what's a documented essay

Documented Essay Example, Topics, & How-To Guide 

What is a documented essay and what is the purpose of it? It is a type of academic writing where the author develops an opinion relying on secondary resources. A documented essay can be assigned in school or college. You should incorporate arguments and facts from outside sources into the text.

The components of a successful documented essay are as follows:

• A good topic;
• A well-developed outline;
• Thorough research of an issue;
• A flawless reference list.

For more information on the subject, consider the sections below prepared by our experts .

❓ What Is a Documented Essay?

📓 how to write a documented essay.

• 📚 Essay Topics
• 📝 Free Essay Example

🔗 References

A documented essay is a piece of academic writing that aims to consider a particular topic relying on a number of the most trusted secondary sources. This kind of essay is longer than a standard 5-paragraph essay. It highlights the spectrum of existing research in the field.

Of course, this work will be a bit more complicated than the papers you have written before. If you’ve seen documented essay examples, you understand that they differ from standard essays .

To write a documented essay, you have to do the following:

✅ Find Sources

Sources that you use when writing your documented essay are crucial for your success. You will have to work with primary and secondary sources, collect data from books and publications. Alternatively, you will come up with experiments and conduct surveys to get the necessary data.

• Investigate your issue as meticulously as possible. To make your paper strong and impressive, you have to consider plenty of sources and data. Prove the readers your excellence and professionalism.
• Use only academic articles and scholarly books. Select extremely carefully! All the supportive facts should be valid and directly correspond to your topic. When it comes to sources, pay attention to their credibility.
• Avoid using any info from random websites. Exclude Wikipedia and personal blogs from the list of possible sources. Official e-newspapers (New York Times, BBC), governmental pages (.gov), and educational websites (.edu) are considered to be trustworthy.

Finding credible sources can be a challenging task. So, try using online research tools to facilitate it.

✅ Outline and Write a Research-Based Documented Essay

The majority of students tend to underestimate the power of outlining. Don’t make this mistake! Consider the following tips on your essay structure:

• The sketch of your documented essay should include an introduction, a conclusion, and body paragraphs.
• The last sentence of an intro is supposed to be your thesis statement . It is a critical part of your research paper, so make it well-developed and concise.
• Each paragraph should have an introductory and concluding sentence. Such a frame will effectively structure your thoughts.
• While creating an outline, figure out your arguments’ order and choose the appropriate evidence for each point. Make sure your paper is structured coherently and logically.
• If you feel like something is wrong, take a note and consider rewriting it later, after the essay’s whole picture will be visible.

After completing the rough draft of the paper, start polishing it. Double-check all the citations. Make sure appropriate transitions connect the paragraphs. Trace the arguments and supporting evidence and check if they are logically structured.

Your documented essay should cover the research issue and state your position. Properly develop your ideas and support them by the valid evidence from outside resources. Every point has to be related to your thesis statement. Finally, the conclusion should open a space for further investigation of the issue.

✅ Document Sources

It is the gist of writing the documented essays. All sources should be cited and arranged into a Bibliography list . Make sure it is error-free and follows the essay format. Mind that you will have to learn the rules of MLA, APA, and some other citation styles. Every style has numerous formatting requirements, so students often get confused.

The primary tip is:

To ensure the flawlessness of your works cited list, carefully read the instructions of the essay format you are applying. Always follow the guidelines and double-check all the details. The creation of the reference list is quite a challenging task. Yet, if you are concentrated and careful enough, you will succeed!

We suggest you read articles about MLA and APA formats. They are the most popular citation styles, so you should find out more about their peculiarities.

In short, the bibliography lists will look as follows:

Check an example of a documented essay to see how an APA reference list looks like.

📚 Documented Essay Topics

Here are some examples of documented essay topics:

• The influence of different types of advertising on various age groups. 
• The influence of financial well-being on life quality. 
• The health risks of sugar overconsumption.
• Possible ways of dealing with corruption in developing countries. 
• Online banking : new opportunities or new threats?
• The installation of parents’ control on children’s smartphones : pros and cons. Is it worth doing?
• Ways to successful communication between managers and employees.
• Analyze the impact of organizational leadership philosophy on the company performance.
• Explore the specifics of real estate fund management.
• Describe the pros and cons of a diversified investment portfolio.
• Interconnection between global economy and business expansion.
• Discuss the advantages and risks of investing in the furniture business.
• Explain what made Asia Pacific multinational enterprises so successful.
• Analyze the crucial factors of the successful global entrepreneurship.
• Social media and its impact on teenagers lives .
• Examine the influence of culture on shaping human behavior and relationships.  
• Has culture really become a driver of urbanization?
• Describe the connection between the climate change and carbon dioxide emissions. 
• The influence of organizational politics on decision making.
• The role of Greenpeace in lowering the negative technological influence on the environment.
• Discuss the influence of family on eating disorders in children.  
• Explore the ways social changes can influence the environment.
• Analyze how air pollution influences the health of the New York City citizens.
• What are the core values of Chinese culture ?
• Impact of globalization on a country’s economy.
• Describe the advantages and shortcomings of random drug testing.
• Discuss the aspects of various theories of personal development .
• What can be done to prevent Netherlands from flooding? 
• Is it a good idea to decriminalize marijuana?
• Ethic al issues in ICT: disclosing personal information.
• Examine the influence of technologic innovations on business. 
• Analyze the impact of globalization processes on media industry.
• Is solar power a solution of environmental issues?  
• Describe the health hazards of having nightmares.  
• Discuss the pros and cons of international credit.
• Explore the influence of COVID-19 on the economy.
• Compare the differences in coffee culture in different countries.
• Connection between clean water shortage and the problem of poverty.
• Analyze the positive and negative aspects of a high nutrition diet.  
• Examine the effect of trans and saturated fats on human health.
• How the use of solar energy in China influences climate change.
• Is it possible to give up food additives completely?  
• Pros and cons of integrating bilingualism in early childhood education .
• Describe the peculiarities of native and non-native educators in language teaching.
• Can the design activism change society?  
• Discuss the role of social media marketing for business practices.
• Talent management impact on OCBC’s formation.
• Explore the advantages and drawbacks of social media .
• Do you believe that social media can be a tool to change the world?
• Analyze the pros and cons of genetically modified food.  

📝 Documented Essay Example

Are you looking for a research-based documented essay example? We have prepared one for you. Check it out:

The Obesity Epidemic and Its Complex Causes 

In recent decades, the obesity epidemic has become a serious problem for public health. According to the WHO (2016), there are just under 2 billion overweight adults in the world. More than 600 million of them are considered obese. These indicators testify to a severe epidemic caused by various reasons, including genetics, environment, and lifestyle.

