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HomeWriter'sHandbook:WritingaResearchPaper
ResumeWritingTips
CoverLetters
Althoughthislistsuggeststhatthereisasimple,linearprocesstowritingsuch
apaper,theactualprocessofwritingaresearchpaperisoftenamessyand
recursiveone,sopleaseusethisoutlineasaflexibleguide.
BusinessLetters
Literary Analysis Papers
ReadingPoetry
UsingLiteraryQuotations
1. Discovering,Narrowing,andFocusingaResearchableTopic
PlayReviews
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Finding,Selecting,andReadingSources
Grouping,Sequencing,andDocumentingInformation
WritinganOutlineandaProspectusforYourself
WritingtheIntroduction
WritingtheBody
WritingtheConclusion
RevisingtheFinalDraft
Discovering,Narrowing,andFocusinga
ResearchableTopic
Trytofindatopicthattrulyinterestsyou
Trywritingyourwaytoatopic
Talkwithyourcourseinstructorandclassmatesaboutyourtopic
Poseyourtopicasaquestiontobeansweredoraproblemtobesolved
Finding,Selecting,andReadingSources
Youwillneedtolookatthefollowingtypesofsources:
librarycatalog,periodicalindexes,bibliographies,suggestionsfromyour
instructor
primaryvs.secondarysources
journals,books,otherdocuments
Grouping,Sequencing,andDocumenting
Information
Thefollowingsystemswillhelpkeepyouorganized:
asystemfornotingsourcesonbibliographycards
asystemfororganizingmaterialaccordingtoitsrelativeimportance
asystemfortakingnotes
WritinganOutlineandaProspectusforYourself
Considerthefollowingquestions:
Whatisthetopic?
Whyisitsignificant?
Whatbackgroundmaterialisrelevant?
Whatismythesisorpurposestatement?
Whatorganizationalplanwillbestsupportmypurpose?
top
WritingtheIntroduction
Intheintroductionyouwillneedtodothefollowingthings:
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AcademicandProfessionalWriting:WritingaResearchPaper
presentrelevantbackgroundorcontextualmaterial
definetermsorconceptswhennecessary
explainthefocusofthepaperandyourspecificpurpose
revealyourplanoforganization
WritingtheBody
Useyouroutlineandprospectusasflexibleguides
Buildyouressayaroundpointsyouwanttomake(i.e.,don'tletyoursources
organizeyourpaper)
Integrateyoursourcesintoyourdiscussion
Summarize,analyze,explain,andevaluatepublishedworkratherthanmerely
reportingit
Moveupanddownthe"ladderofabstraction"fromgeneralizationtovarying
levelsofdetailbacktogeneralization
top
WritingtheConclusion
Iftheargumentorpointofyourpaperiscomplex,youmayneedtosummarize
theargumentforyourreader.
Ifpriortoyourconclusionyouhavenotyetexplainedthesignificanceofyour
findingsorifyouareproceedinginductively,usetheendofyourpapertoadd
yourpointsup,toexplaintheirsignificance.
Movefromadetailedtoagenerallevelofconsiderationthatreturnsthetopicto
thecontextprovidedbytheintroduction.
Perhapssuggestwhataboutthistopicneedsfurtherresearch.
RevisingtheFinalDraft
Checkoverallorganization:logicalflowofintroduction,coherenceanddepth
ofdiscussioninbody,effectivenessofconclusion.
Paragraphlevelconcerns:topicsentences,sequenceofideaswithin
paragraphs,useofdetailstosupportgeneralizations,summarysentenceswhere
necessary,useoftransitionswithinandbetweenparagraphs.
Sentencelevelconcerns:sentencestructure,wordchoices,punctuation,
spelling.
Documentation:consistentuseofonesystem,citationofallmaterialnot
consideredcommonknowledge,appropriateuseofendnotesorfootnotes,
accuracyoflistofworkscited.
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Lastupdated:August29,2014
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2014BoardofRegentsoftheUniversityofWisconsinSystem
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