler Infoseek Singingfish Teoma Info.com Objects Ask.com (rebranding of Most web search engines are commercial ventures sup- ported by advertising revenue; as a result, some allow adver-tisers to pay to have their listings ranked higher in searchresults. This makes your research more difficult and time-consuming because you have to sift through irrelevant infor-mation. Those search engines that don't charge for theirresults make money by running ads on their pages.
Since not all search engines lead to the same sources, youshould use more than one to find the information youneed for your research paper. Bookmark sources to whichyou want to return. You can also print out hard copies.
A database is a collection of related material stored in a computer in a systematic way so that a computer programcan consult it to answer questions. Libraries pay fees to sub-scribe to specialized databases. You can access these databasesin person in the library; increasingly, you can also accessthese databases for free off-site through the library's portal.
The information in these databases has been vetted, so theyprovide higher-quality information. A library's databasessaves you time, too, because you are not sifting through com-mercial sites, as you do with a search engine.
Subject Area ARTstor (high-resolution images of paintings,sculpture, photographs, architecture, andarchaeology) General Reference Center Gold- GaleBusiness and Company Resource CenterBusiness Source EliteBusiness Source PremierReference USABusiness & Company ASAPRegional Business News Gale Virtual Reference CenterGrolier SuiteFunk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia Health and Wellness Resource CenterMedlineAlternative Health ModuleHealth Source-Consumer EditionHealth Reference Center- Academic History Resource CenterHistory Reference Center Boon Review Index OnlineContemporary AuthorsScribner Writers SeriesTwayne Authors SeriesLiterature Resource Center EBSCOhostInfo Trac OneFileImage CollectionGeneral Reference Center GoldNew York TimesNew York Times Historical ArchiveNewsdayNewspaper Source NAXOS Music Library (online collection ofmusic in streaming media) Science and Technology McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science &TechnologyGeneral Science CollectionComputer Source Started in 2001, Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia.
Wikipedia is unique because it's written collaboratively byvolunteers, allowing most articles to be changed by almostanyone with access to the Web site. Currently, there are 229 language editions of Wikipedia, 16 of which have more than 50,000 articles each. Wikipediahas more than 5 million articles in many languages, includ-ing 1.5 million in English. Wikipedia ranks among the top 20most visited sites, and many of its pages have been adaptedby other sites, such as Answers.com.
A 2005 comparison by the science journal Nature of sec- tions of Wikipedia and the Encyclopedia Brittanica found thatthe two were close in terms of the accuracy of their articleson the natural sciences. Nonetheless, there are serious issuesover Wikipedia's reliability and accuracy, with the site receiv-ing criticism for the following problems: susceptibility to vandalism spoof (fake) articles questionable information uneven quality and inconsistency preference for popularity over credentials lack of proper sources to legitimize articles Wikipedia can be a valuable reference tool, but use it with care. Remember that the articles can be written by any-one: 80-year-old Ph.D.'s to 8-year-old cybergeeks.
Always verify all research information you find in at leasttwo sources.
Newsgroups comprise people interested in a specific topic who share information electronically. You can communicatewith them through a Listserv, an electronic mailing list forsubscribers interested in a specific topic, or through Usenet,special-interest newsgroups open to the public.
These sources allow you to keep up with the most recent developments in your area of research and may also pointyou to useful information and resources that could havetaken you a long time to find on your own. E-mail, electronic mail, lets you communicate electronically with specific people. Senders and receivers must have e-mailaddresses. There are specific programs that act as "phone books"to help you find the person you are looking for.
Below are some useful places to visit on the web as you beginyour research. Note: Every care has been taken to make this list timely
and correct. But just as people move, so do Web sites. Sincethis book was published, the Web site may have moved. Inthat case, there will be a forward link. If not, use "keyword"to find the new site. Library of Congress Encyclopedia Britannica U.S. Federal Agencies Virtual Reference Shelf The Internet presents a vast number of widely distributedresources covering thousands of topics and providing manyoptions for research in many fields. Often there is so muchinformation that you may not know where to begin. Ormaybe you haven't been able to locate what you're seeking. When you do your search, don't expect something that you found today to be there tomorrow—or even an hourlater. If you find material and need it, keep a copy of it. It'snot enough to write down the address and plan on locatingthe site later.
One of the best strategies to find a subject on the Internet is to use a Boolean search. It uses the terms and,
or, and not to expand or restrict a search. Here's how they
work:
If you tell an electronic search tool to look fornational parks and pollution alone, it will list allthe works having to do with either subject. Butif you link them with the word and or + by typ-ing in "national parks and pollution," the com-puter will narrow your search to only thosesources in which both terms appear.
If you link two terms with "or" or a minus sign(−), the search will lead to all sources that con-tain either term.
Using not will also narrow a search. Telling thesearch engine to look for "national parks notBryce Canyon," for instance, will lead to allsources about national parks except those men-tioning Bryce Canyon.
No one is an expert on every facet of the Internet—it's simplyimpossible. While many people are skilled with the tools andhave a good idea where to look for information on many top-ics, no one can keep up with the information flow. Fortunately,you don't have to understand everything to use the Internetquickly and easily. All you need are a computer and the time toexplore different paths.
Be sure you go to the author to get at his meaning, not to find yours. For many people, books are an indispensable part of research.
For starters, they're "user-friendly." It's easy to open a bookand start reading. You don't need any special equipment suchas a computer terminal to read a book, either. Since it takestime to write and publish a book, they tend to be reliablesources, as you will learn in Chapter 12. Right now, you'll learnhow to find the books you need to complete your research.
The books you will use for your research paper fall into twomain categories: fiction and nonfiction.
Fiction is novels and short stories. Fiction is catalogedunder the author's last name. Nonfiction books, however, are classified in two differentways. Some libraries use the Dewey Decimal System; otherlibraries use the Library of Congress system. In general, ele-mentary, junior high, high school, and community librariesuse the Dewey Decimal System. University and academic Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. libraries use the Library of Congress system. The two sys-tems are very different, as you will discover in this chapter.
You will almost always be using more nonfiction books than fiction books for your research. It's not unusual for amajor university library to have over a million books. Even asmall community library will often have over 100,000 volumes.
How can you find the books you need? You get to know the Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress classificationsystems. Knowing how these systems work can help you findthe books you need to complete your research.
CALL NUMBERS
Each book in the library is marked with a call number, which indicates where the book is located in the library's stacks.
If you are working in a library with "open stacks" (onewhere you can roam the book collection yourself), youcan copy down the call number and get the book yourself.
If you are working in a library with "closed stacks," (Thestacks are restricted to library personnel.), you must fillout a call slip, hand it in at the call desk, and wait forsomeone to retrieve the book for you.
Some libraries have a mix of open and closed stacks.
Whether the stacks are open or closed, be sure to copy downthe call number exactly as it appears in the card catalog.
Otherwise, it will be very hard—if not impossible—for you tofind the book. Don't try to remember all the digits in thenumber as you rush to the stacks. Instead, jot it down. Mostlibraries even keep small pencils and scraps of paper next tothe card catalog for this purpose.
Today, many libraries allow you to track and reserve the books you need through an online catalog, eliminatingthe need to jot down call numbers. Then you simply go tothe library to pick up the books you ordered. The books maybe filed in a separate place for your convenience. Next is theonline book catalog from the Farmingdale Public Library.

View All Libraries DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
Melvil Dewey (1851–1931) was a man with an obsession for order. This might have made life difficult for his family,but it revolutionized libraries. Before Dewey's system of clas-sifying books was adopted, many libraries relied on systemsthat filed books by color or size. While working as a librarianat Amherst College, Dewey developed a system that is usedtoday by most elementary schools, high schools, and smallpublic libraries. His classification system, published in 1876,divided nonfiction books into 10 broad categories, as follows: General works such as encyclopedias Religion (including mythology) Social sciences (including folklore, legends,government, manners, vocations) Language (including dictionaries and gram-mar books) Pure science (mathematics, astronomy,chemistry, nature study) Technology (applied science, aviation,building, engineering, homemaking) Arts (photography, drawing, painting, music,sports) Literature (plays, poetry) History (ancient, modern, geography, travel) Each of these categories is further divided for accuracy of classification. For example, 500–599 covers pure science, suchas chemistry, astronomy, mathematics, and physics. Books onmathematics can be found from 510–519; geometry is listedunder 513. This is further subdivided by decimals to provideadditional categories. Additional digits can be added to createeven more precise categories.
Books are arranged alphabetically within each classifica- tion by the first letter of the author's last name. Therefore, alibrary that has several books on computer technology willfile them all under the same call number but shelve themalphabetically.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
The Library of Congress classification system has 20 classes, Language & Literature Math, Science, Computer Technology, Engineering Political Science Bibliography, Printing, As you noticed, the letters do not necessarily stand for the first letter of the subject they represent. For instance,Political Science is letter J, and Fine Art is letter N.
A Library of Congress call number usually has three Part 1: one or two letters for the broad subject area. Part 2: numbers and is a further subdivision of the gener-al subject. Part 3: a letter and number code for the author's name.
Read call numbers line by line: Read the first line in alphabetical order: A, B, BF, C, D.L, LA, LB, LC, M, ML.
Read the second line as a whole number: 1, 2, 3, 45, 100, 101, 1000, 2000, 2430.
The third line is a combination of a letter and numbers.
Read the letter alphabetically. Read the number as a decimal, e.g. C65 = .65 .C724 = .724 (Some call numbers have more than one combination letter-number line.) This is the year the book was published.
Chronological order: 1985, 1987, 1991, 1992.
Books are shelved alphabetically by first letter of the first lineof the call number, then by the second letter, if any. Here isan example: Because the Library of Congress system groups related topics together, you can often find unexpected but relatedavenues to pursue as you research. As a result, leave yourselfenough time to browse the shelves as you gather books youneed. In addition, many books are now available as e-books,electronic volumes.
Warning!
Unfortunately, library call numbers don't work like the
Celsius and Fahrenheit temperature systems. There is no
way to convert the call numbers in one system to the call
numbers in the other system. This means that you cannot
take the call numbers from a library that uses the Dewey
classification system to a library that uses the Library of
Congress classification system. You'll have to look the
book up again if you work between two systems, so it's
usually a good idea to pick one library system for books—
either the public library system or the university/college
library system. Within this system, you can use as many
different libraries as you wish, of course.
There are three different ways that you can find the booksyou need: Your topic determines how you search for a book. Since most research papers deal with topics and issues, you'll likelybe searching by subject. However, it is often necessary to lookunder titles and authors as well. Consider all three avenues offinding information as you look through the card catalog.
A reference work is a compendium of information that you useto find a specific piece of information, rather than read coverto cover. Updated editions are published as needed, in somecases annually. In addition to specific books on your topic,here are some general reference sources to consider: Encyclopedias. Some teachers will not let their students
cite encyclopedias in their bibliographies, but that's no rea-
son not to use them for background information. An ency-
clopedia can be an excellent way to get a quick, authorita-
tive overview of your topic. This can often help you get a
handle on the issues.
There are general encyclopedias (World Books, Britannica,
Colliers, Funk and Wagnalls) as well as technical ones. The
encyclopedias can be in print form or online.
Guide to Reference Sources. Published by the
American Library Association, this useful guide has five
main categories: general reference works; humanities;
social and behavioral sciences; history and area studies;
and science, technology, and medicine. The new editions
include online sources as well as print ones.
Another excellent reference guide is XReferplus, an
online product that accesses more than 200 reference
books online.
Who's Who in America. This reference work includes
biographical entries on approximately 75,000 Americans
and others linked to America. Who Was Who covers famous
people who have died.
Almanacs. Almanacs are remarkably handy and easy-to-
use reference guides. These one-volume books are a great
source for statistics and facts. The World Almanac and The
Information, Please Almanac are the two best known
almanacs. They are updated every year.
Dictionaries. Complete dictionaries provide synonyms,
antonyms, word histories, parts of speech, and pronuncia-
tion guides in addition to definitions and spelling.
Depending on your topic, you may need to define all terms
formally before you begin your research.
This page intentionally left blank Research is the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under your observation in life. —MARCUS AURELIUS To get the most reliable, up-to-date, and useful information,you will want to use a variety of different reference sources.
As you learned in Chapter 6, the Internet can provide superbresearch material. However, web pages and commercial sitesoften have a marked bias. Further, much of the informationon the Internet has not been vetted and so is not reliable. Asyou learned in Chapter 7, books are often an excellent sourceof material for your research paper. However, books may notbe up-to-date since it can take more than a year to write, edit,and publish a book.
Therefore, you will also likely use articles from maga- zines, newspapers, and journals as well as online sources andbooks to find information for your research paper. In thischapter, you'll learn how to find magazines, newspapers, andjournals as well as interviews, media, and audiovisualsources.
Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. Periodicals include all material that is published on a regularschedule, such as weekly, biweekly, monthly, bimonthly, fourtimes a year, and so on. Newspapers, magazines, and journalsare classified as periodicals. Newspapers and magazines are aimed at a general readership.
Journals are aimed at a technical audience.
The following chart shows the key differences between newspapers/magazines and scholarly journals.
Professional journalist, Expert in the field, scholar, professional writer, professor References
Usually no bibliography Editorial board oroutside scholarsreview all articles Scholars, researchers,students of the field Glossy, many pictures Not glossy; rarelyin color Usually monthly or General interest articles Specialized, researchbased, and aimed ata very specific audience High school or lower Technical vocabulary;assumes the reader will have at leastan undergraduatedegree Found in specialized periodical indexes The following charts provide examples of the difference in purpose and audience: Los Angeles Times Consumer Reports People looking to purchase something orevaluate an item Road and Track Ladies Home Journal American Behavioral Scientist PMLA (Publication of the Professors and scholars in the Modern Language Association) Military Intelligence Professional Army intelligence operatives JAMA (Journal of the American Always locate the periodicals that suit your research needs.
In university libraries or large community libraries, you locateperiodicals in electronic databases. In some instances, you canget the complete article (called "full text"); in other cases, justthe citation. Then you have to find the article in another data-base. A large university library will usually have more than 100electronic databases and 30,000 full-text electronic journals.
Some of the most common periodical databases are listed in Chapter 6. They include the following: Info Trac OneFile General Reference Center Gold New York Times Warning!
Be sure that the database you're searching lists the kind of
sources you want. For example, the Humanities Index likely
doesn't include articles on mutual funds. For this topic, you
should check the Business Index. If you look in the wrong
index for your topic, you might erroneously conclude that
the library doesn't have any material on your topic.
Although you'll probably conduct most of your researchonline or in the library, remember that there's a great deal ofmaterial you can find in laboratories, in courthouses, and inprivate archives. Consider the possibility of conducting someoriginal research for your research paper. You can do this byinterviewing knowledgeable people and devising and distrib-uting questionnaires or surveys. This may be required inclass, so always check with your instructor. Interviews allow you to conduct primary research and acquire valuable information unavailable in print and onlinesources. By including quotations from people who havedirect knowledge of a particular subject, you add considerableauthority and immediacy to your paper. You can conduct inter-views by telephone, by e-mail, or in person.
Who should you interview? Include only respected peo- ple in the field. Don't waste your time with cranks and peoplewith private agendas to further.
Be sure to call and confirm the interview.
Prepare a series of questions well in advance of the inter-view. The questions should all focus on your topic andthe person's recognized area of expertise. After the interview, write a note thanking the person forhis or her time. Get the person's permission beforehand if you decide totape-record or videotape the interview. Also obtain a signed release for the right to use theirremarks on the record.
Surveys are useful when you want to measure the behav- ior or attitudes of a fairly large group. On the basis of theresponses, you can draw some conclusions. Such generaliza-tions are usually made in quantitative terms: "Fewer thanone-third of the respondents said that they favored furthergovernmental funding for schools," for example. If you decideto create a survey, follow these guidelines: Be sure to get a large enough sampling to make yourresults fair and unbiased. Include at least 50 people, butmore is better.