Several genetic factors may predispose to the development of obesity. A cross-sectional observational study of 260 children showed that a family history of obesity is a critical risk factor for the severity of obesity in childhood (Corica et al., 2018). According to Tester et al. (2020), children gain excess weight due to the multiple genes they have, and these genes make them favor food and, thereby, have a higher caloric intake. Obesity-predisposing genes may as well persist into adulthood, causing some adults to struggle with weight management despite similar lifestyle choices compared to their peers.

Although genetics play an important role in obesity predisposition, extragenetic factors also contribute to its development. For example, long working hours can increase BMI due to reduced time for exercise and physical activity and shifting toward ready-processed meals and fast food (Courtemanche, 2009). Besides, the role of social networks and peer effects in increasing obesity prevalence cannot be ignored. Christakis (2007) emphasizes that an individual’s risk of weight gain increases by more than 50% if a friend becomes obese and by more than 30% if a partner is obese. As a result, many people suffer from obesity even though their family members or forefathers never had such a problem.

Obesity has become a big global concern in the 21st century. Now it is clearer than ever that the obesity epidemic is the result of a complex interaction between environmental influences, genetic vulnerability, and human activity. To solve this problem, public health professionals should develop effective interventions considering genetic and extragenetic factors contributing to obesity.

Thank you for reading, and good luck with your documented essay! Feel free to come back and check out our other academic articles, available on the blog. Share the article with those who might find it useful.

• The Documented Essay/Research Paper: Hunter College
• What is a Research Papeer: Online Writing Center, SUNY Empire State College
• 5 Steps to Create the Perfect Outline: Brandon Ramey, Herzing University
• Making an Outline, Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: Research Guides at University of Southern California
• How Can I Find Good Sources for My Research Paper: University of Louisville Writing Center
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This is a great blog! There are a lot of really helpful ideas. I am going to start writing my documented essay, and this post will help me. So thanks!

I’d like to share this post on writing a documented essay with my friends in college. Soon we have to write our documented essays, and your guide will definitely help us!

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What is a documented essay?

What is a documented essay? A documented essay is an essay based on evidence-based information from books, journals, theories, or articles. This is the documented essay meaning. When writing a documented essay, you should present facts about the essay’s topic. This article focuses on how to write a documented essay.

Writing a documented essay requires you to come up with a strong thesis statement and then conduct in-depth research to come up with facts that support the thesis statement. You should also give your interpretation of the evidence-based information. When writing the essay assignment paper , avoid giving your perception of the topic, and give evidence-based information about the topic regardless of how you feel about it.

Writing a documented essay

Below is how to write a documented essay:

• Read and understand the instructions

Once you have been assigned a documented essay assignment, you should read and understand all the given instructions. The instructions could include the various documents required to use in your essay, the writing format, and the word count. Always adhere to all the given instructions.

• Choose a good topic

You may be assigned the topic or you are required to choose it. It’s important to choose a topic that is coherent and precise. A wide topic may result in dispersed studies and weaker arguments. Always choose a topic that you understand and can compose a good essay about it.

• Conduct an in-depth research

You should conduct in-depth research for your documented essay. If you are not assigned specific documents to use in your essay, conduct research from various academic materials. Use books, theories, journals, or articles to generate evidence-based information for your essay.

• Write a strong thesis statement

The thesis statement shows what your essay will entail. You should come up with a strong thesis to show your essay’s main idea. By reading the thesis statement, the reader should be able to comprehend what your essay will talk about.

• Write an outline

Writing a documented essay outline helps you plan for your essay. In the outline, you should note down the key points of the introduction, the body paragraphs, and the conclusion. Once you begin writing the documented essay, you should use the outline as a guide.

• Write the introduction

You should write an interesting introduction that catches the reader’s attention. Begin with a hook then give background information on the essay’s topic. Complete the introduction with a strong thesis statement that describes the essay’s main argument.

• Write the body paragraphs

The body paragraphs provide information that supports the thesis statement. Each paragraph should have a unique key point that supports the thesis. You should use proper transition words such as therefore, however, or additionally to transition from one paragraph to the next.

Similar to writing an illustration essay , when writing a documented essay you should write well-structured paragraphs. Begin each paragraph with a topic sentence that introduces the key point. Then write the middle sentences that give evidence-based information and your analysis of the key point. Complete the paragraph with a concluding sentence that gives an overview of the whole paragraph.

• Write the conclusion

The conclusion is the summary of the entire documented essay hence you should not bring new information to it. You should rephrase the thesis statement and give a summary of the key points. Complete the conclusion with a closing statement or a call to action if necessary.

• List the references

After completing the essay, you should list all the sources that you cited in your essay. You should write the references following the essay’s writing format.

• Proofread the essay

After completing the essay, you should proofread it severally to remove any punctuation or grammar errors. You should also run it on Grammarly to remove any missed errors. Edit and submit your documented essay.

Using the documented essay format above, you will be able to compose a well-structured documented essay. For more understanding of how to structure your documented essay, you can research various documented essay examples. You should always ensure that your documented essay is well-organized and has a proper flow of information.

Document-based essay format

Document-based essay format employs a methodical process that includes reviewing historical materials to construct a convincing argument. Below is the document-based essay format:

1. Introduction

• Put the topic in context by giving background information about the historical era, event, or theme.
• Describe the essay prompt or question that your essay will cover
• Write the thesis statement describing the essay’s main argument

2. Analysis of the documents

You should analyze the given documents in the body paragraphs. Each body paragraph should have a particular document or a group of documents. Below is how to structure each body paragraph:

a) Introduce the document

• Introduce the document you will be describing in the paragraph
• Give relevant details regarding the document’s author and its context

b) Analysis of the document’s content

• Provide an overview of the document’s key contents
• Select important phrases or passages that support your argument

c) Analysis of the document’s context

• Describe the historical background of the document’s creation.
• Discuss the document’s broader relevance in the context of the historical narrative

d) Relation to the thesis

• Describe how the document supports or refutes your thesis statement
• Demonstrate how the document supports your main argument

e) Transition

• Provide a proper transition from one document or point to the next

3. Document synthesis

• After describing each document separately, combine your findings to get a more comprehensive understanding of the topic.
• Note any common themes or patterns in the documents
• Describe how the documents’ overall contributions to your argument

4. Alternative viewpoints

• Describe any alternative viewpoints of counterarguments
• Describe why your analysis of the documents is more solid and compelling

5. Conclusion

• Rephrase the thesis statement
• Give an overview of key points and the supporting details from the documents
• Provide a comprehensive analysis of the topic’s historical relevance

Using the format above, you will be able to compose a document-based essay. For more comprehension of how to write a document-based essay, you can check various documented essay samples. Always ensure you analyze all the given documents when writing a document-based essay.

Tips for writing a documented essay

Below are tips for writing a documented essay:

• Plan your essay

Planning the essay is easier once you have the required material. Arrange the quotes and arguments in a logical and structured manner in the essay’s outline. Once you begin writing the essay, you should use the outline as a point of reference.

