On-line Research Writing: English 102
Professor Gary Parks (gparks@shoreline.edu)
Shoreline Community College
Shoreline, WA, USA
Terms and concepts to know and review from Writing Research
Papers
Consult this study guide after reading each chapter to check your knowledge,
and re-read as necessary. Also see the "Review Questions" section
at the end of each chapter for additional indication of what you should know
and be able to do after reading the chapter.
You should be able to define any terms given, including examples, and
explain how they relate to the research process.
Research resources, skills, and concepts discussed on the listserve
or otherwise identified by the instructor may also be included on the reserach
tests. Material below represents the content of WRP only.
Chapters 1-3
- Subject, topic, hypothesis, and thesis, and how the research writer
moves between stages (example: how a hypothesis become a thesis)
- Topic selection methods:
- background reading
- preliminary research/browsing
- brainstorming
- Overall: the general nature of a research paper--what it is and is
not. Also see example papers at the end of the book for examples.
Chapter 4-8
(Don't forget that you need to be able to give examples for these terms.)
- Field research, library research, and on-line research.
- Role of librarian in your project.
- Periodicals: popular vs. professional
- Periodical indexes
- On-line catalog and how it's organized
- Subject search, author search, title search
- Subject search vs. keyword search (want to practice? Try this Library
of Congress interface.)
- Databases (see SCC library's Databases
page).
- Stacks
- Call numbers
- Reserve shelves
- Reference works
- Abstracts
- Vertical File
- microform
- telnet
- discussion group
- Steps or strategies for doing Internet research
- evaluating Internet resource
Chapter 9-13
- Working Bibliography--what it is, what information is included
- how to narrow or revise a topic/thesis
- skimming skills
- Evaluating sources:
- depth
- currency
- bias
- variety
- Primary Sources
- Secondary Sources
- Preliminary outlines
- Note-taking techniques (know the various suggested methods, the type of
information which must be included, and how to organize a note-taking system)
- Paraphrase
- Summary
- Quotation -- when to use it and why
- Quotation out of context (something to avoid)
- Techniques for blending quotation and paraphrase
- Avoiding plagiarism
Chapter 14-16
- Traditional outline style: what is it? What are its uses? (an outline is
not required for your major research paper and does not count as part of its
writing; you may do one if it helps you organize.)
- Introductory techniques
- Techniques for writing with a computer
- Techniques for drafting
- Revision suggestions
Chapter 17-19
- Documentation requirements--what must be documented
- MLA parenthetical notation (know or be able to look up the basic formats)
- MLA Works Cited form (know or be able to look up the basic formats)
- MLA Endnote/Footnote system (Just look it over--you are not using this
for you paper, but you should know it exists and the basics of how it differs
from MLA style.)
- APA documentation system (Just look it over--you are not using this
for your paper, but you should know it exists and the basics of how it
differs from MLA style.)
- Format preferences for various disciplines
Chapter 20-21
- Materials
- Margins
- pagination
- binding
- general content of sample essays