Don't ask loaded questions that lead people toward a spe-cific response. Be sure that your questions are neutral andunbiased. To get honest answers to your questions, it is essential toguarantee your respondents' anonymity. Written surveysare best for this purpose. Make the form simple and easy. Few people are willing totake the time to fill out a long, complex form. Carefully tabulate your results. Check your math.
In addition, many topics have been extensively discussed by experts on respected television news programs and docu-mentaries. It is often possible to write to the television stationand obtain printed transcripts of the programs. You mightalso be able to videotape the programs or borrow copies of theprograms that have already been recorded.
In addition, you may be able to use audiovisual sources foryour research paper. These include: DVDs and videotapes fine art, such as reproductions of paintings and posters You can often borrow audiovisual materials from your library as you would books, magazines, and other print sources.
You're not done yet! The library has even more sources foryou to consider. These include government documents, pam-phlets, and special collections.
Who's the largest publisher in the United States? It's the government! The government publishes numerous pamphlets,reports, catalogs, and newsletters on most issues of nationalconcern. Government documents are often excellent researchsources because they tend to be factual and unbiased. To findgovernment documents, try these online indexes: Monthly Catalog of the United States Government Publications United States Government Publications Index Most government offices have extensive online sites where you can download an astonishing treasure of informa-tion, including the full text of many documents and researchpapers. You can locate these sources through governmentsearch engines. Among the best are: Pamphlets are another reference source to consider.
They are published by private organizations and government
agencies. Since pamphlets are usually too small to place on
the shelves, they are stored in the vertical file. This is just
what the name implies: a filing cabinet with pamphlets
arranged in files. The Vertical File Index: A Subject and Title
Index to Selected Pamphlet Material lists many of the available
titles. In addition, you can simply browse in the vertical file
under your topic.
Many libraries also have special collections of rare books, manuscripts, newspapers, magazines, photographs,maps, and items of local interest. These are stored in a specialroom or section of the library. Often you will need permis-sion to access these materials.
This page intentionally left blank Research means to give each and every element its final value by grouping it in the unity of an organized whole. —PIERRE T. DECHARDIN As you start to gather your information, you'll need a sys-tematic way to organize it. What you want is an organizedlist of sources, a bibliography. You'll use this list to locatesources and, as you write your research paper, to documentthe information you used. In this chapter, you'll learn how tomake a working bibliography. As you find each source on your topic, you'll want to recordpublication and location information. When you first startresearching, you may just print this information from elec-tronic sources and indexes. Later, you'll turn it into bibliog-raphy cards written in the appropriate format. To do so, get a pack of 3 × 5 index cards. Use one card per source. These are your bibliography cards. Cards allow youto keep the most promising sources and discard the irrelevantones at your convenience. Also, cards can be easily arranged Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. in alphabetical order when the time comes to type a WorksCited page for inclusion at the end of your paper.
There are several different bibliographic styles, or ways of documenting sources. As you write your bibliography cards, fol-low the documentary style assigned by your instructor or pre-ferred by the discipline in which you are writing. For instance: Use the Modern Language Association (MLA) style forresearch papers in the humanities, including literature,history, the arts, and religion.
Use the American Psychological Association (APA) style forresearch papers in the social sciences, such as psychologyand sociology.
For sample MLA citations, see Chapter 17. What should you include on your bibliography cards? Followthe following models. On your card, note the URL (electronic address), the date of your search, and the title.
(Complete works of Shakespeare) On the bibliography card, include the title of the article, title of the periodical, date of the article, author (if available),page numbers (if available), and web address. You may alsowant to note the number of words, if listed. This tells you thelength of the article so you can estimate how much informa-tion you are likely to get from it.
"Grade Inflation: More Money Needed for Better Education in PA." (Editorial). Philadelphia Daily News. Feb. 10, 2007, p. NA (388 words) On the bibliography card, note anything you are going to need to retrieve the book. Relevant information includesthe call number, author or editor, title, place of publication,publisher, date, and library where you found the book. Thislast detail is very important, since it can save you a great dealof time and effort if you are using more than one library. Muir, Kenneth, ed. Shakespeare: The comedies.
Englewood cliffs, New Jersey Prentice-Hall, Inc., Farmingdale Public Library Locationof source On these cards, include the name of the person you interviewed, the person's area of expertise, the person'saddress and telephone, and the date of the interview. Interview with Charles Lawrence, underwater explorer and Chairperson Area of expertise of Ocean Technologies 35-16 Rte 110, Jersey City, NY.
may 26, 2007.
Warning!
If a catalog or index does not provide complete biblio-
graphic information, leave blanks that you can fill in
later when you have the actual source.
Some people prefer to make their bibliography cards on acomputer. This method has several advantages.
You can update, alphabetize, and correct your cards asyou go along. You can block and copy information from your onlinesources, saving time by not having to write the citation.
You reduce the number of errors by not writing the sameinformation by hand and then later keyboarding it.
At the end of the project, you can rework this file to makeit into your Works Cited list of sources.
However, be sure to back up your bibliography cards on an external storage system of your choice. In addition, printhard copies as you work. This way, you won't lose your mate-rial if your hard drive crashes or the file develops a glitch.
When you start your research, your instructor may ask you toprepare a working bibliography listing the sources you plan touse. Your working bibliography differs from your WorksCited page in its scope: your working bibliography is muchlarger. Your Works Cited page will include only those sourcesyou have actually cited in your paper. To prepare a working bibliography, arrange your bibli- ography cards in the order required by your documentationsystem (such as MLA and APA) and keyboard the entriesfollowing the correct form. If you have created your bibli-ography cards on the computer, you just have to sort them,usually into alphabetical order.
Some instructors may ask you to create an annotated bibliog-raphy as a middle step between your working bibliographyand your Works Cited page. An annotated bibliography is thesame as a working bibliography except that it includes com-ments about the sources. These notes enable your instructorto assess your progress. They also help you evaluate yourinformation more easily. For example, you might note that some sources are dif- ficult to find, hard to read, or especially useful. In Chapter 10,you'll learn how to evaluate your sources—and why it's cru-cial that you do so.
This page intentionally left blank Nobody outside a baby carriage or a judge's chambers believes in an unprejudiced point of view. —LILLIAN HELLMAN "All the news that fits we print" might be the unofficial mottoof a free press. One of the great strengths of a free press is itsability to print anything that does not libel its subject. As faras researchers are concerned, however, that very freedom pre-sents is own problems. Just because a source appears in print, inthe media, or online does not mean that it is valid. As a result, youmust carefully evaluate every source you find before you use it.
This means that you must read critically and carefully.
As you gather your sources, evaluate them carefully.
Three main criteria to use as you determine whether a sourceis valid for inclusion in your research paper are quality, bias,and appropriateness. Let's look at each of these in detail andthen at some special ways to evaluate Internet sources.
As Spencer Tracey said about Katharine Hepburn in themovie Adam's Rib, "There's not much meat on her, but whatthere is is choice." When it comes to movie stars and researchsource materials, quality counts.
You want only the choice cuts for your research paper. If the material isn't of the highest quality, it won't support your Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. thesis, convince your readers of your point, or stand upunder your reader's scrutiny. In fact, it will have just theopposite effect. That's why it's important to evaluate thequality of every source before you decide to include it in yourresearch paper.
The old maxim is true: you can't judge a book by its cover. You have to go deeper. Here's how to do it. (Each of thefollowing guidelines holds true for online, print, and mediasources.) Check the writer's qualifications. Is the writer or speakerreally qualified to write on the subject? Is this someoneyou trust to give a valid opinion? You can use the fol-lowing simple checklist to evaluate the writer or speaker: Is the person an expert or an eyewitness to the events described in the source? What is the person's reputation? You can check in biographical sources such asContemporary Biography, Who's Who, and WhoWas Who to validate a person's reputation. Websites often contain biographical informationabout the various contributors, too.
Does the person have the credentials to write on this subject?Don't be fooled by degrees; a Ph.D. in chemistry,for example, doesn't give a scholar the credentialsto write about biology, physics, or any other sub-ject outside his or her field.
Is the author well known and well respected in the field? How many other online articles, jour-nals, or books has the author published on thissubject? Does the author have a bias or a personal agenda to advance?Is the author selling a product or service, forinstance? Now, evaluate the source itself. Here are some guidelinesto use: Was the source well reviewed? Read some critical reviews in quality journals andnewspapers to find out how the experts evaluatedthe publication. If the book was not reviewed, itmay not be on the front line of scholarship.
Who spoke in favor of the book? Most books have endorsements (called "blurbs")penned by well-known people in the field. Theseusually appear on the back cover of the dust jacket.
See whether the endorsements were written byrespected writers, scholars, and public figures. Ifnot, the book may not be a solid source.
Is the publisher reputable? Is it known for pub- lishing reliable information?Reputable sources include scholarly Web sites,scholarly journals, university presses, and majorpublishers.
Is the source up-to-date? What is the publication Is the source a first edition, revision, or reprint? While the information in first editions is usuallyup-to-date, the book may be so new that theinformation it contains has not yet had time to beauthenticated and replicated.
Is the source complete? Have certain facts been cut for their controversial nature or for spacelimitations? Does the author present sufficient evidence to support the thesis? Does the author document his or her claims with the titles, Web sites, and authors of source materi-als? Are these sources credible? Can the claims in the source be backed up in other sources?Be especially suspicious of sources that claim to havethe "secret" or "inside track." If you can't find thesame information in other reputable sources, thematerial doesn't hold up to scrutiny.
Is the source fair—or does it contain distorted information? The following section shows youhow to evaluate sources for bias.
Every source is biased, because every source has a point ofview. Bias is not necessarily bad, as long as you recognize itas such and take it into account as you evaluate and usethe source. For example, an article on hunting published inField and Stream is likely to have a very different slant froman article on the same subject published in VegetarianTimes. Problems arise when the bias isn't recognized or acknowledged. Some problem areas to watch include bogusclaims, loaded terms, and misrepresentation. BOGUS CLAIMS
A claim can be considered bogus or false, when the speaker promises more than he or she can deliver. For exam-ple, the speaker may speak vaguely of "many importantexperiments," or "recent clinical studies" to prove a point.
The point may indeed have value, but the studies the speakercites as proof are too fuzzy to have merit. Well-educated peo-ple are rightly skeptical about promises from strangers.
Effective research sources use specific support—not just vague references to unidentified studies and sources. Youcan't evaluate "many important experiments" or "recentclinical studies" unless you know how they were undertaken,by whom, and where the results were published.
Also be on the lookout for sources that refer to "statistics that show." Statistics can be very useful in proving a point, but they can also be misleading—especially if you don't havethe numbers to evaluate their validity. Ask yourself: Does the statistic raise any unanswered questions? Has the source of the statistics been revealed? "Well-known" information is another form a bogus claim can take. Be wary of sources that tell you that "Everybodyknows that." or "It is a well-known fact that." If the fact isso "well known," why is the writer bothering to cite it as sup-port? Very likely, it's the best support the writer can muster—which doesn't speak well for the validity of the source orwriter.
LOADED TERMS
Suspect sources may use "loaded terms" to make their point. A term becomes "loaded" when it is asked to carrymore emotional weight than its context can legitimately sup-port. As a result, it becomes slanted or biased. These sourcesare often not reliable.
Words with strong connotations (emotional responses) often show bias. For example, a writer may refer to the gov-ernor's "regime" rather than "administration." "Regime" is aloaded term because it is used to describe oppressive militarydictatorships.
While loaded terms are most often used in political writ- ing and speech, they can appear in any source. That's why it'simportant to read critically.
This type of bias takes many forms. First, a writer or speaker can lie outright. Or, a writer may be more subtle,inventing false data or "facts." In addition, dishonest writersoften twist what their opponents have said. To misrepresentthis way, they use oversimplification. A complex argumentcan be reduced to ridicule in a slogan or an important ele-ment of an argument can be skipped over. How can you protect yourself from being misled by this type of bias? Here are some issues to consider as you evaluatea text for misrepresentation: Is someone quoted out of context? Are facts or statistics cited in a vacuum? Does the quotation reflect the overall content of thesource or does it merely reflect a minor detail? Has key information been omitted? Even if a source does pass the first two tests and proves to beof high quality and free from bias, it does not necessarilymean that the source belongs to your research paper. For asource to make the final cut, it has to fit with your audience,purpose, and tone. It must be appropriate to your paper. Howcan you decide if a source is suitable for inclusion in yourresearch paper? Try these suggestions: Do you understand the material in the source? If the source is too technical for you to grasp fully, youmight not use it correctly in your paper. Is the source written at a level appropriate to yourreaders? Does this source have the information you need? Does the source suit your purposes in this research paper? Be especially careful when you evaluate Web sites because theycan be difficult to authenticate and validate. Unlike most printresources such as magazines and journals that go through a fil-tering process (e.g., editing, peer review), information on theweb is mostly unfiltered. What does this mean for you? Here'sthe scoop: using and citing information found on Web sites isa little like swimming on a beach without a lifeguard.
For instance, Web sites may be published anonymously.
This means you can't evaluate the writer or writers. Also, thesites can be updated and revised without notification.
Further, they may vanish without warning. This makes it dif-ficult to evaluate their reliability. HEADER, BODY, AND FOOTER
Once you've determined that you are dealing with an online source, check the web document for its three mainelements: header, body, and footer. Within each of these pieces,you should be able to determine the following vital elementsfor evaluating information: 1. Author or contact person (usually located in the footer)
As you evaluate the selection, ask yourself: Who is the author of the piece? Is the author the original creator of the information? Does the author list his or her occupation, years ofexperience, position, or education? With this information—or lack of it—do you feel thisperson is qualified to write on the given topic? Where does the online source come from? Knowingthe source of a site can help you evaluate its purposeand potential bias.
You can often find clues to the origin of an online source in its address. Look for the suffix to identify the source. Hereare the common URL suffixes you'll encounter: Common URL Suffixes
commercial (business or company) education (academic site) military organization Internet administration other organizations, including nonprofit, nonacademic, and nongovernmental groups special knowledge newsgroup A .com is going to have a different slant from a university, for example. It's likely that the .com will want to sell you aproduct or a service (since it is a business), while the univer-sity is probably seeking to disseminate knowledge. As aresult, knowing the source of the site can help you evaluateits purpose and potential bias.
2. Link to local home page (usually located either in
header or footer) and institution (usually located in
either header or footer).
As you evaluate the selection, ask yourself:
What institution (Like company, government, or uni-versity) or Internet provider supports this information? If it is a commercial Internet provider, does the authorappear to have any affiliation with a larger institution? If it is an institution, is it a national institution? Does the institution appear to filter the informationappearing under its name? Does the author's affiliation with this particular insti-tution appear to bias the information? 3. Date of creation or revision (usually located in footer)
When was the information created or last updated? 4. Intended audience (determined by examining the body)
5. Purpose of the information, that is, does it inform,
explain, or persuade (determined by examining the body) 6. Access, that is, how did you find the site? Was it linked
to a reputable site? If you found the site through a searchengine, that only means that the site has the words in thetopic you are researching prominently placed or usedwith great frequency. If you found the site by browsingthrough a subject directory, that may mean only thatsomeone at that site registered it with that directory. Ifyou found it through an advertisement, it is not likely tobe reliable.
Given all the information you determined from above, is this piece of information appropriate for your topic? If yes, explain your decision and any reservations you would tellsomeone else using this information.
Below are some additional links for evaluating web Critical Evaluation of Resources. Margaret Phillips, UCBerkeley Library. Suggestions for evaluating a range ofresources, including books, articles, and Web sites. Coverssuitability, authority, other indicators, reference sources,and provides links. Evaluate Web Resources. Detailed checklist under:Introduction, Source, Site/Article, Content, Structure/Navigation, Links, Site Integrity/Access.