• Properly cite your essay

You should properly cite all the sources used in your essay. When writing the citations, you should use the required writing format. This could be APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, and Turabian writing format. After completing the essay, you should write the references where you list all the sources used in the essay.

• Avoid plagiarism

When writing a documented essay, you should write original work based on various documents. You should avoid copy-pasting directly from the document. You should rephrase the evidence-based information and cite the source where you got it from.

• Write a well-organized essay

When writing a documented essay, you should properly organize your ideas from the introduction through the body to the conclusion. Use proper transition words to transition from one paragraph to the next. Always ensure your essay has a continuous flow of information.

• Proofread your essay

Always ensure you proofread and revise the first draft. Proofreading helps you to remove any errors and also to check if your essay is well-structured. You should not assume that your essay is correctly written without proofreading it.

Documented essay topics

When writing a documented essay, you may be required to choose a topic, similar to when writing an exploratory essay you are required to choose an exploratory essay topic . You should brainstorm various documented essay ideas and choose the one you are interested in. Below are documented essay topics:

• Effects of global warming
• Benefits of vaccination
• Mental effects of bullying
• Advantages and disadvantages of online learning
• Effects of terrorism on businesses
• Cognitive development in children
• Strategies to curb cyberbullying
• Effective ways of reducing plastics in the environment
• Causes and prevention techniques of obesity
• Impacts of artificial intelligence in the modern society

Documented argument essay topics

• Should social media platforms be banned?
• Should the government provide free healthcare services to all?
• Should small businesses pay tax?
• Is eating fast food the main cause of obesity?
• Should the government offer free college education?
• Do daily exercises improve mental health?
• Are there any benefits of having children?
• Does the education system prepare students for life after school?
• Should children go to school five days a week?
• Should everyone practice intermittent fasting?

Writing a documented essay requires you to give fact-based information about a certain topic. You can use this article as a guide for your documented essay. If you have been assigned a documented essay and you are looking for writing help, you are at the right place. We provide affordable essay-writing services. Use our essay writing services today and get a well-written documented essay.

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• The four main types of essay | Quick guide with examples

The Four Main Types of Essay | Quick Guide with Examples

Published on September 4, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

An essay is a focused piece of writing designed to inform or persuade. There are many different types of essay, but they are often defined in four categories: argumentative, expository, narrative, and descriptive essays.

Argumentative and expository essays are focused on conveying information and making clear points, while narrative and descriptive essays are about exercising creativity and writing in an interesting way. At university level, argumentative essays are the most common type. 

In high school and college, you will also often have to write textual analysis essays, which test your skills in close reading and interpretation.

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Table of contents

Argumentative essays, expository essays, narrative essays, descriptive essays, textual analysis essays, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about types of essays.

An argumentative essay presents an extended, evidence-based argument. It requires a strong thesis statement —a clearly defined stance on your topic. Your aim is to convince the reader of your thesis using evidence (such as quotations ) and analysis.

Argumentative essays test your ability to research and present your own position on a topic. This is the most common type of essay at college level—most papers you write will involve some kind of argumentation.

The essay is divided into an introduction, body, and conclusion:

• The introduction provides your topic and thesis statement
• The body presents your evidence and arguments
• The conclusion summarizes your argument and emphasizes its importance

The example below is a paragraph from the body of an argumentative essay about the effects of the internet on education. Mouse over it to learn more.

A common frustration for teachers is students’ use of Wikipedia as a source in their writing. Its prevalence among students is not exaggerated; a survey found that the vast majority of the students surveyed used Wikipedia (Head & Eisenberg, 2010). An article in The Guardian stresses a common objection to its use: “a reliance on Wikipedia can discourage students from engaging with genuine academic writing” (Coomer, 2013). Teachers are clearly not mistaken in viewing Wikipedia usage as ubiquitous among their students; but the claim that it discourages engagement with academic sources requires further investigation. This point is treated as self-evident by many teachers, but Wikipedia itself explicitly encourages students to look into other sources. Its articles often provide references to academic publications and include warning notes where citations are missing; the site’s own guidelines for research make clear that it should be used as a starting point, emphasizing that users should always “read the references and check whether they really do support what the article says” (“Wikipedia:Researching with Wikipedia,” 2020). Indeed, for many students, Wikipedia is their first encounter with the concepts of citation and referencing. The use of Wikipedia therefore has a positive side that merits deeper consideration than it often receives.

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An expository essay provides a clear, focused explanation of a topic. It doesn’t require an original argument, just a balanced and well-organized view of the topic.

Expository essays test your familiarity with a topic and your ability to organize and convey information. They are commonly assigned at high school or in exam questions at college level.

The introduction of an expository essay states your topic and provides some general background, the body presents the details, and the conclusion summarizes the information presented.

A typical body paragraph from an expository essay about the invention of the printing press is shown below. Mouse over it to learn more.

The invention of the printing press in 1440 changed this situation dramatically. Johannes Gutenberg, who had worked as a goldsmith, used his knowledge of metals in the design of the press. He made his type from an alloy of lead, tin, and antimony, whose durability allowed for the reliable production of high-quality books. This new technology allowed texts to be reproduced and disseminated on a much larger scale than was previously possible. The Gutenberg Bible appeared in the 1450s, and a large number of printing presses sprang up across the continent in the following decades. Gutenberg’s invention rapidly transformed cultural production in Europe; among other things, it would lead to the Protestant Reformation.

A narrative essay is one that tells a story. This is usually a story about a personal experience you had, but it may also be an imaginative exploration of something you have not experienced.

Narrative essays test your ability to build up a narrative in an engaging, well-structured way. They are much more personal and creative than other kinds of academic writing . Writing a personal statement for an application requires the same skills as a narrative essay.

A narrative essay isn’t strictly divided into introduction, body, and conclusion, but it should still begin by setting up the narrative and finish by expressing the point of the story—what you learned from your experience, or why it made an impression on you.

Mouse over the example below, a short narrative essay responding to the prompt “Write about an experience where you learned something about yourself,” to explore its structure.

Since elementary school, I have always favored subjects like science and math over the humanities. My instinct was always to think of these subjects as more solid and serious than classes like English. If there was no right answer, I thought, why bother? But recently I had an experience that taught me my academic interests are more flexible than I had thought: I took my first philosophy class.

Before I entered the classroom, I was skeptical. I waited outside with the other students and wondered what exactly philosophy would involve—I really had no idea. I imagined something pretty abstract: long, stilted conversations pondering the meaning of life. But what I got was something quite different.

