Organizing & Outlining Research Papers Workshop PEGS’ GWIE Graduate Writing Institute for Excellence Copyright © 2015 PEGS’ GWIE

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I Thesis Scaffolding

Thesis Scaffolding Many thesis statements are comprised of two parts: 1) the claim & 2) the cause

Thesis Scaffolding Claim: In this essay, I argue that Voter IDs should be proscribed.

Thesis Scaffolding Cause: This is important because Voter IDs are undemocratic.

Thesis Scaffolding Voter IDs should be proscribed because they are undemocratic.

II Reasons & Examples

Reasons Reasons are explanatory Reasons support your thesis Reasons are causes for your claim

Reasons Reason #1 Voter IDs are undemocratic because… …they place an undue burden on some voters, thereby disenfranchising them, particularly women and non-whites.

Examples Examples SHOW what Reasons TELL Examples create clarity Examples are evidence

Examples Reason #1 (disenfranchisement) EXAMPLES: 1) Some voters don’t possess a birth certificate 2) Some voters don’t possess a valid driver’s license or state ID card 3) Some voters aren’t able to get to the polls on election day

III Outlining

Outlining “Once a topic has been chosen, ideas have been generated [via] brainstorming and free writing, and a working thesis has been created, the last step [...] is creating an outline” ACC. (n.d.). Creating an outline. Retrieved from

Aids in the process of writing Helps you organize your ideas Presents your material in a logical form Shows the relationships among ideas in your writing Constructs an ordered overview of your writing Defines boundaries and groups — OWL Purdue, “Why and How to Create a Useful Outline” Outlines: Why?

Outline of a PEGS’ GWIE Workshop on ORGANIZATION: I.1 st Example of Good Organization II.Outlines a.Examples i.This Workshop ii.Others on Handout b.Why? c.How? d.Flow of Ideas III.Paragraph Sandwich (Flow of Ideas) a.(Good) Examples i.1 st Example ii.Different Paragraph Sandwiches iii.Short Paragraph taken from OWL b.Less Strong Example taken from OWL IV.Transitions a.Transition Words (Transitions in Paragraphs) b.Transitions Between Paragraphs (1 st Example) c.Vectors V.Reorganizing Your Own Paper a.Signs of Poor Organization i.Anchors/List of Common Issues to Watch Out For ii.An Example taken from OWL b.Methods for Reorganizing i.Color Coding 1)Labeling a)Example 2)Cut & Paste ii.Self-Outlining

Paragraph Sandwich

Outlining Exercise DIRECTIONS: Complete an OUTLINE for the following paragraph, beginning with its Thesis or Topic Sentence Costa Rica is a great place to spend a vacation for two reasons. First of all, Costa Rica has an excellent system of national parks where visitors can observe nature. For example, in Tortuguero National Park, visitors can watch sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs in the sand. Then they can come back several months later to see the new babies crawl down to the sea. In Santa Rosa National Park, visitors can see unusual birds such as toucans and quetzals and exotic animals such as spider monkeys. Second, Costa Rica has many beautiful beaches. For instance, the beaches at Manuel Antonio National Park are among the most beautiful in the world, and the beaches on Canoa and Cocos Islands offer perfect conditions for snorkeling and scuba diving. Indeed, Costa Rica is a wonderful place to go if you love the outdoors.

IV Synthesizing

A synthesis combines elements from multiple sources to form a whole; in this case, the “whole” is a theme or argument of your paper. Synthesizing Sources

Synthesizing involves – identifying patterns and similarities/differences among sources – critically analyzing strengths, weaknesses, methods, and findings of sources – identifying and exploring gaps in knowledge to determine what you can contribute to future research on the topic SYNTHESIZING SOURCES

Peruse sources carefully/Read sources Critically (once or twice ONLY) Review sources repeatedly – make connections between sources make annotations for emerging themes Makes lists – summary of central information from all sources – summary of peripheral information from some sources – summary of information specific to source Synthesize Sources via a Synthesis Matrix (or Grid of Common Points) – at-a-glance reference Organizing Information

