STEPS in the RESEARCH PROCESS

Please be sure you are using that (MLA or APA) when you get to the documentation part later.

Here we go—How to Write a Research Paper that’s actually worth a good grade.

1. BEGIN EARLY

Pick a subject or take the one that’s assigned. For example, “astronomy”

Brainstorm pieces. Let’s say one piece is “Equipment used by astronomers.”

Pick a piece—We are going with “telescopes.”

Brainstorm pieces of it—"The Hubble Space Telescope.”

Try to pick a small piece of this—How about “The original flaw in the Hubble Space Telescope’s lens.”

Begin searching for information only on that piece

You are both the instructor and the student in this phase. Find sources to teach yourself about your topic.

Don’t wait until the last minute to write your paper--that’s not how humans learn.

Your goal is to teach yourself over time.

Plus, we forget about 60% of last-minute/crammed info in the first 24 hours.

That’s why education is broken into quarters and semesters.

Your research paper is supposed to present to your readers what you’ve learned about your topic over time.

So start early—learn a little bit more each day.

Search everywhere—books, periodicals, trusted websites, interviews, site visits—be creative in your search for information—keep in mind that you want to focus on a tiny topic

Throughout the process, take notes/free-write about the things you’re learning—use your own words without referring to a source for help—if your pick a quotation or information from a source, be sure to clearly mark who owns it in your notes.

2. BEGIN WRITING about what you’ve learned.

First, write an “umbrella” sentence that encompasses what you hope to convince your reader of—your opinion. Something like

At least three new options are now available to those who seek help with ____.

The history of _________ is filled with missed opportunities.

This will be your working thesis statement.

Start your draft in the center—leave the introduction and conclusion for later.

Begin by listing the three or four most important points you’ve learned about your topic.

Use the Brainstorming a Research Paper process. You’ll find it in a list at this link.

For each of the points, free-write all you have learned about it. Do not use any sources—your own notes are O.K. to use.

Clean up your free-write—cross out info that doesn’t belong with that point

Write a new, cleaner version of the free-write, creating separate sections for each point

Add any new information that comes to mind. Do this again later. You’ll think of stuff you missed.

Form the writing you’ve completed into paragraphs.

This should create a summary of the body of your paper.

3. GO TO THE WORDS AND IDEAS YOU HAVE BORROWED FROM YOUR SOURCES

Locate excerpts that will enhance your summary.

Keep quotations as short as possible.

See “Working with Words from a Source” for how to shorten lengthy quotations—it’s easy once you learn how.

Find excepts that will lend authoritative support to your topic.

Find well-written excepts that would appeal to your reader.

Go easy on the amount of information you borrow—85% of the words/ ideas in your paper should be yours—derived from your own study, thought, and learning.

Locate places in the summary to place these borrowed excerpts.

Create author tags, sometimes called signal phrases, to lead into the quotations you use—do not put in a “naked” quotation. See “Working with Words from a Source” for examples.

Read through the draft—this should be only the body of your paper.

Think about how you would introduce it to your reader.

Write your introduction—introductions should do at least three things

—establish the importance of your paper’s thesis (its overall point or opinion),

--create interest in your paper’s topic, and

--present a clear statement of your paper’s overall point (opinion). Do it using only one sentence.

This will be your thesis sentence.

If you have no good reason not to, place your thesis sentence at the end of your introduction.

Write your conclusion—conclusions can

--cheerlead—encourage a change in the readers’ thinking/behavior based of the paper’s information.

--suggest actions your readers can now take because you assume they now agree with you.

4. CREATE A FORMAL WORKS CITED (MLA) or REFERENCES (APA) PAGE

List sources alphabetically

Follow the examples EXACTLY.

This is TEDIOUS work—to get the periods, commas, italics correct—do it well—it’s just part of the deal.

Go back to your draft and add parenthetical citations to the words and ideas you borrowed—remember—the goal of the parenthetical citation is to clearly identify the particular source on your

Works Cited (MLA) or References (APA) page.

Once again, see “Working with Words from a Source” for examples.

5. REVISE YOUR DRAFT

Read it ALOUD—reword areas that need clarity/ better word choice. Check your paragraphs for unity, coherence, and completeness. Check your paragraphs again.

Let the draft cool.

Perhaps ask others to read the draft—lots of people think they’re English teachers so take advice with caution.

Check your final draft’s format—does it conform EXACTLY to MLA or APA standards.