The Research Paper

Prepared by: Ms. Mara Danica V. Ramos

Research Paper

Current theory or knowledge investigated, verified, evaluated, debunked/reaffirmed &/

reinforced
Problem analyzed & alternative solutions to it presented & evaluated
comparatively/contrastingly
Concept clarified, expanded, reinforced
Meaning worked out, formulated, examined

Purpose:

Discovering new knowledge, meaning, & solutions to problems

Expanding, reinforcing, reformulating past & current views, theories, beliefs
Debunking views & beliefs that are inadequate/irrelevant

Kinds:

Library-researched (more to humanities & languages)

Surveys & field trips (more to social sciences)
Laboratory experiments (more to natural sciences)

Types of Discourse:

Reports accurate, credible, & factual information relating what was seen, heard, & read
by a participant/giving an account of scientific experiment
Concept Paper clarifying the meaning of a concept/explaining idea/formulation
Reaction Paper reacting/commenting/reviewing/critiquing an event/literary piece
Position Paper defending a position by reason/emotion for readers to assent to the
writers stand, change their minds,/ follow a course of action

Steps in the Preparation of a Research Paper (Library-Researched Type):

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.

Choose a topic.
Make a simple exploratory proposal.
Explore all possible resources available, based on the exploratory proposal.
Prepare a tentative working bibliography on 3 x 5 index cards.
Prepare an exploratory one-level topic outline.
Narrow the topic to a manageable scope.
Formulate the thesis statement of the paper.
Analyze the thesis statement into a more refined, though still tentative outline of two
levels.
I. Gather notes & store them in note cards (5 x 8).
J. Make a final revision of tentative two-level outline into a more refined and expanded
three-level outline.
K. Work out the proportion you intend for each section: introduction, development,
conclusion
L. Write out the 1st draft in double-space, following the exact format for the research paper.
M. Revise the first draft.
N. Type the final draft.

Working bibliography:

Researchers guide to his/her sources

Writing full information of reference sources following Modern Language Association
Format (MLA) in 3x5 index cards (for liberal arts and humanities)
Authors name is written inverted, last name first.

Note cards:

Limit your notes to one card.

Write topic of the note in the second line.
o On the upper left of the card, copy the Roman numeral code number on the
bibliography master list.
o Write a capital letter for each topic from a particular source, alphabetically, on the
upper right corner. If more than one is used, write a smaller Arabic numeral after.
o Identify the kind of note at the bottom of the card.
o If note is taken from two or more consecutive pages from a source, mark with a
slash sign at the end of every note coming from a page of the source.
o Give a 1 inches for notes.
o Use quotation marks on directly quoted material, ellipsis for material omitted.

Bibliography Card:
A. Full bibliography entry in proper MLA or APA format
B. Summary of the source
C. Source number

Note Cards:
A. Topic heading
B. Source number

C. Note
D. Citation information

E. Types of Notes:
A. Exact Quotation
B. Outline
C. Precis

D. Paraphrase
E. Commentary

F.
G. Plagiarism wherein a writer leads the reader to believe that what he/she has written is
his/her original work when it is not.
A. Word-for-Word Plagiarizing
B. Mosaic

C. Paraphrase
D. Apt Term

H. How to Avoid Plagiarism:

Keep track of your sources; print electronic sources.

Keep sources in correct context.
Plan ahead.
Don't cut and paste: File and label your sources.
Keep your own writing and your sources separate.
Keep your notes and your draft separate.
Paraphrase carefully in your notes; acknowledge your sources explicitly when
paraphrasing.
Avoid reading a classmate's paper for inspiration.
Don't save your citations for later.
Quote your sources properly.
Keep a source trail.

I.
J. Documentation:
A. Footnote System

K.
L. Two Parts of the Footnote:

Superscript - an Arabic number corresponding to the same number

Note proper information of the source: names of authors, editors, title of work, facts of
information (place, publisher, and date of publication)

M.
B. System of the Name-Year Parenthetical Enclosure

N.

Used mainly in scientific writing, but beginning to be more widely followed in other
fields.
A parenthetical enclosure within a text, placed at the beginning, middle, or end of a
sentence.
Contained only the authors last name, year of publication, and page number.

O.
P. Modern Language Association style most commonly used in writing papers and
citing sources in the liberal arts and humanities
Q. In-text citation format - follows the author-page method

R.
S.

T.

U.

If no known authors: use the shortened title (enclosed in quotation marks if it is a short
work and italicized if it is a longer work) and the page number
Multiple authors:
If less than 3: list all authors last names
If more than 3: list all or write the first authors name (as listed in the bibliography),
followed by et al.
Bible:
Write the version (underline or italicize), followed by the book, chapter, and verse.
Indirect sources a source cited in another source:
Used qtd. in to indicated the source you actually used
Non-print or sources from Internet:
Often do not require any sort of parenthetical citation
Include in the text the first item that appear in the Work Cited entry
Do not need to give paragraph or page number
Do not include URL in-text, only provide partial domain name

V. MLA Works Cited Page Format:

W.
X. Basic rules:

Have a Work Cited page on a separate page. Its label must be centred at the top of the
page.
Double space, but do not skip spaces between entries.
Use hanging indent by 0.5 inches.
List page numbers of sources efficiently.
Determine the medium of publication (usually print or web).
It is no longer required to provide URL for Web sources.
If citing an article or publication originally issued in print form but retrieved online, type
the online database in italics.

