English 112] [
Sample
Research Paper]1. Avoid writing a mere report. Do the research to prepare for developing your own thesis. Do not simply summarize one article after another.
2. Do not rely on only one source at a time within a single paragraph; do genuine research to confirm information presented in multiple sources.
3. Be sure to cite--actually refer to--at least seven different sources in the paper.
4. Review the bibliography and documentation forms as explained in the handbook. Remember to consult the list of special forms for unusual cases.
5. Avoid isolated quotations altogether. Introduce quotations with transition phrases, or combine quoted key phrases with your own paraphrase. Be careful to shape the material to suit your own purposes.
6. Quote with scrupulous accuracy. When you omit words, indicate the ellipsis with spaced dots; when you make additions, put them in square brackets. Indicate quotation within quotation with single quotation marks.
7. Document all material borrowed from your sources. That means providing documentation for paraphrase as well as direct quotation.
8. Include on the works cited page only the sources you actually cite in the paper. (For the first, partial draft, however, you will submit a complete annotated bibliography.)
9. Remember to include photocopies or printouts of pages from your most important sources with each of the drafts. Be sure to mark them clearly. In addition to giving the author, title, and page number of the source, mark the passage quoted or paraphrased and indicate the numbers of the pages where the material is used in your paper. NB Include with each draft at least one major example of a passage which you paraphrased and one which you quoted.
10. Review the format for the paper as explained in the handbook. Notice the correct placement of page numbers, for instance. These will be the parts of your paper:
a. Outline page (including title and thesis)
b. Text of paper (with in-text documentation)
c. Works cited page (annotated bibliography in the first, partial draft)
Coragio! . . . Take heart! --Shakespeare, The Tempest