I.
Introduction
A research paper is primarily a discussion
or argument based on a thesis, which includes evidence from several collected
sources.
While it may seem like a monumental project,
it is really a straightforward process that you can follow, step my step.
Before you get started, make sure you have plenty of note paper, multi-colored
highlighters, and a pack of multi-colored index cards.
Organizing your Research Paper
You'll use the following steps to complete
your assignment.
1. Select
a topic
2. Find
sources
3. Take notes on colored index cards
4. Arrange your notes by topic
5. Write an outline
6. Write a first draft
7. Revise and re-write
8. Proof
Library Research
Find a comfortable place where you won’t be
distracted by people passing by. Find a table that provides lots of space, so
you can sort through several potential sources, if necessary.
Become familiar with the services and layout
of the library. There will be a card catalog and computers for database
searches.
Select a Research Paper Topic
If you're free to choose your topic, find
something that you’ve always wanted to know more about. If you have a
fascination with weather or you watch every TV show you can find on tornadoes,
for instance, you may want to find a topic related to that interest.
Once you narrow your choices to a specific
subject area, find three specific questions to answer about your topic. A
common mistake by students is to choose a final topic that is too general. Try
to be specific: What is tornado alley? Are certain states really more likely to
suffer from tornadoes? Why?
One of your questions will turn into a
thesis statement, after you do a little preliminary research to find theories
to answer to your questions. Remember, a thesis is a statement, not a question.
Find sources
Use the card catalog or computer database in
the library to locate books. Find several books that seem to be relevant to
your topic.
There will also be a periodical guide in the
library. Periodicals are publications issued on a regular basis, like
magazines, journals, and newspapers. Use a search engine to find a list of
articles relating to your topic. Make sure to find articles in periodicals that
are located in your library.
Sit at your work table and scan through your
sources. Some titles can be misleading, so you’ll have some sources that don’t
pan out. You can do a quick read over the materials to determine which ones
contain useful information.
Taking Notes
As you scan your sources, you will begin to
zero in on a thesis. Several sub-topics will also begin to emerge. Using our
tornado topic as an example, a sub-topic would be the Fujita Tornado Scale.
Start taking notes from your sources, using
color coding for the sub-topics. For instance, all information referring to the
Fujita Scale would go on orange note cards.
You may find it necessary to photocopy
articles or encyclopedia entries so you can take them home. If you do this, use
the highlighters to mark the useful passages in the relevant colors.
Every time you take a note, be sure to write
down all bibliographical information to include author, book title, article
title, page numbers, volume number, publisher name and dates. Write this
information on each and every index card and photocopy. This is absolutely
critical!
II.
Notes
Arrange your Notes by topics
Once you have taken color-coded notes, you
will be able to sort your notes more easily. Sort the cards by colors. Then,
arrange by relevance. These will become your paragraphs. You may have several
paragraphs for each sub-topic.
Your research note cards should include all
the information necessary to write your term paper. You should take extreme
care as you create these note cards.
1. Start with a fresh pack of research note
cards.
Large, lined cards are probably best, especially if you want to make your own
detailed personal notes. Also consider color coding your cards by topic to keep
your paper organized from the start.
2. Devote an entire note card to each idea
or note.
Don't try to fit two sources (quotes and notes) on one card. No sharing space!
3. Gather more than you need. Use the library and
the Internet to find potential sources for your research paper. You should
continue to research until you have quite a few potential sources—about three
times as many as your teacher recommends.
4. Narrow down your sources. As you read your
potential sources, you will find that some are helpful, others are not, and
some will repeat the same information you already have. This is how you narrow
your list down to include the most solid sources.
5. Record as you go. From each source,
write down any notes or quotes that could be useful in your paper. As you take
notes, try to paraphrase all information. This reduces the chances of
committing accidental plagiarism.
6. Include everything. For each note you
will need to record:
·
Author's name
·
Title of reference (book, article, interview, etc.)
·
Reference publication information, to include publisher, date,
place, year, issue, volume.
·
Page number
·
Your own personal comments
7. Create your own system and stick to it. For instance, you may
want to pre-mark each card with spaces for each category, just to make sure you
don't leave anything out.
8. Be exact. If at any time you
write down information word for word, be sure to include all punctuation marks,
capitalizations, and breaks exactly as they appear in the source. Before you
leave any source, double-check your notes for accuracy.