Evaluating Credibility of Information on the Internet. RonaldB. Standler.
Evaluating Information found on the Internet. Elizabeth Kirk,Johns Hopkins University.
Evaluating Information: Some questions to help you judgeOnline Information. Jacob Hespeler Library.
Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources. EstherGrassian, UCLA College Library.
In summary, all sources are not equally valid. Be sure to carefully and completely evaluate every source you find beforeyou decide whether to use it in your research paper. Weak orinaccurate sources can seriously damage your credibility as awriter and thinker.
This page intentionally left blank One of the skills of research is knowing when you have enough information; in considering too many side issues or too many perspectives, you may lose the main thread of your subject. —CHARLES BAZERMAN Use sources to help you advance the thesis you have defined.
The sources back up your point and help you make new con-nections among ideas. No matter how many sources you use,their purpose remains the same: to help you make the pointsyou want to make. That's what this chapter is all about.
Now that you've gathered all your sources (or the vast major-ity of them), it's time to take notes on the relevant material.
"Relevant" is the keyword here. How can you tell what you'llneed for your paper and what will end up in the scrap heap? In most cases you won't be able to tell what's going to make the cut and what won't. As a result, you'll probably endup taking far more notes than you need. Don't worry, nearlyall researchers end up with extra notes. The deeper you diginto your subject, however, the more perceptive you'll become Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. about what you need to prove your point most convincingly.
Here are some guidelines to help you get started: Before you start reading, arrange your sources accordingto difficulty. Read the general, introductory sources first.
Use these to lay the foundation for the more specializedand technical material you'll need. Look for facts, expert opinions, explanations, and exam-ples that illustrate ideas. Note any controversies swirling around your topic. Payclose attention to both sides of the issue: it's a great wayto test the validity of your thesis. Read in chunks. Finish an entire paragraph, page, orchapter before you stop to take notes. This will help youget the entire picture so you can pounce on the juicy bitsof information.
No one can remember all the material they read, or keepExpert A's opinion straight from Expert B's opinion. That'swhy you need to take notes.
For very brief research papers, you can usually gather information without taking notes. In these cases, photocopythe sources, highlight key points, jot ideas in the margins,and start drafting. But with longer, more complex researchpapers, you'll have to make note cards to handle the flow ofinformation efficiently. Figure on making note cards withany research paper more than a page or two long. CARD SIZE
Many writers take notes on 4 × 6 index cards. This size is ideal. You don't want cards so small that you can't fit any-thing on them or cards so large that you'll end up wastingmost of the space.
Increasingly, however, writers have been adapting this same method to computer technology. It's very easy to doand can save you a great deal of time when it comes to draft-ing. Adjust your margins to make a template for a "Notes" file by creating 4 × 6-sized boxes. You can print and cut thecards as you go along. As always, when you are working on acomputer, back up all your files on an external storage sys-tem. You will also want to print out hard copies as a backup.
Regardless of how you choose to take notes, the overall techniques remain the same.
Label each card with a subtopic, in the top right- or left-hand corner.
Include a reference citation showing the source of the infor-mation. Place this in the bottom right- or left-hand corner.
Be sure to include a page number, if the source is print. Write one piece of information per card.
Keep the note short. If you write too much, you'll be rightback where you started—trying to separate the essentialinformation from the nonessential information. Be sure to mark direct quotes with quotation marks. Thiscan help you avoid plagiarism later. Add any personal comments you think are necessary. Thiswill help you remember how you intend to use the notein your research paper.
Check and double-check your notes. Be sure you've spelledall names right and copied dates correctly. Check thatyou've spelled the easy words correctly, too; many errorscreep in because writers overlook the obvious words.
There are three main ways to take notes: direct quotations, sum-marizing, and paraphrasing. Each is explained below in detail.
TAKING DIRECT QUOTATIONS
A direct quotation is word for word; you copy the material exactly as it appears in the source. If there is an error in thesource, you even copy that, writing (sic) next to the mistake.
Show that a note is a direct quotation by surrounding it byquotation marks ("").
In general, quote briefly when you take notes.
Remember that long quotations are difficult to integrate intoyour paper. Besides, readers often find long quotations hardto follow and boring to read.
What should you quote? Quote key points. These are passages that sum up the
main idea in a pithy way.
Quote subtle ideas. Look for passages whose meaning
would be watered down or lost if you summarized or
paraphrased them.
Quote expert opinions. They carry weight in your
paper and make it persuasive.
Quote powerful writing. If the passage is memorable
or famous, it will give your research paper authority.
Subtopic: Nez Perce surrender "It is cold, and we have no blankets; the little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are—perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, to see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs! I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever." Comments: Very moving, emotional speech. Shows tragic con- sequences of displacement of Native Americans.
Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History, p. 108 A summary is a smaller version of the original, reducing the passage to its essential meaning. Be sure to summarizecarefully so you don't distort the meaning of the originalpassage. What should you summarize? Background information A writer's line of thinking or argument "Now, why am I opposed to capital punishment? It is too horrible athing for the state to undertake.We are told by my friend, ‘Oh, thekiller does it; why shouldn't the state?' I would hate to live in a statethat I didn't think was better than a murderer.
But I told you the real reason.The people of a state kill a man becausehe killed someone else—that is all—without the slightest logic, with-out the slightest application to life, simply from anger, nothing else! I am against it because I believe it is inhuman, because I believe that asthe hearts of men have softened they have gradually gotten rid of brutalpunishment, because I believe it will only by [be] a few years until it willbe banished forever from every civilized country—even New York—because I believe that it has no effect whatever to stop murder." Subtopic: Clarence Darrow against capital punishment Rage and a desire for retribution are not sufficient justi- fication for capital punishment. It is a cruel, inhuman, and uncivilized form of punishment. Further, capital punishment does nothing to deter crime. For these reasons, he believes capital punishment will soon be eliminated, even in New York.
Comments: Original speech has an ironic, sarcastic tone.
Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History, p. 108 A paraphrase is a restatement of the writer's original words. It often includes examples and explanations from theoriginal quotation. A paraphrase may be longer than the orig-inal, shorter than the original, or the same length.
Paraphrasing is the most difficult form of note taking. As a result, it is where beginning writers are most likely to commitplagiarism—using someone else's words as their own. You canavoid this by quoting words you copy directly and being verysure that you do indeed restate the material in your ownwords.
You should paraphrase.
material that readers might otherwise misunderstand.
information that is important but too long to include inthe original form.
"In the long history of the world, only a few generations have beengranted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum dan-ger. I do not shrink from that responsibility—I welcome it. I do notbelieve that any of us would exchange places with any other peopleor any other generation.The energy, the faith, the devotion whichwe bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serveit—and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do foryou—ask what you can do for your country." Topic: Social responsibility (JFK Inauguration speech) Now, America faces great peril. As a result, America is now faced with the challenge of standing up for liberty. Not many countries have ever been in this position. Kennedy welcomes this challenge because he believes his actions (and America's valiant response) can stand as a beacon for the rest of the world to follow. "And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country." Comments: A very famous and stirring speech.
Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History, p. 108 Warning!
Don't rely too heavily on any one source—no matter
how good it looks. It's fairly common to find one source
that seems to say it all, and just the way you like. But if
you take too much from one source, you'll end up doing
a book report, not a research paper. And worst-case sce-
nario: what happens if the source turns out to be invalid
or dated? Your paper will be a disaster.
Now it's time to organize your research into a logical whole. Outlines are the most logical and easy way to accom-plish this. Chapter 12 covers everything you need to know tooutline your notes.
This page intentionally left blank Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. This page intentionally left blank A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, Adored by statesman and philosophers and divines. —RALPH WALDO EMERSON As this quote indicates, the New England philosopher RalphWaldo Emerson wasn't overly concerned with being consis-tent. Where research papers are concerned, however, consis-tency and order are essential. And there's no better way toshow the order of your ideas than with an outline. The pur-pose of an outline is to organize the material you're going touse to prove your thesis. If your information isn't arranged ina logical fashion, your reader won't be able to understandyour point.
Some instructors will require you to submit a formal outlinewith your research paper. These instructors understand thatan outline serves as a preview tool that allows them to graspyour thesis and organization at a glance. It explains the scopeand direction of your paper as well.
Whether or not you're required to submit an outline with your final paper, making an outline is a superb way tohelp you construct and classify your ideas. In addition, an Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. outline serves as a final check that your paper is unified andcoherent. It helps you see where you need to revise and edityour writing, too.
While outlining is not difficult, it can be challenging to getstarted. The following suggestions can make the task easier. 1. First, arrange your notes in a logical order that you can follow as you write. If you're having difficulty seeing anorder, look for clues in the sequence of your ideas. Youcan make a diagram, such as a flowchart, to help youvisualize the best order to use.
2. Jot down major headings.
3. Sort the material to fit under the headings. Revise the headings, order, or both, as necessary.
4. Look for relationships among ideas and group them as 5. Try to avoid long lists of subtopics. Consider combining these into related ideas. In nearly all cases, your paperwill be better for having linked related ideas. 6. If you can't decide where to put something, put it in two or more places in the outline. As you write, you candecide which place is the most appropriate. 7. If you're not sure that an idea fits, write yourself a reminder to see where it belongs after you've writtenyour first draft.
8. If an important idea doesn't fit, write a new outline with a place for it. If it's important, it belongs in the paper. 9. Accept your outline as a working draft. Revise and edit as you proceed.
10. After you finish your outline, let it sit for a few days. Then look back at it and see what ideas don't seem to fit, whichpoints need to be expanded, and so on. No matter howcarefully you construct your outline, it will inevitablychange. Don't be discouraged by these changes; they arepart of the writing process.
Outlines are written in a specific form, observing specificrules. The following section shows this format.
Thesis statement:Write your thesis statement here.
Major topics or paragraphs are indicated by Roman numerals.
These are made by using the capitals I,V, or X on yourkeyboard.
A. Subheads are indicated by capital letters.
1. Details are indicated by numbers, followed by a period.
a. More specific details are indicated with lower-case b. These are written a, b, c, and so forth.
2. Begin each entry with a capital letter.
B. You can have as many entries as you like, but there must be at least two in each category.
1. You cannot have a I without a II.
2. You cannot have an A without a B.
3. You cannot have a 1 without a 2.
4. You cannot have a lower case a without a lower case b.
Entries should be in parallel order.
A. Entries may be word entries.
B. Entries may be phrase entries.
C. Entries may be sentence entries.
For sample completed outlines, see the model research papers at the end of this guidebook.
There are several types of outlines, two of which are discussedbelow: jotted outlines and working outlines.
A jotted outline is a sketch of an outline, a list of the major points you want to cover. A jotted outline is a useful way toorganize your thoughts because you can see what you'reincluding at a glance. Here's a model of a jotted outline: Thesis: Since cigarette smoking creates many problems for the gen-eral public, it should be outlawed in all public places.
A. Lung diseaseB. Circulatory disease II. Causes safety problems A. Destroys propertyB. Causes fires III. Sanitation problems A. Soils the possessionsB. Causes unpleasant odors A working outline, in contrast, is more fully fleshed out than a jotted outline. Expanded and divided into topics andsubtopics, it helps you create a map as you draft yourresearch paper. An effective working outline has the follow-ing parts: 1. Introduction2. Thesis3. Major topics and subtopics4. Major transitions5. Conclusion Usually, the entries are written as sentences. Here's a model of a working outline, expanded from the previous jottedoutline. Note that the entries are written as complete sentences.
Thesis: Since cigarette smoking creates many problems for the gen-eral public, it should be outlawed in all public places.
I. Cigarette smoke harms the health of the public.
A. Cigarette smoke may lead to serious diseases in nonsmokers.
1. It leads to lung disease.
a. It causes cancer.
b. It causes emphysema.
2. It leads to circulatory disease in nonsmokers.
a. It causes strokes.
b. It causes heart disease.
B. Cigarette smoke worsens other less serious health conditions.
1. It aggravates allergies in nonsmokers.
2. It causes pulmonary infections to become chronic.
3. It can lead to chronic headache.
II. Cigarette smoking causes safety problems.
A. Burning ash may destroy property.
B. Burning cigarettes may cause serious fires.
III. Cigarette smoke leads to sanitation problems.
A. Ash and tar soil the possessions of others.
B. Ash and tar cause unpleasant odors and fog the air.
A. Cigarette smoking injures people's health and so should be banned in all public places.
B. Cigarette smoking damages property and so should be banned in all public places.
Warning!
In general, a standard high school or college research
paper should have no more than four or five main
points. This means you shouldn't have more than four or
five Roman numerals in your outline. If you have too
many ideas, your paper will either be too long or more
likely, vague and overly general.
Chapter 13 covers the elements of research paper style to help you craft a research paper that suits your audience, pur-pose, and topic.
This page intentionally left blank Wear your learning like your watch, in a private pocket; do not merely pull it out and strike it; merely to show you have one. —LORD CHESTERFIELD Even if you haven't finished all your research, when youhave completed most of your note cards and your outline, it'stime to start writing. Drafting at this stage allows you to seewhat additional information you need so you can fill it in. Asyou begin to draft your paper, it's time to consider your writ-ing style.
A writer's style is his or her distinctive way of writing. Styleis a series of choices—words, sentence length and structure,figures of speech, punctuation, and so on. The style youselect for your research paper depends on the followingfactors: Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. Knowing with whom you are communicating is funda- mental to the success of any message. You need to tailor yourwriting style to suit the audience's needs, interests, and goals.
The audience for your research paper is likely to be one of thefollowing three people or groups: your boss, supervisor, professor, teacher, instructor your colleagues or classmates any outside readers, such as clients To tailor your research paper to your audience, do an audience analysis. Before you write, ask yourself thesequestions: Who will be reading my research paper? How much do my readers know about my topic at thispoint? What is the basis of the information they have? (e.g.,reading, personal experience) How does my audience feel about this topic? Are theyneutral, hostile, enthusiastic, or somewhere in between? What style of writing does my audience anticipate andprefer? Writers have four main purposes: to explain (exposition) to convince (persuasion) to describe (description) to tell a story (narration) Your purpose in your research paper is to persuade or convince. As a result, you'll select the supporting material(such as details, examples, and quotations) that will bestaccomplish this purpose. As you write, look for the most con-vincing examples, the most powerful statistics, the mostcompelling quotations to suit your purpose.
The tone of a piece of writing is the writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter. For example, the tone canbe angry, bitter, neutral, or formal. The tone depends on your audience and purpose. Since your research paper is being read by educated professionalsand your purpose is to persuade, you will use a formal, unbi-ased tone. The writing won't condescend to its audience,insult them, or lecture them.
The language used in most academic and professional writing is called "Standard Written English." It's the writingyou find in magazines such as Newsweek, US News and WorldReport, and The New Yorker. Such language conforms to thewidely established rules of grammar, sentence structure,usage, punctuation, and spelling. It has an objective, learnedtone. It's the language that you'll use in your research paper.
The following section covers the basics of research paperwriting style.
Write simply and directly. Perhaps you were told to
use as many multisyllabic words as possible since "big"
words dazzle people. Most of the time, however, big
words just set up barriers between you and your audience.
Instead of using words for the sake of impressing your
readers, write simply and directly.
Select your words carefully to convey your thoughts vividly
and precisely. For example, blissful, blithe, cheerful, content-
ed, ecstatic, joyful, and gladdened all mean "happy"—yet
each one conveys a different shade of meaning.
Use words that are accurate, suitable, and familiar.
•
Accurate words say what you mean.
Suitable words convey your tone and fit with the otherwords in the document.
Familiar words are easy to read and understand.
