How to Write the Best Research Paper Ever!
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DESSERT FIRST . . . or LET'S START AT THE END! How to Correctly Make a Works Cited list Psst! Want to know a secret that can save you hours of unbelievable frustration from doing the same job over again? Although it's not ice cream, here's the scoop. The last page(s) of your paper will be an alphabetical listing of all the authors and publication information of the sources you use. It is called the Works Cited. People used to call this page the Bibliography, but that term is outdated. It means a description of books. In research now, we use many more kinds of sources that aren't just from print, for instance, videotapes of news broadcasts, phone interviews, and the Internet. Thus, the title of this information in your research paper will be more accurately described as Works Cited. This section of your paper proves that everything you write came from an authoritative source. Remember, you don't want to plagiarize. So, right at the beginning of your research, as you start to gather titles of sources and their authors, you should find out and list all the required information about each. Thus, the end of your paper will be easy to do correctly! This preliminary list is called the Working Bibliography because you will continue to add to it during the whole research process, as you find new material that is pertinent to your work. For two reasons you must include all the required information about each source that you want to read or examine. The first reason is to enable you to find more easily that source in the reference section, the magazine stacks or on microfilm in your local or school library. The second reason is to create a list for yourself of all your sources' credentials for the later preparation of your Works Cited page. Can you imagine not writing down that information the first time you see it? You would have to go back and get it all over again, which would be incredibly frustrating. Instead, be efficient! The Working Bibliography may end up being quite a bit longer than your final Works Cited, for you may discover when you scan a particular source that you thought was going to be, say, the icing on your cake, that it is indeed unusable, not even food for thought. That's fine. Many people, once they get the hang of locating sources have so much fun at it that they quite exceed what they need for their paper. A ball park target for a Working Bibliography of a paper that should end up being seven to ten pages long, could easily be a list with 25 to 50 entries. From it you may end up only using 10 to 15 sources in your paper. That's okay! You don't have to use them all, just as you really don't have to eat all the treats on the dessert cart, but they are nice to look at! On the following pages you will find general and specific criteria for citations in the Works Cited. Study the examples and take them with you to the libraries so that as you record information about sources, you will get everything that is necessary. In your visit to the school and public libraries, you will discover that the order of bibliographic information is not the same as the order of information in the periodical guides, so put them in the correct order as you record them. Following the examples of Works Cited entries are two exercises that will help you
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About the Book
Be the person in your class to write the paper that achieves the A! Follow this easy and interesting process to authentically document your work. This reader-friendly text and step-by-step process will help you set and achieve short and long-term goals as you learn how to pick a topic and narrow it, use library resources and search engines, take notes, and summarize, paraphrase and directly quote without plagiarizing. Learn a new way to read: be a spider! Create a challenging and defendable thesis, craft an intriguing introduction, control opposing viewpoints, outline your evidence, and draft, peer and self-evaluate and publish a superb product. Read a helpful essay on avoiding fallacies of logic while laughing yourself silly. Further develop your own writing style within the accepted writing conventions, and learn how to analyze and apply appropriate tone. Rules for the most common citations are given (MLA 7th Edition) with examples, including internet sources. Resources are included for word use, listing 200 ways to say says, and transitional words, organized by their function, to move smoothly from one idea to the next. A sample paper, sample outlines, and sample Works Cited pages are included! “Mrs. Blandford has carefully and creatively provided a book that is a guaranteed recipe for success in writing research papers. Not only did I do extremely well on my first research paper by using this book, but now, whenever I have a writing assignment, I refer to this book as a guide. It teaches the skills needed to construct and accomplish a successful research paper, and provides knowledge that can be used to process massive amounts of information in our knowledge-driven world. It truly is a valuable asset in my life I would recommend this well-crafted book to anyone who wants to succeed in writing a research paper and writing overall Jeanette Morelan, Prairie School, Racine, Wisconsin
About the Author
Elisabeth Blandford is a 35 year veteran English teacher who has taught in six states in grades 7 through 12 and college courses including composition and literature, and courses for teachers on the instructional process, and writing research papers. Blandford has presented at state conferences in Wisconsin, Arkansas, and California, She was the Phi Delta Kappa 2007 Outstanding Educator of the Year in Southeastern Wisconsin, has been recognized six times in Who's Who Among America's Teachers. Blandford has also co-authored Targets!, Steve Olsen, and is a faculty trainer on the Instructional Process for her school district. Blandford has lived in Racine, Wisconsin, with her husband since 1980.