Writing a Research Paper
Mrs. Dunn
St. Anastasia School
Choose a Topic
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Make sure you understand your assignment
- What is the length?
- Who is the audience?
- What type of research paper?
* Informational? This type summarizes
material from a variety of sources.
Choose a topic
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Choose a workable topic that meets all of the
following requirements
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Can you find enough material on the topic?
Does the topic relate to your project?
Is your topic objective, not subjective? An
objective topic is factual – in a research paper you
are not writing about your opinions, experiences,
family, or feelings.
Is the topic limited enough to be covered in the
available space?
Thesis Statements
A thesis sums up what the paper will tell the
reader. It is not the topic. The topic is the
subject of the paper, the thesis tells the reader
something about the topic. The thesis should be
at least one complete sentence, it must be logical,
and the writer must make a claim that he or she
can prove with the content of the paper.
Thesis Statement
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A good thesis statement IS NOT
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A statement of fact
Merely the expression of a personal opinion
A vague generalization
A question
Rules for Writing a Thesis Statement
•It must be a complete sentence.
• It can not be a question.
•It should be provable with facts, anecdotes, stories, etc.
•It needs to represent you and your ideas.
•Do not generalize.
•Do not use first or second person pronouns.
•Do not use clichés.
Sample Thesis Statements
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Topic: The Battle of Gettysburg
Thesis: The Battle of Gettysburg changed the momentum of the
Civil War.
Topic: Mike Piazza
Thesis: With his leadership skills, offensive output, and work
ethic, Mike Piazza excels as the best Major League catcher in
the history of baseball.
Topic: Basketball
Thesis: Winning basketball games requires a solid team of
skilled athletes, not just one superstar.
Sample Thesis Statements (continued)
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Topic: Middle East Conflict
Thesis: Different Moslem ideologies make Israeli-Palestinian
peace difficult.
Topic: Cuban Missile Crisis
Thesis: Kennedy’s handling of the Cuban missile crisis was
good foreign policy.
Topic: Iran
Thesis: Three major issues are related to the crisis in Iran.
Thesis Statement
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A good thesis statement IS
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A declarative sentence that states clearly and
concisely the main point that the author wishes to
make.
Thesis Statement
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An excellent thesis statement
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Is NOT a statement of fact, a personal opinion, a
vague generalization, or a question
Is a declarative statement that states the main
point of the essay
Is something worth saying
SUPPORTING TOPICS
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To find support for your thesis statement:
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Write down the tentative thesis statement
List as many supporting topics as you can
Select the ones that seem the most promising
Do preliminary reading to locate supporting
information for your topic
As you read, add or delete information, depending
on what you find
Locate Sources
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There are two types of sources – primary and
secondary
A primary source is an original text, document,
interview, speech, or letter. It is not someone’s
comments on or analysis of a text; it is the text itself.
A secondary source is NOT an original text or
document; rather, it is someone’s comments or an
analysis of a primary source
Locate Sources
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Explore library sources
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Use the online catalog to locate books in the
library
Use the reference section to find information and
sources: encyclopedias, biographical information,
atlases, almanacs, dictionaries, quotations,
specialized books
Look for relevant newspaper and magazine
articles
Evaluate internet sources
Internet Sources
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Evaluate internet sources carefully
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Who wrote the Web page? How qualified or
knowledgeable is the writer? Is the writer an
expert or a professional working in the area the
Web site discusses?
Internet Sources - #2
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How accurate is the information? Does the Web
page give facts or just the writer’s opinions?
Verify the given information.
How up-to-date is the information?
Is the information biased (slanted toward one
point of view), or are both sides of an issue
presented objectively and fairly?
Note cards
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Write a heading – a key word or phrase – at
the top of the note card and underline it. The
heading indicates the main idea discussed on
the note card. Usually the heading is one of
the topics you will use in your working outline.
Make a conscious effort to use your own
words when you take notes. Use
abbreviations and symbols.
Note cards - #2
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Enclose direct quotations in large quotation
marks. Make sure you have quoted word for
word, EXACTLY as the author wrote it. If you
wish to leave out material, you must do so by
inserting ellipses (…) at the appropriate point.
At the bottom of each note card, write the
page number where you found the
information
Double check each note card to see that you
have written the source number and page
numbers. Without these the material will be
useless because you may not find the
information again.
Evaluate Note Cards
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Sort your note cards into stacks having the
same heading
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Some stacks may be short, some tall. If you
have a great many cards under one heading,
perhaps you should divide them into two or three
more manageable subheadings
Take time to reread each note card. Make sure
your headings are right. You may find cards that
might better be classified under different
headings.
Evaluate Note Cards - #2
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Evaluate your note cards
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Be selective: Do you have too much information
on one subject? Use only the best – the most
interesting, the most pertinent, the most
persuasive.
Fill in the gaps: If there is not enough information
in some stacks go back and find more sources
and take more notes.
Topic/ Outline
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The key points about an outline are:
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It provides the structure for your paper
It allows you to see relationships among main
ideas and supporting facts
It changes – you should keep revising your outline
as your research and writing progress so that it
reflects new insights, deletions, modifications,
connections, and improvements
It is finished only when the paper is finished
Write a First Draft: The Introduction
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Write an introduction that attracts your
reader’s attention and clearly indicates what
your paper will be about. Include your thesis
statement in your introduction.
Write a First Draft: The Body
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Write the body of you paper.
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Keep very careful track of your sources. Insert your
bibliography source card number after ideas or quotations
that need to be acknowledged.
Write in the present tense. Use the past tense only to refer
to historical events.
Each paragraph in the body should include a topic
sentence that states a main idea. The rest of the
sentences should provide supporting details.
Write a First Draft: The Conclusion
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Write a conclusion that brings your paper to a
satisfying conclusion and says something
worthwhile.
Works Cited List
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Your Works Cited list should be an
alphabetical list of all the sources you have
referred to in your paper.
The Works Cited list should be at the end of
your research paper.
Bibliography Cards
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Record complete information for every source
you think you will use. Make a bibliography
card on a 3”x5” or 4”x6” index card for every
source you consult. On each card, you will
record the author, title, and publishing
information (place of publication, publisher,
date of publication, researcher’s source
number). MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW MLA
RULES!
How do I give credit and avoid
plagiarizing?
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Keep track of every source for every note.
Use quotation marks for word for word quotes.
Change most of the original into your own words
when you paraphrase, and list the source
immediately after.
Cite every source you use, every time you use it.
Put citations in the paper, in parentheses or in the
text itself.
List all publishing information at the end on a Works
Cited page.
Check list:
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Have I observed
 the rules of grammar and usage
 avoided run-ons or fragments
 misplaced modifiers
 passive voice
 lack of agreement between subjects and verbs, pronouns and
antecedents?
 capitalization and punctuation
 spelling carefully
Does my introductory paragraph include a clear, concise thesis statement
and a method of development?
Do my topic sentences connect to my thesis statement?
Do my body paragraphs support my thesis statement?
Does my conclusion remind the reader of my thesis statement?
Have I used transitions – words like however, then, on the other hand – to
improve the coherence and flow of my writing?
Final Manuscript
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Use 8 ½” x 11” white paper
Print on only one side of each piece of paper
Double-space
Use 1 inch margins a the top, bottom, and sides of
you paper
Indent each paragraph ½ inch (5 spaces) from the
left margin
Number each page in the center at the bottom
Place your Works Cited/ Bibliography page at the
end