lGeneric Outline of a
Research Paper:
A
college research paper has 4 (or 5 or 6) parts, arranged as follows:
cover page
thesis statement
text pages
works cited page(s)
Appendix with charts
and/or tables
Thesis statement — always
only ONE sentence long.
Main point of the paper
Everything relates back
to the thesis statement
ALWAYS
in the first paragraph of the paper
Text
Pages
Suggestion: Write an
outline first
Follow the outline’s
organization in writing the text
Making Points: List the
points you wish to make in order of importance
Most to least important
Citations
Any thought not your own
must have a reference
Parenthetical notation
in the paper
Example: Citation from
“Principles of Motor Racing” by Piero Taruffi. Modena Publishers 1957.
In-text citation is
(Taruffi 1957)
Endnotes — rarely used,
especially in short papers.
Appendix – Refer to table,
figure, and chart headings in text of papers
Do not allow tables to
break over multiple pages
Works Cited Page
Use APA Style http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html
for citations
Alphabetical order
Example of Taruffi book
reference citation:
Taruffi,
Piero. (1957) Principles of
Motor Racing Modena, Italy;
Modena Publishers
More comprehensive assistance is available at: http://webster.commnet.edu/mla/gathering.shtml