Contents

	A Note to Students
	Preface
Part I	Research and Writing: From Planning to Production
	Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams Overview of Part I
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
9	Revising Your Draft
	9.1    Check for Blind Spots in Your Argument
	9.2    Check Your Introduction, Conclusion, and Claim
	9.3    Make Sure the Body of Your Report Is Coherent
	9.4    Check Your Paragraphs
	9.5    Let Your Draft Cool, Then Paraphrase It
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
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 Up
	11.5   Give It Up and Print It Out
12	Learning from Your Returned Paper
	12.1   Find General Principles in Specific Comments
	12.2   Talk to Your Instructor
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
14	On the Spirit of Research
Part II	Source Citation
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   Electronic Sources
	15.5   Preparation of Citations
	15.6   Citation Management Software
16	Notes-Bibliography Style: The Basic Form
	16.1   Basic Patterns
	16.2   Bibliographies
	16.3   Notes
	16.4   Short Forms for Notes
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   Websites, Blogs, Social Networks, and Discussion Groups
	17.8   Sources in the Visual and Performing Arts
	17.9   Public Documents
	17.10 One Source Quoted in Another
18	Author-Date Style: The Basic Form
	18.1   Basic Patterns
	18.2   Reference Lists
	18.3   Parenthetical Citations
19	Author-Date 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   Websites, Blogs, Social Networks, and Discussion Groups
	19.8   Sources in the Visual and Performing Arts
	19.9   Public Documents
	19.10 One Source Quoted in Another
Part III	Style
20	Spelling
	20.1   Plurals
	20.2   Possessives
	20.3   Compounds and Words Formed with Prefixes
	20.4   Line Breaks
21	Punctuation
	21.1   Periods
	21.2   Commas
	21.3   Semicolons
	21.4   Colons
	21.5   Question Marks
	21.6   Exclamation Points
	21.7   Hyphens and Dashes
	21.8   Parentheses and Brackets
	21.9   Slashes
	21.10 Quotation Marks
	21.11 Apostrophes
	21.12 Multiple Punctuation Marks
22	Names, Special Terms, and Titles of Works
	22.1   Names
	22.2   Special Terms
	22.3   Titles of Works
23	Numbers
	23.1   Words or Numerals?
	23.2   Plurals and Punctuation
	23.3   Date Systems
	23.4   Numbers Used outside the Text
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
25	Quotations
	25.1   Quoting Accurately and Avoiding Plagiarism
	25.2   Incorporating Quotations into Your Text
	25.3   Modifying Quotations
26	Tables and Figures
	26.1   General Issues
	26.2   Tables
	26.3   Figures
	Appendix: Paper Format and Submission
	A.1   General Format Requirements
	A.2   Format Requirements for Specific Elements
	A.3   File Preparation and Submission Requirements
	Bibliography
	Authors
	Index