Y.
Z. Book:
AA.

Basic Style:

AB.
Last name, First name. Title of Book. City of Publication: Publisher, Year of
Publication. Medium of Publication.

Book with more than one author:

o First given author: last name, first name format; subsequent authors: first name
last name format.
o More than three: et al. (Latin for and others)
Two or more books by same author: list works alphabetically by title, ignoring
articles. Provide last name, first name of the author in the first entry. For subsequent
entries, use three hyphens and a period.
Book by organization: List the corporate author in place of authors name.

Translated book: add Trans. (abbreviation for translated by) after the title,
followed by the name of translator.
Edition book:
o Subsequent edition: add the number of edition after the title
o Work prepared by editor: add the editor after the title
Anthology book:

AC.
Last name, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection. Ed. Editor's Name(s).
City of Publication: Publisher, Year. Page range of entry. Medium of Publication.

Article in a reference book: cite the piece like any other work in a collection but do
not include the publisher. If arranged alphabetically, do not list the volume or page
number.

AD.

AE.
AF.

MLA no longer requires URL because (1) they change often, and (2) documents
sometimes appear in multiple places in the Web.
If URL is needed, it must appear in angle brackets after date of access. Break URLs after
slashes.
Use n.p. if there is no publisher provided and n.d. if there is no publication date.

AG.

Electronic Sources:

Basic Style:

Author/editors name
Articles name in quotation marks
Title of the website in italics
Version numbers: revisions, posting dates, volumes, or issue number
Publisher information (name and date)
Page numbers
Medium of publication
Date you accessed the material
URL (if required)

AH.

Entire Website:

AI. Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site. Version number. Name of
institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource
creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access.

Webpage: list the author or alias if known, followed by the information covered above for
entire Web sites.
Image (including painting, sculpture, or photograph):
o Provide the artists name, work of art italicized, date of creation, institution and
city where the work is housed, name of the website in italics, medium of
publication, and date of access.
o If cited in the web only, provide the name of the artist, the title of the work, the
medium of the work, and then follow the citation format for a website. If the work
is posted via a username, use that username for the author.
Article in Web Magazine: Provide the author name, article name in quotation marks,
title of the Web magazine in italics, publisher name, publication date, medium of
publication, and the date of access.
Blog:

AJ. Editor, screen name, author, or compiler name (if available). Posting Title. Name of
Site. Version number (if available). Name of institution/organization affiliated with the
site (sponsor or publisher). Medium of publication. Date of access.

Youtube videos:

AK.
Authors Name or Posters Username. Title of Image or Video. Media Type Text.
Name of Website. Name of Websites Publisher, date of posting. Medium. Date retrieved.
AL.

Format of Manuscript:

Margins (except for front page):

o Top and bottom: one inch
o Left margin: one and one-half inches
o Right margin: one-inch
First page of paper: title appears two inches from the top edge
Page number = top right corner
Indention: 8 spaces from the left margin
Double-spaced between paragraphs
Exact quotations:
o Less than 4 lines: built into text, enclosed in quotation marks (closing quotation
mark after period). Superscript numeral typed after quotation mark.
o More than 4 lines: type with indention of four spaces from left margin, begin with 8
spaces, single-spaced as a whole
Footnote: twenty-space line from margin, one space below last line of text.
o Information from one source: single space
o Information from different source: double space

AM.
AN.
AO.
AP.
AQ.
AR.
AS.
AT.
AU.
AV.

AW.
AX.

Works Cited:

Dadufalza, Concepcion D. Reading into Writing 2. Makati City: Bookmark, Inc: (1996).
Print.

AY.

How to Avoid Plagiarism. 2016. Harvard Guide to Using Sources. Web. 17 January 2016.
<http://isites.harvard.edu/>

AZ.

MLA Essay Format: Help with Writing Your Essay. 2016. Professays.com. Web. 17 January
2016.<http://www.professays.com/>

BA.

MLA In-text Citations: The Basics. Writing Lab, The OWL at Purdue, and Purdue
University, 2016. Purdue Online Writing Lab. Web. 17 January 2016.
<https://owl.english.purdue.edu/>

BB.

MLA Work Cited Page: Books. Writing Lab, The OWL at Purdue, and Purdue University,
2016. Purdue Online Writing Lab. Web. 17 January 2016.
<https://owl.english.purdue.edu/>

BC.

MLA Work Cited Page: Electronic Sources. Writing Lab, The OWL at Purdue, and Purdue
University, 2016. Purdue Online Writing Lab. Web. 17 January 2016.
<https://owl.english.purdue.edu/>

BD.

MLA Quick Reference Guide: Work Cited Page 7th Edition. 7th ed. New York: Modern
Language Association of America, 2009. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.
Web. 17 January 2016.

BE.

Moton, David, and Gloria Dumler. Researching and Note-taking. McGraw Hill Publishers,
n.d. Navigating America: Information Competency for the 21st Century. Web. 17 January
2016. <http://www2.bakersfieldcollege.edu/>

BF.

Nik Nadeau. Demystifying In-text vs. Parenthetical Citations. Walden University

Writing Center. 14 October 2013. Blogspot.com. Web. 17 January 2016.
<http://waldenwritingcenter.blogspot.com>

BG.

Spexstudios. Research Paper Format. World of Formats. 9 December 2015.

Wordpress.com. Web. 17 January 2016. < http://spexstudios.com/>

BH.