Writing A Research Paper

First of all……..  Complete your research!!!!  Make a decision about your stand on the issue

Write a Thesis Statement  A thesis statement is your claim about the topic  You will provide evidence (research) to back up your thesis statement

Thesis statement (con’t)  Your thesis statement should answer your research question and show the direction that your paper is heading  What is the main idea of your paper in 25 or fewer words?

Examples of Thesis Statements

After the Thesis Statement  Organize your notes into the order that they will appear in your paper  In easybib, you can write your thesis statement and then drag and drop your notes in the order that you will write them.  Easybib will make an outline for you

Write your Introduction  Begin with an anecdote or statistic that will grab the reader’s attention (1-2 sentences)  Give enough background information that the reader/audience knows what is going on in your paper (1-3 sentences)  Write your thesis statement

Organizing your Paper  Reference page 61 in your text book  Follow the template for a Classical argument  Introduction  Presentation of evidence that promotes your stance on the issue  Present counter argument—summarize the opposing views  Respond to opposing views (either refute them or concede)  Conclusion—sum up arguments; leave strong last impression; make a call to action

Proving Your Position

Topic Sentence  First sentence of each body paragraph should make a statement about the central point of your topic

Cite evidence  Each note card needs to be a citation within your paper

Citations  Book—author’s last name and page number (Welch 92)  Data Base article—author’s last name only (unless there are page numbers) (Welch)  Article without a listed author—first word or two in quotation marks (“Cool Article”)

How to write a sentence with citations

Direct Quotations  Embed the quotes!  Write your own sentence “then add the author’s work” (Author’s last name 86).

Paraphrasing  Paraphrase someone else’s work, then add a citation (Author page number).  Anything that is not your idea MUST be cited.  When in doubt, cite it.

Your Commentary  Don’t be verbose for the sake of “showing off” your vocabulary skills  Make sure that your commentary is centered in your research  The majority of your paper should be citations, not your own thoughts

Misc.  Use transitions between ideas within your paragraphs (I have a handout)

Works Cited  On Easy Bib—download Works Cited/Bibliography to Word Document  Make sure citations have been used in your paper  Make sure citations are in alpha order  Make sure there is NO HEADING at the top  Make sure you have no URLs in any of the citations  Use italics for book titles, data base titles, and Google Scholar

Works Cited, con’t.  To set it up manually on word:  Under Special—select “Hanging”  Under spacing—select “Double”  Choose “OK”  Do NOT put extra spaces in the Works Cited document

Works Cited, con’t  Delete any sources that you did not use in your paper  When you are completely satisfied with the perfection of your paper, copy it, then paste it into your research paper as the last page  It should not have a heading, only the title “Works Cited”

Insert page numbers  You need to insert page numbers into this paper. Choose the upper right corner of the paper.  Do NOT have a page number on the first page of the paper  You MAY choose to do a header with your last name and the page number, but it is not necessary

Final Papers Should…….  Use 5 to 7 reputable sources  Have the sources mixed throughout the paper  Have a strong introduction that is a mini model for your entire paper  Strong body paragraphs that prove your position  Sources cited correctly  A strong, thoughtful conclusion that states why your research/opinion is important