The Craft of Research »

Wayne Clayson Booth (1921–2005) was the George M. Pullman Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in English Language and Literature at the University of Chicago. His many books include The Rhetoric of Fiction and For the Love of It: Amateuring and Its Rivals, both published by the University of Chicago Press. Gregory G. Colomb is professor of English language and literature at the University of Virginia. He is the author of Designs on Truth: The Poetics of the Augustan Mock-Epic. Joseph M. Williams (1933–2008) was 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 Colomb and Williams wrote The Craft of Argument. Booth, Colomb, and Williams coedited the seventh edition of Kate L. Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations.

With more than 400,000 copies now in print, The Craft of Research is the unrivaled resource for researchers at every level, from first-year undergraduates to research reporters at corporations and government offices.

Seasoned researchers and educators Gregory G. Colomb and Joseph M. Williams present an updated third edition of their classic handbook, whose first and second editions were written in collaboration with the late Wayne C. Booth. The Craft of Research explains how to build an argument that motivates readers to accept a claim; how to anticipate the reservations of readers and to respond to them appropriately; and how to create introductions and conclusions that answer that most demanding question, “So what?”

The third edition includes an expanded discussion of the essential early stages of a research task: planning and drafting a paper. The authors have revised and fully updated their section on electronic research, emphasizing the need to distinguish between trustworthy sources (such as those found in libraries) and less reliable sources found with a quick Web search. A chapter on warrants has also been thoroughly reviewed to make this difficult subject easier for researchers

Throughout, the authors have preserved the amiable tone, the reliable voice, and the sense of directness that have made this book indispensable for anyone undertaking a research project.

Times Supplement

A well constructed, articulate reminder of how important fundamental questions of style and approach, such as clarity and precision, are to all research.

Preface The Aims of This Edition

I Research, Researchers, and Readers 1

1 Thinking in Print: The Uses of Research, Public and Private 9

2 Connecting with Your Reader: (Re)Creating Yourself and Your Readers 16

II Asking Questions, Finding Answers 29

3 From Topics to Questions 35

4 From Questions to a Problem 51

5 From Problems to Sources 68

6 Engaging Sources 84

III Making a Claim and Supporting It 103

7 Making Good Arguments: An Overview 108

8 Making Claims 120

9 Assembling Reasons and Evidence 130

10 Acknowledgments and Responses 139

11 Warrants 152

IV Planning, Drafting, and Revising 171

12 Planning 177

13 Drafting Your Report 187

14 Revising Your Organization and Argument 203

15 Communicating Evidence Visually 213

16 Introductions and Conclusions 232

17 Revising Style: Telling Your Story Clearly 249

V Some Last Considerations 271

The Ethics of Research 273

A Postscript for Teachers 277

App Bibliographical Resources 283

Index 313