The first component encountered when beginning to write a research paper is inevitably the topic about which to write. As this factor ultimately characterizes the paper, the subject must be the strongest ingredient. Without a suitable topic, one cannot even begin to research much less write (Hult).

The next step in constructing a high-quality research paper is to establish a thesis or hypothesis and to find proper evidence to support the alleged “claim”. If writing a scientific research paper, one will generally present a hypothesis or an educated guess as to the outcome of the research in the introduction of the paper, while when generating any other paper, such as English or history, one will simply set forth a thesis that explains the topics to be covered in the manuscript (also in the introduction). Once the hypothesis or thesis has been established, one must then format the body of the paper with knowledgeable supporting information. One must simply decide what kind and how much information is needed to accurately defend his or her assumptions and depict them in the desired manner. If a paper does not include apt supporting details or a directly stated argument, then the paper will never be considered “good research” (Hult).

A final step in transposing a quality paper is constructing a relative conclusion. To constitute a “relative conclusion”, one should include relevant information to that presented in the body of the paper without repeating specific data. Also, the conclusion should be applicable to one's self, certain individuals, or society in general. A conclusion should not be a mindless repetition of previously stated text but rather a significant and provocative exhibition of the reason for one's paper (Hult).

One of the most important elements in a research paper, or rather in any paper, is interest to the readers. Interest can be created in any of various means including anecdotes, questions, or definitions. Likewise, simply presenting a little-known topic can create variety in reading. Yet, if one does not create an appealing paper, it is highly unlikely anyone will read, or at least pay attention, passed the introduction (Hult).

As aforementioned, compiling a research paper can be a difficult mission if one is ill-equipped. However, if one merely follows the simple guidelines presented above, he or she will be able to embark upon the journey toward excellent writing. Everyone is capable of writing well if he or she will only realize the desire to do so.

Standardize

There are four generally recognized references styles in use today: MLA, APA, Chicago, and Turabian. Each is used within specific industries or companies and has specific strength and weaknesses and are supported by different tools in order to make managing, creating, and sorting references and papers easier.

• MLA (Modern Language Association)

  This style of references is traditionally used by schools, academic departments, and instructors and has been in use for nearly half a century. MLA includes guidelines on punctuation, quotation, and documentation of sources.

• APA (American Psychological Association)

  APA style is predominantly used within the social sciences. APA format includes guidelines on general formating, in-text citation, endnotes/footnotes, and reference page styling.

• Chicago

  The Chicago style format is based of the book Chicago Manual of Style (1). This style provides an Author-Date style of ordering that is usually easier to follow within the natural and social sciences.

• Turabian

  The Turabian style is based of the format suggested by Kate Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (2) which in itself was based closely on the Chicago style and serves many of the same functions.

Know Your Audience

Playing a classical performance at a battle of the bands makes little sense. In the same way using references when not needed or failing to use them in the correct style when they are needed can strongly detract from an articles performance. The modern equivalent of the citation is the webpage link. The webpage link has a strongly suggested style, a standardized easily computer read format, and provides further information that others can use. In fact many of the newer citation formats have citation suggestions specifically for websites.

Writing an article on pool table design which will be used solely on a website makes webpage links a good idea. Though providing a collected link section at the end of the article is always a strong suggestion. While this same format of linking is a bad idea when writing an article for a science teacher because the ease of use of websites becomes a difficult chore to confirm references when you have to manually type in website links to access information.

Bending to the Yoke

The bow yoke according to wikipedia is..

“... a shaped wooden crosspiece bound to the necks of a pair of oxen, or occasionally horses. It is held on the animals' necks by an oxbow, usually U-shaped, that also transmits force from the animals' shoulders, hence the name bow yoke.”

The phrase “bending to ones yoke” generally means to burden ones self with a constraint that generally leads to positive group effort. It can also mean to be put under the authority of another person or organization. Both definitions apply when it comes time to apply a paper to an organization. Before spending hours organizing, sorting, and formating your citations or references be sure that the citation or reference format you have chosen will be accepted where you wish to publish your paper. Some groups such as the APA only accept papers in a specific format and following specific guidelines for content and practices.

The reason for this is both to maintain consistency of look as well as content but also to ease the use of automated tools that can cross link reference and provide evidence of worth of papers. A paper that is heavily referenced is more likely to be of use to an author or researcher then a paper that is rarely referenced.

Tools and Systems

Having references for an article or research paper is nice but creating these references can be a tiring practice, especially considering some of these references can be incorrectly formated if even a single comma is out of place! This being the case there are manuals and programs designed to make referencing papers and articles easier then what was available in the past.

• Son of Citation Machine

  A web based citation generating website which works in each of the four major styles and has clear instructions detailing how to generate a reference citation. Following the on screen instructions step by step can generate correctly typed (though not always correctly formated for copy and past) text that can then be easily incorporated into any research paper or article. Each citation also includes how the citation should appear with proper formating within your paper making correcting the copy and pasted portion a simple process.

• MLA Formatting and Style Guide

  Each of these formats include more then simply a standardized method of presenting citations but also ways to organize, format, and even which fonts to use. While something can be said for originality, standardization also provides strong benefits. Each of these formats provides a time tested and proven method of presenting a paper that will be, in most cases, easily printed and read. This site gives a great break down on MLA both citation and formating.

• APA Formatting and Style Guide

  APA formating guide presented by the same group that produced the above MLA formating and style guide.

• Chicago Manual of Style Citation Guide

  This page describes mostly the citation format of Chicago style.

• Turabian Citation Style

  List of examples of the more commonly used Turabian citation style. This guide does not provide a step by step guide but is reasonably clear in how to create each citation.

References:

1. University of Chicago Press Staff, (2003). The Chicago manual of style. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press.
2. Turabian, K., Booth, W., Colomb, G., & Williams, J. A Manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations, 7th Ed: Chicago style for students and researchers. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
3. Yoke. (2008). In Wikipedia [Web]. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.. Retrieved January 2nd, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoke
4. Landmarks, Son of citation machine. Retrieved January 22, 2008, from Sone of Citation Machine Web site: http://citationmachine.net/
5. Kunka, J. (2008, January 22nd). MLA formatting and style guide. Retrieved January 22, 2008, from MLA formatting and style guide Web site: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/
6. Neyhart, D. (2008, January 22nd). APA formatting and style guide. Retrieved January 22, 2008, from APA formatting and style guide Web site: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
7. Roecker, F. (2006, March 3rd). Chicago manual of style citation guide. Retrieved January 22, 2008, from Chicago Manual of Style Citation Guide Web site: http://library.osu.edu/sites/guides/chicagogd.php
8. (2005, May 8th). Turabian citation style. Retrieved January 22, 2008, from Turabian citation style Web site: http://www.liunet.edu/cwis/CWP/library/workshop/cittur.htm

Editor's Note:

This article was published with a Reference section as an example. Due to the style guidelines, articles published through Triond will not be published with a "bibliography" or "references" section left in tact. If you wish to refer to your sources, please do so within the article itself.