Research Paper Etiquette

Research papers are a formal form of academic writing so there are rules that must be followed in order to ensure that your paper is strong

This paper will be about…. In conclusion….. Do or Don’t? This paper will be about…. In conclusion…..

Don’t!!! If you are writing the paper it is clear that is what it will be about! You don’t have to announce that you are going to conclude, just do it!

Do or Don’t? It seems that affirmative action happened too little too late… But at the end of the day, affirmative action has accomplished its goals When it comes to affirmative action, white employees should just realize that you win some you lose some

Don’t! In your research paper do not use clichés or familiar language Cliches are vague and unoriginal and risk your paper sounding like everyone else’s If you would say it to a friend in an Instagram comment or Snapchat DM it is probably not research paper worthy

Which sounds more effective? Affirmative action is changing the way colleges diversify their campuses. Affirmative action changes the way colleges diversify their campuses.

Passive Voice versus Active Voice Always try to restructure your sentences to be in active voice. THE LESS LINKING/HELPING VERBS IN YOUR PAPER THE BETTER. Prioritize action verbs over these other two.

Practice. Change these passive voice sentences into active voice The dishes were washed by Jane. My book was read by Miss Jones. My window was broken by the storm. The letter was written by my brother.

Do or don’t? Affirmative action is very effective Quotas are really bad Hopefully, employers will consider qualifications instead of race.

Don’t! Wherever possible, do not use qualifiers Qualifiers include: very, extremely, really, surely, often etcs.

Do or don’t? Affirmative action wasn’t effective Affirmative action isn’t the best way to diversify colleges Affirmative action won’t harm people not of color It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white!!!

Don’t! Or should I say… Do Not Do not use contractions in research papers Break down the contraction! Don’t – do not Wouldn’t – would not Couldn’t – could not ETC…

Which sounds better? Considering diversity changed the makeup of our college campuses. Considering diversity changes the makeup of our college campuses.

Always use present tense Present tense is most common in academic papers, and should be used when referring to written texts. If you are talking about an event that happened in the past, past tense is appropriate. Future tense is almost never used.

Do or don’t? I think affirmative action is an effective policy I believe that people of color do not benefit from affirmative action I am writing this paper to prove affirmative action is positive

Don’t! Do not use first person in your paper. Because you are writing it, your reader knows that it is you who believes or thinks whatever it is that you are writing about.

Do or Don’t Affirmative action “increases the amount of people of color on a campus” and “the Supreme Court does not allow colleges to add extra points to a applicant’s application for race”

Don’t! Quotes or textual evidence that you include must be explained! After you include evidence from you research, explain how it relates back to your thesis.

Do or Don’t?

Things to think about when writing your first draft….

Introduction Make sure your introduction includes your these Include of roadmap of where you are going to go in your paper. This can be done by giving a brief summary of the points you are going to make Provide a short definition of affirmative action that works for your paper! (this can also be in a body paragraph)

Body Paragraphs Include at least 3 body paragraphs Make sure you are analyzing the research that you are finding and relating it back to your thesis If you choose to include a counterargument be sure that you use evidence and research to disprove it and show why your thesis is stronger. Use transitional phrases Weakest argument to strongest argument