Explains academic writing as a clear, step-by-step process that one can use in any college course.

Even students capable of writing excellent essays still find their first major political science research paper an intimidating experience. Crafting the right research question, finding good sources, properly summarizing them, operationalizing concepts and designing good tests for their hypotheses, presenting and analyzing quantitative as well as qualitative data are all tough-going without a great deal of guidance and encouragement. Writing a Research Paper in Political Science breaks down the research paper into its constituent parts and shows students what they need to do at each stage to successfully complete each component until the paper is finished. Practical summaries, recipes for success, worksheets, exercises, and a series of handy checklists make this a must-have supplement for any writing-intensive political science course.

This accessible text provides a roadmap for producing a high-quality literature review--an integral part of a successful thesis, dissertation, term paper, or grant proposal. Each step of searching for, evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing prior studies is clearly explained and accompanied by user-friendly suggestions, organizational tips, vignettes, and examples of student work. Also featured are excerpts from peer-reviewed quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods articles. This is the first book to focus on crafting different types of reviews (systematic, traditional–narrative, or hermeneutic–phenomenological) that reflect the writer's research question, methodological choices, and approaches to knowledge. It describes what all reviews have in common and highlights distinct characteristics of each type. The book includes dos and don'ts for evaluating studies and constructing an argument, and software suggestions for locating, organizing, and arranging sources. Pedagogical Features *Checklists and "To Do" activities that break down key steps to take. *Boxed examples, graphics that organize and visually illustrate key concepts, and summary tables. *Group activities that invite students to further explore and apply the methods discussed in each chapter. *Detailed directions for using four different organizing strategies: synthesis matrix, summary table, mapping, and topic outline. *End-of-chapter summaries and "What's Next" sections. *Assessment matrices for reviewing and refining the completed literature review. Winner (First Place)--American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award, Nursing Research Category

This work takes a refreshing approach to the academic writing course, providing easily understandable language set within a clear structure.

First-year college students are challenged by academic culture and its ways of reading, thinking, and writing that are new to them.Composition instructors are equally challenged by having to introduce, explain, and justify academic methods and conventions to students. From Inquiry to Academic Writing aids both students and teachers with a practical and now widely proven step-by-step approach that effectively demystifies cross-curricular thinking and writing. The new edition of From Inquiry to Academic Writing encompasses an even greater range of academic habits and skills. And now with the new edition, you can meet students where they are: online. To package LaunchPad Solo free with From Inquiry to Academic Writing, use ISBN 978-1-319-01550-3.

This ebook has been updated to provide you with the latest guidance on documenting sources in MLA style and follows the guidelines set forth in the MLA Handbook, 9th edition (April 2021). From Inquiry to Academic Writing: A Practical Guide. Interesting readings from across the disciplines combine with a step-by-step approach you can apply to your own writing inside and outside of academia.