Research Glossary
Annotated Bibliography
A list of citations to research materials, including books, articles, or other documents. Each citation is followed by a brief descriptive paragraph and sometimes an evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the content, usefulness, and quality of the sources used in the research.
Annotation
A descriptive and/or evaluative comment about a source.
Descriptive: Briefly summarizes what the source is about.
Evaluative: Briefly explains the quality, relevance, and usefulness of the source.
Attribution
Giving information credit to a source; see Citing Authority.
Audience
The person or people you intend to read the paper.
Questions to ask about your audience:
What does the audience already know about my topic?
What do I need to define so the audience will understand my terms?
What do I need to explain in more detail to give the audience a clearer picture of my main ideas?
Can I assume my audience is familiar with the literary work or works about which I am writing?
Brainstorming
Prewriting technique used to generate ideas.
Call Number
The group of numbers or letters and numbers that help you locate a book on the shelf of the library.
Cause and Effect
An organizational pattern used in writing; establishing a relationship between two or more things where there is a motive and a consequence.
Chronological Order
An organizational pattern used in writing; traces an idea in time order from first to last, earliest to latest, or sometimes, for effect, from latest to earliest; sometimes called “time order.”
Topic: Writing an essay
I. Choose a topic
II. Brainstorm ideas
III. Write a final draft
IV. Revise a final draft
Citation
Often referred to as “in-text” citations or parenthetical documentation; a note used after quotations and paraphrases that gives the author and page number of the source of information.
Citing Authority
Incorporating information about the credentials of the authors you cited in your paper, usually through an appositive phrase following the first reference to the author in the text of your essay.
Example:
Dr. Harold Bloom, Sterling Professor Emeritus of the Humanities at Yale University, says...
Cliché
A word or expression used so often that it has lost its freshness and meaning. A good list of clichés to avoid (including that last sentence) is found HERE.
Coherence
Words or phrases (transitions) that make your ideas in the paper relate logically to each other.
Common Knowledge
Any information that can easily be accessed from a number of sources, such as an author’s birth date.
Comparing/Contrasting
An organizational pattern used in writing to compare two or more things; explains likenesses and differences; comparisons can be written two patterns of organization (block or point-by-point).
Conclusion
The conclusion of a research paper is the last paragraph or paragraphs. The concluding paragraph is essential to the research paper; otherwise, the paper is incomplete. Do not merely reach the required length of the paper and stop writing. The paper must be taken to completion with a conclusion that reflects the thesis statement.
A successful conclusion should:
● Wrap up the ideas you have developed
●Follow logically from the rest of your composition
● Leave the reader with something to think about
● Restate the central idea (thesis) in a new way, reflecting the deeper understanding you have developed
● Make a generalization about the information you have presented, relating the topic to a larger context
● Make a prediction based on your understanding of the topic
● End with a quotation from someone discussed in the paper
● End with a question that leaves the reader something to think about
A conclusion should not:
● Introduce new fact, opinions, or arguments
● Change the point of view by introducing the pronoun “I” Simply repeat the introduction
● Repeat the thesis verbatim
● Techniques for concluding a research paper
● Review and summarize the main points presented in the body
Database
A collection of logically stored information that can be accessed by computer.
Diction
Choice of words and the level of formality of writing based on the kinds of words used.
Direct Quotation
The exact replication of an author’s words; usually what is meant by quotation; see also indirect quotation.
Documentation
Proper credit given to another author for words or ideas. Documentation must match in text and works cited.