LESSON 16 Revising Your Draft 77 LESSON 17 Proofreading and Editing Your Draft 81 LESSON 18 Adding Footnotes, Endnotes, and Parenthetical Citations 85 LESSON 19 Writing a Bibliography 95 LESSON 20 Writing an Annotated Bibliography, a Historiography, and an Abstract 99 POST-TEST 105 APPENDIX A A List of Research Topics 119 APPENDIX B Additional Resources 123 viii T his book is designed to help you improve your research skills in just 20 short lessons of 20 minutes a day by using basic research and writing tools that you can practice at home. Each lesson is carefully designed to make researching any topic and writing a research paper manage- able and easy. Every lesson teaches different skills, and if you do all the exercises, you should be able to put together a research paper from start to finish in just a few short weeks. Although each lesson stands on its own, it’s important to follow the sequence. The lessons in this book are designed to take you through the initial phases of writing a research paper such as finding a topic, locating and evaluating your sources, framing your thesis question, and writ- ing your paper. Because each process is dependent on the others, it is easier to follow the lessons sequentially so that your skills build on each other. To help you gauge how much you know about what kinds of materials are available to you and the best ways to locate those materials, this book begins with a pre-test. This pre-test is important to take before you start Lesson 1 so that you have a beginning measure of your research knowledge. Then, when you have finished Lesson 20, take the post-test to see just how much How to Use This Book ix you’ve learned about putting together a research paper from initial idea to polished, finished draft. The most important thing you can do when you begin to research a topic and write a research paper is to have fun with your project! Any topic that you choose to write about will become a fas- cinating learning experience. The rest of this introduction will briefly explain a few key skills that you will learn in order to get the most from your experience.  Writing Takes Practice Don’t panic. No one goes to the computer and knows precisely what he or she wants to write and exactly how to write it every time. In fact, it’s normal to sit in front of a blank piece of paper and take some time just to think; it helps the words take shape. Enjoy your thoughts and the moments before you begin writing. Like playing any professional sport, practice makes perfect. As a writer, you are a literary athlete and like any athlete, you just need the chance to flex and tone your literary muscles so that they are taut and sleek. To do this, you will learn how to: ■ Ask yourself the right questions to help you start writing. ■ Brainstorm and list all your ideas to find an ideal topic. ■ Formulate the perfect thesis question. ■ Prepare a preliminary and easy to follow out- line. ■ Take good, thorough notes from all your sources.  Becoming a Detective Part of writing a research paper is gathering your materials and doing the actual, physical research. This is the fun and exciting part. Rather than feeling overwhelmed, let yourself become a detective or investigative reporter. You are exploring uncharted territory, asking questions, and delving into issues that may not have been explored before. This book will help you follow up each lead, ask provocative questions, and guide you as you: ■ Visit libraries, rare collections, museums, and other unique cultural institutions that con- tain valuable information for your paper. ■ Prepare key questions for interviewing pro- fessionals and other individuals. ■ Seek out new, unique, and alternative sources of information.  Writing with Authority Writing a research paper is very similar to writing an essay. An essay is often an opinion piece that analyzes a particular topic or book, while a research paper involves analyzing raw data and different facts and statistics from a variety of sources. Once you have collected all your materi- al, you will learn how to use it as the basis for a persuasive argument. You will also learn how to: ■ Arrange and organize all your data and information in a logical sequence. ■ Prepare your materials so that they support and strengthen your argument. ■ Write an authoritative, convincing draft. – HOW TO USE THIS BOOK – x ■ Shape and perfect your first draft through precise editing techniques. ■ Use correct format for citations, footnotes, a bibliography, and an abstract. ■ Proofread and copyedit your work. If any of this sounds overwhelming, don’t worry. Each process will be explained to you completely in the lessons that follow, and illus- trative examples will give you models to use as guidelines. Remember that writing a research paper is like getting ready to go on an expedition. You will need the right tools before you begin your journey. Once you’ve assembled everything, your “traveling” will be easier. – HOW TO USE THIS BOOK – xi RESEARCH & WRITING SKILLS SUCCESS IN 20 MINUTES A DAY . designed to help you improve your research skills in just 20 short lessons of 20 minutes a day by using basic research and writing tools that you can practice. carefully designed to make researching any topic and writing a research paper manage- able and easy. Every lesson teaches different skills, and if you do all the