A note to students
Preface
Part I: Research and writing. What research is and how researchers think about it ; Defining a project : topic, question, problem, working hypothesis ; Finding useful sources ; Engaging your sources ; Constructing your argument ; Planning a first draft ; Drafting your paper ; Presenting evidence in tables and figures ; Revising your draft ; Writing your final introduction and conclusion ; Revising sentences ; Learning from comments on your paper ; Presenting research in alternative forums ; On the spirit of research
Part II: Source citation. General introduction to citation practices ; Notes-bibliography style : the basic form ; Notes-bibliography style : citing specific types of sources ; Author-date style : the basic form ; Author-date style : citing specific types of sources
Part III: Style. Spelling ; Punctuation ; Names, special terms, and titles of works ; Numbers ; Abbreviations ; Quotations ; Tables and figures
Appendix: Paper format and submission.

Part I: Research and writing. What research is and how researchers think about it
Defining a project: topic, question, problem, working hypothesis
Finding useful sources
Engaging your sources
Constructing your argument
Planning a first draft
Drafting your paper
Presenting evidence in tables and figures
Revising your draft
Writing your final introduction and conclusion
Revising sentences
Learning from comments on your paper
Presenting research in alternative forums
On the spirit of research
Source citation. General introduction to citation practices
Notes-bibliography style: the basic form
Notes-bibliography style: citing specific types of sources
Author-date style: the basic form
Author-date style: citing specific types of sources
Part III: Style. Spelling
Punctuation
Names, special terms, and titles of works
Numbers
Abbreviations
Quotations
Tables and figures
Appendix: paper format and submission.

Part I. Research and writing / Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, Joseph Bizup, and William T. FitzGerald : What research is and how researchers think about it : What research is ; How researchers think about their aims ; Conversing with your readers
Defining a project: topic, question, problem, working hypothesis : Find a question in your topic ; Understanding research problems ; Propose a working hypothesis ; Build a storyboard to plan and guide your work ; Join or organize a writing group
Finding useful sources : Three kinds of sources and their uses ; Search for sources systematically ; Evaluate sources for relevance and reliability ; Look beyond the usual kinds of references ; Record your sources fully, accurately, and appropriately
Engaging your sources : Read generously to understand, then critically to engage ; Take notes systematically ; Take useful notes ; Review your progress ; Manage moments of normal anxiety
Constructing your argument : What a research argument is and is not ; Build your argument around answers to readers' questions ; Turn your working hypothesis into a claim ; Assemble the elements of your argument ; Prefer arguments based on evidence to arguments based on warrants ; Assemble an argument
Planning a first draft : Avoid unhelpful plans ; Create a plan that meets your readers' needs ; File away leftovers
Drafting your paper : Draft in the way that feels most comfortable ; Develop effective writing habits ; Keep yourself on track through headings and key terms ; Quote, paraphrase, and summarize appropriately ; Integrate quotations into your text ; Use footnotes and endnotes judiciously ; Sow how complex or detailed evidence is relevant ; Be open to surprises ; Guard against inadvertent plagiarism ; Guard against inappropriate assistance ; Work through chronic procrastination and writer's block
Presenting evidence in tables and figures : Choose verbal or visual representations of your data ; Choose the most effective graphic ; Design tables and figures ; Communicate data ethically
Revising your draft : Check for blind spots in your argument ; Check your introduction, conclusion, and claim ; Make sure the body of your report is coherent ; Check your paragraphs ; Let your draft cool, then rephrase it
Writing your final introduction and conclusion : Draft your final introduction ; Draft your final conclusion ; Write your title last
Revising sentences : Focus on the first seven of eight words of a sentence ; Diagnose what you read ; Choose the right word ; Polish it up ; Give it up and turn it in
Learning from comments on your paper : Two kinds of feedback: advice and data ; Find general principles in specific comments ; Talk with your reader
Presenting research in alternative forums : Plan your oral presentation ; Design your presentation to be listened to ; Plan your poster presentation ; Plan you conference report
On the spirit of research
Part II. Source citation : General introduction to citation practices : Reasons for citing your sources ; The requirements of citation ; Two citation styles ; Electronic sources ; Preparation of citations ; Citation management tools
Notes-bibliography style: the basic form : Basic patterns ; Bibliographies ; Notes ; Short forms for notes
Notes-bibliography style: citing specific types of sources : Books ; Journal articles ; Magazine articles ; Newspaper articles ; Websites, blogs, and social media ; Interviews and personal communications ; Papers, lectures, and manuscript collections ; Older works and sacred works ; Reference works and secondary citations ; Sources in the visual and performing arts ; Public documents
Author-date style: the basic form : Basic patterns ; Reference lists ; Parenthetical citations
Author-date style: citing specific types of sources : Books ; Journal articles ; Magazine articles ; Newspaper articles ; Websites, blogs, and social media ; Interviews and personal communications ; Papers, lectures, and manuscript collections ; Older works and sacred works ; Reference works and secondary sources ; Sources in the visual and performing arts ; Public documents
Part III. Style : Spelling : Plurals ; Possessives ; Compounds and words formed with prefixes ; Line breaks
Punctuation : Periods ; Commas ; Semicolons ; Colons ; Question marks ; Exclamation points ; Hyphens and dashes ; Parentheses and brackets ; Slashes ; Quotation marks ; Apostrophes ; Multiple punctuation marks
Names, special terms, and titles of works : Names ; Special terms ; Titles of works
Numbers : Words or numerals? ; Plurals and punctuation ; Data systems ; Numbers used outside the text
Abbreviations : General principles ; Names and titles ; Geographical terms ; Time and dates ; Units of measure ; The Bible and other sacred works ; Abbreviations in citations and other scholarly contexts
Quotations : Quoting accurately and avoiding plagiarism ; Incorporating quotations into your text ; Modifying quotations
Tables and figures : General issues ; Tables ; Figures
Appendix: Paper format and submission : General format requirements ; Format requirements for specific elements ; File preparation and submission requirements.

Part I: Research and writing. What research is and how researchers think about it
Defining a project: topic, question, problem, working hypothesis
Finding useful sources
Engaging your sources
Constructing your argument
Planning a first draft
Drafting your paper
Presenting evidence in tables and figures
Revising your draft
Writing your final introduction and conclusion
Revising sentences
Learning from comments on your paper
Presenting research in alternative forums
On the spirit of research
Source citation. General introduction to citation practices
Notes-bibliography style: the basic form
Notes-bibliography style: citing specific types of sources
Author-date style: the basic form
Author-date style: citing specific types of sources
Part III: Style. Spelling
Punctuation
Names, special terms, and titles of works
Numbers
Abbreviations
Quotations
Tables and figures
Appendix: paper format and submission.