Research Paper WritingOne Chunk at a time!

Two TypesThere are two major types of research papers:

First - Argumentative:• The argumentative research paper consists of an introduction in which you clearly

introduce a topic and inform your audience of exactly which stance you intends to take; this stance is often identified as the thesis statement. An important goal of an argumentative research paper is persuasion, which means the topic must be debatable or controversial. For example, it would be difficult for someone to successfully argue in favor of the following stance.

Cigarette smoking poses medical dangers and may lead to cancer for both the smoker and those who experience secondhand smoke.

• Today, this topic is not debatable, therefore, a better thesis would be the following.Although it has been proven that cigarette smoking may lead to a myriad of health problems, the social acceptance of smoking in other countries demonstrates that many in the world still do not consider secondhand smoke dangerous to one's health.

• In this sentence, the writer is not challenging the current accepted stance that both firsthand and secondhand cigarette smoke is dangerous, but rather, is positing a cultural double-standard of sorts. The student would then support this thesis throughout the paper by means of both primary and secondary sources, with the intent of persuading the audience that her particular interpretation of the situation is viable.

• Second – Analytical:

• The analytical research paper often begins with asking a question (a.k.a. a research question) on which you have taken no stance, therefore your paper is an exercise in exploration and evaluation. For example, perhaps you are interested in the Old English poem Beowulf, have has read the poem intently, and desire to offer a fresh reading of the poem, academically. Your question might be:

How should one interpret the poem Beowulf?

• Your research may them lead you to the following conclusion:Beowulf is a poem whose purpose it was to serve as an exemplar monastic communities.

• Although the topic may be debatable and controversial, you are not persuading the audience that your ideas are right while those of others are wrong, but instead, are offering a critical interpretation of primary and secondary sources throughout the paper--sources that should, ultimately, buttress your analysis of the topic.

Your thesis statement may look like this AFTER you have completed research:Though Beowulf is often read as a poem of heroism and the supernatural exploits of the protagonist, it may also be read as a poem that served as an exemplar for monastic communities found in the Danelaw.

• This statement does not negate the traditional readings of Beowulf, but instead offers a fresh and detailed reading of the poem that IS supported by your research. It is not until you have begun the writing process that his thesis statement begins to take solid form. One of the benefits of an analytical paper is that you can approach any topic without a predetermined stance.

Week 1

Assignment - Find 3 BODY topics on Google Scholar: find (an) article(s) with 3 reasons WHY (insert topic here) and turn them in for a grade by the end of Week 1.

• You will turn in the actual article, with underlined or highlighted specific line(s) that pertain to the Body topics, and explain (write on the article) why those 3 will work.

• You MUST also turn in the Full MLA Citation(s) for the article(s), but can just paste it to the bottom of the paper or put it on a separate page.

#1) Create a new folder on your GHS account named: RESEARCH PAPER and within it create 5 Sub-Folders named: INTRO, BODY1, BODY2, BODY3, and CONCLUSION.

#2) Open 2 tabs on the internet and pull up www.scholar.google.com and www.citationmachine.net or www.easybib.com.

--Google Scholar will ONLY give academic and professional resources and you are not allowed to submit anything that

didnot come off Google Scholar.--Although they may see “cite” next to options on GoogleScholar, that it will NOT suffice for a full MLA citation.

#3) If you cannot Copy and Paste information, use the Print Screen / Paint / Paste option to save the information and/or print it.--You must save ALL information into the correct folders but ONLY print the actual portion of the articles that you think you WILL use in your paper. You should save whole articles on MSWord documents in your folders though.

Week 2

Assignment – Find 3 “Buddies” for your original Body author(s):

--Find 3 NEW articles, written by 3 NEW authors that back up the assertion of your original author(s) from last week.

--You will, therefore, have between 4 and 6 authors total by the end of this week.

You will print and turn in the actual article, underlining or highlighting the specific line(s) that pertain to Body topics, and explain (you can just write on the article) why those 3 will work, AND the Full MLA Citation(s) for each article(s) - paste it to the bottom of the paper or put it on a separate page.

Week 3Assignment – Create a full outline using

information you have gathered, and fill in ALL blanks in Body sections of your outline. The outline should be turned in with in-text citation following every author used.

In-Text Citation is ONLY the Author’s last name and the page or paragraph number where the information can be found, inside parentheses: (Smith 47) or (Daviees 2)

For definitions, Biblical references, or organization references, go to www.owl.english.purdue.edu

You may now go off Google Scholar, but may ONLY use *.gov, *.edu, and very well known and reliable Dot Com sources like Time Magazine, the Holocaust Museum, or Dictionary.com.

