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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!