A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers » (1)

Kate Turabian (1893–1987) was the graduate school dissertation secretary at the University of Chicago from 1930 to 1958. 

 

Wayne Clayson Booth (1921-2005) was the George M. Pullman Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in English Language and Literature at the University of Chicago. Gregory G. Colomb is professor of English at the University of Virginia and the author of Designs on Truth: The Poetics of the Augustan Mock-Epic. Joseph M. Williams is professor emeritus in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Chicago and the author of Style: Toward Clarity and Grace. Together Booth, Colomb, and Williams are the authors of the bestselling guide The Craft of Research, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

Dewey. Bellow. Strauss. Friedman. The University of Chicago has been the home of some of the most important thinkers of the modern age. But perhaps no name has been spoken with more respect than Turabian. The dissertation secretary at Chicago for decades, Kate Turabian literally wrote the book on the successful completion and submission of the student paper. Her Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, created from her years of experience with research projects across all fields, has sold more than seven million copies since it was first published in 1937.

Now, with this seventh edition, Turabian’s Manual has undergone its most extensive revision, ensuring that it will remain the most valuable handbook for writers at every level—from first-year undergraduates, to dissertation writers apprehensively submitting final manuscripts, to senior scholars who may be old hands at research and writing but less familiar with new media citation styles. Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, and the late Wayne C. Booth—the gifted team behind The Craft of Research—and the University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff combined their wide-ranging expertise to remake this classic resource. They preserve Turabian’s clear and practical advice while fully embracing the new modes of research, writing, and source citation brought about by the age of the Internet.

Booth, Colomb, and Williams significantly expand the scope of previous editions by creating a guide, generous in length and tone, to the art of research and writing. Growing out of the authors’ best-selling Craft of Research, this new section provides students with an overview of every step of the research and writing process, from formulating the right questions to reading critically to building arguments and revising drafts. This leads naturally to the second part of the Manual for Writers, which offers an authoritative overview of citation practices in scholarly writing, as well as detailed information on the two main citation styles (“notes-bibliography” and “author-date”). This section has been fully revised to reflect the recommendations of the fifteenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style and to present an expanded array of source types and updated examples, including guidance on citing electronic sources.

The final section of the book treats issues of style—the details that go into making a strong paper. Here writers will find advice on a wide range of topics, including punctuation, table formatting, and use of quotations. The appendix draws together everything writers need to know about formatting research papers, theses, and dissertations and preparing them for submission. This material has been thoroughly vetted by dissertation officials at colleges and universities across the country.

This seventh edition of Turabian’s Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations is a classic reference revised for a new age. It is tailored to a new generation of writers using tools its original author could not have imagined—while retaining the clarity and authority that generations of scholars have come to associate with the name Turabian.

CHOICE

“The highlight of this seventh edition is the expanded focus of the book. [A] new section titled ‘Research and Writing: From Planning to Production’ provides a step-by-step process for conducting research. . . . It will be most beneficial to those new to research and writing, but it does provide a nice refresher for those familiar with the processes. . . . An extensive bibliography and detailed index round out this well-known reference work.”—J.M. Piper-Burton, Choice

