Anker Susan. Real Essays with Readings with 2009 MLA Update

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WRITING ESSAYS

Chapter 21 • Writing the Research Essay 367

MESSELINA HERNANDEZ’S OUTLINE

I. Thesis statement for introduction: Mandatory school

uniforms offer extraordinary beneﬁ ts to students and school

systems, including improvements in students’ self-esteem,

attendance, academic performance, graduation rates, and safety.

II. Self-esteem: Wearing uniforms improves students’ self-esteem.

A. When everyone wears the same clothing, poor students do

not stand out from rich ones.

B. No one wears gang colors or other clothing that shows

they are part of a special group.

C. School uniforms enhance students’ sense of belonging and

increase morale.

D. Peer pressure and competition are reduced, allowing

the attention of students to be directed to learning and

growing.

III. Attendance and academic performance: In addition to

enhancing self-esteem, wearing uniforms improves academic

performance and attendance.

A. Students aren’t distracted by clothes and treat school as

a job.

B. A survey of school principals indicated that 62 percent

reported an increase in academic achievement that they

attributed to the sense of community created by school

uniforms.

IV. Graduation rates: Mandatory school uniforms can also

improve students’ graduation rates, which would have positive

effects on society as a whole.

A. A research study done by Virginia Draa shows that

graduation rates at sixty-four Ohio high schools improved

by 10.9 percent, while rates at similar schools dropped by

4.6 percent.

B. More graduating students should translate into more

adults with good jobs.

V. Safety: The most important beneﬁ t of mandatory school

uniforms is the reduction of violence in schools and the overall

increase in safety.

A. A 1996 study found a sharp drop in crime in Long Beach,

California, schools since they made uniforms mandatory.

Supporting

details

Supporting

details

Supporting

details

Topic sentence

for ﬁ rst body

paragraph

Topic sentence

for second body

paragraph

Topic sentence

for third body

paragraph

Supporting

details

Topic sentence

for fourth body

paragraph

continued

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WRITING ESSAYS

368 Part Three • Special College Writing Projects

B. New York City schools have seen a 76 percent drop in

crime since 1994, when students at most elementary

schools started wearing uniforms.

C. In response to violence in schools, former president Bill

Clinton came out strongly in favor of uniforms in his 1996

State of the Union address.

VI. Opposition: Some people believe that school uniforms are not

a good thing, but their objections are not convincing.

A. Some experts have found no relationship between wear-

ing uniforms and reductions in violence or improvements

in academic achievement. In fact, some say uniforms can

have negative effects on academic performance. However,

these ﬁ ndings have been challenged.

B. Others say that dress codes violate students’ right to free

speech under the First Amendment. However, the courts

allow dress codes.

VII. Conclusion: There is convincing evidence that mandatory

school uniforms have signiﬁ cant beneﬁ ts.

Write Your Essay

Using your outline, write a draft of your research essay. (For more infor-

mation on writing a draft, see Chapter 8.)

Your introduction should include your thesis statement and a pre-

view of the support you will provide in the body of the essay. If you are

taking a stand on an issue, the introduction should let your readers know

what your position is. The body of the essay will present your major sup-

port points for your thesis backed by supporting details from your re-

search. The conclusion will remind readers of your main point and make

a further observation based on the information you have presented.

For Messelina Hernandez’s completed research paper, see pages

376–79.

Cite and Document Your Sources

As discussed on page 360, you need to include in-text citations of sources

as you use them in the essay. You also need to document, or give cre dit to,

your sources at the end of your research essay in a list of works cited.

Supporting

details

Supporting

details

Topic sentence

for ﬁ fth body

paragraph

Concluding

paragraph

■ For more informa-

tion on documenting

sources, visit

bedfordstmartins

.com/researchroom.

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WRITING ESSAYS

Chapter 21 • Writing the Research Essay 369

Few people can remember the speciﬁ cs of correct citation and docu-

mentation, so be sure to refer to this section or the reference text that your

instructor prefers. Be sure to include all of the correct information, and

pay attention to where punctuation marks such as commas, periods, and

quotation marks should go.

There are several different systems of documentation. Most English

professors prefer the Modern Language Association (MLA) system, which

is used in this chapter. However, when you are writing a research paper

in another course, you may be required to use another system. When in

doubt, always ask your instructor.

Use In-Text Citations within Your Essay

In-text citations like the ones shown in this section are used for books and

periodicals. For Web sites and other electronic sources, you typically will

not be able to include page numbers, although you should note screen or

paragraph numbers if these are used in the source.

When you refer to the author(s) in an introductory phrase, write just

the relevant page number(s), if available, in parentheses at the end of the

quotation.

DIRECT QUOTATION: In her book Born to Buy, Juliet B. Schor notes, “The

world of children’s marketing is ﬁ lled with variants of the us-versus-

them message” (53).

INDIRECT QUOTATION: In her book Born to Buy, Juliet B. Schor notes that

marketing aimed at youth often sets children against adults (53).

