Research Manual

AHS

RESEARCH

MANUAL

2011

Student: __________________________

TERESA STERCHI

KIM BROWN

AHS LIBRARY

CONTENTS

PREPARATION OF THE RESEARCH PAPER........................................................1

SELECTING AND LIMITING THE TOPIC............................................................1

PREPARING A WORKING BIBLIOGRAPHY AND EVALUATING SOURCES…………….2

READING AND TAKING NOTES........................................................................3

DEVELOPING A WORKING OUTLINE/PLAN…………………………………………………….5

DOCUMENTING AND CITING SOURCES USING MLA STYLE……………..……………..7

WRITING THE PAPER…………………………………..…………………...........................18

MLA STYLE OF PARENTHETICAL/IN-TEXT CITATIONS………………………………….19

PLACING CITATIONS IN THE PAPER…………………………………………………………..21

FORMATTING AND TYPING THE REPORT USING THE MLA STYLE…………………26

TYPING THE WORKS CITED PAGE AND SAMPLE TITLE PAGE..........................29

PREPARATION

Research is the process of gathering information from different sources on a particular

topic. In daily life students may research buying a song on the Internet, buying a new

MP3 player, an iPod, or any other product of interest. At school, students may have to

research a historical topic, an author or literary work, or a contemporary issue and

present their findings in a paper, PowerPoint presentation, or in a movie format. All of

this is part of the process of asking questions, looking at the available information, and

coming to a conclusion based on the information found and then documenting the

information used. While the process of researching varies, the following steps are useful

in preparing the research paper:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Selecting and limiting the topic

Preparing a working bibliography

Reading and taking notes

Formulating a thesis

Developing a working plan

Writing the first draft

Writing the revised and edited final draft using parenthetical citations

Creating a works consulted or works cited...