The synthesis matrix is by far one of the most useful tools that you can use to create an “at-a-glance” reference for synthesizing sources. The Synthesis Matrix

The Introductory Synthesis

Synthesis Paragraph including Background

Topic Sentence Example 1 Analysis Transition Sentence Example 1.5 In this example, the author has used one piece of evidence (example 1.5) to support and clarify another (example 1), and then synthesized the two (with the phrase “narcissistic motivation”). Synthesis Paragraph including Analysis - Source of example: OWL Purdue

Transitions: Vectors 2. Remind the reader where they have been and let them know where they are headed by using transitions. -This is referred to as using vectors (the idea that each paragraph points backwards & forwards). -Introductions, by providing background information, and conclusions, by recommending future areas of study, also follow this rule. 1. It helps to have a visual model of your paper’s organizational structure: what does your paragraph structure look like? 3. Papers build from one topic to the next with one exception: the introduction and conclusion must refer to each other. -FMI: check out our “Introductions & Conclusions” Workshop

Reorganizing In graduate writing, every word in your paper should serve the main point (i.e. thesis/hypothesis). There is no room for wasted space.

length – too long/too short? – an intro/conclusion over 1 1 / 2 pages (based on 20p. Paper) – paragraphs that are less than three sentences – one or more paragraphs that are significantly longer than others – sentences that run for more than 3 lines generalizations/non-statements – “there are many different types of…” – “______ is interesting” repetition – of ideas – of words and phrases Reorganizing: Poor Organization this ¶ is much longer than the others

Scan your paper for signs of poor organization. – Length, Generalization, Repetition, Tangent, Confusion *Writers will often use one or two stylistic errors (crutches really) more frequently than others. If you can identify the errors you typically make, it will be easier to spot organizational issues later in the paper. Determine the extent of your organizational issues. – Mark areas with symptoms of poor organization. – Is one section less organized than the rest? – Do paragraphs read clearly, while the paper does not (or vise- versa)? Reorganizing: Methods Are you disorganized?

If you find you have many problems at the paragraph level, label sentences or groups of sentences based on their content. – Create a list of general concepts you (want to) touch on. You can create a list based on the section you are working on, or based on the entire paper. Keep the list short: rather than use your full outline, be general. – Assign a number or color to each concept. Colors can give you a strong sense of how frequently you switch from one idea to another. – Read through your paper sentence by sentence (this also works for paragraphs) and label them with your color code. This method requires good use of note-taking and active reading skills. Summarize sentences with 1 – 2 words by asking ‘what is this sentence referring to;’ ‘what purpose does this sentence serve;’ or ‘what is the most important aspect of this sentence’. Methods: #1 Color Coding

Take your paper apart and put it back together by grouping colors/numbers. – Cut & paste on or off the computer. → – Double check the flow of your ideas, just because you’ve grouped the ideas does not mean one flows to the next. – Be on the lookout for missing and extra information. Smooth out newly grouped concepts. – You may find some sentences that are almost exact repetitions: keep the one that works best for its new location. – You will mostly likely need new transitions throughout the section you are editing after this process. Methods: #1 Color Coding contn’d

Did you follow an outline? – Using active reading, see if your ideas follow the outline. Can you use the paper to recreate your outline? If not, assess the quality of additional/missing content. *If your paper doesn’t follow the outline, it doesn’t always mean that the paper is disorganized. Sometimes it’s the outline that needs to be revised. …didn’t make an outline? – Use active reading to create an outline. Make a short note next to each paragraph which summarizes its main point. List each note you’ve made on a separate paper in order. – Check new ‘outline’ for flow. Have you grouped together similar concepts? Do your ideas follow a conceptual model (i.e. past → present → future; general → specific)? Methods: #2 Self-Outlining

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