RESEARCH PAPER OUTLINE Name:_____________________________________________________Smooth transitions are the key to convincing people you are a good writer. WRITE phrases in your own words on the a, b, and c lines, and proofs from research on i, ii, and iii lines. Also, RESEARCH WRITING IS ALWAYS WRITTEN IN 3RD PERSON. Only do A, B, and C, not transitions or intros. 1st Body – Your most convincing argument & easiest to understand – get them nodding with you HERE! In the 3 Body sections is where citation is most prominent – CITE EVERYTHING!!! It makes you look smarter. At least 3 college length paragraphs per Body section.

2. Transition from Introduction to 1st Body ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

2a. (topic intro)__________________________________________________________________________________2ai. __________________________________________________________________________________2aii. __________________________________________________________________________________2aiii. _________________________________________________________________________________

2b. (topic intro)__________________________________________________________________________________2bi. __________________________________________________________________________________2bii. __________________________________________________________________________________2biii. _________________________________________________________________________________

  2c. (topic intro)__________________________________________________________________________________

2ci. ___________________________________________________________________________________2cii. __________________________________________________________________________________2ciii. __________________________________________________________________________________

  2civ. (Transition to 2nd Body) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2nd Body – Your longest argument, but also convincing and easy to understand – can be more technical but not too foreign to readers. At least 3 college length paragraphs.  3. Intro to 2nd Body_________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________  3a. ___________________________________________________________________________________________

3ai. __________________________________________________________________________________3aii. __________________________________________________________________________________3aiii. _________________________________________________________________________________

  3b. ___________________________________________________________________________________________

3bi. __________________________________________________________________________________3bii. __________________________________________________________________________________3biii. _________________________________________________________________________________

  3c. ___________________________________________________________________________________________

3ci. ___________________________________________________________________________________3cii. __________________________________________________________________________________3ciii. __________________________________________________________________________________

 3civ. Transition to 3rd Body ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3rd Body – now that they agree with you, your most technical or hardest to convince them about here – NOT too short though! At least 3 college length paragraphs.  4. Intro to 3rd Body _________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________  4a. ___________________________________________________________________________________________

4ai. __________________________________________________________________________________4aii. __________________________________________________________________________________4aiii. _________________________________________________________________________________

  4b. ___________________________________________________________________________________________

4bi. __________________________________________________________________________________4bii. __________________________________________________________________________________4biii. _________________________________________________________________________________

  4c. ___________________________________________________________________________________________

4ci. ___________________________________________________________________________________4cii. __________________________________________________________________________________4ciii. __________________________________________________________________________________

 4civ. Transition to Conclusion ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

  NOW GO BACK AND MAKE SURE THERE ARE TRANSITIONS BETWEEN ALL is, iis, AND iiis, AS WELL AS BETWEEN ALL as, bs, AND cs THROUGHOUT THE PAPER. GOOD FLOW MAKES PEOPLE THINK YOU ARE A GOOD WRITER.

Week 4

Assignment: 1) Gather information on all authors

2) Complete the outline for intro and conclusion

3) Create the full Works Cited page with ALL sources• Find the following about every author: Full name, Sex,

Title, Employer or University/areas of expertise; i.e., WHY they are an expert.

• Works Cited Page: alpha order by Author’s last name, NO extra spaces between citations, double space whole page, hanging indent

Introduction – do these last – do NOT use lengthy explanations, use common but professional language – and very little cited info unless quoting someone; there should be little to cite because all technical explanation is in Body. Intro is about 2 college length paragraphs – one for each section – going from broad to specific. 1. Snappy intro to snag reader________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________  1a. Intro topic_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

1ai. Thesis statement intro in 1Ai, 1Aii, or 1Aiii________________________________________________________________

1aii. Don’t forget tech term definitions ______________________________________________________________________

1aiii. Keep readers hooked________________________________________________________________________________ 1b. Here’s how I am going to prove . . . ________________________________________________________________________________

1bi. Body 3 summery____________________________________________________________________________________

1bii. Body 2 summery____________________________________________________________________________________

1biii. Body 1 summery____________________________________________________________________________________ 

1biv. Transition into Body 1 from Intro ______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________   Conclusion – do last – NO NEW INFO!!! Unless quoting someone, there should not be anything to cite Rephrase previous Body info, shorten, and remind. Common but professional language here. Keep it short but don’t skimp!!! 2 college length paragraphs max.  5. In Conclusion______________________________________________________________________________________________________  5a. Restate thesis __________________________________________________________________________________________________  5b. Transition from Body 3, go backwards from 3 to 2 to 1 – restate proofs ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  5c. Conclude______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Week 5