9. If you think it might be useful, write it
down. Don't
ever, ever pass over information because you're just not sure whether it will
be useful! This is a very common and costly mistake in research. More often
than not, you find that the passed-over tidbit is critical to your paper, and
then you won't find it again.
10. Avoid using abbreviations and code words
as you record notes —especially if you plan to quote. Your own writing can look
completely foreign to you later. It's true! You may not be able to understand
your own clever codes after a day or two, either.
Outline your Research Paper
Write an outline, according to your sorted
cards. You may find that some of the cards fit better with different “colors”
or sub-topics, so simply re-arrange your cards. That’s a normal part of the
process. Your paper is taking shape and becoming a logical argument or position
statement.
Write a First Draft
Develop a strong thesis statement and
introductory paragraph. Follow through with your sub-topics. You may find that
you don’t have enough material, and you may need to supplement your paper with
additional research.
Your paper may not flow very well on the
first try. (This is why we have first drafts!) Read it over and re-arrange
paragraphs, add paragraphs, and omit information that doesn’t seem to belong.
Keep editing and re-writing until you’re happy.
Create a bibliography from your note cards.
Proof Read
When you think you are happy with your
paper, proof read! Make sure it is free of spelling, grammatical, or
typographical errors. Also, check to make sure you’ve included every source in
your bibliography.
Finally, check the original instructions
from your teacher to make sure you are following all assigned preferences, like
title page directions and placement of page numbers.
III.
Thesis Statement
Why do people make so much fuss over one
sentence?
No single sentence will pester you quite so
much as the thesis sentence. Often you’ll find it is both the first sentence
you write and the last sentence you re-write while constructing your essay.
Why so much fuss? Perhaps teachers make so
much of the thesis statement because, if done correctly, it fills so many
responsibilities.
The thesis statement must assert your point,
suggest your evidence, and structure your argument, all in one. This is
necessary for a good reason. If you can summarize your paper in one sentence,
you’re more likely to have a tightly-constructed, concise, and readable essay.
Find a general topic for your paper, and
then narrow it down.
The first step in writing an essay is
finding a topic you enjoy. The next step is to narrow your topic into a single
view or theory that you will explore and explain. For instance, you may be very
interested in the topic of old wives’ tales. This is an interesting theme, but
it is very broad.
What is specifically interesting about
wives’ tales? Perhaps you can narrow your interest into a statement like this:
Many old wives’ tales originated hundreds of
years ago, yet some have been based on solid science and have led to real cures
or medicines.
That is specific. It also asserts your view
and provides an opening for evidence. With solid research you can come up with
several examples to support this statement.
Don’t be afraid of controversy.
In an argumentative essay, a thesis is a
declarative sentence that takes a stance. If you feel strongly about a social
issue and you believe you can back it up, then go ahead and do it. Just be sure
you back up your stance with facts and not opinions. Don’t use cruel or
insulting statements, just the facts.
Be aware that there will always be someone
who disagrees with your stance. That’s what makes life interesting. That’s also
what makes essays interesting!
Don’t be ambiguous.
You may decide to take a stance, but you
can’t find facts to back up your argument. If so, you might be on the right
track, but you just need to focus a little more.
For instance, you might want to argue that
music classes should be mandatory for all students. You may believe this, but
can you back it up?
First, do a little research. You may find
evidence that children who study music at a very young age tend to do well in
math and science later in life. Based on this research, you may want to narrow
your thesis to reflect this more narrow argument.
Do re-visit and re-write your thesis, when
necessary.
Your thesis sentence should be flexible,
until you are finished with your research and your writing. It is not unusual
for writers to revise the thesis sentence several times. As you research your
topic, you may be frustrated to find some fascinating research that fits just outside
the boundary of your thesis.
This is difficult. You can decide to exclude
this research or you could decide to change your thesis. If you include it, be
sure it is strong enough to support an entire paragraph.
The best approach is to collect all the
research you can, first. Then sort the facts into categories—either on paper or
in your head. These categories will become your paragraphs.
Narrow and revise your thesis as you go.
Once you’ve completed your essay, check a final time to see that your thesis
fulfills the following roles.
·
It makes a clear and specific statement.
·
It indicates the direction of your thoughts.
·
It sets a stage.
·
It provides structure.
·
It is supported by the body paragraphs.
Reminder: If you make a final change to your
thesis, always double-check your concluding paragraph. It might need
adjustment, as well.
IV.