As you write your research paper, you want words thatexpress the importance of the subject but aren't stuffy oroverblown. Refer to yourself as I if you are involved withthe subject, but always keep the focus on the subjectrather than on yourself. Remember, this is academic writ-ing, not memoir.
Avoid slang, regional words, and nonstandard
diction. Below is a brief list of words that are never cor-
rect in academic writing. The right-hand column shows
the correct words and phrases.
Nonstandard Words and Expressions
Avoid redundant, wordy phrases. Here are some
examples:
cease (or desist) Always use bias-free language. Use words and phrases
that don't discriminate on the basis of gender, physical
condition, age, or race. For instance, avoid using he to
refer to both men and women. Never use language that
denigrates people or excludes one gender. Watch for
phrases that suggest women and men behave in stereo-
typical ways, such as talkative women.
In addition, always try to refer to a group by the term it
prefers. Language changes, so stay on the cutting edge. For
instance, today the term "Asian" is preferred to "Oriental."
Effective writing uses sentences of different lengths and types to create variety and interest. Craft your sentences toexpress your ideas in the best possible way. Here are someguidelines: Mix simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sen-tences for a more effective style. When your topic is com-plicated or full of numbers, use simple sentences to aidunderstanding. Use longer, more complex sentences toshow how ideas are linked together and to avoid repetition.
Select the subject of each sentence based on what youwant to emphasize. Add adjectives and adverbs to a sentence (when suitable)for emphasis and variety. Repeat keywords or ideas for emphasis.
Use the active voice, not the passive voice.
Use transitions to link ideas.
Similarly, successful research papers are free of technical errors. Here are some guidelines to review: Remember that a period shows a full separation betweenideas.
Example:
The car was in the shop for repair on Friday. I had no transportation
to work.
A comma and a coordinating conjunction (for, and, but,or, yet, so, nor) show the relationships of addition, choice,consequence, contrast, or cause.
Example:
The car was in the shop for repair on Friday, so I had no transporta-
tion to work.
The car was in the shop for repair on Friday, but I still made it to work.
The car was in the shop for repair on Friday, yet I still made it to work.
A semicolon shows the second sentence completes thecontent of the first sentence. The semicolon suggests alink but leaves to the reader to make the connection.
Example:
The car was in the shop for repair on Friday; I didn't make it to
work.
A semicolon and a conjunctive adverb (such as neverthelessand however) show the relationship between ideas: addi-tion, consequence, contrast, cause and effect, time, emphasis,or addition.
Example:
The car was in the shop for repair on Friday; however, I made it to
work anyway.
Using a period between sentences forces a pause and thenstresses the conjunctive adverb.
Example:
The car was in the shop for repair on Friday. But I still made it to work.
Warning!
Even if you do run a grammar check, be sure to check
and double-check your punctuation and grammar as you
draft your research paper.
A research paper, as with any good essay, starts off with anintroduction. The introduction serves two purposes: it presentsyour thesis and gets the reader's attention. There are five waysyou can do this: statement (usually the thesis) anecdote (a brief story) Select the method that suits your audience, purpose, and tone, as you have learned.
STATEMENT USED AS AN INTRODUCTION
To Edith Newbold Jones, cross-currents withEnglish influences came early. Unlike otherupper-middle-class New York ladies of the1860s, young Edith grew deeply immersedin her father's impressive library on West 23rd Street. Her reading was mainly con-centrated in English authors, for the onlyAmerican literary works she perused werethose of Prescott, Parkman, Longfellow,and Irving. As Louis Auchincloss maintains, Source material culture and education, to the Joneses, still
Lead-in to next meant Europe (Auchincloss, 54). Edith's
paragraph
education bears this out.
ANECDOTE USED AS AN INTRODUCTION
It was the game that could have ended adynasty. There were only six seconds lefton the clock. Seaford was up by one, butthey were in trouble on their own 20-yardline without the ball against a powerfulBethpage. It was all up to the kicker toboot the ball through the uprights. Thehuddle broke and the whistle blew. The Anecdote——— crowd jumped to their feet, hoping for a
miracle. Thump! The ball flew high overthe left upright. It didn't look good to thecoaches, but the fans went wild. To thecoaches' astonishment, the referee in theend zone signaled the kick was good. Alook at the videotape told a differentstory, however. According to the camera,the ball wasn't clear.
Instant replay could have changed the Thesis ——— outcome of this crucial game—and many
others like it on both local and nationallevels. That's why instant replay should bebrought back to the NFL.
STATISTICS USED AS AN INTRODUCTION
According to the National Highway Safety Statistics ——— Administration, 1,136 lives have been saved
by air bags between the years 1989-1995ing number of auto manufacturers haveequipped their cars with air bags. As the Thesis ——— number of cars equipped with air bags
rises, so do the number of lives they save.
QUESTION USED AS AN INTRODUCTION
An allegedly drunk driver runs down aperson on a water scooter in the GreatSouth Bay.
A Rocky Point teenager disappeared inrough seas after going fishing in LakeMichigan in a Styrofoam boat lacking asail, motor, or oars.
A speedboat with four people aboardstrikes a rock and capsizes in high winds.
Questions ——– Could these accidents have been avoided
if the boat operator had acquired moreboating skills? Would mandatory licens-ing for boat operators help prevent future Thesis ——– tragedies? We must have both mandatory
safe boating education and licensing.
QUOTATION USED AS AN INTRODUCTION
Quotation ——– The ads trumpet "You've come a long
way, baby" but have we? Nothing couldbe further from the truth. Today, femaleshave few positive role models, especiallywhen it comes to the media. Television Thesis ——– developers and producers have to take a
long, hard look at the messages their pro-grams send to the female population andrethink the format of current and futuretelevision shows.
In this chapter, you explored ways to suit your writing styleto your audience, purpose, and tone. Now, find out how touse your source material to make your point.
This page intentionally left blank You could compile the worst book in the world entirely out of selected passages from the best writers in the world. —G.K. CHESTERTON Remember that your purpose in any research paper is to useother people's words and ideas to support your thesis. Sinceyou're not an authority on the subject you're writing about,you must rely on recognized experts to help you make yourpoint. How can you smoothly blend source material withyour own words? Follow the steps described in this chapter.
How can you show that the material you are quoting, sum-marizing, and paraphrasing comes from outside sources andisn't something you made up? It's not enough just to plop thematerial into your paper, even if you do surround any exactquotes with quotation marks.
In addition to the awkwardness this creates, you're sacri- ficing most of the "punch" carried by expert opinions by notsmoothly blending their words in with yours. The reason touse outside sources is to buttress your claims, but if you're notgoing to give the experts clear credit in your research paper,you are, in effect, wasting their words.
Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. Start by using cue words and phrases to set off outside material. As you blend the experts' words, be sure to include the source of the material.
the author's name.
the author's identity and why the author is important.
This tells your readers why they should believe the personyou cite.
the author's credentials, since this lends greater weight tothe material.
Examples
In Shakespeare, The Comedies, the noted literary critic Kenneth Muir
claims that.
In a March 15, 2007 front-page article in the New York Times, thewell-known consumer activist Ralph Nader stated that.
An October 30, 2007 article on the Harvard University web sitereported that Gabriel Corfas, an associate professor of neurology atHarvard Medical School, has uncovered an important signal in braindevelopment that is regulated by a molecule involved in Alzheimer'sdisease. Use the specific verb you need to indicate your exact shade of meaning.
Below is a selection of verbs you may wish to choose from: Verbs that Help You Integrate Quotations into Your Text
As you include the outside source, be sure to provide enoughinformation so your readers clearly understand where it camefrom. In most cases, this is done through parenthetical docu-mentation, footnotes, or endnotes. These are explained fully inChapters 16 and 17.
Never assume that your readers understand why you includeda specific piece of information. It may appear that you are sim-ply padding your paper with lots of outside sources. To avoidthis misunderstanding and to strengthen your point, point outyour message to readers and be sure to make your point. Youcan do this at the beginning or end of a passage.
Feminist Gloria Steinem argues that "Employersadhere to a number of beliefs about women thatserve to reinforce a pattern of nonemployment and nonparticipation for female employees" (Steinem, 54).
Your Point
Since many employers feel that women workfor extra money, women's jobs are nonessential.
This leads to the conclusion that men should behired or promoted rather than women.
What happens if a quotation contains material that's irrele-vant to your point? You can use an ellipsis (three evenly spacedperiods) to show that you have omitted part of a quotation.
You can use ellipsis in the middle of a quotation or at the end. Do not use an ellipsis at the beginning of a sen-tence; just start with the material you wish to quote. If youomit more than one sentence, add a period before theellipsis to show that the omission occurred at the end of asentence. Example
Readers of the Atlantic Monthly were astonished to find in the
January 1875 issue the debut of one "Mark Twain." The originality of
Twain's voice dazzled readers as the Atlantic showcased what was to
become one of the great passages in American literature: "[Hannibal]
the white town drowsing in the sunshine of a summer's morning" is
shocked into life by the cry of "S-t-e-a-m-boat a-comin'!" As the
Twain critic Justin Kaplan notes, "The gaudy packet . was Mark
Twain's reasserting his arrival and declaring once and for all that his
surge of power and spectacle derived not from such streams as the
meandering Charles or the sweet Thames but from ‘the great
Mississippi, the majestic, the magnificent Mississippi, rolling its mile-
wide tide along, shining in the sun.'"
Warning!
Never omit material from a quotation to change its
meaning deliberately. This is a sleazy way of slanting a
quotation to make it say what you mean. In addition,
always be sure that the quotation makes grammatical
sense after you have cut it.
Sometimes you have an idea about your topic but find afterresearching that you weren't the first person to come up withthis idea. To take credit for your original thinking but givecredit to others who came up with the idea first, present bothversions of the idea and give credit to the outside source. If nec-essary, explain how your idea is different from the reference youused. Since music fans have a great deal of difficulty obtaining tickets for certain concerts, any one customer shouldbe prevented from buying more than four tickets at atime (Harvey, 119). However, this does not preventscalpers from hiring "ringers" to Page number Your idea
stand in line and buy blocks of tickets.To overcomethis problem, at least one-third of the tickets offeredfor sale should be set aside for bona fide students.
As mentioned earlier, try to avoid using long quotations inyour research paper. But if you must quote more than fourtyped lines of text, follow these guidelines: Indent the quotation one inch from the left margin.
Do not indent the right margin.
Do not single-space the quotation; stay with double-spacing. Do not enclose the quotation in quotation marks; since itis inset, it is understood to be quoted.
As always, introduce the quotation with a sentence and cue words, usually followed by a colon (:).
Example
In his book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig
extends Twain's idea. As Pirsig explains:
When analytic thought, the knife, is applied to experience, somethingis always killed in the process. Mark Twain's experience comes tomind, in which, after he had mastered the analytical knowledgeneeded to pilot the Mississippi River, he discovered the river hadlost its beauty. Something is always killed. But what is less noticed inthe arts—something is always created too. And instead of justdwelling on what is killed it's important also to see what's createdand to see the process as a kind of death-birth continuity that isneither good nor bad, but just is (231–232).
This page intentionally left blank Borrowed thoughts, like borrowed money, only show the poverty of the borrower. —MARGUERITE GARDINER When you use someone else's words or ideas in your researchpaper, you must give credit. Otherwise, you're stealing theirwork. And whether the theft is intentional or accidental, theeffect is the same—failure, humiliation, and perhaps evenexpulsion. Learn how to avoid literary theft by documentingyour sources correctly.
Plagiarism is the technical name for using someone else'swords without giving adequate credit. Plagiarism is 1. Using someone else's ideas without acknowledging the source.
2. Paraphrasing someone else's argument as your own.
3. Presenting someone else's line of thinking in the devel- opment of an idea as if it were your own.
4. Presenting an entire paper or a major part of it developed exactly as someone else's line of thinking.
5. Arranging your ideas exactly as someone else did—even though you acknowledge the source(s) in parentheses.
Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. While plagiarism is a serious lapse in ethics as well as a cause for failure and even expulsion in some schools, docu-menting your sources correctly is easy. It also gives yourresearch paper authority and credibility. Here's how to do it.
Thanks to plagiarism detection software such as Turnitin.comand MyDropBox.com, instructors have become even moreadept at proving that research papers are plagiarized. These pro-grams quickly and easily show instructors which parts of theresearch paper the student has copied without attribution.
Nearly all high schools, colleges, and universities make thissoftware available to instructors free of charge. This meansthat it's even easier for an instructor to catch instances ofplagiarism—and prove them beyond the shadow of a doubt.
Since instructors first assigned research papers, a handful ofdishonest students have devised ways to avoid the oneroustask of writing their own. In the old days, students could hireothers to write their papers for them or recycle someoneelse's previously submitted paper. Recently, the Internet hasgotten into the act. Some sites offer free research papers; oth-ers sell "customized" research papers.
The New York Times recently purchased several of the "cus- tomized" papers to evaluate their quality and discovered—tono one's surprise—that they were terrible. Off topic, poorlywritten, disorganized, and filled with laughable errors, noneof the papers would have earned a passing grade, even disre-garding the fact that they were completely plagiarized. "If Ihad paid for this paper," said one instructor involved in theevaluation, "I would have demanded my money back." TheTimes concludes that the sites are a scam, since the cus-tomized papers are themselves plagiarized, a series of pastedtogether parts of other papers lifted off the Web.
To avoid plagiarism, you should Never use someone else's ideas without acknowledgingthe source.
Never paraphrase someone else's argument as your own.
Never present someone else's line of thinking in thedevelopment of an idea as if it were your own.
Never turn in an entire paper or a major part of it devel-oped exactly as someone else's line of thinking.
Never arrange your ideas exactly as someone else did—eventhough you acknowledge the source(s) in parentheses.
You present original ideas in an original way. You give credit for any research that is not your own.
Ways to avoid plagiarism include always documenting quotations, opinions, and paraphrases and recognizing thedifference between fact and common knowledge.
You must always set off direct quotes with quotation marks and give credit to your original source. It is consideredplagiarism if you copy a part of the quotation without usingquotation marks—even if you give credit. In a famous essay on the naturalists, Malcolm Cowley noted,"Naturalism has been defined in two words as pessimistic determin-ism and the definition is true as far as it goes.The naturalists wereall determinists in that they believed in the omnipotence of abstractforces." (Becker 56) Malcolm Cowley defined Naturalism as "pessimistic determinism"and the definition is true as far as it goes.The naturalists were alldeterminists in that they believed in the omnipotence of abstractforces. (Becker 56) You must also document the way an author constructs an argument or a line of thinking. In addition, it is consid-ered plagiarism if you try to fob off someone else's opinionsas your own.
Probably the most influential novel of the era was Uncle Tom's Cabin(1852). More polemic than literature, Uncle Tom's Cabin nonethelessprovided the North and South with the symbols and argumentsthey needed to go to war (Levin 125) Uncle Tom's Cabin, published in 1852, was likely the most importantnovel of the pre-Civil War era. Even though the book was more of adebate than a novel, it nevertheless gave the Confederate and Unionsides the push they needed to start the Civil War.
As Harold Levin argues in his book Roots of the Civil War, Uncle Tom'sCabin, published in 1852, provided America with the impetus it needto plunge into the Civil War. Likely the most important novel of theera, Uncle Tom's Cabin cannot be regarded as "literature"—it is toostrident for that. Nonetheless, its influence cannot be denied. (125) DOCUMENT PARAPHRASES
The same holds true for paraphrases. It is not enough just to change a few words. Neither is it enough to rearrangea few sentences. Both practices can result in plagiarism. Studythese examples: William Dean Howells (1837–1920) was the most important liter-ary figure in his time. In addition to championing many Americanwriters such as Edith Wharton and Emily Dickinson, Howells pro-moted Ivan Turgenev, Leo Tolstoy, Henrik Ibsen, Emile Zola, GeorgeEliot, and Thomas Hardy. (Goldsmith 98) William Dean Howells was the top literary person in his time. Inaddition to advancing the careers of American writers like EdithWharton and Emily Dickinson, Howells championed the writing ofnon-Americans such as Ivan Turgenev, Leo Tolstoy, Henrik Ibsen,Emile Zola, George Eliot, and Thomas Hardy.