A young man in jeans, Mr. Jones—“but you can call me Rob”—was far from the white-haired, buttoned-up old man I had half-expected. And rather than pulling us into pedantic arguments about obscure philosophical points, Rob engaged us on our level. To talk free will, we looked at our own choices. To talk ethics, we looked at dilemmas we had faced ourselves. By the end of class, I’d discovered that questions with no right answer can turn out to be the most interesting ones.

The experience has taught me to look at things a little more “philosophically”—and not just because it was a philosophy class! I learned that if I let go of my preconceptions, I can actually get a lot out of subjects I was previously dismissive of. The class taught me—in more ways than one—to look at things with an open mind.

A descriptive essay provides a detailed sensory description of something. Like narrative essays, they allow you to be more creative than most academic writing, but they are more tightly focused than narrative essays. You might describe a specific place or object, rather than telling a whole story.

Descriptive essays test your ability to use language creatively, making striking word choices to convey a memorable picture of what you’re describing.

A descriptive essay can be quite loosely structured, though it should usually begin by introducing the object of your description and end by drawing an overall picture of it. The important thing is to use careful word choices and figurative language to create an original description of your object.

Mouse over the example below, a response to the prompt “Describe a place you love to spend time in,” to learn more about descriptive essays.

On Sunday afternoons I like to spend my time in the garden behind my house. The garden is narrow but long, a corridor of green extending from the back of the house, and I sit on a lawn chair at the far end to read and relax. I am in my small peaceful paradise: the shade of the tree, the feel of the grass on my feet, the gentle activity of the fish in the pond beside me.

My cat crosses the garden nimbly and leaps onto the fence to survey it from above. From his perch he can watch over his little kingdom and keep an eye on the neighbours. He does this until the barking of next door’s dog scares him from his post and he bolts for the cat flap to govern from the safety of the kitchen.

With that, I am left alone with the fish, whose whole world is the pond by my feet. The fish explore the pond every day as if for the first time, prodding and inspecting every stone. I sometimes feel the same about sitting here in the garden; I know the place better than anyone, but whenever I return I still feel compelled to pay attention to all its details and novelties—a new bird perched in the tree, the growth of the grass, and the movement of the insects it shelters…

Sitting out in the garden, I feel serene. I feel at home. And yet I always feel there is more to discover. The bounds of my garden may be small, but there is a whole world contained within it, and it is one I will never get tired of inhabiting.

Though every essay type tests your writing skills, some essays also test your ability to read carefully and critically. In a textual analysis essay, you don’t just present information on a topic, but closely analyze a text to explain how it achieves certain effects.

Rhetorical analysis

A rhetorical analysis looks at a persuasive text (e.g. a speech, an essay, a political cartoon) in terms of the rhetorical devices it uses, and evaluates their effectiveness.

The goal is not to state whether you agree with the author’s argument but to look at how they have constructed it.

The introduction of a rhetorical analysis presents the text, some background information, and your thesis statement; the body comprises the analysis itself; and the conclusion wraps up your analysis of the text, emphasizing its relevance to broader concerns.

The example below is from a rhetorical analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech . Mouse over it to learn more.

King’s speech is infused with prophetic language throughout. Even before the famous “dream” part of the speech, King’s language consistently strikes a prophetic tone. He refers to the Lincoln Memorial as a “hallowed spot” and speaks of rising “from the dark and desolate valley of segregation” to “make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” The assumption of this prophetic voice constitutes the text’s strongest ethical appeal; after linking himself with political figures like Lincoln and the Founding Fathers, King’s ethos adopts a distinctly religious tone, recalling Biblical prophets and preachers of change from across history. This adds significant force to his words; standing before an audience of hundreds of thousands, he states not just what the future should be, but what it will be: “The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” This warning is almost apocalyptic in tone, though it concludes with the positive image of the “bright day of justice.” The power of King’s rhetoric thus stems not only from the pathos of his vision of a brighter future, but from the ethos of the prophetic voice he adopts in expressing this vision.

Literary analysis

A literary analysis essay presents a close reading of a work of literature—e.g. a poem or novel—to explore the choices made by the author and how they help to convey the text’s theme. It is not simply a book report or a review, but an in-depth interpretation of the text.

Literary analysis looks at things like setting, characters, themes, and figurative language. The goal is to closely analyze what the author conveys and how.

The introduction of a literary analysis essay presents the text and background, and provides your thesis statement; the body consists of close readings of the text with quotations and analysis in support of your argument; and the conclusion emphasizes what your approach tells us about the text.

Mouse over the example below, the introduction to a literary analysis essay on Frankenstein , to learn more.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is often read as a crude cautionary tale about the dangers of scientific advancement unrestrained by ethical considerations. In this reading, protagonist Victor Frankenstein is a stable representation of the callous ambition of modern science throughout the novel. This essay, however, argues that far from providing a stable image of the character, Shelley uses shifting narrative perspectives to portray Frankenstein in an increasingly negative light as the novel goes on. While he initially appears to be a naive but sympathetic idealist, after the creature’s narrative Frankenstein begins to resemble—even in his own telling—the thoughtlessly cruel figure the creature represents him as. This essay begins by exploring the positive portrayal of Frankenstein in the first volume, then moves on to the creature’s perception of him, and finally discusses the third volume’s narrative shift toward viewing Frankenstein as the creature views him.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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• False cause fallacy
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At high school and in composition classes at university, you’ll often be told to write a specific type of essay , but you might also just be given prompts.

Look for keywords in these prompts that suggest a certain approach: The word “explain” suggests you should write an expository essay , while the word “describe” implies a descriptive essay . An argumentative essay might be prompted with the word “assess” or “argue.”

The vast majority of essays written at university are some sort of argumentative essay . Almost all academic writing involves building up an argument, though other types of essay might be assigned in composition classes.

Essays can present arguments about all kinds of different topics. For example:

• In a literary analysis essay, you might make an argument for a specific interpretation of a text
• In a history essay, you might present an argument for the importance of a particular event
• In a politics essay, you might argue for the validity of a certain political theory

An argumentative essay tends to be a longer essay involving independent research, and aims to make an original argument about a topic. Its thesis statement makes a contentious claim that must be supported in an objective, evidence-based way.

An expository essay also aims to be objective, but it doesn’t have to make an original argument. Rather, it aims to explain something (e.g., a process or idea) in a clear, concise way. Expository essays are often shorter assignments and rely less on research.

The key difference is that a narrative essay is designed to tell a complete story, while a descriptive essay is meant to convey an intense description of a particular place, object, or concept.

Narrative and descriptive essays both allow you to write more personally and creatively than other kinds of essays , and similar writing skills can apply to both.

Cite this Scribbr article

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Caulfield, J. (2023, July 23). The Four Main Types of Essay | Quick Guide with Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved June 11, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/essay-types/

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How to Write a Documented Essay

Josalin mitchell.