Parallel Structure
One portion of the ACT TEST requires
students to find and improve poorly-written sentences. It’s important for
students to know what problems appear frequently within these sentences, in
order to improve their chances of scoring well. One common sentence problem
involves non-parallel structure.
Parallelism concerns the balance of a
sentence, or the similarity of words, phrases, or clauses in a list or series.
Sound complicated? It’s not, really.
The following sentences have parallelism of
words:
Bethany enjoys baking
cakes, cookies, and brownies.
She doesn’t like washing dishes, ironing
clothes, or mopping the floor.
This sentence does not:
Bethany enjoys baking
cakes, cookies, and to make brownies.
See the difference? The parallel sentences
contain a list of gerunds. The incorrect sentence sounds awkward because it
contains a mixture of two verbal nouns (gerunds) and an infinitive phrase.
This sentence contains an unparallel mixture
of a gerund and a noun:
She doesn’t like washing clothes or
housework.
But this sentence contains two gerunds:
She doesn’t like washing clothes or doing
housework.
Parallelism is necessary in phrases, as
well:
The
This sentence sounds jerky and out of
balance, doesn’t it? That’s because the phrases are not parallel. Now read
this:
The
Notice that each phrase has a verb and a
direct object. Parallelism is necessary when a series of words, thoughts, or
ideas appears in one sentence. If you encounter a sentence that just sounds
wrong or clunky, look for conjunctions like and, or, but, and yet to determine
whether the sentence is off balance.
V.
Coherence
This exercise will give you a chance to
apply the principles introduced in Coherence
Strategies: Signal Words and Phrases.
Combine the sentences in each set into two
clear sentences. Add a signal word or phrase (from the lists in Coherence
Strategies: Signal Words and Phrases) to the second sentence to show how it
relates to the first. Here's an example:
·
Retirement should be the reward for a lifetime of work.
·
It is widely viewed as a sort of punishment.
·
It is a punishment for growing old.
Sample Combination:
Retirement should be the reward for a lifetime of work. Instead, it is widely
viewed as a sort of punishment for growing old.
Exercise: Building & Connecting
Sentences with Signal Words & Phrases
1.
To be self-centered does not mean to disregard the worth of
other people.
We are all self-centered.
Most psychologists would probably accept this position.
2.
There are differences in math performance between boys and
girls.
These differences cannot be attributed simply to differences in innate ability.
If one were to ask the children themselves, they would probably disagree.
3.
We do not seek solitude.
If we find ourselves alone for once, we flick a switch.
We invite the whole world in.
The world comes in through the TV or Internet.
4.
Little girls, of course, don't take toy guns out of their hip
pockets.
They do not say "Pow, pow"
to all their neighbors and friends.
The average well-adjusted little boy does this.
If we gave little girls the six-shooters, we would soon have double the body
count.
5.
We know very little about pain.
What we don't know makes it hurt all the more.
There is ignorance about pain.
No form of illiteracy in the
No form of illiteracy in the
6.
We drove the wagon close to a corner post.
We twisted the end of the wire around it.
We twisted the wire one foot above the ground.
We stapled it fast.
We drove along the line of posts.
We drove for about 200 yards.
We unreeled the wire on the ground behind us.
7.
The historical sciences have made us very conscious of our past.
They have made us conscious of the world as a machine.
The machine generates successive events out of foregoing ones.
Some scholars tend to look totally backward.
They look backward in their interpretation of the human future.
8.
Rewriting is something that most writers find they have to do.
They rewrite to discover what they have to say.
They rewrite to discover how to say it.
There are a few writers who do little formal rewriting.
They have capacity and experience.
They create and review a large number of invisible drafts.
They create and review in their minds.
They do this before they approach the page.
Let's consider how signal words and phrases
can help to make our writing clear and coherent.
As we've seen, a key quality of an effective
paragraph is unity.
A unified paragraph sticks to one topic from start to finish, with every
sentence contributing to the central purpose and main idea of that paragraph.
But a strong paragraph is more than just a collection
of loose sentences. Those sentences need to be clearly connected so that
readers can follow along, recognizing how one detail
leads to the next. A paragraph with clearly connected sentences is said to be coherent.
The following paragraph is both unified and
coherent. As you read, notice how the italicized words and phrases (which we
call signals) guide us along, helping us to see how one detail leads to
the next.
Why I Don't Make My Bed
Ever since I moved into my own apartment last fall, I have gotten out of the
habit of making my bed--except on Fridays, of course, when I change the sheets.
