Research-Based Writing

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Research-Based Writing
Dr. Elaine Kromhout Indian River Community College

• In History, Philosophy, Literature and the Fine
  Arts
• Managing Sources and Ideas
• In the MLA Paper

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APA or MLA?

• The student writing for any course should
  follow the instructions of his instructor. If
  the instructor expresses no preference, gives no
  guidelines, and/or distributes no style sheet,
  then the student should document an assigned
  research paper according to these guidelines
• APA for social sciences, natural
• sciences, business,
  technology
• MLA for history, philosophy, literature,
• fine arts.

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The Stuff of MLA

• For the MLA research-based paper, the student
  must formulate an observation based on ideas.
  Usually, rather than discussing objective or
  clinical fact, the researcher/writer addresses
  themes, diction, symbols and/or values, ethics,
  trends, tastes.
• The material gathered usually has less in the
  way of data (numbers, graphs, charts), case
  studies, clinical reviews, or the like, and more
  in the way of movements, changing definitions of
  concepts, and value statements.

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Gathering Evidence for the MLA Research-based
Paper Where to Look

• Databases, including Arts Humanities,
  Biography, Electronic Books, and Literature, all
  found at this URL
• http//www.ircc.edu/portal/layout_web1.aspx?Admin
  EditFalsePortalPageID913
• Also, E-books and journals found at this URL
• http//www.ircc.edu/portal/layout_web1.aspx?Admin
  EditFalsePortalPageID913
• Access to this URL requires a library card/bar
  code.

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Gathering Evidence for the MLA Research-based
Paper Where to Look continued

• 2. Learning resources stacks --book
  magazines, journals s, references held in the
  library
• Holdings in other libraries (through
  inter-library loan), the form for which can be
  found at this URL
• http//www.ircc.edu/portal/layout_web1.aspx?Porta
  lPageID676
• 4. Internet sites online at college/university,
  museum, and musical conservatory sites

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Gathering Evidence for the MLA Research-based
Paper What NOT to Use

• The student developing any college-level,
  research-based essay should NEVER quote from a
  general purpose encyclopedia.
• Heres why General encyclopedias are
  compendiums, sources good for getting an overview
  of the topic but often filled with errors.
  However, the student may use the bibliography of
  articles as a guide to authors and writings on
  his topic. With the approval of an
  instructor, a student MAY quote directly from a
  recent edition of an electronic encyclopedia such
  as Encarta. The student should ASK first!
• Use of encyclopedias published for specialized
  purposes, such as The Encyclopedia of Medical
  Terminology or Shakespeare A to Z, is absolutely
  acceptable.

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Gathering Evidence for the MLAPaper in
Literature or the Fine Arts

• Evidence for a literary or fine arts paper may
  include
• 1. original texts, such as librettos, sheet
  music,musical notation verse lines, narrative
  and/or dialogue from short or long fiction
  stage directions or dialogue from drama
• 2. related writings, such as other musical
  compositions or other verse, drama, or fiction
  by the same artist/author or by other creators in
  the same field, movement, or period
• 3. academic writings in journals, casebooks, and
  textbooks

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Gathering Evidence for the MLAPaper in
Literature or the Fine Arts(cont.)

• 3. dictionaries or encyclopedic dictionaries of
  specialized terms, such as the NCTE Dictionary of
  Literary Terms or Harmon Holmans A Handbook to
  Literature
• 4. critical reviews of original texts, often
  found in newspapers and literary magazines
• 5. biographical or autobiographical materials,
  journals diaries
• 6. interviews with artists and or performers,
  poets, dramatists, fiction writers, lectures,
  reviewers, aficionados, museum guides,
  collectors.

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Gathering Evidence for the MLA Paper in History
or Philosophy
Evidence for a history or philosophy paper may
include 1. academic writings in journals and
textbooks 2. original writings, such as
government declarations, laws, decrees,
communiqués, or essays and treatises 3.
critical reviews of original writings 4.
related writings, such as writings by the same
philosopher or from the same or opposing
political entities, failed proposals,
writings for propaganda
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Gathering Evidence for the MLA Paper in History
or Philosophy (cont.)

• 5. Internet resources, including databases
• https//www.linccweb.org/index.asp?lib_codeflcc1
  200screenSubject
• 6. discussions/interpretations of artifacts,
  such as buttons, flags, medals, tapestries,
  hand-written notes/ journals, pottery shards or
  other such archaeological materials
• 7. biographical/autobiographical writings,
  journals, diaries
• 8. interviews with historians, philosophers,
  academics who have traveled or done research in
  the area of interest.

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Thesis for the MLA Paper

• As any thesis should, the thesis for the MLA
  research-based paper must
• 1. identify the topic,
• 2. indicate the writers organizational
• approach to treatment of the topic, and
• 3. express the writers attitude toward the
  material.

