Writing a Research Paper Getting Started Taken from: Goldenberg, Phyllis. A Student Guide to Writing a Research Paper. New York: Sadlier-Oxford, 1997.

Types of research papers Informational – summarizes factual information from a variety of sources. Focus on a topic, find the information, produce an organized and coherent paper. Analytical -- analyzes the information and presents conclusions. Displays some elements of persuasive writing since it states the writer’s opinions and supports it with detailed evidence.

Brainstorm Pre-writing strategies

Getting Started Make sure you understand your assignment Choose a workable topic that meets all requirements for a research paper topic: You can find enough material on the topic. The topic interests you, and you think you can make it interest your audience. The topic is objective, not subjective. The topic is limited enough to cover adequately in the space provided.

Begin your research Evaluate the sources you find. Record complete information for every source you think you will use. Write each bibliography entry according to the style your teacher requires. Explore library resources: Use Athena (card catalog) to locate books in the library Use the reference section to find information and sources Use academic databases – including reference tabs, magazines, newspapers, multimedia

Taking Notes Before you start taking notes, make a working outline. Skim each source to locate information for your paper. Take notes in your own words. Enclose a direct quotation (the author’s exact wording) in quotation marks.

Hint In your finished paper, keep direct quotations brief and use them sparingly. No more than one-fifth of your total paper should be direct quotations.

Guidelines for taking notes Write the source number and name of the source in the upper right-hand corner of your 3 x 5 card. Write only on one side of each card, and write about only one main idea. Write a heading – a key word or phrase – at the top of the note card. Make a conscious effort to use your own words when you take notes. Enclose direct quotations in large quotation marks. At the bottom of each note card, write the page number(s) where you found the information.

Sample notecard Source name and number heading 4 Survival Guide What mountain climbers need Interview w. Sir Edmund Hillary (first to climb Mt. Everest, 5/29/53) Strong motivation Technical skill Good planning Sense of humor p. 65 Page number in source

Three types of notes Direct quotation -- copy the quote EXACTLY – word for word– and enclose the quoted material in quotation marks. Paraphrasing – restate the writer’s ideas in your own words. A paraphrase covers every idea in the same order as in the original but is usually shorter. Summarizing – restate the MAIN ideas in your own words. A summary does not give all the details – only the most important ones.

Organizing and Evaluating Note cards Sort note cards into stacks having same heading Evaluate note cards Be selective – too much information on one subject?? Fill in the gaps – not enough information. Go find more sources. What’s this doing here? -- not sure why you took this note

Hint You should end up with a stack of note cards for each heading and subheading in your working outline. If you don’t have at least two cards for each section of the outline, you may not have enough information.

Unity and Coherence Make sure that all information fits the scope of your paper. Arrange the information in a way that readers will easily understand. 1. Chronological – the order of events in time 2. Spatial – describing a place or object 3. Order of importance – ideas and details arranged from most to least important or vice versa 4. OR in a clear and logical way

Thesis Statement Draft a working thesis statement that tells what you will cover in your paper. A thesis statement is a single sentence. It should not be expressed as a question. It is a preview of what the paper is about. It states the topic and the writer’s focus. (Do not begin with “The purpose of my paper is…” or “In this paper I will write about…”) It should have a confident tone. Avoid using words such as probably, might, I think, seems, apparently, it seems to me, etc.