When you do not refer to the author(s) in an introductory phrase, write

the author’s name followed by the page number(s), if available, at the end

of the quotation. If an author is not named, use the title of the source.

DIRECT QUOTATION: “The world of children’s marketing is ﬁ lled with vari-

ants of the us-versus-them message” (Schor 53).

INDIRECT QUOTATION: Marketing aimed at youth often sets children

against adults (Schor 53).

Use a List of Works Cited at the End

of Your Essay

Books

BOOK BY ONE AUTHOR

Shipler, David K. The Working Poor: Invisible in America. New York: Knopf, 2004. Print.

Author

Title (italicized)

Publisher’s

city

Publisher’s

name, shortened

Publication date

Medium of Publication

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WRITING ESSAYS

370 Part Three • Special College Writing Projects

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A BOOK

TWO OR MORE ENTRIES BY THE SAME AUTHOR

---. Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land. New York: Penguin, 2002. Print.

BOOK BY TWO OR THREE AUTHORS

Piccioto, Richard, and Daniel Paisner. Last Man Down: A New York City Fire Chief

and the Collapse of the World Trade Center. New York: Berkley, 2002. Print.

Quigley, Sharon, Gloria Florez, and Thomas McCann. You Can Clean Almost

Anything. New York: Sutton, 1999. Print.

BOOK WITH FOUR OR MORE AUTHORS

Roark, James L., et al. The American Promise: A History of the United States.

4th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Print.

NOTE: Et al. means “and others.”

Use three hyphens instead of repeating “Shipler, David K.”

Title page

(Publication

city and date

are sometimes

on the

page.)

Author

Publication

date

Title

Publisher

Publisher’s

city

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WRITING ESSAYS

Chapter 21 • Writing the Research Essay 371

BOOK WITH AN EDITOR

Tate, Parson, ed. Most Romantic Vacation Spots. Cheyenne: Chandler, 2000. Print.

WORK IN AN ANTHOLOGY

Wright, Richard. “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow.” The Bedford Introduction to

Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008.

556-58. Print.

ENCYCLOPEDIA ARTICLE

“Kosovo.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 16th ed. 1999. Print.

Periodicals

MAGAZINE ARTICLE

Netting, Jessa Forte. “Brazil’s New Dinosaur.” Discover Mar. 2005: 13. Print.

Page number (include page range for longer articles)

Author

Title of article

Title of

periodical

Medium of

PublicationDate

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A MAGAZINE ARTICLE

Title of

article

Title of periodical

Author

Page

number

Date

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WRITING ESSAYS

372 Part Three • Special College Writing Projects

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

Fox, Maggie. “Scientists Report Experiment Creating Immune Cells.”

Boston Globe 1 May 2002: A20. Print.

EDITORIAL IN A MAGAZINE OR NEWSPAPER (author’s name given)

Udall, Don. “When Someone Is Alive but Not Living.” Editorial. Newsweek

14 June 1999: 12. Print.

EDITORIAL IN A MAGAZINE OR NEWSPAPER (author’s name not given)

“The Fall of a Telecom Gunslinger.” Editorial. New York Times 1 May 2002: A22. Print.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR IN A MAGAZINE OR NEWSPAPER (author’s name given)

Vos, Peter. Letter. Atlantic Nov. 2004: 24. Print.

Electronic Sources

Electronic sources include Web sites; databases or subscription services such

as ERIC, InfoTrac, LexisNexis, and ProQuest; and electronic communica-

tions such as e-mail. Because electronic sources change often, always note

the date you accessed or read the source as well as the date on which the

source was posted or updated online, if this information is available.

PART OF A LARGER WEB SITE

Rendall, Steve. “Meet the Stenographers: Press Shirks Duty to Scrutinize

Official Claims.” Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting. FAIR, Dec. 2004. Web.

5 Jan. 2005.

NOTE: If no publisher is given, use “N.p.” If no date is given, use

“n.d.”

Author

Title of piece

Medium of Publication

Date of publication or last update

Title of site

Access date

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A WEB SITE

URL

Title of site

(stands for Fair-

ness & Accuracy

in Reporting)

Date of

publication

Title of piece

Author

Publisher

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WRITING ESSAYS

Chapter 21 • Writing the Research Essay 373

ARTICLE FROM A DATABASE

Rivero, Lisa. “Secrets of Successful Homeschooling.” Understanding Our Gifted

15.4 (2003): 8-11. ERIC. Web. 3 Jan. 2005.

Article title

Volume and issue numbers

Database title

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A DATABASE

Database title

Author

Publication

title

Volume number

Article title

Issue number

Date

Inclusive pages

Author

Publication title

Date Inclusive pages Medium of Access date

Publication

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WRITING ESSAYS

374 Part Three • Special College Writing Projects

E-MAIL OR ONLINE POSTING

Eisenhauer, Karen. “Learning Styles.” Message to Susan Anker. 24 Apr. 2005. E-mail.

Collins, Terence. “Effective Grammar Activities.” CBW-Listserv., 14 Dec. 2001. Web.

