Writing a Research Paper

Finding A Topic List ideas of interest to you Evaluate the most interesting ones A good subject must involve research Choose one that is not well known to you

Ask the Following Questions Can I find enough facts about this subject? Where? Will I be able to get the information I need in time? Can I make this subject interesting to others?

Narrow Your Topic How can you break it into parts? Write your focused topic in the form of a statement.

Purpose and Audience Purpose: share what you have learned about your topic Audience: Communicate clearly with your audience. Consider what your audience already knows Think about what your audience needs to know Think about what your audience may want to know

Research Questions You will need to choose one question that will guide your research Your question should ask either WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, OR HOW

Evaluate Your Sources Primary Source: documents that contain first hand knowledge Secondary Source: interpretations of material (summaries, etc.)

How to Search on the Internet Use words like “and” and “not” to limit number of sites returned Use quotation marks to see sites with the exact phrase

Evaluating Sources Is it non-fiction? Is it current? Is it trustworthy?

Keeping Track of Sources Keep a list while you research. Refer to page 176 in your grammar book for proper citation method for Works Cited page.

Take Notes Do not print endless pages of useless research. Take notes (on note cards) of all information you might want to use. Be sure to write the source for each set of notes and quotes Be picky…do not write down everything you find…make sure it will help you with your paper

Sample note cards Category Notes Page number MLA information (for works cited page)

Write Your Main Idea Statement Also called the thesis statement Should state the topic and the most important thing you learned about your topic

Plan Your Report Introduction Number your sub-topics in an outline using roman numerals A. List two or three kinds of information. Give each kind of information a capital letter Use a number list to list all of the facts, examples, and other details from your notes. Second Sub-Topic Conclusion

Order of the Report Introduction Body (at least two subtopics and facts) Conclusion Works Cited List

The first draft Use the first draft to review for content and organization Make any revisions necessary

Questions for the first draft Does the introduction contain a clear main idea statement (thesis)? Does each paragraph explain no more than one subtopic from the outline? Does each paragraph include facts, statistics, examples, direct quotations, or conclusions that elaborate on the subtopic? Is there an unanswered question or final comment in the conclusion? Does the Works Cited list include at least three sources?

Revise Your Paper Vary sentence structure Eliminate unnecessary wordiness PROOFREAD FOR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS