Research and writing / 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.

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.

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 -- General format requirements ; Format requirements for specific elements ; File preparation and submission requirements.