Assignment: #1) Thesis statement (clearly stated and circled or in bold)#2) Four transitional sentences#3) Complete the conclusion (1 paragraph), and then the Introduction (2 paragraphs)

TRANSITION WORDS

To indicate more information: To indicate an example: To indicate a cause or reason:Besides For example AsFurthermore For instance BecauseIn addition For instance Because ofIndeed In particular / Particularly Due toIn fact Specifically ForMoreover To demonstrate For the reason thatSecond...Third..., etc. To illustrate Since

To indicate a result or an effect: To indicate a purpose or reason why: To compare or contrast:Accordingly For fear that Although / On the other handFinally In the hope that HoweverConsequently In order to In comparison / SimilarlyHence So In contrast / WhereasSo So that LikewiseTherefore With this in mind Nevertheless / YetThus

To indicate a time frameor time shift: To summarize: To conclude:After / Lastly Briefly Given these factsBefore / Initially In brief HenceCurrently / Soon Overall In conclusionDuring / Later Summing up SoEventually / Immediately To put it briefly ThereforeFinally / Formerly To sum up ThusFirst, . . . Second, . . ., etc. To summarize To concludeMeanwhile / NextPreviously / SimultaneouslySubsequently

Week 6

Assignment: Write out your 3 body sections. Write each separately and turn in separately.

All Body sections should be 2 paragraphs long: all of topic 1 and half of 2 in the first paragraph, then the second half of 2 and all of 3 in the second paragraph

You MUST include correct author intros and all in-text citations

EXAMPLES OF CORRECT AUTHOR INTROS FOR FIRST AND SECONDARY USES OF THAT AUTHOR

According to Dr. Heinz Henrick, Professor of Biology at Rice University, . . . (Henrick 4)Dr. Henrick further avowed that . . . (Henrick 5) Western Kentucky University President, Dr. Gary Ransdale, stated that . . . (Ransdale 17)In further discussions, Dr. Ransdale specifically . . . (Ransdale 15) In the forth trial, Scientist June Cleever attempted to . . . (Cleever 291)Ms. Cleever’s study also found . . . (Cleever 297) AP Animal Science teacher Bones Goodfluff teaches that . . . (Goodfluff 3)Mr. Goodfluff also gave an example of . . . (Goodfluff 4) Author and Renaissance historian Dr. James T. Baker, in his novel Dogs to Men, wrote . . . (Baker 115)While in Texas, Dr. Baker . . . (Baker iiv) The Holocaust Museum records illustrate that . . . (Holocaust Museum 6)Museum records further included recordings of . . . (Holocaust Museum 9) According to the Centers for Disease Control - also known as CDC - website . . . (CDC 2264)The CDC, in a press release dated October 1, 2013 . . . (CDC 2267) In an interview on CBS News, Helen Ravendale, author of the paper Understanding Macbeth, declared she . . . (Ravendale 1)Ms. Ravendale, later in the interview, explored the idea that . . . (Ravendale 2) Speaking at the National Aeronautical Symposium, Aeronautical Engineer, Dr. Kenneth Connery acknowledged that he . . . (Connery 58)Dr. Connery’s work has been touted for years as . . . (Marbel 76) In the forward to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, English Professor at Tufts University, Dr. Howard Miller affirmed that idea that . . . (Miller iix)In additional citations, Dr. Miller writes . . . (Miller iiix)

Week 7

Assignment: #1) Highlight or underline ALL author intros#2) Circle ALL in-text citations#3) Peer edit 9 body paragraphs – SIGN EACH#4) Put all parts of your own paper together#5) Self-Edit and make corrections

1) Click “Control + F”, FSearch, and search for all instances of the word THAT. Change almost every single one to WHICH or WHO.2) FSearch for all PRONOUNS and remove them if they are not in a quote.3) FSearch for an apostrophe and remove all CONTRACTIONS.4) Change most of your quotes to paraphrases to reduce the number of superfluous words used.5) Make sure all Body arguments are the same length6) Count your in-text citations insure there are between 3 and 5 per paragraph7) Check Works Cited page: left justified, hanging indented citations, NO extra spaces between citations, alpha order by author’s last name8) Check paper for the following:

Margins = 1” all the way aroundFont = Times New Roman or Ariel, size 12, regularWhole paper, including Works Cited page, double

spaced

Week 8

Read 3 peer papers aloud to their authors while the author takes notes – the writer should make note of all stumbling issues you have and correct them later, as well as note any questions you, the reader, have so that the writer can address them in the paper.

Final Editing/Rewriting Due