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Guide to Writing Research
Papers
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A Good Starting Point: I recommend (make
that command!) you
scan
through this website first. It has been prepared by Patrick
Rael at Bowdoin College and is full of helpful
pointers on the research and writing phases. Pay special attention to
sections 4 and 5. I am willing to bet that this site will answer 90%
of your questions even if you have never written a research paper before.
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Length: Your research paper should
be no more than 2,000 words and no less than 1,500 words
(that's about 6-8 pages using Times New Roman 12 or something similar).
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Content: Using the model from the
website above, I expect your paper to include:
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Title: You don't need a cover
page. Just put your name and the title information at the top of the
first page.
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Introductory section (1-2 page) where
you layout your thesis and the course you propose to make your case.
(note, you don't need a title page, just put the title and your paper at the
top of the page).
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Main body of the paper (3-4 pages)
where you make your case, including information that you have gleaned from
other sources (well documented with footnotes) and from conclusions you have
drawn from those sources. I am much more interested in your
conclusions, than the information you got from your sources.
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Conclusion (1-2 pages) that will neatly
wrap up your discussion and let me know what you've learned from researching
and writing this paper.
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Works Cited page (1 page): Use one of the
websites below to make sure your works cited (or bibliography) page is
properly formatted. I expect you to list sources here even if you
didn't directly use them in your paper.
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Style: I expect this to be a
polished paper. It should be proofread and follow the Chicago
Manual of Style (Turabian)
for documentation. I expect you to use footnotes or endnotes and a works
cited page to document all outside resources. Don't get too hung
up on this. All I am asking you to do is to cite your quotes and
figures using a certain form. Here are a couple of good websites
for footnoting and creating a works cited page.
http://www.libs.uga.edu/ref/turabian.html (more streamlined)
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/sources/chicago/ (very
detailed).
http://www.liunet.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citation.htm (shows
multiple citation styles) -
Sources: This is a research paper.
Thus I expect research. Wikipedia is not good enough
(no more than any encyclopedia would be)! I expect you to use
at least two primary sources and at least three secondary sources to research your paper topic. I want
you to be clear about the strengths and weaknesses of each type of source.
If you aren't sure what primary and secondary sources are,
go to this website. Please note
that while it is acceptable to find sources on the web, the purpose of this
exercise is to get you into the library. You can only count one
internet source of each type toward your required primary and secondary
totals.
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Turning your paper in: Your
Research Paper should either be in MS Word (.doc), Word Perfect (.wpd), or
Rich Text Format (most word processing software packages allow you to save
as .rtf). Turn the paper in by going to the Drop Box
folder In the Research Paper Information Folder. Just
follow the instructions and load the file. I will return your paper
with my comments and grade using the same method.
A Note on Plagiarism: I would
much rather you turn in something that isn't the greatest than turn in
something you didn't write. Plagiarism on any written assignment in
this class will earn you a zero on that assignment. Make a zero on
your research paper, and you fail the course. It's not worth it.
Please
avoid the temptation to take shortcuts. Unless you provide a footnote
on the source, I will expect that everything you write is your own original thought. I run papers through
turnitin.com, which catches most
plagiarism anyway. Just do your best. When in doubt, footnote
it!
Here are a couple of websites that define
plagiarism. Check them out before you write.
http://gervaseprograms.georgetown.edu/hc/plagiarism.html
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml (this site also
has other valuable links to help you write your paper) |