The process of writing a documented essay is generally the same no matter the project and begins with having an assignment or idea. Next, an outline is written, then research is conducted. Finally, the document is written and edited. Be aware of the instructor's requirements. Note the purpose of the essay to determine its structure and the information it should contain. An instructional essay, for instance, contains detailed instructions for the completion of a particular task.

Explore this article

• Read the essay instructions provided by the course instructor
• Write an outline of the essay
• Go to the library
• Avoid plagiarism of any material
• Write the rough draft according to the outline
• Compile and format all works
• Reorganize material

things needed

• Library account
• Computer access
• Something to write with

1 Read the essay instructions provided by the course instructor

Read the essay instructions provided by the course instructor. The rubric or project description will include the specified documentation or citation format for the assigned essay. The instructor might assign a certain style manual for the essay or provide his or her own system of documentation.

2 Write an outline of the essay

Write an outline of the essay according to its purpose or argument. For instance, an opinion essay would begin with an overview of the issue. Then other viewpoints might be introduced. Next, the essay would put forth the each claim and justify each claim with evidence. Use subheadings with bullets for a detailed outline.

3 Go to the library

Go to the library. Check out any style manuals that are assigned by your instructor. Bring the outline. Research the subject, broadly at first, then progressively narrow topics according to the information that is needed for the essay. For instance, an instructional essay on methods of cooking eggs might start out with research on "cooking eggs," then narrow to "hard-boiled eggs" and "egg-cooking temperature."

4 Take notes

Take notes while reading the research material for use later when you write the essay. This makes avoiding plagiarism easier by minimizing the chance the citations will be left out of the essay.

5 Avoid plagiarism of any material

Avoid plagiarism of any material, no matter the source. Plagiarism means taking someone's work and passing it off as your original material. The only material that does not need to be cited in an essay is that which is considered public knowledge, like the blue color of the sky, according to the Chicago Manual of Style. Use quotations only when the information cannot be adequately paraphrased or is best presented as a quotation.

6 Write the rough draft according to the outline

Write the rough draft according to the outline. Document or cite information according to format in this part of the process.

7 Compile and format all works

Compile and format all works cited in the paper. Format the references page according to style guidelines from a style manual or instructor specifications.

8 Reorganize material

Edit the rough draft and reorganize material as necessary. If some citations are taken out, remove them from the references page and add as necessary. Some instructors allow the inclusion of sources not directly cited in the essay under the title of "Related Works" or some other heading of the same meaning. Check with the instructor before including sources not cited directly in the text.

• 1 The Chicago Manual of Style: 15th Edition; The University of Chicago Press; 2003

About the Author

Josalin Mitchell began her writing career in 2009. She has written web content as well as grants, training manuals, reports and brochures for nonprofit agencies. Mitchell has a Bachelor of Arts in English and women's studies and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Teaching in English education.

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How to Write a Documented Essay

Documented Essay Writing - what to consider

First of all, it should be mentioned that a documented essay deals with a definite problem by using original documents (articles, books, interviews, memoirs, etc.). Besides, it allows for pluralistic analysis which takes into consideration different points of view; at the same time, it aspires towards defending only one thesis based upon the documents available.

A documented essay deals with a definite problem by using original documents (articles, books, interviews, memoirs, etc.). Tweet This

Main features of a documented essay

You should know the following things about the documented essay before starting to write your essay: 

• Documented essay is not a mere report, so it does not simply reflect facts and theories, but interprets them.
• Documented essay turns around reliable sources and well-conducted analysis of the available views on a subject.
• Documented essay requires a lot of knowledge in the field.
• Documented essay avoids emotions and feelings. It is not important how you perceive the topic or what experience you have, but what matters are the facts according to the selected documents.

How to write a documented essay – 5 basic stages

Stage 1: discuss with your instructor.

Writing a documented essay requires good communication between you and your instructor. Speak with him/her about the main goal of your documented essay, about the sources you should use, about an interpretation you would like to do, etc. Be open to the instructor’s suggestions and requirements. On the other hand, do not totally rely on their assistance since the assignment should develop a given set of abilities in you.

Stage 2: define the documented essay topic and gather information

A well-defined topic for your documented essay is already half of the job. By having a good topic, you will be able to search for information easily. Select the topic which you are familiar with and which also allows for referring to a plenty of evidences and facts. For example, documented essay topics can be related to education, volunteering, family issues, social and economical problems, and so forth.

Afterwards, start gathering information. Search in libraries, on forums, online social networks, etc.

Remember : it is better to use printed sources rather than web pages (this does not mean that you cannot refer to printed sources also available online). Write down facts, statistics, definitions, theories, names, etc. Then select only a small part of them; you need no more than 5-6 quotes which should take about one-sixth or one-seventh of the essay.

Stage 3: plan your work

Planning mainly depends on time at your disposal. Once you have gathered your material, it is easy to plan the draft . Plan the structure and order of the arguments and quotes. One of the methods employed during writing an essay may be to put quotes first, and then to interpret them (distribute the material on all pages and then write your analysis). Another method is to write the essay from the first page onwards. Also, don’t forget to plan an academic style of reference: you will need it in all cases.

Stage 4: write the draft

Now you can simply follow the initial plan. Introduce the topic and context. Then present different opinions and views on the subject. Your thesis can be stated before or after other theories have been analyzed. The thesis statement should be 2-3 sentences long and cannot be changed during the writing process. Be careful especially when referring to documents: they should be relevant, reliable and cited in an absolutely correct way (you cannot change any word).

Stage 5: revise your documented essay

In this last stage you have to look for consistency and logical order. Also check for grammar and spelling mistakes. You may want to delete some phrases and replace them with others. We recommend you to do it if the phrase in question changes your thesis or is not relevant to your work.

Experience is the key to knowledge about how to write a documented essay. By attempting as many times as you can, you will improve your writing skills, and also your logical capacities. 

Do you need help with writing a documented essay? 

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A publication of the harvard college writing program.

Harvard Guide to Using Sources 

• The Honor Code

A Source's Role in Your Paper

When you begin to draft your paper, you will need to decide what role each of your sources will play in your argument. In other words, you will need to figure out what you're going to do with the source in your paper. As you consider what role each source will play in your paper, you should begin by thinking about the role that source played in your research process. How did the source shape your thinking about the topic when you encountered it? If a source provided you with context for a particular problem or issue, then it may well do the same thing for your reader. If a source provided you with evidence that supports your claim, then you will probably want to lay out that evidence to your reader and explain how it leads you to the position you've staked out in your paper. If a source made an argument that challenged your own argument and made you refine your thinking, then you'll likely want to introduce that source in your paper as a counterargument before explaining why you have concluded that your own argument is stronger. On the other hand, if a source offered evidence or ideas that complicated your own thinking and made you shift your argument, you should explain how the source has led you to your new position.

