1. Writing a paper: How to begin
Video #7
Writing a paper: How to begin
Dr. Matthew Robinson
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC USA

2. Academic writing: start this way
1) Locate an article
Review the article
Recall this is a brief summary of an article written by a scholar. Tell us:
What the author did
How the author did it (methodology)
What the author found
What the author concluded
What it means

3. Academic writing: start this way
2) Locate a book
Review the book
Recall this is a brief summary of a book written by a scholar. Tell us:
What the author did
How the author did it (methodology)
What the author found
What the author concluded
What it means

4. Academic writing: start this way
3) Locate more sources
Other articles
Other books
Websites
News articles

5. Academic writing: start this way
4) Reverse outline each source
Organize your notes by topic
Your notes on each source will help you write summaries

6. Academic writing: start this way
5) Write an annotated bibliography
Summarize each source with one paragraph per source
This is a complete summary of what you know based on all your sources

7. Academic writing: start this way
6) Write an outline
Create an outline that is logical
Pretend like you are writing for someone who knows nothing about the issue
Think of it like a roadmap to “walk them” though the issue

8. Academic writing: start this way
7) Use the outline to write your paper
The paper follows the organization of the outline
It is in the same order as the outline
Write a draft!