William Dean Howells was the single most significant editor of hisday. Howells helped the careers of Ivan Turgenev, Leo Tolstoy, HenrikIbsen, Emile Zola, George Eliot, and Thomas Hardy as well as thoseof Edith Wharton and Emily Dickinson. (Goldsmith 98) UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
FACTS VS. COMMON KNOWLEDGE
By now you're probably thinking that you have to docu- ment every single word in your research paper—or pretty close!Not really. You have to document another person's words, ideas,or argument, and everything that is not common knowledge. It's not difficult to document quotations, opinions, and paraphrases, but differentiating between facts and commonknowledge can be tricky. "Common knowledge" is defined asthe information an educated person is expected to know.
People are expected to know general facts about many cate-gories of common knowledge, including the ones listed below: How can you tell if something is common knowledge? If the fact is presented in several sources, odds are good thatyour readers are expected to know it. This means that you donot have to document it.
Examples of Common Knowledge
• The Civil War started in 1861 and ended in 1865.
• Abraham Lincoln was the president during the Civil War.
• He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.
• Andrew Johnson became the new president.
In the following instance, however, the fact is not com- mon knowledge and so has to be documented: Examples of Facts Needing Documentation
By the time the last canon thundered across the Shenandoah Valleyat Antietam, the battlefield echoed with the screams of 20,000Union and Confederate wounded soldiers. (Harris 415) When the last canon roared at Antietam, 20,000 Union andConfederate wounded soldiers were left wounded across theShenandoah Valley.They were yelling in excruciating pain.
Antietam was one of the most devastating battles of the Civil War.
By its conclusion, 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers werewounded. (Harris 415) In the following two chapters, you'll learn how to use internal documentation and footnotes/endnotes to docu-ment your sources.
The following research paper was written by KateGreenberger, a student at George Washington University. Asyou read, notice how Katie used original information andcarefully documented all her sources.
Satan's Sons and Faustus' Friends: The Seductive Face of Evil
Baby, do you understand me now?Sometimes I feel a little madBut, don't you know that no one alive can always be an angelWhen things go wrong I seem to be bad‘Cause I'm just a soul whose intentions are goodOh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood —"Oh Lord, Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" Considering that Satan, once Lucifer Morningstar, is the most compelling and intriguing character in all of Milton'sParadise Lost, it should be little to no surprise to find volumes ofliterature dedicated to his nature. Is he a hero of the underworldor merely a fool with severe and impossible delusions of grandeur?At least in the beginning of PL, Milton paints a Satan of remark-able power and charisma. It is easy to see how one might betempted to follow him from the glories of Heaven with his intenserhetoric. Yet, as the poem continues, Satan's angelic luster fadesaway and his physical form turns from angel to demon to cor-morant to toad to serpent. Milton clearly intends the reader'sopinion of Satan to be confused, combining the foul imagery withemotional speeches that tug at the heartstrings. His miseryincreases exponentially as the story continues. Those like C.S.
Lewis who consider Satan a gross fool do so because his pride car-ries him to heights that never should be reached. He challengesGod Himself for the throne of Heaven, taking a third of the hostof angels with him into hell for his insolence. As Satan experiencesParadise for himself, he begins to truly understand what it is helost when he lost Heaven and his suffering appears to increase,despite having left the tortures of hell. Is he thus a fool for havingchallenged the might of God or is he hell's own hero for havingcompleted the ultimate revenge against the Creator who cast therogue angels into hell? There appears to be little challenge betweenthe two terms. He is both the hero and the fool, first the pridefulfool, then the triumphant hero, though certainly more the rebel-lious anti-hero that one sees nowadays than the ideal hero ofArthurian legends and the Crusades.
To take God on in an unholy war is a terrible and misguided idea for anyone. The angel once known as Lucifer completelyunderestimated his creator and admits as such in the opening ofParadise Lost, in which he confesses that "so much the strongerproved He with his thunder; and till then who know the force ofthose dire arms?" (I.92-94). Even worse, he appears to not havelearned his lesson. Paradise Lost opens with Satan and his demonicarmy having just been cast into hell. A battle occurred of epicproportions and Satan's forces lost. One might think that theadversary's mind might be mellowed somewhat by waking upin fire after having lost Heaven forever, but instead one findsthat Satan is as ever filled with hatred and pride. "The mind isits own place and in itself can make a Heaven of hell, a hell of Heaven . . here we may reign secure, and in my choice to reignis worth ambition though in hell: better to reign in hell than servein Heaven," (I.254-5, 261–263). Somehow, he has set himself irrev-ocably on the path to eternal rebellion and damnation, refusingthe possibility of repentance and forgiveness. As he approachesEden in Book 4, he goes beyond setting himself on the path todamnation and foolishly forces himself to deny himself repen-tance, hollowly uttering words to convince himself that he isthrough with the light of God forever. "All hope excluded thus,behold, instead of us outcast, exiled, his new delight Mankind cre-ated, and for him this world. So farewell hope and, with hope,farewell fear; farewell remorse. All good to me is lost. Evil be thoumy good," (IV.105-110). It is clear to the reader that the cherubicSatan does not believe what it is that he is saying. He is creating amantra for himself to repeat to ease his suffering. And yet, at thesame time, he comes to believe it ever so slowly and his angelicluster fades even more as he continues his inspirational mono-logue. Satan isn't a fool for having challenged God without beingfully prepared—though that was a decidedly stupid thing to do—because he was able to throw himself into the fight and come upwith ways to get around the gross power imbalance by inventing,using God's own tool of creation against Him. While the rogueangels may not have been prepared or even well balanced againstGod's angels, they believed in what they were doing whole-heartedly. Satan is continuing the desperate fight against hismaker without that crucial belief and that, not the fight itself, iswhat makes him a fool. C.S. Lewis, according to G. RostrevorHamilton in Hero or Fool? lampoons Satan for his convolutedlogic post-banishment in Prelude to Paradise Lost. The logic dis-solves as Satan becomes more and more emotional as he fiercelyfends off his desire for God's presence. Even as the torment ofbeing far from his heart's desire burns within him, he strives toconvince himself that the revenge he is committing against Godis because he'll never be forgiven and God is a tyrannical leaderwho deserves the revenge about to be dealt. Satan must talk him-self into becoming the devil. Only a fool would ignore the obvi-ous like the adversary does.
And then again, Satan is a leader to his demons. He is their hero and Milton does an excellent job of portraying him as anextremely sympathetic character. In fact, considering Satan isChristianity's physical embodiment of evil, Milton works a miracle to create a Satan that is not only powerful and poignant, buthighly persuasive as well. That Milton is able to physically illus-trate how deeply seductive evil can be through a poem is fright-ening. But the Satan of Paradise Lost is the hero of hell. Whenthey lie in a lake of fire, all hope of Heaven lost to them, thedeadened denizens of hell are aroused by Satan's call to action.
It is quite the introduction to the devil. The language is intenseand one would readily follow the speaker anywhere one wascalled. It is then that Satan convinces his followers that it is pos-sible to make a Heaven of their hell simply by the power ofbelief. The demons manage to do what humans cannot andcome to an agreement regarding their best course of action.
Satan volunteers himself to undertake the fearsome task at hand.
He persuades Sin and Death to open the gates of hell and awk-wardly flies through Chaos to face alone God's most beloved cre-ation. As the poem continues, Satan's bravery in battle isrevealed. Raphael tells Adam of how the fallen angel felt pain forthe first time, yet still clashed swords with the archangelMichael, and how he was undaunted by the new sensation ofpain and called upon his doomed forces to create weapons ofuntold destruction. Throughout the first part of Paradise Lost,Satan even maintains a holy glow, though it constantly dimsuntil it disappears. He cuts a massive, beautiful figure as a fallenangel, almost a romantic hero. The most heartbreaking momentof the poem comes as Satan sees Adam and Eve for the first timeand realizes who has replaced him. "Not spirits, yet to heavenlyspirits bright little inferior, whom my thoughts pursue withwonder, and could love, so lively shines in them divine resem-blance." (IV.361-4). It must be noted that the reason Satan feelssuch a strong connection to the mother and father of humanityis because of the divinity reflected in their visages. It pains Satanto see the beauty and grace of Adam and Eve because God andall the love He has to offer are woven into every fiber of thelovers. They are a physical embodiment of all that he has lost,surrounded by the lush perfection of Eden and filled with wor-ship and love. And the rising of the love and respect for the newcreations is not the act of fool. Hamilton notes, "how Satan'sheroic qualities are enhanced by this strain of somethingapproaching tenderness in his character.his courage and will-power are not the expression of a nature irrevocably hardened orincapable of gentle emotion," (25). This is far from the behavior of a fool. Satan has multiple facets to his personality and brand-ing him as merely a fool obliterates that fact. He is the most com-plicated character in the entire poem, both attractive and pitifulto the reader. A hero, as Andrea Dworkin points out, can bealmost anyone. "A man can be a hero because he suffers anddespairs; or because he thinks logically and analytically; orbecause he is ‘sensitive;' or because he is cruel. Wealth establishesa man as a hero, and so does poverty. Virtually any circumstancein a man's life will make him a hero to some group of people,"(Quotations.). Replace "man" with "being" and one can see howSatan is a hero. He had a task to complete: bringing about the Fallof Man. He successfully destroyed the perfection of God's cre-ation, exactly as he intended. One-third of the original host ofangels was behind the quest, waiting for their due revenge. Afterhaving completed his duty as leader of the rebels, Satan is thehero of the underworld.
It is entirely possible to be a hero and a fool. A being may do incredibly dumb things while blazing in support of a cause. Afterall, a hero is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as "aperson noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especiallyone who has risked or sacrificed his or her life," which Satanmost certainly has. The nobility of his purpose is entirely in theeyes of the beholder. To those who dwell in hell, there can be nonobler purpose than sticking it to God in the best way possible.
In this sense, Satan has proven himself time and time again. Yet,he may appear to be a hero to more than just his fellow demons.
His love of divine creation and heart-wrenching denial of Heavenfor himself is exactly the kind of emotion that keeps the readeronce the great war is over. After the violence, there is love.
Hamilton says that "in Satan only is there full knowledge of theterrible conflict on which the human pair enter as novices—thatdivision and union of good and evil which is the very atmosphereof human experience and history," (39-40). Satan cannot possiblybe just a fool. Stupid behavior does not make a fool when thereis so much heroism and bravery and inner conflict to handle.
Satan resonates within the reader because there is somethingwholly recognizable and familiar about him. He is prideful anddeeply torn between powerful internal forces, much like mankind.
If man had no pride, there would be no Fall. Satan, more so thanany other character in the poem including the members of theHoly Trinity, appears heroic to the impure human nature. He is real in a way Adam and Raphael and Jesus are not. The only othercharacter to come close is Eve in all her flawed glory. Milton knewhis audience when he wrote the compelling and entrancing Satanso strong and imperfect. Satan reflects man's own potential forgood and evil and pride and heroism and foolishness. The readercan believe in the Satanic hero because it appears so plausible.
Satan is more real than God Himself.
Works Cited
The Columbia World of Quotations. New York: Columbia 5 April 2005.
Hamilton, G. Rostrevor. Hero or Fool? London: George, Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1944.
"Hero." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language.
4th ed. 2000.
Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Ed. David Scott Kastan. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 2005.
Simone, Nina. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood. Polygram, 1989.
This page intentionally left blank Knowledge is cumulative, and an inherited body of information and understanding is the jumping-off point for the development of more knowledge. We often speak of "standing on the shoulders of giants," that is, of previous generations. There are several ways to document your sources. When youare writing in the humanities (such as English, history, andsocial studies) you most often use the MLA style of internaldocumentation, a method created by the Modern LanguageAssociation. (In Chapter 17, you'll learn all about footnotesand endnotes.) When you use internal documentation, you place as much of the citation as necessary within the text. The methodmakes it easy for your readers to track your sources as theyread. Later, they can check your Works Cited page for a com-plete bibliographic entry. Internal documentation takes theplace of traditional footnotes or endnotes.
What should you include in the body of the text? The first time you cite a work in your paper, include as much ofthe following information as necessary.
Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. the name of your source the writer's full name the writer's affiliation page numbers or URLs Naming the Author—According to Van Wyck Brooks,
Twain was a thwarted satirist whose bitterness toward thedamned human race was the fruit of a lifelong prostitution ofhis talents. "The life of a Mississippi pilot had, in some spe-cial way, satisfied the instinct of the artist in him. He feltthat, in some way, he had been as a pilot on the right track;and he felt that he had lost this track" (252).
Citing the Source—A recent Time magazine article
entitled "Video Madness," argues that small children becomeaddicted to video games with devastating results (35). Omitting the Author or Dealing with an Unknown
Author—The Long Island "greenbelt" is becoming seriously

Citing an Indirect Source—Not everyone admired
Twain's subjects or style. In a highly influential critical study,Van Wyck Brooks repeated Arnold Bennett's assessment ofTwain as a "divine amateur" as well as Henry James' famouscomment that Twain appeals to "rudimentary minds"(Brooks 21).
In the next chapter, you'll learn how to use footnotes and endnotes. That is another way to give credit to your sources.
They lard their lean books with the fat of others' work. Footnotes and endnotes are another form of documentationused in research papers. Sometimes referred to as the ChicagoStyle or CMS (after the University of Chicago's Manual ofStyle), footnotes and endnotes are often used in business, thefine arts, and the sciences to indicate the source of materialsthe writer incorporated into a research paper.
In this chapter, you'll learn when and how to use foot- notes and endnotes.
A footnote is a bibliographic reference indicated by a numberin the text. The complete citation is then placed at the bot-tom ("foot") of the same page. A footnote is normally flaggedby a superscript number following that portion of the textthe note refers to. Use 1 for the first footnote, 2 for the secondfootnote, and so on. Continue the numbering throughoutthe entire paper; do not start new numbers on each page.
1First footnote 2Second footnote Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. An endnote is identical in form to a footnote. The only difference is the placement: all endnotes are placed at theend of the paper on a separate page labeled "Endnotes." Never mix both footnotes and endnotes; choose onemethod or the other.
Examples
The following examples illustrate internal documentation (Modern
Language Association (MLA) style) and the use of footnotes
(Chicago style).
Despite the increasing role of women in the documentation work-force, most women remain in jobs traditionally defined as"women's work." Some employers see women as temporary fix-tures in the labor force, predicting they will leave for reasons ofmarriage or child rearing. These employers tend to shuttle womeninto jobs where there is little or no room for advancement.
(Thompson 65).
Despite the increasing role of women in the documentationworkforce, most women remain in jobs traditionally defined as"women's work." Some employers see women as temporary fix-tures in the labor force, predicting they will leave for reasons ofmarriage or child rearing. These employers tend to shuttlewomen into jobs where there is little or no room foradvancement.1 1 Roger Eggert, "Women's Economic Equality," Time 21 May 2007: 65.
Use footnotes/endnotes in your research papers when you are required to document information without usinginternal documentation.
want to add observations and comments that do not fitinto your text.
Most research papers in the humanities use internal doc- umentation to give credit to sources. However, some instruc-tors prefer footnotes or endnotes to internal documentation.
Use the method your audience or instructor prefers.
USING FOOTNOTES/ENDNOTES TO DOCUMENT SOURCES
Text of Paper
The dramatic increase in women's labor force participation has gen-erated a great deal of public interest, resulting in both social andeconomic consequences.1 Footnote or Endnote
1Gregory Brown, Women and Sex Roles: A Psychological Viewpoint(New York: Dutton, 2007) 126.