Some assignments will ask you to respond in a specific way to a source. For example, you might be asked to test a theory developed in one source by using a body of evidence found in another source. Or you might be asked to respond to a claim or assumption laid out in a particular source. Other assignments may specify the number of sources you should use, but will not include instructions on how you should use those sources.

Here are some common roles that sources can play in your argument:

• Provide primary evidence : a source can serve as the main object of your analysis, or offer evidence that has not yet been analyzed by others.
• Establish what’s at stake : a source can present or highlight a problem, question or issue that provides a “so what” for your essay.
• Serve as a lens : a source can offer a theory or concept that gives you a framework or focus for analyzing your evidence and building your argument.
• Provide key terms/concepts : a source offers a central concept or key term that you apply to your own argument.
• Provide context : a source can offer background (historical, cultural, etc.) that readers need to understand the argument you’re making or the issue you’re analyzing.
• Serve as a supporting expert : you want to offer a claim, and you cite a scholar or researcher who notices the same or similar idea, thereby supporting your claim.
• Advance your argument : a source provides a new insight that helps establish a main supporting claim to your overall argument; your use of that source should usually agree with and extend the idea or insight, demonstrating its application to your own analysis.
• Provide a complication or counterargument : a source introduces an idea or raises a question that presents a problem for your argument, or an objection to contend with; your response to that complication enriches and adds nuance to your discussion.
• Create a critical conversation : one source offers an idea that another source can respond to, sometimes in a very direct way (i.e. critic A explicitly disagrees with critic B), or by providing a different angle on or approach to the question (i.e. source A offers a new way of thinking about an idea raised in source B, a different "take" on the issue).
• Locating Sources
• Evaluating Sources
• Sources and Your Assignment
• A Source's Role in Your Paper
• Choosing Relevant Parts of a Source
• Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting
• The Nuts & Bolts of Integrating

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This is How You Write a Collaborative Essay

Patrick madden (and 5 other writers) try an experiment.

I’ve been thinking recently about how we are suddenly so wary of contact and contagion, and wondering if perhaps the COVID-19 pandemic and preventative measures will bring into our foremost consciousness the oft-ignored fact that we rely on each other deeply. We are gregarious animals, so specialized that each of us becomes helpless without the complementary specializations of our neighbors.

I want to be more aware of this fact as regards my writing. Anyone who’s browsed the acknowledgements pages in a book understands that writing, a seemingly solitary activity, requires the assistance and influence of an unending network of people. I think I’ve always known that I depended on others, teachers especially, and family and friends, but in my latest book, for reasons playful and pedagogical, I wanted to make explicit this dependence.

So I asked 15 writers I admire to intrude upon my personal essays with a paragraph of their own or some other subversive interruption. The analogous model I envisioned was a guest vocal performance on a song, thus these friends would be credited as “featured” writers in the essays. For example:

“Distance (feat. Joni Tevis )” “Insomnia (feat. Lina María Ferreira Cabeza-Vanegas )” “Laughter (feat. Jericho Parms )” “Plums (feat. Matthew Gavin Frank )” “Thumbs (feat. Wendy S. Walters )”

And many more.

Given the overarching idea suggested by the book’s title, Disparates , which I mean in the Spanish sense of “nonsense, inanity, drivel,” I expected these guest-written passages to be reveling as well as revealing. I was not disappointed. And so I have asked the writers listed above to join with me once again to write this article, in which we consider the process and results of our collaborative experiment.

On the matter of collaboration in writing generally, each felt roughly as I do. “I’ve never collaborated in a text like this,” said Wendy S. Walters, “though I have engaged in a number of textual dialogues with other writers.” Jericho Parms concurred: “I think there is a fine line between being a writer working in collaboration  and being a writer in conversation  with others.” For Joni Tevis, “this has been mostly about collaborating with other texts, pieces of music, images, historical moments.”

Likewise for Matthew Gavin Frank: “The act of conducting research for an essay, and then essentially and inescapably filtering that research—interacting with it, arguing with it, greeting it with bemused silences, fanning what one may perceive to be its secret flames—can be, in part, a collaboration with other scholars, places, people, landscapes, ghosts.” Because I’ve been trained in the Montaignean form of essay, with its constant conversations with ancient sages, I utterly agree.

Lina María Ferreira Cabeza-Vanegas, too: “I do nothing on my own or of myself. I collaborate all the time, I feel. Everything is borrowing or theft. Awareness of the interplay between invented reality and the reality of invention is what makes this genre such a sharp blade to play with. It’s also good to poison the ego. The ego is the enemy of confession.”

Which is a somewhat different position from E. B. White’s “I have always been aware that I am by nature self-absorbed and egoistical; to write of myself to the extent I have done indicates a too great attention to my own life.” Or maybe we all find common ground in the way the personal essay focuses on the writer while acknowledging the writer’s insignificance. At least that’s the way it’s been for me, over the years, as I’ve learned how much I lean on others, how unimportant I am in the face of all that is.

And while my earliest intention in inviting others into my essays was mostly an amorphous desire to goof around, the project did quickly become a letting go, a relinquishing of control, and thus an ego diminisher. It was also an avenue to all kinds of insights about writing.

For instance, Lina María Ferreira Cabeza-Vanegas, who was once my student in a number of undergraduate writing classes at Brigham Young University, points out, when discussing the particulars of interrupting my essay on insomnia, that

the truth is, we’ve been collaborating a long time, and I’ve been writing my words between yours for a very long time too. I was about 21 when I first took your workshop, and I didn’t know what essays even were before that. I had just had a catastrophic knee injury and I thought my whole world was slowly ending with a snap and a whimper. I couldn’t leave the US because I couldn’t afford the ticket back [from Colombia], but your class took me back, and eventually it also took me away.

Which seems like a truly worthy result, the kind of meaning a writer hopes for when he sets out to gather influences into some slight, new thing. It is worth mentioning that Lina chose not to write additional material within  my essay, but to create an erasure text from  my essay. Despite challenges (artistically self-imposed) that “greatly limited what [she] could lift from the text,” Lina tells me that she “had this image of Ander Monson thinking about snow while sitting in a red wheelbarrow, so I pressed on trying to fit my sincerity inside yours, trying to think of spaces within spaces and facts inside facts, … telling the truth about my own life with your words.”

Most of my other friends intersected and inhabited my essays largely as I had imagined: they wrote interstitial paragraphs responding in their own voices, with their own experiences and thoughts as material. Wendy S. Walters, for instance, shared space with Elena Passarello in my “Thumbs” essay. While Elena wrote numerous song lyrics replacing some  with thumb (and vice versa), Wendy broke in with a somewhat dark, mysterious paragraph.

Of the experience, she said, “the piece was so quirky that I felt right at home in it. I chose the essay because the topic seemed small and absurdly immense in its potential implications. … It’s such an interesting way to think of an essay—that it’s not entirely finished until another writer engages with it.”