— J.M. Piper-Burton

A Note to Students     xi
Preface     xiii
Acknowledgements     xvii
Research and Writing: From Planning to Production   Wayne C. Booth   Gregory G. Colomb   Joseph M. Williams
Overview of Part I     3
What Research Is and How Researchers Think about It     5
How Researchers Think about Their Aims
Three Kinds of Questions That Researchers Ask
Moving from a Topic to a Question to a Working Hypothesis     12
Find a Question in Your Topic
Propose Some Working Answers
Build a Storyboard to Plan and Guide Your Work
Organize a Writing Support Group
Finding Useful Sources     24
Understand the Kinds of Sources Readers Expect You to Use
Record Your Sources Fully, Accurately, and Appropriately
Search for Sources Systematically
Evaluate Sources for Relevance and Reliability
Look beyond the Usual Kinds of References
Engaging Sources     36
Read Generously to Understand, Then Critically to Engage and Evaluate
Take Notes Systematically
Take Useful Notes
Write as You Read
Review Your Progress
Manage Moments of Normal Panic
Planning Your Argument     48
What a Research Argument Is and Is Not
Build Your Argument around Answers to Readers' Questions
Turn Your Working Hypothesis into a Claim
Assemble the Elements of Your Argument
Distinguish Arguments Based on Evidence from Arguments Based on Warrants
Assemble an Argument
Planning a FirstDraft     62
Avoid Unhelpful Plans
Create a Plan That Meets Your Readers' Needs
File Away Leftovers
Drafting Your Report     71
Draft in the Way That Feels Most Comfortable
Develop Productive Drafting Habits
Use Your Key Terms to Keep Yourself on Track
Quote, Paraphrase, and Summarize Appropriately
Integrate Quotations into Your Text
Use Footnotes and Endnotes Judiciously
Interpret Complex or Detailed Evidence before You Offer It
Be Open to Surprises
Guard against Inadvertent Plagiarism
Guard against Inappropriate Assistance
Work through Chronic Procrastination and Writer's Block
Presenting Evidence in Tables and Figures     82
Choose Verbal or Visual Representations
Choose the Most Effective Graphic
Design Tables and Figures
Communicate Data Ethically
Revising Your Draft     98
Check Your Introduction, Conclusion, and Claim
Make Sure the Body of Your Report Is Coherent
Check Your Paragraphs
Let Your Draft Cool, Then Paraphrase It
Writing Your Final Introduction and Conclusion     102
Draft Your Final Introduction
Draft Your Final Conclusion
Write Your Title Last
Revising Sentences     109
Focus on the First Seven or Eight Words of a Sentence
Diagnose What You Read
Choose the Right Word
Polish It Off
Give It Up and Print It Out
Learning from Your Returned Paper     120
Find General Principles in Specific Comments
Talk to Your Instructor
Presenting Research in Alternative Forums      122
Plan Your Oral Presentation
Design Your Presentation to Be Listened To
Plan Your Poster Presentation
Plan Your Conference Proposal
On the Spirit of Research     129
Source Citation
General Introduction to Citation Practices     133
Reasons for Citing Your Sources
The Requirements of Citation
Two Citation Styles
Citation of Electronic Sources
Preparation of Citations
A Word on Citation Software
Notes-Bibliography Style: The Basic Form     141
Basic Patterns
Bibliographies
Notes
Short Forms for Notes
Notes-Bibliography Style: Citing Specific Types of Sources     160
Books
Journal Articles
Magazine Articles
Newspaper Articles
Additional Types of Published Sources
Unpublished Sources
Informally Published Electronic Sources
Sources in the Visual and Performing Arts
Public Documents
One Source Quoted in Another
Parenthetical Citations-Reference List Style: The Basic Form     216
Basic Patterns
Reference Lists
Parenthetical Citations
Parenthetical Citations-Reference List Style: Citing Specific Types of Sources     227
Books
Journal Articles
Magazine Articles
Newspaper Articles
Additional Types of Published Sources
Unpublished Sources
Informally Published Electronic Sources
Sources in the Visual and Performing Arts
Public Documents
One Source Quoted in Another
Style
Spelling     283
Plurals
Possessives
Compounds and Words Formed with Prefixes
Line Breaks
Punctuation      295
Period
Comma
Semicolon
Colon
Question Mark
Exclamation Point
Hyphen and Dashes
Parentheses and Brackets
Slashes
Quotation Marks
Multiple Punctuation Marks
Names, Special Terms, and Titles of Works     308
Names
Special Terms
Titles of Works
Numbers     318
Words or Numerals?
Plurals and Punctuation
Date Systems
Numbers Used outside the Text
Abbreviations     331
General Principles
Names and Titles
Geographical Terms
Time and Dates
Units of Measure
The Bible and Other Sacred Works
Abbreviations in Citations and Other Scholarly Contexts
Quotations     347
Quoting Accurately and Avoiding Plagiarism
Incorporating Quotations into Your Text
Modifying Quotations
Tables and Figures     359
General Issues
Tables
Figures
Paper Format and Submission     373
General Format Requirements
Format Requirements for Specific Elements
Submission Requirements
Bibliography     409
Authors     437
Index     439