Text of Paper
As the women's movement gained momentum and two-incomefamilies became a necessity for attaining middle-class status,polls taken between 1972 and 1997 indicate that the approval ofmarried women working outside the home has steadilyincreased.2 Footnote or Endnote
2 Chris Siefert, "A Woman's Place is in the House—and Senate. Ms.
August 2007.
USING FOOTNOTES/ENDNOTES TO ADD
OBSERVATIONS AND COMMENTS
Whether you use internal documentation or footnotes/end-notes to give credit to outside sources, footnotes/endnotes areuseful for adding commentary, material that your reader willfind useful but that doesn't directly pertain to your thesis. Thefootnote/endnote functions as a parenthetical comment,maintaining the flow of your paper.
Text of Paper
Carlos Baker's biography of Ernest Hemingway: A Life Story depicts hissubject as a man of great complexity—volcanic, mercurial, frequentlytortured.18 Footnote or Endnote
18The Woodrow Wilson Professor of Literature at PrincetonUniversity, Baker devoted seven years to the preparation of hisacclaimed biography of Hemingway.
Choose either endnotes or footnotes. Asmentioned earlier, never use both in thesame paper. In general, endnotes are easier touse than footnotes.
As mentioned earlier, number footnotes orendnotes consecutively from the beginningto the end of your paper. DO NOT assigneach source its own number or start withnumber 1 on each page. Use a new number foreach citation even if several numbers refer tothe same source.
Place each citation number at the end of a in the Text
direct or indirect quotation in the text.
Footnotes are placed on the bottom of thepage on which they appear.
Endnotes are placed on a separate sheet ofpaper headed Endnotes or Notes at the end ofyour research paper.
The numbers are superscript Arabic numer-als. This means the numbers are raised a littleabove the words; many computer programswill do this automatically.
Single-space each footnote, but double-spacebetween entries.
Indent the first line of the footnote or endnotethe same number of spaces as you did with theother paragraphs in your paper, usually fivespaces. The second and all subsequent linesare placed flush left (to the left margin).
Leave two spaces after the number at the endof a sentence. Don't leave any extra spacebefore the number.
The format for citing books, periodicals, Internet sources,and other sources differs slightly. Examples of footnote/end-note format for several possible sources are given below.
CITING BOOKS
The basic footnote/endnote citation for a book looks like Footnote number. Author's First Name and Last Name, Book Title (Place of publication: Publisher, date of publica-tion), page number.
Book by one author
6Phillip Roth, Portnoy's Complaint (New York: Random House, 1969) 231.
Part of a book
4David Daiches, "Samuel Richardson," in Twentieth CenturyInterpretations of Pamela, ed. Rosemary Cowler (Englewood Cliffs,New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 2006) 14.
9Funk and Wagnalls, 12th edition, "New Brunswick." The basic footnote/endnote citation for a magazine, newspaper, or journal looks like this: Footnote number. Author's First Name and Last Name, "Article Title," Periodical Title, date, page number.
Article in a weekly or monthly magazine
3Trish Howard, "Time to Abolish the Electoral College," Newsweek,16 July 2007, 23.
Review of a book, movie, or play
5Margaret Singer, "Science Fiction or Science Fact?" Review ofArmageddon (movie), The Los Angeles Times, 11 August 2007, 22A.
Signed newspaper article
22Scott Sanders, "E-coli Poses Serious Threat to Travelers,"Washington Post, 5 March 2007, Early City edition, sec. 3, p. 6.
Unsigned newspaper article
To cite an unsigned newspaper title, begin with the title. Includeall information that your reader might need to locate thesource, such as the edition, section number or letter, and pagenumber.
"E-coli Poses Serious Threat to Travelers," Washington Post, 5 March2007, Early City edition, sec. 3, p. 6.
CITING GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS
The basic footnote/endnote citation for a government document looks like this: Footnote number. Government agency. Subsidiary agency. Title of Document. Individual Author, if included.
(Publication information, page numbers).
Example
14United States Congressional House Subcommittee on
Health and Education, Federal Policies Regarding Distribution of
Aid to Dependent Children. 97th Congress. (Washington, DC:
GPO, 2007), 63.
CITING INTERNET SOURCES
It's not as easy to cite Internet sources as it is to cite print sources because standards for citing Internet sources are stillbeing developed. Further, web pages don't have a title pagewhere you can easily locate the information needed for areference.
Below are two examples of a widely accepted standard format for citing Internet sources. The first date is the datethe web page was created or last modified. The second date isthe date you accessed the web page. If the web page does nothave a modification or creation date, leave it out, but alwaysindicate your access date just before the URL.
Examples
19Robert Williams, "Community Service as a Requirement for High
School Graduation." Area 9 Supervisors, January 2005, 22 April, 2007
19Emma Steinblock, "Giving Parents the Keys to the Kingdom:
Allowing Parents Full Access to their College-Age Children's Grades
and Behavior Record." American Educator, Winter 2004, 2 Nov, 2007

CITING LECTURES OR SPEECHES
13William T. Greene, "Addressing the Needs of the Learning-Disabled Middle-School Child" (Paper presented atthe National Council of Teachers of English 2007 AnnualConvention. Detroit: Michigan, 22 November, 2007).
16Meish Goldish, personal interview. 31 October 2007.
CITING TELEVISION OR RADIO SHOWS
6"AIDS Research," 20/20. Narr. Barbara Walters, Prod.
Kathy Coley, WABC, New York, 14 February, 2007.
This page intentionally left blank A research paper is not a list of findings; it is the coherent communication of a meaningful pattern of A Works Cited page provides a complete citation for everywork you cited in your research paper. A Bibliography (orWorks Consulted list), in contrast, provides a full citation forevery work you consulted as you wrote your paper.
In most academic research papers, instructors require a Works Cited page. However, in business, you may be asked toprepare a Bibliography/Works Consulted list as well. Be sureyou know what documentation you are required to submitwith your research paper.
Below are the standard MLA (Modern Language Association)citation formats. Remember to use MLA style formatting forpapers in the humanities.
Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. CITING INTERNET SOURCES
As you read in Chapter 17, the format for citing an Internet source is still evolving. Below are the minimumrequirements as of publication date.
Author. Make every effort to distinguish the author of thecontent from the page designer and avoid listing thedesigner as an author. If you can't locate an author cita-tion, begin the reference with the title.
Title. If there is both an individual document title and apublication title, place the publication title after the doc-ument title.
Date of publication or date of last revision. If a documentincludes both a date of creation and a date it was lastupdated, use only the latter. If no date is included, use theabbreviation n.d. (no date) just as you would for a bookor article with no date.
URL. Block and copy the URL to avoid typographical errors.
Date that you accessed the page. Examples
Internet sources include general web sources, database articles,
e-mail, and electronic newsgroups and bulletin boards.
General Web Source
FormatAuthor. "Document Title." Publication or Web site title. Date of publi-cation. Date of access.
ExampleRosenberg, Owen. "Selling Organs for Transplant." HealthIssues Update. Winter 2005. 10 Mar Cite articles from databases (such as EBSCOhost or Lexis-Nexis) asyou would an article from a print journal but include additionalinformation about the electronic source.
FormatAuthor. "Article Title." Periodical Title: volume number (publicationdate): page numbers (if available). Database name. Database producer.
Date of access <URL for database home page>.
ExampleMoon,William Least Heat. "Blue Highways." U.S. News and WorldReport (17 January 2005): 12+. 12 Ma To document an e-mail message, provide the following information: FormatAuthor's name. "Subject line." Description of message that includesrecipient (e.g., e-mail to the author). Date of sending.
ExampleLawrence, Charles. "Fair Division." E-mail to Jill Fitzpatrick. 26 May2007.
Electronic Newsgroups and Bulletin Boards
FormatInclude the author's name, the title of the document, the date thesource was posted, the medium (online posting), the location online,the name of the network, and the date of access.
ExampleBrown, Margery. "Inclusion of Handicapped Children." 20 March2007. Online posting.ivillage, Children with Special Needs. AmericaOnline, 25 March 2007.
CITING BOOKS
The basic citation for a book looks like this: Author's last name, first name. Book Title. Place of publi- cation: publisher, date of publication.
A book with one author
Hartz, Paula. Abortion: A Doctor's Perspective, a Woman's Dilemma. NewYork: Donald I. Fine, Inc., 1992.
A book with two or more authors
Notice that the first author's name is inverted for alphabetical order.
Landis, Jean M. and Rita J. Simon. Intelligence: Nature or Nurture? NewYork: HarperCollins, 1998.
A book with four or more authors
You can cite all the authors listed or only the first one and thenwrite et al. ("and others") for the rest of the authors.
Frieze, Irene H., et al. Women and Sex Roles: A PsychologicalPerspective. New York:W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2006.
Give the name of the corporation as the author, even if it is thepublisher as well.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Animal Rights. New York:PETA, 2005.
An author and an editor
Be sure to include the author's name, the title of the book, and then theeditor. Use the abbreviation Ed. whether there is one editor or many.
Nathaniel Hawthorne. Nathaniel Hawthorne's Tales. Ed. JamesMacintosh. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1987.
Give the name of the editor or editors, followed by ed. (if one editor) or eds. (if more than one editor).
Ellmann, Richard and Robert O'Clair, eds.The Norton Anthology ofModern Poetry. New York:W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2005.
A book in a series
After the title, include the name of the series and series number.
Spencer, Evan. Ernest Hemingway. Twayne's United States AuthorsSeries 54. Boston:Twayne, 1990.
After the title, write Trans. ("translated by") and the name of thetranslator.
Voltaire. Candide or l'optimisme. Trans. George R. Havens. New York:Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1969.
A selection reprinted in an anthology
First give the name of the author and the title of selection, then thetitle of the book, the editor, the edition, and the publicationinformation.
Mailer, Norman. "Censorship and Literary Cowardice." Lend Me YourEars: Great Speeches in History. Ed.William Safire. New York: W.W.
Norton & Company Inc., 1992.
The basic citation for an article looks like this: Author's last name, first name. "Title of the Article." Magazine. Month and year of publication: page numbers.
A note on numbers.
If the page numbers in an article are not consecutive, citethe first page number followed by a plus sign (+).
The date in a bibliographic citation is written in Europeanstyle, with the date before the month, rather than after.
For example: 12 September 1989 Article in a monthly magazineCrowley, J.E.,T.E. Levitan and R.P. Quinn. "Seven Deadly Half-TruthsAbout Women." Psychology Today March 1978: 94–106.
Article in a weekly magazineSchwartz, Felice N. "Management,Women, and the New Facts of Life." Newsweek 20 July 2006: 21–22.
Signed newspaper articleFerraro, Susan. "In-law and Order: Finding Relative Calm." The DailyNews 30 June 1998: 73.
Unsigned newspaper article"Beanie Babies May Be a Rotten Nest Egg." Chicago Tribune 21 June2004: 12.
EditorialShow that the article is an editorial by writing Editorial after the title.
Example"Dealing with the National Debt." Editorial. Newsday 12 October2007, sec. 2:4.
ReviewTo indicate that an article is a book, movie, or play review, write"Rev. of" before the work being reviewed. Use the abbreviation"dir." for the director.
ExampleBarnes, Clive. "The Story of a Life." Rev. of Collected Stories, dir. LizUslan.The New York Times 1 August 2006: 34–35.
Cite a pamphlet the same way you would a book.
Jaffe, Natalie. "Men's Jobs for Women: Toward Occupational Equality."Public Affairs Pamphlet 606 (August 1968): 10–17.
CITING GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS
The format varies with the information available. The basic citation for a government document looks like this: Government agency. Subsidiary agency. Title of Document. U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, 2007.
United States Congressional House Subcommittee on Health and Education. Federal Policies Regarding Distributionof Aid to Dependent Children. 97th Congress. Washington,DC: GPO, 2007.
CITING LECTURES OR SPEECHES
Name the speaker, the title of the speech, the name of the occasion or sponsoring organization, the location, andthe date. If you can't get all this information, provide asmuch as possible.
Sorenson, Sharon. "Addressing the Needs of the Learning-DisabledMiddle-School Child." National Council of Teachers of English AnnualConvention. Detroit: Michigan, 22 November, 1998.
Subject of the interview. Personal interview or Telephone Goldish, Meish. Personal interview. October 31 2007.
CITING TELEVISION OR RADIO SHOWS
Significant people involved with the production. Their role: Writ. (writer), Dir. (director), Perf. (performer), Narr.
(narrator), Prod. (producer).
"Universal Health Care." 20/20. Narr. Barbara Walters. Prod. SammiRosen.WABC, New York, 14 February 2007.
The Works Cited page (or the Bibliography) is the last page ofyour paper. Here are some additional guidelines to follow asyou prepare this page: Title. Center the title Works Cited on the top of the
page, about one inch from the top. Do not underline it,
boldface it, or place it in italics.
Alphabetical order. Entries are arranged in alphabeti-
cal order according to the author's last name. If the entry
doesn't have an author (such as an encyclopedia entry or
an editorial), alphabetize it according to the first word of
the title. Ignore the prepositions A, An, and The.
Numbering. Do not number the entries.
Indentation. Start each entry flush left. Don't indent
the first line, but do indent the second and all subsequent
lines of an entry. Use the standard indent of five spaces.
Spacing. As with the rest of your paper, double-space
each entry on your Works Cited page.
In the next chapter, you'll learn how to present your researchpaper.
The ink of the scholar is more sacred than the blood of the martyr. You're in the home stretch! Just a few more matters to attendto and you'll be ready to hand in your research paper. Nowit's time to consider the material that comes before the bodyof your paper (the front matter) and the material that comesafter (the end matter). It's also time to learn how to presentyour paper, including typing and binding.
Depending on the subject matter of your research paper andthe course requirements, you may need to include specificmaterial before the body of your paper. This includes: Table of contents Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. Always check with whomever requested the research paper (college instructor, work supervisor, and so on) to see ifyou are required to include front matter and, if so, which ele-ments are required.
TITLE PAGE
Most high school and college research papers require a title page. Your title page should contain: the name of the course your instructor's name Here's how to arrange the information: Title. Center your title one-third down the page. (Repeatthe title on the first page, centered on the first line. Doublespace between the title and the first line of the text.) Your Name. Place your name halfway down the page, pref-aced by the word "by." Course name, instructor's name, date. These go directlyunder your name. Double-space between lines.
If your instructor does not require a title page, your first page functions as a title page.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The table of contents lists the main divisions of your paper. If you include a table of contents, be sure that theheadings on the table of contents match the headings ineach section of your paper. The table of contents appearsdirectly after the title page. Type it up last so you will knowthe page numbers.
FOREWORD AND PREFACE
It is unusual to include a foreword or preface in a high school or college research paper.
In most cases, the foreword is written by an expert in thefield and serves as an endorsement of the contents.
The preface, written by the author of the paper, explainshow the paper came to be written and gives thanks to peo-ple who helped with research and other related matters.
An abstract is a brief summary of the contents of your paper. Objective in tone, abstracts are often included in tech-nical or scholarly papers. An abstract usually runs between100–125 words. It is presented on a separate page in oneparagraph. Do not indent the first line.
How the Division within the Liberal Community was Reflected in theNation, 1930–1950 Granville Hicks charged in the New Masses in 1937 that the Nationhad abandoned its long-held position as unofficial organ of the LiberalLeft when it deliberately selected anti-Stalinist reviewers for booksdealing with Soviet Russia.The Nation called the charges unjustified.
Fourteen years later, Hicks once again attacked the Nation, this timecharging that the editorial section gave the Russians the benefit ofevery doubt.
Hicks was correct in his charges and in this seesaw of beliefs and alle-giances lies the main story of our time.The initial pull of Communism,drawing away, and resulting break-up of the Left determined the literarycourse of American radicalism.
