WEEK 3 THE TERM PAPER

WHAT IS A TERM PAPER? An academic essay that is rather lengthy, prepared by an academic writer Written in a concise and well documented manner The writer identifies, analyzes, interprets, discusses, draws inferences and conclusions based on given facts or opinions of other academic writers and his own observations

FEATURES OF A TERM PAPER Comprises a basic idea which is expanded and further discussed in the paper by the academic writer and then supported or argued against Always demands the discussion of an original idea and allows no copying

STRUCTURES OF A TERM PAPER 3 parts: Intro Body Conclusion

THE INTRO Intro: the 1 st paragraph, a general statement about the topic Provide the info the reader will need to understand the topic Provides main arguments of the paper Concludes with the thesis The thesis is the last sentence of the paragraph : a strong statement that you can prove

THE INTRO Writing the intro: Write your purpose: in a thesis statement Describe your rationale Explain your concepts, including definition of key terms Focus on relevance, logic, conciseness Avoid anecdote and digression

WRITING THE THESIS STATEMENT When making a claim, support it with evidence Follow this by analysis and evaluation Include your own evidence and citation (from other sources through quotation, paraphrase or summary) to support your argument

WRITING THE THESIS STATEMENT Whether you are writing a short essay or a PhD dissertation, your thesis statement is usually the most difficult sentence to write A good thesis statement states the purpose of your paper The thesis statement controls and structures your entire argument Without a good thesis, your argument may sound weak and would lack direction

WHAT MAKES A GOOD TERM PAPER? Research and investigate: seek out obscure and hard- to-find material Synthesize: draw together diverse things to show patterns and relations Organize: logical continuity and structure to diverse materials Analyze: critical analysis, examine arguments for evidence, validity, logic and flaws Clarify: make evidence and arguments clearer to reader Adopt a point of view: show how evidence and reason favours one side in a controversial issue

TASK 1 Unit1, p7 Introduce yourself. Include: Brief biodata (name, origin, educational background) Your main skills, areas of interest, key achievements Subject you are studying/ plan to study Specific skills you want to improve on Your preferred learning styles

TASK 2 Do you agree with the following statement? Explain why/ why not. Biomedical engineering is a field with many prospects. A woman’s place is in the home.