Joni Tevis chose “Distance” not because she loves the Bette Midler song “From a Distance” (which I refer to in the essay) but because it reminded her of “the way Bob Ross enacted distance through blurring the paint. He has a very on-purpose way of doing it, and it really does make something look like it’s far off. From a distance—actually it’s not misty, it’s a decisive, thoughtful thing!” As is inviting intruders into one’s essays. It’s worth noting that Joni’s “interruption,” much to my gleeful surprise, is longer than my original, thus appropriately flipping any supposed hierarchy.

Matthew Gavin Frank “gravitated toward the ‘Plums’ essay for its exhilarating meandering, its willingness to chase blind alleys, but also for its wistful sensuality and its willingness to intrude on itself and the fabric of the memories therein.” Matt points to a moment in which the essay unstitches itself, saying “I knew I wanted to come in at the point wherein Pat-as-narrator makes that direct address, asking for forgiveness.” He continues, addressing me:

I wanted to use this plea as a springboard into a series of my own memories that were, as rendered, stylistically inspired by your work in this essay, but also served as associative foils to the content of your sentences. I guess I was just excited to have this kind of conversation with you, Pat. You and I having a conversation. Your persona and my persona also having a conversation.

The nap I took in my “intrusion” was a real nap, and the dream I had was a real dream, the content of which shows up in shards in the piece. I knew I had to use this dream, and the act of dreaming itself, as a way of writing my way out, turning my volume down, going silent and, in the next paragraph, it’s Pat again who is the one who wakes up, and who, in turn, wakes us up.

Jericho Parms found the exercise of occupying my “Laughter” essay fun and challenging because her paragraph about laughing uncontrollably upon hearing her unborn son’s heartbeat for the first time was, she says, “pretty personal, and I was keenly aware that your existing essay was personal as well.” She recalls further,

I realized I was looking for clues, instruction, assurance that I really had been invited to insert my own voice into your essay. In the end, there were a couple of small markers in the text that served as entry points for me. First was a seemingly random reference to a date in history that happens to correspond with the month and day of my son’s birthday (and yours, of course). Second, was the sense of wordplay in the descriptions of Balderdash, which led to my own mind playing with initials and acronyms as they appeared in my paragraph. …

I decided to trust the process of essaying, to accept the trial, and potential error, of seeking meaning through shared human experience. Laughter was as good a topic as any to support that attempt as it is itself a burst of feeling, an expression and gesture we cannot always control, that often occurs and embodies both the warmth and welcome of an invitation but also the messy rudeness of an outburst or interruption.

Fitting sincerities inside others’ sincerities, finishing via others’ engagement, enacting distance decisively and intentionally, waking others up, embodying both warm welcome and rude interruption: all appropriate metaphors/realities to describe not only the guest-enhanced essays of my collection but all essays.

I’m grateful and glad that my friends agreed to write featured parts of my essays, and that we wrote this piece together, too, because I have truly learned more about collaboration and about the ways in which we are all connected, we all need each other.

__________________________________

Patrick Madden’s Disparates: Essays is available now from the University of Nebraska Press.

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7.8: Documenting Your Source Material

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• Page ID 107798

• Kathryn Crowther et al.
• Georgia Perimeter College via GALILEO Open Learning Materials

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A reader interested in your subject wants not only to read what you wrote but also to be aware of the works that you used to create it. Readers may want to enter the discussion on your topic, using some of the same sources that you have. They also may want to examine your sources to see if you know your subject, if you missed anything, or if you offer anything new and interesting. Your sources may offer the reader additional insight on the subject being considered. It also demonstrates that you, as the author, are up-todate on what is happening in the field or on the subject. In sum, giving credit where it is due contributes to research on your topic and enhances your credibility.

Throughout the writing process, be scrupulous about documenting information taken from sources.

Again, there are multiple reasons for doing so:

• To give credit to others for their ideas
• To allow your reader to follow up and learn more about the topic if desired
• To build your own reputation as a writer

It is important to indicate the source both in your essay and in a bibliography, list of references, or Works Cited, to prevent the possibility of plagiarism. If you follow the appropriate style guide (e.g., APA, Chicago Manual, and MLA), pay attention to detail, and clearly indicate your sources, then this approach to formatting and citation offers a proven way to demonstrate your respect for others and earn their respect in return.

Citing Sources in Your Paper

You need to cite all your information: if someone else wrote it, said it, drew it, demonstrated it, or otherwise expressed it, you need to cite it. The exception to this statement is common, widespread knowledge, but if you are ever in doubt, go ahead and document the material.

If you are using MLA style, then your citation of the source in the body of the essay will point to the Works Cited page at the end. You must cite your sources as you use them, mentioning the author or title of the source by name if you summarize its ideas and giving the author or title of the source as well as the page number (if available) in parentheses if you paraphrase or directly quote the source. The reference to the author or title is like a signal to readers that information has been incorporated from a separate source. It also provides readers with the information they need to locate the source in the Works Cited at the end of your essay where they can find the complete reference.

Rules for In-Text Citations:

The following examples illustrate basic rules for documenting sources within the text of your paper in MLA style:

Author named in the introduction to the paraphrase or quote : Jacob Leibowitz found that low-carbohydrate diets often helped subjects with Type II diabetes maintain a healthy weight and control blood-sugar (56). Leibowitz states, “People with Type II diabetes should follow a low-carbohydrate diet in order to prevent weight gain and unbalanced blood-sugar levels” (56).

Author named in parentheses : One source indicates that low-carbohydrate diets often helped subjects with Type II diabetes maintain a healthy weight and control blood-sugar (Leibowitz 56). A noted nutritionist advises diabetics: “People with Type II diabetes should follow a low-carbohydrate diet in order to prevent weight gain and unbalanced blood-sugar levels” (Leibowitz 56).

Unknown author : One website points out that a low-carbohydrate diet may aggravate a heart condition by raising a person’s bad cholesterol (“Cholesterol and the Low-carb Diet”).

Unknown or No Page Reference : The risks of following a low-carbohydrate diet outweigh any benefits according to one researcher (Jones). Gerald Jones believes that “a balanced diet is still the safest and most effective approach to good health.”

A source quoted in another source (an indirect quotation) : “For the chronically overweight,” states Martin Rogers, “a low-carbohydrate diet may provide a viable option for weight loss” (qtd. in Evans 46).

Exercise 20

Review in-text citations in your draft. Look for places where you introduce source material using a signal phrase in your sentence. Highlight the verbs used in your signal phrases, and make note of any that seem to be overused throughout the paper. Identify places where a stronger verb could be used. Revise your draft accordingly.

