1. Writing a Research Paper
With material from:

2. Finding a topic Try to pick a topic that is interesting to you.
Narrow down your topic to something manageable.
Brainstorm points for an outline: what do you want to know about your topic?
Eg: Catacombs
Purposes
Burial grounds ??
Finding a topic

3. Look for sources of information
Look for books, articles, news stories on your topic.
Try to find as many different sources as possible.
Make a list of each source as you find it. Include
the title of the source,
the author,
the publisher,
the place and date of publication, and
the date you found the source.
Type all the information into to save it in the correct format.
This is your preliminary, or draft, Works Cited page.
Look for sources of information

4. Use index cards to record one fact or idea per card
Use index cards to record one fact or idea per card. This will let you group related ideas together later.
Make sure you note the source of the information on each card.
Put quotation marks around anything you don’t put in your own words so that you know it is an exact quotation. This will help you to avoid plagiarism.
Organize your note cards by grouping related ideas together. (You can write headings on the cards.)
Take notes

5. Organize your ideas Make an outline.
Start with a Topic Sentence for each paragraph
Add point form notes about the information you are going to include in the paragraph
Organize your ideas

6. Rough Draft Write a draft of your body paragraphs.
Use the information you found in your sources to support your ideas about your topic.
Make sure you introduce your quotations in your own words. Eg: Mel Smith says that “Red shirts make us easier to see on the field.”
Write a draft of the introduction and conclusion.
Rough Draft

7. Revise Carefully read over your draft.
You may want to read it out loud or ask someone else to read it to you.
Make sure you have given credit for ideas and words that are not your own.
Look for places where you need to add information to make it clearer,
or delete information if there is too much.
Revise

8. Make changes to your sentences and paragraphs to make your writing clearer and easier to understand.
Correct any spelling or grammar errors.
Edit