End matter may include visuals, such as charts and graphs,and a glossary.
Visuals include graphs, charts, maps, figures, and pho- tographs. You can draw them by hand or prepare them on acomputer. Place each graphic at the appropriate place in thetext or group them at the end. Warning!
Visuals that you did not create yourself must be credited
the same way you would credit any outside source.
A glossary lists and defines technical terms or presents additional information on the subject. For example, if youare writing a research paper on Shakespeare, you mightinclude a brief glossary of Shakespearean English, a glossaryof films that tie in with the topic, or a glossary of notableShakespearean actors or performances.
Research papers follow a standard presentation format. Theyare never submitted in handwritten form. If you have a situationthat prevents you from keyboarding your paper, be sure tospeak to your instructor well in advance of the paper's due date.
Follow these guidelines: Paper stock
Use white paper, standard 81/ × Use standard 12-point fonts such as TimesRoman, Courier, or Helvetica. Avoid fancy,elaborate fonts, since they are difficult toread.
Double-space the text. Leave a 11/2" mar-gin on the left side and 1" on the othersides. Your computer is preset for the cor-rect margins.
Do not right-justify (align) your paper. Theright margins should be ragged. Your com-puter will automatically justify your leftmargin.
Number each page and write your name onthe upper-right-hand corner. Do not placea number on the title page, but count it in the final number of pages you submit. Yourcomputer software program creates anautomatic page header. This inserts yourname and the page number automaticallyon each page.
Indent five spaces at the beginning of eachparagraph. Do not skip lines betweenparagraphs.
Order of pages Arrange your pages in this order:
Title page (if required)Outline (if required) The body of the paperAny relevant end matterWorks Cited Check with your instructor for specificguidelines. Some instructors require researchpapers be presented in folders; others dis-courage this.
Every scholarly field has a preferred style of presentation.
Here are some of the standard style manuals for differentfields.
Biology. Council of Biology Editors. Scientific Style and
Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and
Publishers, 6th edition. New York: Cambridge University
Press, latest edition.
Chemistry. American Chemical Society. The SCS Style
Guide: A Manual for Authors and Editors. Washington: ACS,
latest edition.
English and the Humanities. Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA
Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 4th edition. New
York: Modern Language Association, latest edition.
Engineering. Michaelson, Herbert B. How to Write and
Publish Engineering Papers and Reports. 3rd Edition. Phoenix,
Arizona: Oryx, latest edition.
Geology. United States Geological Survey. Suggestions to
Authors of the Reports of the United States Geological Survey.
7th ed. Washington: GPO, latest edition.
Law. The Bluebook. A Uniform System of Citation. Comp.
Editors of Columbia Law Review et al. 15th ed. Cambridge:
Harvard Law Review, latest edition.
Linguistics. Linguistic Society of America. LSA Bulletin,
Dec. issue, annually.
Mathematics. American Mathematical Society. A Manual
for Authors of Mathematical Papers. 8th Rev. ed. Providence:
AMS, latest edition.
Medicine. Iverson, Cheryl, et al. American Medical
Association Manual of Style. 8th ed. Baltimore: Williams,
latest edition.
Music. Holoman, D. Kern, ed. Writing About Music: A
Style Sheet from the Editors of 19th Century Music. Berkeley:
University of California Press, latest edition.
Physics. American Institute of Physics. AIP Style Manual.
4th ed. New York: AIP, latest edition.
Psychology. American Psychological Association. Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association. 4th ed.
Washington: APA, latest edition.
Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. This page intentionally left blank The difference between the right word and the nearly right word is the same as that between lightning and the lightning bug. When you think "revising," think "rewriting." Your first draftwill rarely say all that you want to say in the best possibleway. Experienced writers know that it takes several drafts toconvey your meaning clearly. This is especially true whenyou're writing a research paper, where outside material isused to support your thesis.
Here are some guidelines to follow as you revise your Give your writing time to sit and "cool off" betweendrafts. Problems often become much clearer if you letsome time elapse between writing and revision.
Allow sufficient time for revision. It's not unusual tospend as much time—if not more—revising than writing. Don't be afraid to make significant changes as you revise.
You will most likely change the order of paragraphs,delete sections, and add new passages, for instance.
Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. Save successive drafts of your documents in different com-puter files, such as researchpaperversion1.doc, researchpa-perversion2.doc, researchpaperversion3.doc, and so on.
You might find a use for deleted material later.
Share your writing with others. Peer reviewers can oftenhelp you spot areas that need revision. Consider theircomments carefully. If your school or university has a Writing Center, havethem help revise your paper, too.
Use the following checklist as you edit your paper: Is my writing accurate? Are my sentences concise and to the point? Have I included sufficient detail? Does my paper have all the information and explanation I need tosupport the thesis? Do I prove my thesis? Do I use the level of diction appropriate for my audi- Is my writing coherent? Do I link related ideas with Does my writing have a clear voice? Is the voice appropriate to the subject and audience? Have I given credit to each source? Have I avoided Is my paper in the correct form, including a title page, outline, Works Cited page, and anything elserequired by the assignment? Is my writing correct? Have I used the correct gram- mar, spelling, and punctuation? As you prepare your final draft, proofread it carefully to catchany typos or other errors. Read your draft aloud, very slowly,saying each word. Use a ruler or piece of paper to guide youreyes to make sure you don't skip any words. It's also helpfulto ask one or more people to proofread your paper as well.
CORRECTING MISUSED WORDS
Too many errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar can harm an otherwise competent research paper and seri-ously affect your grade. If you are writing for business, therepercussions can be even more serious. Spell checkers are very useful inventions, but they have several shortcomings. As a result, you must proofread yourpaper carefully to catch misused words. This is crucial becauseit helps you write exactly what you mean. Often people usethe wrong word, a common problem with homonyms andhomophones, words often confused.
Homonyms are words with the same spelling and pro- nunciation but different meanings.
Examples: beam (ray of light) and beam (girder).
Homophones are words with the same pronunciation but different
spellings and meanings.
Examples: course (route), course (program of study), and
coarse (rough).
English has many of these often-confused words. Use the following
list as a guide as you edit and revise your research paper.
THE 60 MOST OFTEN CONFUSED WORD GROUPS
1. accept: take except: leave out, to exclude 2. advise: give counsel advice: counsel 3. air: atmosphere err: make a mistake 4. affect: influence (verb) affect: a particular psychological state (noun)effect: impact and purpose (noun)effect: bring about (verb) 5. a lot: many allot: divide 6. altar: a platform upon which religious rites are performed alter: change 7. allowed: given permission aloud: out loud, verbally 8. all together: all at one time 9. allude: refer to elude: escape 10. already: previously all ready: completely prepared 11. allusion: a reference to a well-known place, event, person, work of art, or other work of literatureillusion: a misleading appearance or a deception 12. among: three or more people, places, or things between: two people, places, or things 13. amount: things that can't be counted (example: amount of sunlight)number: things that can be counted (example: number ofbricks) 14. arc: part of the circumference of a circle; curved line 15. are: plural verb our: belonging to us 16. ascent: move up assent: agree 17. bare: undressed bare: unadorned, plain bear: large wild animalbear: carry, hold 18. base: the bottom part of an object; the plate in baseball; morally lowbass: the lowest male voice; a type of fish; a musicalinstrument 19. beau: sweetheart bow: bend from the waist; a device used to propel arrows;loops of ribbon; the forward end of a ship 20. berth: a sleeping area in a ship birth: being born 21. board: a thin piece of wood; a group of directors bored: not interested 22. born: native, brought forth by birth borne: endured (past participle of "to bear") 23. bore: tiresome person boar: male pig 24. brake: a device for slowing a vehicle break: crack or destroy 25. bread: baked goods bred: cause to be born 26. breadth: the side-to-side dimension breath: inhalation and exhalation 27. bridal: pertaining to the bride or a wedding bridle: part of a horse's harness 28. buy: purchase by: near or next to 29. capital: the city or town that is the official seat of govern- ment; highly important; net worth of a business Capitol: the building in Washington D.C. where the U.S.
Congress meets 30. conscience: moral sense conscious: awake 31. cell: a small room, as in a convent or a prison sell: trade 32. cent: a penny scent: aroma 33. cheep: what a bird says cheap: not expensive 34. deer: animal dear: beloved 35. do: act or make (verb) due: caused by (adjective) 36. draft: breeze draft: sketch 37. dye: change color died: ceased living 38. emigrate: move away from one's country immigrate: move to another country 39. eminent: distinguished imminent: expected momentarilyimmanent: inborn, inherent 40. fare: price charged for transporting a passenger fair: not biased; moderately large; moderately good 41. faze: stun phase: a stage in someone's behavior 42. for: because four: the number 4 43. gorilla: ape 44. grate: irritate, reduce to small pieces great: big, wonderful 45. hair: the stuff on your head heir: beneficiary of a deceased person's estatehare: rabbit like animal 46. here: in this place hear: listen 47. hours: 60-minute period ours: belonging to us 48. it's: contraction for "it is" its: possessive pronoun 49. lay: to put down lie: be flat 50. lead: conduct lead: bluish-gray metalled: past tense of "to lead" 51. loose: not tight, not fastened (noun) loose: untighten or let go (verb)lose: misplace (verb) 52. meat: animal flesh meet: encounter; proper 53. peace: calm piece: section 54. plain: not beautiful; obvious; also, a flat stretch of land plane: airplane; in geometry, a two-dimensional surface 55. presence: company, closeness presents: gifts 56. principal: main; head of a school principle: rule 57. reed: plants read: interpret the written word 58. right: correct write: form letters 59. than: comparison then: at that time 60. their: belonging to them they're: contraction for "they are"there: place SPELL IT RIGHT
Learning some standard spelling rules can serve you well as you proofread your research papers. Here are the basics: 1. i before e except after c. .
i before e except after cor as sounded as a as in neighbor and weigh Examples: Words That Fit the Rule
i before e
except after c
sounded as a
Examples: Words That Don't Fit the Rule
2. e, i, e, i (no o). Words with i and e pronounced with a
long a sound are always spelled -ei, never -ie.
If the sound is a long-i, the word is usually spelled with the -ei combo, not -ie.
Notice that in each case, the -ie combination is followed by an r.
In addition, "ie" words with a short vowel sound usually spell it -ie rather than -ei.
3. The -ceed/-cede rule. There are only three verbs in
English that end in -ceed: succeed, proceed, exceed. All theother verbs with that sound end in -cede. For example,secede, recede, intercede, concede, accede, cede, precede. 4. The -ful rule. Remember that the sound full at the end
of a word is spelled with only one l.
When the suffix is -ful plus -ly, there are two l's. 5. -ery or -ary? Only six commonplace words end with
-ery as opposed to -ary. They are: cemetery, confectionery,millinery, monastery, distillery, stationery (writing paper). 6. Q is followed by u. This is a nice rule because it has
only one English exception, the lightweight nylon fabriccalled Qiana. The rule doesn't fit with abbreviations orforeign words, however. For instance, the abbreviation for quart is qt. (not qut.) The east Arabia peninsula on thePersian Gulf is Qatar, not Quatar, but that's ok, becausethe word can also be spelled "Katar." 7. ks and cs. Some words that end in c have a hard "k"
sound. Adding y, i, or e after the final c changes the hardsound to a soft one, creating spelling dilemmas. As a gen-eral rule, add a k after the final c when the hard soundbecomes soft.
Examples
Word ending in C
Adding the K mimic mimicked, mimicking, mimickertraffic trafficked, trafficking, trafficker panic panicked, panicking, panicky 8. Compound words. Compound words fall into three
categories: open compounds, closed compounds, hyphenatedcompounds. Here are the definitions and examples: Open compounds are written as two words:cedar shingles executive secretary Closed compounds are written as one word:handbook Hyphenated compounds have a hyphen:president-elect Warning!
A hyphen is one press of the button -; a dash is two—.
A hyphen is used within words; a dash is used
between words.
What happens if you have completely finished proof- reading your paper and you suddenly spot a few more errors?Don't panic. If there are only a few errors, use the followingproofreading marks rather than retype an entire page.

This page intentionally left blank Use the following research papers as guidelines as you prepareyour own.
Copyright 2007, 1999 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use. This page intentionally left blank Thesis: SSRIs should be used with great care.
A. Anecdotal opening A. How SSRIs works B. Statistics on sale and use III. Advantages of SSRIs (opposition side) A. Emotional calm B. Fewer side effects than other antidepressants C. Helps many patients IV. Disadvantages of SSRIs (writer's side) A. Side effects may outweigh advantages 1.Thoughts of suicide 3.Decreased libido 4.Personality changes 5.May accelerate tumor growth 6.Other side effects B. May be overprescribed.
C. Provides only a quick-fix Prozac and Other SSRIs: Salvation or Damnation?
Melissa Ryder was suffering from depression. To relieve her symptoms, her doctor prescribed Prozac.
"After only six days on Prozac, I was in far worse shape than I had ever been before," she said in an interview. Her bizarre side effects included dreams of bouncing off walls, uncontrollable trembling, urges to stab herself, and thoughts of killing her children. Melissa Ryder is no longer using Prozac and her condition has improved greatly (Bowe 42).
Despite the tremendous global popularity of Prozac and other drugs classified as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), some serious issues are being raised about their negative effects. The side effects of SSRIs can do more dam- age than the makers of the drugs could have ever imagined, as Melissa Ryder's case illustrates.
While SSRIs can help some people suffering from depression and other mental disorders, they should only be used with great care.
Prozac, also known by its chemical name Fluoxtine, is the first "designer drug" created expressly to treat depression by altering the bio- chemistry of only one system in the brain. Prozac interferes with the reabsorption process of sero- tonin going into the brain. It slows down the uptake of serotonin, making it more available to the brain when needed (Brown 153).
Prozac and related SSRIs have been one of mod- ern medicine's great success stories. In an article entitled "Trouble in Prozac" in Fortune magazine, writer David Stipp notes that since Prozac's debut in 1988, the drug has grown into an $11-billion-a- year market in the U.S. alone. Nearly 150 million U.S. prescriptions were dispensed in 2004 for SSRIs and similar antidepressants called SNRIs, according to IMS Health, a Fairfield, Connecticut drug data and consulting company––more than for any other drug except codeine. Approximately one out of every twenty adult Americans take SSRIs now, making brands like Pfizer's Zoloft, GlaxoSmithKline's Paxil, Forest Laboratories' Celexa, and Solvay Pharmaceuticals' Luvox household names. These fig- ures show that Prozac and related SSRIs must be These drugs clearly have some advantages in the treatment of depression. Doctors boast that SSRIs afford some patients a consistent, calm feeling, unlike that achieved through other antidepressants that have less severe side effects than SSRIs.
According to science writer Claudia Bowe, "SSRIs happens to have fewer side effects because they alter one brain chemical (serotonin), while most other anti-depressants affect many chemical systems in the brain" (44) Describing her depression, Margaret London, an office manager in Manhattan, said, "Everything was gray and black. It was like being in a pit." Ms. London tried all the different kinds of anti- depressants currently on the market, but only Prozac helped her. She said, "After being on Prozac, I began to realize that I no longer felt depressed and unhappy. I felt as if someone had whitewashed the world" (Bowe 42).
