A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Seventh Edition

Contents

Preface
Acknowledgements

Part I   Research and Writing: From Planning to Production
Wayne C. Booth, Gregory C. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams
Overview of Part I

Chapter 1 What Research Is and How Researchers Think about It
1.1 How Researchers Think about Their Aims
1.2 Three Kinds of Questions That Researchers Ask

Chapter 2 Moving from a Topic to a Question to a Working Hypothesis
2.1 Find a Question in Your Topic
2.2 Propose Some Working Answers
2.3 Build a Storyboard to Plan and Guide Your Work
2.4 Organize a Writing Support Group

Chapter 3 Finding Useful Sources
3.1 Understand the Kinds of Sources Readers Expect You to Use
3.2  Record Your Sources Fully, Accurately, and Appropriately
3.3 Search for Sources Systematically
3.4 Evaluate Sources for Relevance and Reliability
3.5 Look beyond the Usual Kinds of References

Chapter 4 Engaging Sources
4.1 Read Generously to Understand, Then Critically to Engage and Evaluate
4.2 Take Notes Systematically
4.3 Take Useful Notes
4.4 Write as You read
4.5 Review Your Progress
4.6 Manage Moments of Normal Panic

Chapter 5 Planning Your Argument
5.1 What a Research Argument Is and Is Not
5.2 Build Your Argument around Answers to Readers' Questions
5.3 Turn Your Working Hypothesis into a Claim
5.4 Assemble the Elements of Your Argument
5.5 Distinguish Arguments Based on Evidence from Arguments Based on Warrants
5.6 Assemble an Argument

Chapter 6 Planning a First Draft
6.1 Avoid Unhelpful Plans
6.2 Create a Plan That Meets Your Readers' Needs
6.3 File Away Leftovers

Chapter 7 Drafting Your Report
7.1 Draft in the Way That Feels Most Comfortable
7.2 Develop Productive Drafting Habits
7.3 Use Your Key Terms to Keep Yourself on Track
7.4 Quote, Paraphrase, and Summarize Appropriately
7.5 Integrate Quotations into Your Text
7.6 Use Footnotes and Endnotes Judiciously
7.7 Interpret Complex or Detailed Evidence before You Offer It
7.8 Be Open to Surprises
7.9 Guard against Inadvertent Plagiarism
7.10 Guard against Inappropriate Assistance
7.11 Work through Chronic Procrastination and Writer's Block

Chapter 8 Presenting Evidence in Tables and Figures
8.1 Choose Verbal or Visual Representations
8.2 Choose the Most Effective Graphic
8.3 Design Tables and Figures
8.4 Communicate Data Ethically

Chapter 9 Revising Your Draft
9.1 Check Your Introduction, Conclusion, and Claim
9.2 Make Sure the Body of Your Report Is Coherent
9.3 Check Your Paragraphs
9.4 Let Your Draft Cool, Then Paraphrase It

Chapter 10 Writing Your Final Introduction and Conclusion
10.1 Draft Your Final Introduction
10.2 Draft Your Final Conclusion
10.3 Write Your Title Last

Chapter 11 Revising Sentences
11.1 Focus on the First Seven or Eight Words of a Sentence
11.2 Diagnose What You Read
11.3 Choose the Right Word
11.4 Polish It Off
11.5 Give It Up and Print It Out

Chapter 12 Learning from Your Returned Paper
12.1 Find General Principles in Specific Comments
12.2 Talk to Your Instructor

Chapter 13 Presenting Research in Alternative Forums
13.1 Plan Your Oral Presentation
13.2 Design Your Presentation to Be Listened To
13.3 Plan Your Poster Presentation
13.4 Plan Your Conference Proposal

Chapter 14 On the Spirit of Research

Part II Source Citation

Chapter 15 General Introduction to Citation Practices
15.1 Reasons for Citing Your Sources
15.2 The Requirements of Citation
15.3 Two Citation Styles
15.4 Citation of Electronic Sources
15.5 Preparation of Citations
15.6 A Word on Citation Software

Chapter 16 Notes-Bibliography Style: The Basic Form
16.1 Basic Patterns
16.2 Bibliographies
16.3 Notes
16.4 Short Forms for Notes

Chapter 17 Notes-Bibliography Style: Citing Specific Types of Sources
17.1 Books
17.2 Journal Articles
17.3 Magazine Articles
17.4 Newspaper Articles
17.5 Additional Types of Published Sources
17.6 Unpublished Sources
17.7 Informally Published Electronic Sources
17.8 Sources in the Visual and Performing arts
17.9 Public Documents
17.10 One Source Quoted in Another

Chapter 18 Parenthetical Citations- Reference List Style: The Basic Form
18.1 Basic Patterns
18.2 Reference Lists
18.3 Parenthetical Citations

Chapter 19 Parenthetical Citations- Reference List Style: Citing Specific Types of Sources
19.1 Books
19.2 Journal Articles
19.3 Magazine Articles
19.4 Newspaper Articles
19.5 Additional Types of Published Sources
19.6 Unpublished Sources
19.7 Informally Published Electronic Sources
19.8 Sources in the Visual and Performing Arts

19.9 Public Documents
19.10 One Source Quoted in Another

Part III Style

Chapter 20 Spelling
20.1 Plurals
20.2 Possessives
20.3 Compounds and Words Formed with Prefixes
20.4 Line Breaks

Chapter 21 Punctuation
21.1 Period
21.2 Comma
21.3 Semicolon
21.4 Colon
21.5 Question Mark
21.6 Exclamation Point
21.7 Hyphen and Dashes
21.8 Parentheses and Brackets
21.9 Slashes
21.10 Quotation Marks
21.11 Multiple Punctuation Marks

Chapter 22 Names, Special Terms, and Titles of Works
22.1 Names
22.2 Special Terms
22.3 Titles of Works

Chapter 23 Numbers

23.1 Words or Numerals?
23.2 Plurals and Punctuation
23.3 Date Systems
23.4 Numbers Used outside the Text

Chapter 24 Abbreviations
24.1 General Principles
24.2 Names and Titles
24.3 Geographical Terms
24.4 Time and Dates
24.5 Units of Measure
24.6 The Bible and Other Sacred Works
24.7 Abbreviations in Citations and Other Scholarly Contexts

Chapter 25 Quotations
25.1 Quoting Accurately and Avoiding Plagiarism
25.2 Incorporating Quotations into Your Text
25.3 Modifying Quotations

Chapter 26 Tables and Figures
26.1 General Issues
26.2 Tables
26.3 Figures

Chapter Appendix: Paper Format and Submission
A.1 General Format Requirements
A.2 Format Requirements for Specific Elements
A.3 Submission Requirements

Bibliography
Authors
Index