A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers

A little more than seventy-five years ago, Kate L. Turabian drafted a set of guidelines to help students understand how to write, cite, and formally submit research writing. Seven editions and more than nine million copies later, the name Turabian has become synonymous with best practices in research writing and style. Her Manual for Writers continues to be the gold standard for generations of college and graduate students in virtually all academic disciplines. Now in its eighth edition, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations has been fully revised to meet the needs of today’s writers and researchers.

The Manual retains its familiar three-part structure, beginning with an overview of the steps in the research and writing process, including formulating questions, reading critically, building arguments, and revising drafts. Part II provides an overview of citation practices with detailed information on the two main scholarly citation styles (notes-bibliography and author-date), an array of source types with contemporary examples, and detailed guidance on citing online resources.

The final section treats all matters of editorial style, with advice on punctuation, capitalization, spelling, abbreviations, table formatting, and the use of quotations. Style and citation recommendations have been revised throughout to reflect the sixteenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style. With an appendix on paper format and submission that has been vetted by dissertation officials from across the country and a bibliography with the most up-to-date listing of critical resources available, A Manual for Writers remains the essential resource for students and their teachers.

Contents

A Note to Students

Preface

Part I Research and Writing: From Planning to Production

• Overview of Part I
• 1 What Research Is and How Researchers Think about It
  • 1.1 How Researchers Think about Their Aims
  • 1.2 Three Kinds of Questions That Researchers Ask
• 2 Moving from a Topic to a Question to a Working Hypothesis
  • 2.1 Find a Question in Your Topic
  • 2.2 Propose Some Working Answers
  • 2.3 Build a Storyboard to Plan and Guide Your Work
  • 2.4 Organize a Writing Support Group
• 3 Finding Useful Sources
  • 3.1 Understand the Kinds of Sources Readers Expect You to Use
  • 3.2 Record Your Sources Fully, Accurately, and Appropriately
  • 3.3 Search for Sources Systematically
  • 3.4 Evaluate Sources for Relevance and Reliability
  • 3.5 Look beyond the Usual Kinds of References
• 4 Engaging Sources
  • 4.1 Read Generously to Understand, Then Critically to Engage and Evaluate
  • 4.2 Take Notes Systematically
  • 4.3 Take Useful Notes
  • 4.4 Write as You Read
  • 4.5 Review Your Progress
  • 4.6 Manage Moments of Normal Panic
• 5 Planning Your Argument
  • 5.1 What a Research Argument Is and Is Not
  • 5.2 Build Your Argument around Answers to Readers’ Questions
  • 5.3 Turn Your Working Hypothesis into a Claim
  • 5.4 Assemble the Elements of Your Argument
  • 5.5 Distinguish Arguments Based on Evidence from Arguments Based on Warrants
  • 5.6 Assemble an Argument
• 6 Planning a First Draft
  • 6.1 Avoid Unhelpful Plans
  • 6.2 Create a Plan That Meets Your Readers’ Needs
  • 6.3 File Away Leftovers
• 7 Drafting Your Report
  • 7.1 Draft in the Way That Feels Most Comfortable
  • 7.2 Develop Productive Drafting Habits
  • 7.3 Use Your Key Terms to Keep Yourself on Track
  • 7.4 Quote, Paraphrase, and Summarize Appropriately
  • 7.5 Integrate Quotations into Your Text
  • 7.6 Use Footnotes and Endnotes Judiciously
  • 7.7 Interpret Complex or Detailed Evidence Before You Offer It
  • 7.8 Be Open to Surprises
  • 7.9 Guard against Inadvertent Plagiarism
  • 7.10 Guard against Inappropriate Assistance
  • 7.11 Work Through Chronic Procrastination and Writer’s Block
• 8 Presenting Evidence in Tables and Figures
  • 8.1 Choose Verbal or Visual Representations
  • 8.2 Choose the Most Effective Graphic
  • 8.3 Design Tables and Figures
  • 8.4 Communicate Data Ethically
• 9 Revising Your Draft
  • 9.1 Check for Blind Spots in Your Argument
  • 9.2 Check Your Introduction, Conclusion, and Claim
  • 9.3 Make Sure the Body of Your Report Is Coherent
  • 9.4 Check Your Paragraphs
  • 9.5 Let Your Draft Cool, Then Paraphrase It
• 10 Writing Your Final Introduction and Conclusion
  • 10.1 Draft Your Final Introduction
  • 10.2 Draft Your Final Conclusion
  • 10.3 Write Your Title Last
• 11 Revising Sentences
  • 11.1 Focus on the First Seven or Eight Words of a Sentence
  • 11.2 Diagnose What You Read
  • 11.3 Choose the Right Word
  • 11.4 Polish It Up
  • 11.5 Give It Up and Print It Out
• 12 Learning from Your Returned Paper
  • 12.1 Find General Principles in Specific Comments
  • 12.2 Talk to Your Instructor
• 13 Presenting Research in Alternative Forums
  • 13.1 Plan Your Oral Presentation
  • 13.2 Design Your Presentation to Be Listened To
  • 13.3 Plan Your Poster Presentation
  • 13.4 Plan Your Conference Proposal
• 14 On the Spirit of Research