Although Prozac was beneficial to Margaret London, for many patients, the side effects of SSRIs greatly outweigh their benefits. The negative effects of SSRIs range from suicide to sexual dys- function. Martin Teicher, a psychiatrist from Boston University, studied his patients on Prozac and con- cluded, "A significant percentage of Prozac users were thinking of stabbing themselves, turning on gas jets in their apartments and striking a match to blow themselves up" ("Open Verdict" 76). Other psy- chiatrists have reported similar results. In 2005, Tim "Woody" Witczak killed himself at age 37, soon after going on Zoloft, the top-selling member of Prozac's class of drugs. Her husband was an upbeat, happy man, says Kim Witczak, but he had been pre- scribed Zoloft for insomnia over a new job. Soon after he started taking the drug, Witczak began suf- fering from nightmares, profound agitation, and eerie sensory experiences. Five weeks after his first dose, he hanged himself. Witczak's death is not an isolated incident. Similar cases date back more than a decade. In September 1989, for instance, a man taking Prozac shot twenty people and then killed him- self. His doctor said that the man was not violent until he began taking Prozac. As a result of this incident, lawsuits amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars have been filed against Eli Lilly, the company that sells Prozac ("Open Verdict" 76).
There are also complaints of people feeling devoid of emotions while on Prozac. Dr. Randolph Catlin, a psychiatrist and chief of the mental health service at Harvard University, said, "Many of the students I treated with Prozac reported split off from themselves. They felt as though they were not there anymore." He added, "One wonders if these reports that you hear about patients acting aggressively while on Prozac might be cases where patients who are out of touch with their feelings act on their impulses, without having any feelings of guilt or concern" (Nichols 39).
Dulled or absent sexual response is a problem, too. It has been reported that some individuals on Prozac have a decreased libido or no desire for sexual activity. A U.S. study, published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry in April 1994, found that among 160 patients taking Prozac, 85 reported that their sexual desire or response diminished after using Prozac (Nichols 36).
In addition, many patients on Prozac began to experience personality changes over time. A new study described at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association suggests that Prozac alters aspects of personality as it relieves depression. Ron G. Goldman a psychiatrist at Columbia University, believes that "Emotional and personality factors are intertwined in depression so it's not really surprising that some type of personality change would accompany improvement in this condition" (Bowe 359). Similarly, psychiatrist Peter Kramer in his book Listening to Prozac claims, "Prozac offers nothing less than self transformation, turning self-doubts into confi- dence, increasing energy, even improving one's business acumen" (94).
In other cases, doctors have reported side effects of a more serious nature. Some scientists suspect that Prozac may accelerate tumor growth in people who already have cancer. In July 1992, the journal Cancer Research published a paper by a group of researchers, which showed that tumors in mice and rats seemed to grow faster when the ani- mals were given Prozac (Nichols 40).
Prozac's other reported unpleasant side effects include jumpiness, nausea, insomnia, unwanted weight gain, headaches, and rapid heart beat.
"These symptoms have appeared in hundreds of thou- sands of patients," said Peter R. Breggin, MD, author of "Another View: Talking Back to Prozac." He adds, "When a doctor prescribes Prozac, it should be understood that these symptoms exist and that the risk is quite high. I believe that these warnings go unsaid as millions of people continue to take Prozac" (Brown 153–5).
Controversy about SSRIs' side effects flared into national prominence in 2005 when they and older antidepressants were shown to double the risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior in children and adolescents. That discovery prompted the FDA to put a stern "black box" warning on package inserts. The warning cautions doctors to monitor young patients closely in their first months on SSRIs. Further, in June 2004, following actions taken by British drug authorities, the FDA released a statement recommend- ing that physicians refrain from prescribing Paxil Prozac is now the most frequently prescribed psychiatric medication. Physicians, mostly non- psychiatrists, are now writing almost one million prescriptions a month for the drug. "Many medical experts worry that some doctors are over-prescribing Prozac and using it to treat relatively trivial disorders" (Nichols 36).
In addition to over-prescribing, there are problems with using Prozac as a quick-fix remedy.
Psychiatrist Peter Breggin, cited earlier, said, "Too many doctors prescribe Prozac for minor depression or anxiety without talking to patients long enough to understand their problems. Too many patients look for pills to smooth out the inevitable ups and downs of everyday life" (Breggin 46–8). Breggin argues, "In looking for the quick- fix, too many psychiatrists have forgotten the importance of love, hope, and empathy in maintain- ing sanity." He adds, "The main problem is Prozac is merely a stimulant that does not get to the root of depression and is dangerous when used improperly" (Breggin 80).
Over time, Prozac's dark side is becoming more apparent to the medical community and eventually to the general public. Maybe Prozac isn't a wonder drug after all. While Prozac may help some people, it is not a miracle cure.
Bauer, Bruce. "Antidepressants May Alter Personality." Science News. June 4, 1994: 359.
Bowe, Claudia D. "Women and Depression: Are We Being Overdosed?" Redbook. March, 1992: 42–4.
Breggin, Peter. "Another View: Talking Back to Prozac." Psychology Today. July/August, 1994: 46–81.
——— Talking Back to Prozac. New York: St. Martin's Brown, Avery. "Miracle Worker." People Weekly.
November 15, 1993: 153–5.
Kramer, Peter. Listening to Prozac. New York: Penguin, 1993.
Nichols, Mark. "Questioning Prozac." McLean's. May 23, 1994: 36–41.
"Open Verdict: Prozac and Suicide." The Economist.
January 19, 1991: 76.
Richard Grandpre. "Trouble in Prozac Nation." The Nation. January 5, 2004. Retrieved October 11, Stipp, David. "Trouble in Prozac." Fortune. November 28, 2005. Retrieved October 10, 2006, from Thesis: The development of comic books reflected the social situations of the twentieth century.
I. 1930s: Comics offer escapism from the Depression.
A. Escapist fantasies fuel comic strips.
B. Comic strips compiled into books.
C. Golden Age of Comics began.
II. 1940–1945: Comics serve as American propaganda in World War II.
A. WW II brings to escapism, reflected in comics.
B. Comics feature patriotic heroes fighting for American values.
III. 1946–1950: Comics languished.
A. The atomic bomb eclipsed superheroes' impact.
B. Archie comics become popular with America's C. Horror comics appear; become increasingly IV. 1950–1955: Comics fall prey to Congressional A. Congress meets to determine if juvenile delinquency caused by comics.
B. Comics Code Authority formed to censor objectionable material in comics.
V. 1956–1960s: Superheroes return to comics.
A. New superheroes mirror American quest for B. War comics show civilian side of conflict, reflecting America's conflicted feelings about the Vietnam War.
VI. 1970s: Comics again became relevant.
A. Comics focus on important issues in the 1970s.
B. Comics become more gritty and realistic.
VII. 1990s: Comics reflect modern concerns. A. Comics keyed to pressing social issues.
B. Comics similar to TV and movies in themes Comics and History
During the 1930s, purveyors of popular culture offered escape to the American people. Their efforts served in part to ease people through the economic calamity of the Depression. Comic strips such as "Tarzan," "Buck Rogers," and "Prince Valiant" served to transport the reader else- where––a jungle, a desert, a distant planet, the past or the future––where the action had no bearing on the grueling reality of the day. As the decade progressed, adventure strips grew in popularity, fueling escapist fantasies for the economically distressed (Savage 3).
The comic book industry began in the mid-1930s.
Publisher M.C. "Max" Gaines thought that compiling a collection of newspaper comic strips in a maga- zine form would work well as a premium giveaway (Thomson 23). So the first comic book was just that, reprints, given away with products ranging from soap to breakfast cereal to children's shoes.
Other companies quickly saw the popularity of such magazines and very soon, all the usable strips were being reprinted and sold as books (Savage 4).
In 1934, Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson start- ed his company by printing New Comics and New Fun Comics, using all new material. He hired Max Gaines to be in charge. In 1936, they started another new title, Detective Comics, the first comic book devoted to a single theme. These were precursors to the vaunted "Golden Age" of comic books.
The so-called "Golden Age" of comics officially began in 1938. While looking for a lead feature to launch another new title, Gaines and his editors settled on a strip that had been created five years earlier and unsuccessfully offered as a news- paper strip by two teenagers from Cleveland, Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster. The character could lift cars, leap over buildings, and bounce bullets of his chest. The new magazine was named Action Comics. The character was called Superman (Daniels 32).
Superman proved to be an overnight success. As quickly as they could, other publishers––and DC itself, as Gaines' company had come to be called––sought to make economic lightning strike again and again. Costumed heroes arrived by the busload, feeding the escapist public with fantastic adventures (Savage 17).
Not long before the second World War, impelled by world affairs and the public mood, the comic- book industry created a number of "patriotic" heroes. Captain America, Fighting Yank, The Americommando, and even Uncle Sam, who began appearing in National Comics in July of 1940. This signaled the end of comic book escapism. As war became part of everyday life, comics became a vehi- cle for propaganda.
Military Comics was launched several months before the United States entered World War II, advertising "Stories of the Army and Navy." The leading hero was Blackhawk who, we learned in the first issue, was a Polish aviator whose family had been killed by Nazis. He waged aerial guerrilla warfare against Nazi Germany in his distinctive Blackhawk plane––which had a striking resemblance to a Grumman skyrocket (Goulart 181).
Comic books became a part of the Allied propagan- da machine, emphasizing the need for a maximum war effort by portraying the enemy as a vast, inhuman evil. All variety of heroes, including Superman and Batman, were portrayed on covers promoting war bonds and punching out the "JapaNazis." Additionally, hun- dreds of thousands of comics were shipped to Allied troops around the world (Savage 10). The audience for comics grew to astounding proportions (Goulart 241).
After the war, however, interest in the super- heroes began to wane. The atomic bomb was so over- whelming that costumed strongmen no longer seemed "super" to the American public. As a result, the comics' publishers started looking for new genres that would sell. Crime comics, western comics, war comics, and romance comics all started appearing.
Like post-war Americans, comics had entered an age of complacency.
MLJ Publications started a back-up feature about "America's Typical Teenager". a red-haired Romeo named Archie Andrews. Archie and his pals–– Betty, Veronica, and Jughead—–were America's stereotypical teenagers, sweet and carefree. They had typical 1950s concerns: finding dates, buying "cool" clothes, and getting Archie's jalopy to run.
Archie eventually pushed all MLJ's super-heroes off the stands, which showed how 1950s teens favored comics that reflected the lighthearted mood of their everyday lives.
At the same time, EC Publications (which Max Gaines had started after leaving DC and which was now being run by his son Bill) started grinding out horror comics (Daniels 79). Clearly, they were catering to different audiences. With such titles as Tales From the Crypt and Weird Science, Bill Gaines and his crew set the industry scrambling in a new direction, one that eventually spawned a parental uproar and a Congressional investigation.
With each new rival publisher going for more and more gory material, it was an easy task for psychologist Fredric Wertham to blame all the ills of society on comic books. He gained notoriety and generated healthy sales of his book Seduction of the Innocent. Wertham's efforts spurred Congress to divert their attention briefly from Communism on the issue of juvenile delinquency. Congress viewed comics as a medium exclusively for children. Since the comics were very violent, they would therefore have to be altered to conform to Congress' narrow views of acceptable reading material (Daniels 83). Congress's attempt to clamp down on comics reflects the general conservative attitude of the 1950s, the country's fear of "subversives" and strangers. Their "witch hunt" against comics is a variation of their "witch hunt" against Communists. In an attempt to forestall Congressional action and public backlash, the larger publishers banded together and formed the Comics Magazine Association, with a Comics Code for appropriate comic book material. Like the blacklisted "Communists," Gaines and his competitors were forced to abandon comics virtually overnight––Gaines himself was called before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee during the aforementioned hearings on juvenile delinquency. Gaines did, however, continue on the fringe of the business, publishing a highly successful comic book-turned-magazine to dodge the code: MAD (Daniels 85).
Comic books languished throughout the early and mid-50's until Julius Schwartz, an editor at DC in 1956, proposed bringing the super-heroes back for another try. This was not a return to the escapism of the 1930s, though. These new heroes would be thoroughly modern ––"more human," claimed the publishers. Schwartz revised and revamped DC's old lineup, including The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, The Atom, and the Justice League of America (Crawford 326).
In part, these mythical heroes filled the need and desire for real heroes, a role filled by base- ball players Joe DiMaggio and Jackie Robinson, movie stars John Wayne and Charlton Heston, and military figure Dwight David Eisenhower.
Meanwhile, over at Atlas (formerly Timely) Comics, publisher Martin Goodman saw the success of his rivals and suggested to his young editor that they should start publishing super-hero comics as well. The editor, a long-time writer of comics for Timely/Atlas named Stan Lee, took a shot and creat- ed the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, and the X-Men (Crawford 340). It should be mentioned, however, that for many years these new superhero comics were not as reflective of American society as their predeces- sors had been. The early sixties saw almost as many new comic book characters as the 1940s had, but while 1940s heroes protected the homefront in World War II, 1960s heroes scarcely, if ever, mentioned Vietnam (Savage 66).
As the Vietnam War escalated, the popularity of war comics decreased, with the notable exception of comics that showed the gritty, unglamorous side of war. The DC comic Enemy Ace, for example, described World War I from the vantage point of a German pilot, thus humanized the enemy. The previous generation of war comics, in contrast, had portrayed war from the soldier's point of view. The Sergeant Rock stories continued this new trend, focusing much more on human relations than on the patriotic spirit of World War II comics. By the end of the Vietnam War, the only war comic left was Sgt. Rock. But like any other old soldier, he eventually faded away.
In the early 1970s, DC had another brief period of historical relevance as the new generation of writers combined journalism with fiction. "Not fact, not current events presented in panel art, but fantasy rooted in the issues of the day," said Denny O'Neil, a comic author of that time, describ- ing these new comics. These angry issues dealt with racism, overpopulation, pollution, and drug addic- tion. DC dramatized the drug abuse problem in an unusual and unprecedented way by showing Green Arrow's heretofore clean-cut boy sidekick Speedy turning into a heroin addict. These comics clearly show America's concern with the pressing social issues of the day. While DC was showered with praise for this bold move, declining sales caused Schwartz to announce in 1973, "Relevance is dead."(Goulart 297) Also in the 1970s, the comic book industry became aware that their audience was changing.
Instead of losing all its readers at age 14 (as had been the pattern in the past), they were stay- ing on, looking for more diverse and challenging material. Coupled with the growth of a direct mar- ket, in which the publishers could supply books directly to specialized comic book shops, and the utilization of new printing technologies, the industry went through its largest expansion with record numbers of titles being produced every month (Goulart 307). As America became more open about previously-taboo subjects –– sex and violence–– comics became much more gritty and realistic.
Today's comics deal with important issues on a new level. Timely/Atlas, now called Marvel Comics, dealt with racism in a whole new way. After they established that their heroes were "Mutants," they ran a crossover series about the mutant hate groups that had sprung up in the comic-book world. Cries of "Die Mutie scum!" echoed through the comics with an almost Ku Klux Klan-worthy fervor (Goulart 332).
A new generation of horror comics, many pro- duced by fans-turned-professionals from England, began to appear, aimed at an adult audience. Far more graphic than those of the 1950s, but also with far more complex storylines, these books in partic- ular have led former readers back into the comic book fold. This echoes the way television and movies have changed to fit the public's taste over the past forty years (Goulart 344). DC's Vertigo line, targets the same audience as the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Over the years, as society as changed, so have comics. Now, as the world becomes increasingly com- puterized, comic companies have web page. In addi- tion, most of the larger comic companies are color- ing on computer rather than by hand. As the world continues to change, the comic book industry must continue to adapt to fit the needs and wants of its audience if it is to survive.
Crawford, Hubert H. Crawford's Encyclopedia of Comic Books. Middle Village, NY.: Comicade Enterprises, Daniels, Les. COMIX: A History of Comic Books in America. New York. Bonanza Books, 1971.
Goulart, Ron. Great History of Comic Books. Chicago, Illinois. Contemporary Books, Inc. 1986.
Savage, William W. Comic Books and America, 1945- 1954. Oklahoma city Okla. University of Oklahoma Press, 1990.
Thomson, Don. The Comic-Book Book. New Rochelle, NY. Arlington House, 1973.
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