A Step by Step Guide to WritingA Research Paper

Step 1: Choose a Topic

• Think about and read over what we have studied this past year, or outside authors you enjoy

• Create a list of authors and works that interest you

• Jot down possible questions you have about these topics i.e.: Could Coleridge have written poetry without the use of opium?

• Brainstorm: bounce these ideas off of a classmate or me

Step 2: Begin to Research

• Keep a notebook devoted to your research• Search both print and internet sources and jot

down notes MAKE SURE YOU COPY DOWN ALL BIBLIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL FOR YOUR SOURCES

• Use only websites that originate from universities

• Start with literary anthologies like NCLC, CLC• Use author’s biographies and essay

collections on their work• Continue to write down questions as you take

notes• Your original topic will probably change during

this point, that is normal- your topic may even change!

Step 3: Create a Focus (Thesis)

• As you are continuing to research and take notes consider:

• Are there any themes that arise in my sources?

• What is the most interesting to me?• What am I finding the most information

on?• Create a focus that fully analyzes your

topic. (creates a cause/effect relationship) i.e. John Keats’s poetry exhibits many melancholy and gothic characteristics because he wrote most of his work while dying.

Step 4: Gather Information That Supports Your Focus• Continue to research• Begin to refine your focus-

remember-it’s ok if it changes slightly

• Begin to organize your information into logical groups

Step 5: Prepare to Write

• Begin to organize your notes into logical groups i.e. group autobiography into one section, notes on a particular novel into another

• Consider how each group contributes to your thesis statement

• Refine your thesis statement• Weed out any irrelevant

information: you will probably not use all of your research-decide what does not help you prove your argument

Step 6: Writing the Paper

• Create an outline that reflects your organizational groups i.e. Introduction-explain

• Body Paragraph 1-explain• Conclusion-explain• Begin to write: fill in the

outline with the information groups you have created in your research

Step 7: Revise and Proofread

• After your have written the paper revise for grammatical errors, consistency, analysis, and flow

• You will have the opportunity to edit with a partner

• You should write at least 3 drafts• Make sure the paper follows MLA

format