Part II Source Citation

• 15 General Introduction to Citation Practices
• 15.1 Reasons for Citing Your Sources
• 15.2 The Requirements of Citation
• 15.3 Two Citation Styles
• 15.4 Electronic Sources
• 15.5 Preparation of Citations
• 15.6 Citation Management Software
• 16 Notes-Bibliography Style: The Basic Form
  • 16.1 Basic Patterns
  • 16.2 Bibliographies
  • 16.3 Notes
  • 16.4 Short Forms for Notes
• 17 Notes-Bibliography Style: Citing Specific Types of Sources
  • 17.1 Books
  • 17.2 Journal Articles
  • 17.3 Magazine Articles
  • 17.4 Newspaper Articles
  • 17.5 Additional Types of Published Sources
  • 17.6 Unpublished Sources
  • 17.7 Websites, Blogs, Social Networks, and Discussion Groups
  • 17.8 Sources in the Visual and Performing Arts
  • 17.9 Public Documents
  • 17.10 One Source Quoted in Another
• 18 Author-Date Style: The Basic Form
  • 18.1 Basic Patterns
  • 18.2 Reference Lists
  • 18.3 Parenthetical Citations
• 19 Author-Date Style: Citing Specific Types of Sources
  • 19.1 Books
  • 19.2 Journal Articles
  • 19.3 Magazine Articles
  • 19.4 Newspaper Articles
  • 19.5 Additional Types of Published Sources
  • 19.6 Unpublished Sources
  • 19.7 Websites, Blogs, Social Networks, and Discussion Groups
  • 19.8 Sources in the Visual and Performing Arts
  • 19.9 Public Documents
  • 19.10 One Source Quoted in Another

Part III Style

• 20 Spelling
  • 20.1 Plurals
  • 20.2 Possessives
  • 20.3 Compounds and Words Formed with Prefixes
  • 20.4 Line Breaks
• 21 Punctuation
  • 21.1 Periods
  • 21.2 Commas
  • 21.3 Semicolons
  • 21.4 Colons
  • 21.5 Question Marks
  • 21.6 Exclamation Points
  • 21.7 Hyphens and Dashes
  • 21.8 Parentheses and Brackets
  • 21.9 Slashes
  • 21.10 Quotation Marks
  • 21.11 Apostrophes
  • 21.12 Multiple Punctuation Marks
• 22 Names, Special Terms, and Titles of Works
  • 22.1 Names
  • 22.2 Special Terms
  • 22.3 Titles of Works
• 23 Numbers
  • 23.1 Words or Numerals?
  • 23.2 Plurals and Punctuation
  • 23.3 Date Systems
  • 23.4 Numbers Used outside the Text
• 24 Abbreviations
  • 24.1 General Principles
  • 24.2 Names and Titles
  • 24.3 Geographical Terms
  • 24.4 Time and Dates
  • 24.5 Units of Measure
  • 24.6 The Bible and Other Sacred Works
  • 24.7 Abbreviations in Citations and Other Scholarly Contexts
• 25 Quotations
  • 25.1 Quoting Accurately and Avoiding Plagiarism
  • 25.2 Incorporating Quotations into Your Text
  • 25.3 Modifying Quotations
• 26 Tables and Figures
  • 26.1 General Issues
  • 26.2 Tables
  • 26.3 Figures

Appendix: Paper Format and Submission

• A.1 General Format Requirements
• A.2 Format Requirements for Specific Elements
• A.3 File Preparation and Submission Requirements

Bibliography

Authors

Index