Creating a List of References

Each of the sources you cite in the body of your paper should appear in a list of references at the end of your paper. If you’re using MLA style, then your Works Cited should list the sources alphabetically by last name, or by title if the author is not identified. While in-text citations provide the most basic information about the source, your Works Cited will include more complete publication details. There are a number of ways to learn how to properly cite your sources on your Works Cited:

• The MLA Guide at Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL)
• A current edition of The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.
• Online videos found by searching for “MLA style” on YouTube.

One of the many advantages of using sources from databases is that the databases themselves, or the platforms which host them, usually include a citation of the source at the bottom of the HTML full text of the source or a “Cite” tool accessible from the record of the source in the list of search results. When using these automatically-generated citations, be sure to select and copy the citation in the style that you have been assigned to use. Also, be sure to review the citation that the database or platform has generated, as it may include some errors in it. An error that consistently occurs using a “Cite” tool is the capitalization of titles; in the United States, the first letters of the first and last words of titles are always capitalized, and so are the first letters of all words in between except for articles (a, an, the), conjunctions (and, but, or), and prepositions (at, by, for, in, of, on, etc.). The “Cite” tool does not distinguish between parts of speech when capitalizing words in titles, so you will need to change some letters in titles to lowercase in order to properly format your citations.

Avoiding Plagiarism

Your research paper presents your thinking about a topic, supported and developed by other people’s ideas and information. It is crucial to always distinguish between the two—as you conduct research, as you plan your paper, and as you write. Failure to do so can lead to plagiarism.

If you incorporate the words or ideas of a source into your own writing without giving full credit, then you are plagiarizing that source. In both professional and academic settings, the penalties for plagiarism are severe. In the professional world, plagiarism may result in loss of credibility, diminishment in compensation, and even loss of employment, including future opportunities. That is, employees may be fired for plagiarism and do irreparable damage to their professional reputation. In a class, a student’s plagiarism may result in a range of sanctions, from the loss of points on an assignment to a failing grade in the course to expulsion from college.

The concepts and strategies discussed in this section connect to a larger issue— academic integrity. You maintain your integrity as a member of an academic community by representing your work and others’ work honestly and by using other people’s work only in legitimately accepted ways. It is a point of honor taken seriously in every academic discipline and career field. Even when cheating and plagiarism go undetected, they still result in a student’s failure to learn necessary research and writing skills. In short, it is never worth the risk to plagiarize. For more information about Academic Integrity, consult your college’s Student Handbook.

Working with Sources Carefully

Disorganization and carelessness sometimes lead to plagiarism. For instance, writers may be unable to provide complete, accurate citations if they did not record bibliographical information. Writers may cut and paste passages from websites into their papers and later forget where the material came from. Writers who procrastinate may rush through drafts; this easily leads to sloppy paraphrasing and inaccurate quotations. Any of these actions can create the appearance of plagiarism and lead to negative consequences. Carefully organizing your time and notes is the best guard against these forms of plagiarism. As discussed above, you should maintain a detailed working bibliography and thorough notes throughout the research process. As you incorporate source material into your draft, check original sources again to clear up any uncertainties. Schedule plenty of time for writing your draft so there is no temptation to cut corners.

Intentional and Accidental Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the act of misrepresenting someone else’s work as your own. Sometimes a writer plagiarizes work on purpose—for instance, by purchasing an essay from a website and submitting it as original course work. In other cases, a writer may commit accidental plagiarism due to carelessness, haste, or misunderstanding. To avoid unintentional plagiarism, follow these guidelines:

• Understand what types of information must be cited.
• Understand what constitutes fair use of a source.
• Keep source materials and notes carefully organized.
• Follow guidelines for summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting sources.

When to Cite

Whether it is quoted or paraphrased, any idea or fact taken from an outside source must be cited, in both the body of your paper and your list of references. The only exceptions are facts or general statements that are common knowledge. Common-knowledge facts or general statements are commonly supported by and found in multiple sources. For example, a writer would not need to cite the statement that most breads, pastas, and cereals are high in carbohydrates; this is well known and well documented. However, if a writer explained in detail the differences among the chemical structures of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, a citation would be necessary. When in doubt, cite.

In recent years, issues related to the fair use of sources have been prevalent in popular culture. Recording artists, for example, may disagree about the extent to which one has the right to sample another’s music. For academic purposes, however, the guidelines for fair use are reasonably straightforward. Writers may quote from or paraphrase material from previously published works without formally obtaining the copyright holder’s permission. Fair use means that the writer legitimately uses brief excerpts from source material to support and develop his or her own ideas. For instance, a columnist may excerpt a few sentences from a novel when writing a book review. However, quoting or paraphrasing another’s work at excessive length, to the extent that large sections of the writing are unoriginal, is not fair use.

As he worked on his draft, Jorge was careful to cite his sources correctly and not to rely excessively on any one source. Occasionally, however, he caught himself quoting a source at great length. In those instances, he highlighted the paragraph in question so that he could go back to it later and revise. Read the example, along with Jorge’s revision.

Initial Use of Source Material

Heinz found that “subjects in the low-carbohydrate group (30% carbohydrates; 40% protein, 30% fat) had a mean weight loss of 10 kg (22 lbs) over a 4-month period.” These results were “noticeably better than results for subjects on a low-fat diet (45% carbohydrates, 35% protein, 20% fat)” whose average weight loss was only “7 kg (15.4 lbs) in the same period.” From this, it can be concluded that “low-carbohydrate diets obtain more rapid results.” Other researchers agree that “at least in the short term, patients following low-carbohydrate diets enjoy greater success” than those who follow alternative plans (Johnson and Crowe).

After reviewing the paragraph, Jorge realized that he had drifted into unoriginal writing. Most of the paragraph was taken verbatim from a single article. Although Jorge had enclosed the material in quotation marks, he knew it was not an appropriate way to use the research in his paper.

Revised Use of Source Material

Low-carbohydrate diets may indeed be superior to other diet plans for short-term weight loss. In a study comparing low-carbohydrate diets and low-fat diets, Heinz found that subjects who followed a low-carbohydrate plan (30% of total calories) for four months lost, on average, about three kilograms more than subjects who followed a low-fat diet for the same time. Heinz concluded that these plans yield quick results, an idea supported by a similar study conducted by Johnson and Crowe. What remains to be seen, however, is whether this initial success can be sustained for longer periods.

As Jorge revised the paragraph, he realized he did not need to quote these sources directly. Instead, he paraphrased their most important findings. He also made sure to include a topic sentence stating the main idea of the paragraph and a concluding sentence that transitioned to the next major topic in his essay.

Writing at Work

Citing other people’s work appropriately is just as important in the workplace as it is in school. If you need to consult outside sources to research a document you are creating, follow the general guidelines already discussed, as well as any industry-specific citation guidelines. For more extensive use of others’ work—for instance, requesting permission to link to another company or organization’s website on your own employer’s website—always follow your employer’s established procedures.

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