Kevin's Handy Dandy Guide To Writing Good Research Papers
(...or what to avoid if you don't like red ink)

Purpose

Time and time again students get papers back from me full of spelling and grammar corrections.  They also discover that I have taken a hefty chunk of points off from their final grade.  The response is predictable:  "If I had wanted to take English classes I wouldn't have majored in COMMUNICATION ARTS!")

What is communication if not the clear articulation of ideas aimed at creating a sense of identification between sender and receiver?  If you are taking a course like COMM 170 from me you will repeatedly hear me discuss the importance of concepts like clarity, organization, and accuracy.  If you are taking a course like Survey of Rhetoric or Contemporary Rhetoric, the theorists you are reading repeatedly tell you that understanding grammar and proper use of language is critical to avoiding misunderstanding.  Cicero and Quintilian were in agreement--learning grammar should come before achieving excellence as orator.

You also are here at Truman (hopefully) because you wanted a good liberal arts education.  There will be other instructors at this institution more rigid than I when grading your papers.  When you reach graduate school or the professional world, the bar will be raised even higher.  Developing good WRITTEN communication skills now can be just as important as developing the oral communication skills we reinforce throughout the Truman curriculum.

Things To Avoid When Writing For Minch
(These are the most common errors I encounter. . .)

• Do not use contractions in academic writing (Examples:  don't, can't, isn't, etc.)
• Do not begin sentences with conjunctions (Example:  "And another thing worth discussing is. . ." INCORRECT ).  Sometimes it is all right to begin a sentence with "But," however, I tend to think it is a little too informal and should be avoided.
• Do not turn numbers into adverbs (Example:  Firstly, secondly, thirdly. . . INCORRECT ).  Numbers cannot be adverbs.  It is properly expressed "First, second, third, finally. . ."
• Make sure your subjects and verbs agree (Example:  "I are going to the store." INCORRECT ).
• Make sure your verb tenses are consistent.  It is very easy, especially talking about speeches, to get past and present tense confused.  An old professor of mine--the author of the single most cited work in Communication--once told me that any speech should be referred to in the past tense (Example:  "She said that the policy was a good one."  CORRECT ).  Personally, I do the same when citing authors of academic articles (Example:  "Linkugel wrote" is preferable to "Linkugel writes.").  Not everyone agrees on the latter, but consistency is the key.
• "All of a sudden" does not make sense.  What is "a sudden?"  Have you ever seen "a sudden?"
• Avoid the word "got."
• Periods, commas, and some colons and semicolons (depends on the use) go inside quotation marks (Example:  "I believe it will rain tomorrow," said Thor.  CORRECT ).
• Long, or block, quotations should only be used if the material is more than forty words (or about four lines) long.
• Parenthetical citations after block quotations follow the last period by two spaces.  Parenthetical citations in a non block quotation (in the body of the text) come before the period of the last sentence in the quotation.
• In MLA style there is no comma between the last name of the author and the page number--just a single space.
• In most styles, it is no the proper practice to space out ellipses (. . .).
• A piece of material quoted from an individual is a QUOTATION not a QUOTE.
• Persuasion is spelled P-E-R-S-U-A-S-I-O-N.  If you are still unsure, ask me sometime about some of the interesting spellings I have gotten over the years for that word.
• Do not attempt to make a paper longer or shorter by adjusting the margins, using a larger or smaller font, or adjusting the alignment and pagination.  All papers for my classes, regardless of the style guide you use, must use 1" margins, 12 pt. Times Roman font, and must be double-spaced.  It is also now customary for block quotations to be double spaced but fully indented 1/2" on the left.  Do not single-space block quotations.
• The Works Cited page is a SEPARATE page.  A Works Cited page is used when all of the sources listed were actually cited in the paper.  A Bibliography generally refers to a list of sources consulted.  It may not be the case that every source was used.  For most of your work it is probably appropriate to use the Works Cited header.
• Every page (including the first page now, according to MLA!) should include a page header.  This is your last name followed by a space and a page number.  It should appear in the upper right hand corner of your paper on EACH page.  In APA style this is called a "Running Head" and the style is slightly different.  In Microsoft Word use the View Header/Footer command.  Click in the shadowed box at the top of the page and type your last name-space-then hit the # sign.  Highlight your name and click on the right justify bottom on your toolbar.  Click close.  Isn't that easy!  Your personal information, such as name, class, professor, date, etc. should ONLY appear on the first page and should appear on the left side, double spaced.
• Please do not include a cover page.  It is a waste of paper and MLA no longer requires it.  APA does, but you do not have to give me one.

There are, of course, lots of other rules of grammar and spelling to numerous to enumerate here.  Nearly all word processors now have the ability to check the spelling and grammar of your document.  They are not always correct, however.  You are ultimately responsible for what you write--not the computer.  Consider having someone else read your paper before you turn it in.  Another set of eyes NEVER hurts.

A Word About Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty

Plagiarism means presenting the work of others as your own work: copying material from a published text (including an online text) without giving the writer proper credit; allowing other to write or rewrite your assignments; copying the work of other students and passing it off as your own, and so on.  Plagiarism is a particular problem when working with materials from the Internet; it's tempting but dangerous to copy passages of online texts into your paper without attributing those passages to other writers.  Giving others credit for their words and or ideas doesn't make us trust you less; in academic writing you add to your authority by citing other sources.  Plagiarism is a serious offense.  It can ruin your college career.  No matter how desperate you are, don't do it.  Instead, ask me for help using your sources.  If you do commit an act of plagiarism, you will fail this course and your name will be forwarded to the Dean of Student Affairs Office and the Vice President of Academic Affairs.

You should also be aware that I have most of the Internet "Buy a Paper" services bookmarked on my browser.  Every paper you submit to me electronically is stored for comparison.  DO NOT EVEN THINK of trying that.

Sample Paper

Follow this link and you will find a paper written by Sarah Yancey, one of my students in COMM 330.  She wrote this paper on the application of the narrative paradigm in the Spring of 2001.  It is an excellent example of careful organization, articulate writing, and good proofreading.  It is written in the APA style with the appropriate modifications to conform to course requirements. It is important to note, however, that the APA has changed some of its rules slightly since the time she wrote the paper. Be careful to keep things consistent with current guides. This paper is, however, an excellent example of good organization and clear expression of ideas.