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SAMPLE MLA THESIS forHistory/Philosophy

• Critical review of the events leading to Bastille
• Day confirm that internal and international
• political unrest and economic deprivation led to
  the
• events of 1789-1793 which history calls the
• French Revolution.
• ____________________________________________
• 1. organizational approach
• 2. strong verb indicating attitude and
  approach
• 2. attitude (agreement with critics/academics)
• 3. general topic

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Thesis for Critical Review or Analysis of
Literature/Fine Arts

• Often, the thesis for an MLA paper considers
• 1. critical reception of a literary or creative
• work or
• 2. reviews/evaluates a literary aspect of a
  writing
• or
• 3. reviews/evaluates a technical aspect of a
  work
• of fine art.
• If so, the thesis nearly always identifies the
  work and its artist/author.

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Sample Thesis for MLA Paperon Literature or the
Fine Arts

• A comparison of the critical events in Pat
• Conroys Prince of Tides and Beach
• Music helps the reader understand how growing
• up in the Deep South of the middle twentieth
• century could affect adult responses to human
• suffering.
• 1. organizational approach
• 2. attitude
• 3. topic
• 4. author title(s) of work(s) for analysis

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Writing the MLA Thesis (continued)

• The thesis statement for consideration of
• history, philosophy, literature, or the fine arts
• need NOT offer specific points, as in the three
• point thesis statement common to expository/
• utility writing. However, if the student feels
• comfortable with that approach, he may use it
• to lay out a plan by which he will develop his
• paper--primarily as a tool for his own
• guidance as the project develops.

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Working from the MLA ThesisDelivering Its
Promises

• The content which this thesis promises to the
  reader
• 1. definition of critical events
• 2. description/definition of
• growing up in Deep South
• 3. examples of human suffering
• and character responses
• 4. value statements/opinions on how the
  character responses emerge/ evolve from the fact
  of the
• Southern rearing of characters in
• Conroys Prince and Beach.
• developed first and foremost by use of
  quoted evidence from the Conroy books

The Thesis A comparison of the critical events
in Pat Conroys Prince of Tides and Beach Music
helps the reader understand how growing up in the
Deep South of the middle twentieth century could
affect adult responses to human suffering.
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The Structure of the MLA Paper

• For the MLA under-graduate paper, the writer
  should offer at least one outside source for
  every 250-300 words that is,
• IN ADDITION to the text under analysis, he
  should find and use at least five sources for
  every 1000-1250 words.

• The MLA paper offers an introduction, body, and
  conclusion developed to these proportions
• 10-15 introduction
• 70-80 body
• 10-15 conclusion

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The Structure of the MLA PaperContinued

• Because MLA papers often address such issues as
  theme or dominant imagery or character
  development or elements of plot or setting that
  reflect (or do not reflect) known historical
  fact, the nature of the writing differs from that
  of APA. APA writing offers many facts, requiring
  many citations and quoted passages. MLA offers
  interpretations and examples from text, reducing
  the number of citations and directly quoted
  passages.
• Thus, judge your MLA texts development
• based on the 70/30 rule
• 70 interpretation/30 quoted evidence.
• These percentages are, of course approximations,
  but an MLA paper that offers fifty percent quoted
  evidence is more a patchwork quilt than a paper!

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Documentation Practices for MLA Research-based
Writing

• Evidence of any age/publication date may be used
• (unlike in APA research-based writing, for
  which the information base should be as young
  as possible and, most desirably, no older than
  five years.)
• In-text MLA citation requires use of parenthesis,
  last name of author and page number, with no p
  and no comma
• or if the source is unattributed (has no
  identifiable author), cite the source by title
  and page number in the text.

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• SAMPLE MLA IN-TEXT CITATIONS
• Standard
• Conroy has admitted that the character of
• Savannah Wingo developed from experiences
• shared by his own sister and schizophrenic
• brother (Smith 28).
• Unattributed
• When he decided to use worm holes as
• vehicles for time travel in Contact, Sagan sent
• the chapters to a scientist friend for review
• (Good Science, Good Fiction18).

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Sample MLA Works Cited Entries

• Alphabetized
• Good Science, Good Fiction,Omni (1992) 28.
• (unattributed book review, magazine)
• Smith, Sarah. Autobiography and Conroys
  Prince. New York Times Book Review 17 April
  1991 18.
• (attributed book review, newspaper magazine
  published and distributed both with the newspaper
  or by subscription)

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Sample MLA Works Cited Entry In-Text Citation
for a Casebook Article

• Works Cited Entry
• Slack, Dorothy. Bradley and Mysticism.
• College English 443.3 (Spring 1987) 82-
• 96. Rpt. in Essays on Marion Zimmer
• Bradley. Ed. Sarah Gomez Jones. Chicago
• Transvent, Inc., 1990. 127-136.
• In-Text Citation
• Bradley started her noteworthy career as a writer
  of science fiction (Slack 129).

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Sample MLA Works Cited Entry From an Electronic
Resource

• Works Cited Entry
• Jansey, James. Arthurs Women." Magill Book
  Reviews. Academic Abstracts Full-Text Elite.
  CD-ROM. EBSCO Apr. 1997. Item 9412097027.
• In-Text Citation
• New treatments of the Arthurian legends look at
• Arthurs decline as a product of feuding women
• (Jansey n.p.).
• See the IRCC site for the complete guide to MLA
  documentation of electronic resources
• http//www.ircc.edu/portal/layout_web1.aspx?AdminE
  ditFalsePortalPageID681