Writing Papers
Why Should I Care?
There are different types of papers which have differing objectives and formats. In any case, they are made up of a mix of your ideas, with the ideas of other writers. It is important to understand the type of paper you are writing, so that you use the proper formats.
This lesson has 32 parts
- Types of Papers
- Critical Review
Samples
What is Writing Papers?
Searching for documents is one thing. However, in order to write a great paper, you need to know what kind of paper you are expected to write. This will allow you to use your sources more critically. There are essentially three types of papers in the world of academics: argumentative essays, annotated bibliographies, and literature reviews.
Argumentative Essay
The objective of the argumentative essay is to argue a point. Authors attempt to support their argument with facts and evidence. This type of paper is used in law, in cultural studies, in literary criticism of works of fiction, and also in the press as commentary and editorials. These papers are written in prose, and are supported by a thesis argument. You can cite sources using footnotes, or an academic style such as MLA or APA.
Annotated Bibliography
The objective of the annotated bibliography is to list documents available, with their source, and a description of their content. This type of paper is used in academic and scientific especially when there is a need for synthesizing many research results for new readers, or to establish new guidelines in a new field. It can also be for personal use. The form is a list of sources, in alphabetical order of the main author's last name, using a style such as MLA or APA.
Literature Review
The objective of the Literature Review is to present the state of knowledge as present. It helps to find gaps for future research. This is used in all scientific and technological fields. This is usually part of any research paper, and sometimes is published on its own as a whole article.
As a writer, you need to critically assess the sources you are using. If a source is biased in any way, your readers will not appreciate it. Whether you are writing an essay, an annotated bibliography or a literature review, your text should be evaluating each source critically. Make sure that you look at the following aspects:
- Author credentials (University or Occupation)
- Summary of aims and objectives
- Summary of main findings
- Author bias and prior criticism
- How the source can be useful
- Source formats, including the existence of a glossary, index, endnotes, footnotes, and/or bibliography.
Here are a few examples of what sources and citations look like in annotated bibliography or a literature review.
References are in alphabetical order, in the style prescribed (APA or MLA). The annotation follows under the same paragraph, using the hanging indent (CTRL-TAB).
Annotated Bibliography
Bergeron, L. (1971). The History of Quebec, a Patriote's Handbook. NC Press, Toronto.
A retired Concordia University History Professor, Bergeron is a Quebec historian and playwright. Other works include history-themed comic books, and French-Quebec language dictionaries. A translation from French, this handbook provides an account of Quebec history from the French-Canadian point of view.
Jenkins, K. (1966). Montreal, Island City of the St. Lawrence. New York: Doubleday & Co.
A comprehensive history of Montreal for general readers, from the time of Jacques-Cartier to the 1950’s. Covers the history of colonial governors, mayors, universities, colleges, churches, and groups such as Iroquois, Irish, Italian, Jews, Scottish, French. Discusses American relations at length, including the Boston Fenians. Little is known today of the author. Often cited in history journal articles. Some interpretations may be misleading, however the lengthy bibliography gives credence. Elements are not cited in particular. Index. No endnotes.
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Literature Review - Section of Paper
A section of a science paper with a bibliography. The Literature Review is the second part of the science paper, after the Introduction, and before the Methodology. Citations are sorted by themes, and their results are summarized.
More attention is given to sources that are closest to the topic the paper. Authors are pre-supposed to be academic. A mention should be added if citing non-academic (grey) work.
All of the citations are found in the bibliography. All of the references in the bibliography are cited in text.
A Brief History of Doing Time: The California Institution for Women in the 1960s and the 1990s
By Rosemary Gartner, and Candace Kruttschnitt,
Law & Society Review, Vol. 38, No. 2 (June 2004), pp. 267-304
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1555106
ABSTRACT – Recent scholarship on penality describes profound changes in the ideology, discourses, and policies shaping criminal punishment in the late-twentieth- century United States. To assess the implications of these changes for those subject to criminal punishment, we examine the experiences of women in prison at two key points in the recent history of penality. We compare how imprisonment (…)
INTRODUCTION – Punishment changed in the United States in the last third of the twentieth century. The indicators of this change are well- documented and widely agreed upon. Prison populations soared, correctional and rehabilitative goals were largely supplanted in official and popular discourse by concerns with public safety and victims' rights, penal policy became highly politicized, and public sentiment toward criminals hardened (…).
LITERATURE REVIEW – A major theme in prison research is that the experience of imprisonment-the ways prisoners think about and relate to other 269 prisoners, to their keepers, and to the prison regime-is affected by prisons' external and internal environments. With shifts in the political, cultural, and economic climate of the larger society, the relationship of prisons to society as well as the relations of actors within the prison change (Jacobs, 1977; Clemmer, 1950; Sykes, 1958).
Similarly, official regimes, structures, and practices inside prisons shape the responses and adaptations of prisoners (Adams, 1992; Bottoms, 1999; Grusky, 1959; Sparks, Bottoms, & Hay, 1996; Street, Vinter, & Perrow, 1966). Men's prisons provide conspicuous and well-documented examples of differences over time and among prisons in the experience of imprisonment, such as ebbs and flows in prison riots, the expansion of prison gangs, and trends in prisoner litigation (e.g., Adler & Longhurst, 1994; Colvin, 1992; Cummins, 1994; Silberman, 1995). (…)
METHODOLOGY – (…)
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Lit Review – Whole Article
A whole article with no original data, no method, no results. Just a literature review. Very useful for researchers new to a topic, or for sharing recent results in a quickly evolving research field.
The Introduction and Title should state that this is only a review of literature. There is no Methodology, no Findings. Citations are sorted by themes, and their results are summarized. Results can/should be grouped to identify divergences in empirical results. Often there are tables to visualize the groupings. There can be a Conclusion section, but only to summarize and discuss the over-all results of the existing literature.
All of the citations are found in the bibliography. All of the references in the bibliography are cited in text.
Sample
Evaluating Returns to Agricultural Research: A Review
By George W. Norton and Jeffrey S. Davis
American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 63, No. 4 (Nov., 1981), pp. 685-699
http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1241211.pdf?acceptTC=true
ABSTRACT - This paper reviews and compares the most common approaches used to evaluate public agricultural research investment. Ex post studies fall into two major groups: (a) consumer and producer surplus analyses, estimating average rates of return to research, and (b) production function analyses, estimating marginal rates of return to research. Ex ante studies fall into four groups: (a) those using scoring models to rank research activities, (b) those employing benefit-cost analysis to establish rates of return to research, (c) those using simulation models, and (d) those using mathematical programming to select an optimal mix of research activities.
INTRODUCTION – As public investment in agricultural research has expanded, attention has focused on its productivity and the efficiency with which funds are allocated. Decision makers desire information on research payoffs in order to assess alternative uses for public funds. In addition, the public itself is increasingly concerned about the productivity of its tax dollars.
This paper reviews the major research techniques that have been developed to evaluate returns to agricultural research. It extends previous reviews of Peterson (1971), Shumway (1973, 1977), Easter and Norton, Peterson and Hayami, Sim and Gardner, Schuh and Tollini, and Scobie (1979). We follow the Schuh and Tollini procedure of categorizing returns to research studies into ex ante and ex post evaluations.
Major studies which illustrate each technique are discussed and compared to show (a) differences in assumptions made in studies using similar methods, (b) techniques appropriate to answer different questions, and (c) incomplete areas where methodology needs development or improvement. (…)
CONCLUSION – (…)
REFERENCES – (…)
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LICENSES AND ATTRIBUTIONS
