Research Assignment

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Research Assignment Guide

Rough Draft

Presentation

Find Sources

Prelim Reseach

Generate Thesis

Find Topic

Outline

Editing and Revisions

Final Research Paper

Developing Rough Draft

Choosing a Topic

Additional Resources

Creating an Outline

Works Cited Page

Developing a Thesis Statement

Preliminary Research

Editing and Revisions

Index

Things to Consider

1. Choose something you're interested in! 2. Subject vs. Topic 3. Broad vs. Narrow 4. Check out information on your topic 5. Consider length and time of assignment

Choosing A Topic

Do not only verify the ideas you have in mind, but look for sources that contradict your point of view. Is there anything people seem to overlook in the sources you research? Are there any heated debates you can address? Do you have a unique take on your topic? Have there been some recent developments that build on the extant research? In this stage, you might find it helpful to formulate some research questions to help guide you. To write research questions, try to finish the following sentence: “I want to know how/what/why…”

Note any discussions that seem important to the topic, and try to find an issue that you can focus your paper around. Use a variety of sources, including journals, books, and reliable websites, to ensure you do not miss anything glaring.

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Preliminary Research

A thesis statement is a statement of your central argument — it establishes the purpose and position of your paper. If you started with a research question, the thesis statement should answer it. It should also show what evidence and reasoning you’ll use to support that answer. The thesis statement should be concise, contentious, and coherent. That means it should briefly summarize your argument in a sentence or two, make a claim that requires further evidence or analysis, and make a coherent point that relates to every part of the paper. You will probably revise and refine the thesis statement as you do more research, but it can serve as a guide throughout the writing process. Every paragraph should aim to support and develop this central claim.

Developing A Thesis Statement

When it comes to writing a research paper, it’s crucial that you use credible sources to make sure that the information you are stating is actually true.

A Works Cited page is a formatted list of all sources you cited within your paper. Any time you quote, paraphrase, summarize, or include information that you’ve read from an outside source, you must include that source in your references list, correctly formatted in MLA style.

In-text citations are inserted in the body of your research paper to briefly document the source of your information.

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There are unique formatting rules to follow for each type of entry, but generally, remember these key rules for the whole page...

In Text Citations

Works Cited Formatting

Reputable Resources

Works Cited Page

A research paper outline is essentially a list of the key topics, arguments, and evidence you want to include, divided into sections with headings so that you know roughly what the paper will look like before you start writing. Outline Link

Creating An Outline

Conclusion

Body of Text

Introduction

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Your first draft won’t be perfect — you can polish later on. Your priorities at this stage are as follows:

• Maintaining forward momentum — write now, perfect later.
• Paying attention to clear organization and logical ordering of paragraphs and sentences, which will help when you come to the second draft.
• Expressing your ideas as clearly as possible, so you know what you were trying to say when you come back to the text.
• You do not need to start by writing the introduction. Begin where it feels most natural for you — some prefer to finish the most difficult sections first, while others choose to start with the easiest part. If you created an outline, use it as a map while you work.

Developing A Rough Draft

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Think about sentence structure, grammatical errors, and formatting. Check that you have correctly used transition words and phrases to show the connections between your ideas. Look for typos, cut unnecessary words, and check for consistency in aspects such as heading formatting and spellings. Finally, you need to make sure your paper is correctly formatted according to the rules of the citation style you are using.

The goal during the revision and proofreading process is to ensure you have completed all the necessary tasks and that the paper is as well-articulated as possible.

Global concerns Confirm that your paper completes every task specified in your assignment sheet. Check for logical organization and flow of paragraphs. Check paragraphs against the introduction and thesis statement. Fine-grained details Check the content of each paragraph, making sure that: each sentence helps support the topic sentence. no unnecessary or irrelevant information is present. all technical terms your audience might not know are identified.

Editing and Revisions

Just some helpful links :)

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Additional Resources

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Turnitin

Site where you will submit your final draft.

Grammarly

Grammarly is a tool which enables a user to proofread and edit documents for grammar and spelling online

OWL provides resources and instructional materials to support students in their academic writing.

PurdueOWL

Google Scholar, JSTOR, Academic Search Premier

Resources

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Happy Writing!

The research paper introduction should address three questions: What, why, and how? After finishing the introduction, the reader should know what the paper is about, why it is worth reading, and how you’ll build your arguments. What? Be specific about the topic of the paper, introduce the background, and define key terms or concepts. Why? This is the most important, but also the most difficult, part of the introduction. Try to provide brief answers to the following questions: What new material or insight are you offering? What important issues does your essay help define or answer? How? To let the reader know what to expect from the rest of the paper, the introduction should include a “map” of what will be discussed, briefly presenting the key elements of the paper in chronological order.

The major struggle faced by most writers is how to organize the information presented in the paper, which is one reason an outline is so useful. However, remember that the outline is only a guide and, when writing, you can be flexible with the order in which the information and arguments are presented. One way to stay on track is to use your thesis statement and topic sentences. Check: topic sentences against the thesis statement; topic sentences against each other, for similarities and logical ordering; and each sentence against the topic sentence of that paragraph. Be aware of paragraphs that seem to cover the same things. If two paragraphs discuss something similar, they must approach that topic in different ways. Aim to create smooth transitions between sentences, paragraphs, and sections.

The research paper conclusion is designed to help your reader out of the paper’s argument, giving them a sense of finality. Trace the course of the paper, emphasizing how it all comes together to prove your thesis statement. Give the paper a sense of finality by making sure the reader understands how you’ve settled the issues raised in the introduction. You might also discuss the more general consequences of the argument, outline what the paper offers to future students of the topic, and suggest any questions the paper’s argument raises but cannot or does not try to answer. You should not: Offer new arguments or essential information Take up any more space than necessary Begin with stock phrases that signal you are ending the paper (e.g. “In conclusion”)

Academic Search Premier

JSTOR

Google Scholar