A Pocket Style Manual by Diana Hacker

Author:Diana Hacker
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

APA Papers

35 Supporting a thesis 164

36 Avoiding plagiarism 166

37 Integrating sources 169

38 APA documentation style 173

Directory to APA in-text

citation models 174

Directory to APA reference

list models 179

39 APA manuscript format 195

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35

Supporting a thesis

Many writing assignments in the social sciences are either

reports of original research or reviews of the literature (pre-

viously published research) on a particular topic. Often an

original research report contains a “review of the litera-

ture” section that places the writer’s project in the context

of other researchers’ findings.

Many social science instructors will ask you to docu-

ment your sources with the American Psychological Asso-

ciation (APA) system of in-text citations and references

described in 38. You face three main challenges when

writing a social science paper that draws on sources:

(1) supporting a thesis, (2) citing your sources and avoid-

ing plagiarism, and (3) integrating quotations and other

source material.

35 Supporting a thesis

Most assignments ask you to form a thesis and to support

it with well-organized evidence. A thesis, which usually

appears at the end of the introduction, is a one-sentence

(or occasionally a two-sentence) statement of your central

idea. In a paper reviewing the literature on a topic, the

thesis analyzes the often competing conclusions drawn

by a variety of researchers.

35a  Forming a thesis

You will be reading articles and other sources that are

related to your central research question. Your thesis will

express your reasoned and informed answer to that ques-

tion, given the current state of research in the field. Here

are some examples.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Is medication the right treatment for the escalating problem of

childhood obesity?

POSSIBLE THESIS

Understanding the limitations of medical treatments for children

highlights the complexity of the childhood obesity problem in the

United States and underscores the need for physicians, advocacy

groups, and policymakers to search for other solutions.

PRACTICE hackerhandbooks.com/pocket

> APA > 35–1 and 35–2

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APA

thesis • outlines • headings •

how sources work in a paper

35c

165

RESEARCH QUESTION

How can a business improve employee motivation?

POSSIBLE THESIS

Setting clear expectations, sharing information in a timely fashion,

and publicly offering appreciation to specific employees can help

align individual motivation with corporate goals.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Why are boys diagnosed with ADHD more often than girls?

POSSIBLE THESIS

Recent studies have suggested that ADHD is diagnosed more often

in boys than in girls because of personality differences between

boys and girls as well as gender bias in referring adults, but an

overlooked cause is that ADHD often coexists with other behavior

disorders that exaggerate or mask gender differences.

Each of these thesis statements expresses a view on a

debatable issue — an issue about which informed people

might disagree. The writers will need to persuade readers

to take their positions seriously.

35b  Organizing your ideas

APA encourages the use of headings to help readers fol-

low the organi zation of a paper. For an original research

report, the major headings often follow a standard model:

Method, Results, Discussion. For a review of the literature,

headings will vary, depending on the topic. For examples

of headings in APA papers, see pages 200 and 203.

35c  Using sources to inform and support

your argument

Sources can play several different roles as you develop

your points.

Providing  background  information  or  context You

can use facts and statistics to support generalizations or to

establish the importance of your topic.

Explaining terms or concepts Explain words, phrases,

or ideas that might be unfamiliar to your readers. Quoting

or paraphrasing a source can help you define terms and

concepts in accessible language.

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