Although some people may think that I am a slob, I have some sound reasons for
breaking the bed-making habit. In the first place, I am not concerned
about maintaining a tidy bedroom because no one except me ever ventures in
there. If there is ever a fire inspection or a surprise date, I suppose I can
dash in there to fluff up the pillow and slap on a spread. Otherwise, I
am not bothered. In addition, I find nothing uncomfortable about
crawling into a rumpled mass of sheets and blankets. On the contrary, I
enjoy poking out a cozy space for myself before drifting off to sleep. Also,
I think that a tightly made bed is downright uncomfortable: entering one makes
me feel like a loaf of bread being wrapped and sealed. Finally, and most
importantly, I think bed-making is an awful way to waste time in the
morning. I would rather spend those precious minutes checking my email or
feeding the cat than tucking in corners or snapping the spread.
Signal words and phrases guide readers from one
sentence to the next. Although they often appear at the beginning of a
sentence, they may also show up in the middle (usually after the subject) or
even at the end. Here are the common signal words and phrases, grouped
according to the type of relationship shown by each.
1. Addition Signals
and
also
besides
first, second, third
in addition
in the first place, in the second place, in the third place
furthermore
moreover
to begin with, next, finally
Example
In the first place, no "burning" in the sense of combustion,
as in the burning of wood, occurs in a volcano; moreover, volcanoes are
not necessarily mountains; furthermore, the activity takes place not
always at the summit but more commonly on the sides or flanks; and finally,
the "smoke" is not smoke but condensed steam.
(Fred Bullard, Volcanoes in History, in Theory, in Eruption)
2. Cause-Effect
Signals
accordingly
and so
as a result
consequently
for this reason
hence
so
then
therefore
thus
Example
The ideologue is often brilliant. Consequently some of us distrust
brilliance when we should distrust the ideologue.
(
3. Comparison
Signals
by
the same token
in like manner
in the same way
in similar fashion
likewise
similarly
Example
When you start with a portrait and search for a pure form, a clear volume,
through successive eliminations, you arrive inevitably at the egg. Likewise,
starting with the egg and following the same process in reverse, one finishes
with the portrait.
(Pablo Picasso)
4. Contrast Signals
but
however
in contrast
instead
nevertheless
on the contrary
on the other hand
still
yet
Example
Every American, to the last man, lays claim to a “sense” of humor and guards it
as his most significant spiritual trait, yet rejects humor as a
contaminating element wherever found.
(E. B. White)
5. Conclusion and
Summary Signals
and
so
after all
at last
finally
in brief
in closing
in conclusion
on the whole
to conclude
to summarize
Example
Reporters are not paid to operate in retrospect. Because when news begins to
solidify into current events and finally harden into history, it is the
stories we didn’t write, the questions we didn’t ask that prove far, far more
damaging than the ones we did.
(Anna Quindlen)
6. Example Signals
as
an example
for example
for instance
specifically
thus
to illustrate
Example
With all the ingenuity involved in hiding delicacies on the body, this process
automatically excludes certain foods. For example, a turkey sandwich is
welcome, but the cumbersome cantaloupe is not.
(Steve Martin, "How to Fold Soup")
7. Insistence
Signals
in
fact
indeed
no
yes
Example
The joy of giving is indeed a pleasure, especially when you get rid of
something you don’t want.
(Frank Butler, Going My Way)
8. Place Signals
above
alongside
beneath
beyond
farther along
in back
in front
nearby
on top of
to the left
to the right
under
upon
Example
What did it matter where you lay once you were dead? In a dirty sump or in a marble tower on top of a high hill?
You were dead, you were sleeping the big sleep, you
were not bothered by things like that.
(Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep)
9. Restatement
Signals
in
other words
in short
in simpler terms
that is
to put it differently
to repeat
Example
Anthropologist Geoffrey Gorer studied the few
peaceful human tribes and discovered one common characteristic: sex roles were
not polarized. Differences of dress and occupation were at a minimum. Society in
other words, was not using sexual blackmail as a way of getting women to do
cheap labor, or men to be aggressive.
(Gloria Steinem, "What It Would Be Like If Women Win")
10. Time Signals
afterward
at the same time
currently
earlier
formerly
immediately
in the future
in the meantime
in the past
later
meanwhile
previously
simultaneously
subsequently
then
until now
Example
At first a toy, then a mode of transportation for the rich, the
automobile was designed as man's mechanical servant. Later it became
part of the pattern of living.
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