3 May 2002.

Other Sources

PERSONAL INTERVIEW

Okayo, Margaret. Personal interview. 16 Apr. 2005.

SPEECH

Glenn, Cheryl. “Toward an Understanding of Silence and Silencing.” Conf. on Coll.

Composition and Communication Convention. Minneapolis Convention Center,

Minneapolis. 13 Apr. 2000. Speech.

FILM, VIDEO, OR DVD

Million Dollar Baby. Dir. Clint Eastwood. Perf. Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, and

Morgan Freeman. Warner Brothers, 2004. Film.

TELEVISION OR RADIO PROGRAM

“Third-Day Story.” West Wing. NBC. WCMH, Columbus, 3 Nov. 2004. Television.

RECORDING

Keys, Alicia. “A Woman’s Worth.” Songs in A Minor. J-Records, 2001. CD.

■ For online exercises

on documenting

sources in MLA style,

visit Exercise Central at

bedfordstmartins

.com/realessays.

Article title

ARTICLE FROM AN ONLINE SCHOLARLY JOURNAL

Weine, Stevan M. “Survivor Families and Their Strengths: Learning from Bosnians

after Genocide.” Other Voices: The (e)Journal of Cultural Criticism 2.1

(2000): n. pag. Web. 1 May 2002.

inclusive page numbers (use “n. pag.“ if not provided)

Name of online periodical Volume number

Publication date

Author

Access date

Medium of

Publication

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WRITING ESSAYS

Chapter 21 • Writing the Research Essay 375

Revise and Edit Your Essay

After a break, reread your draft with fresh eyes and an open mind. Then,

ask yourself these questions:

• Does my introduction state my thesis?

• Does each of the body paragraphs contain a topic sentence that directly

supports my thesis? Do the supporting details in each paragraph relate

to and explain the topic sentence?

• Do I provide a conclusion that reminds readers of my main point and

makes a further observation?

• Have I included enough support for the thesis that readers are likely to

see my topic the way I do? Is there anything else I could add to make

my point?

• Do transitions help readers move from one idea to the next?

• Have I integrated source material smoothly into the essay? Do I need to

smooth out anything that seems to be just dumped in?

• Have I reread the essay carefully, looking for errors in grammar,

spelling, and punctuation?

• Have I cited and documented my sources?

• Are all of my citations and Works Cited entries in correct form (MLA

or whatever style the instructor speciﬁ es)?

• Is this the best I can do?

For more on revising, see Chapter 9. When checking for grammar, spelling,

and punctuation errors, consult Parts Four through Seven of this book.

Look ﬁ rst at Chapter 22 beginning on page 385.

After reading the annotated student essay that follows, use the Writing

Guide on page 380 to write your research essay.

Sample Student Research Essay

The student essay that follows is annotated to show both typical features

of research essays (such as references to sources) and elements of good

writing (such as the thesis statement and topic sentences). The paper also

shows formatting (such as margins, spacing between lines, and placement

of the title). Your instructor may specify different or additional formatting

in class or in your syllabus.

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WRITING ESSAYS

376 Part Three • Special College Writing Projects

Hernandez 1

Messelina Hernandez

Professor Senior Paper should be

English 300

double-spaced

May 19, 2008

School Uniforms Boost Education

In the past decade, many cities—New York, Houston,

Dallas, Detroit, Atlanta, and Los Angeles/Long Beach, among

others—have made school uniforms mandatory (“Information and

Resources”). Although many critics of mandatory-uniform policies

remain, the evidence of positive effects is substantial. Mandatory

school uniforms offer extraordinary benefits to students and

school systems, including improvements in students’ self-esteem,

attendance, academic performance, graduation rates, and safety.

Wearing uniforms improves students’ self-esteem. When every-

one wears the same clothing, poor students do not stand out from

rich ones. No one wears expensive jewelry or designer labels, and

no one wears gang colors or other clothing that shows they are

part of a special group. Uniforms can enhance students’ sense of

belonging and increase morale (Stacey A11). Also, peer pressure

and competition are reduced. In a letter to the Long Beach Press-

Telegram, Karin Polacheck, board president of the Long Beach

Unified School District, wrote, “Uniforms help to create unity amid

diversity by easing ethnic and cultural tensions and encouraging

values of tolerance and civility. Uniforms eliminate the pressure

to conform and allow the attention of students to be directed to

learning and growing” (15).

In addition to enhancing self-esteem, wearing uniforms im-

proves academic performance and attendance. It seems that when

students don’t have to worry about what to wear, what’s in style,

and how to wear it, they focus more on their schoolwork. Accord-

ing to a USA Today article by John Ritter, “some educators . . .

think uniforms contribute to higher academic achievement because

students aren’t distracted by clothes—theirs or classmates’—and

Identiﬁ cation of

student and course

Title centered

Introduction

Thesis statement

Topic sentence

In-text citation

Direct quotation —

author’s name

in introductory

phrase, so citation

does not include it

Topic sentence

1/2-inch margin

between top of

page and header

Student’s last name

and page number

at top of each page

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