Research and writing guide

Reading and Refining

To make the most of your time, you must learn to read and take notes effectively.  Skim through your material first and decide which aspects of your topic will require serious reading. Serious reading will help you gather the information necessary to write your paper quickly and effectively.

Sources that provide an overview can be very useful in suggesting approaches you might take. As you read, pay attention to what sources other people have been using. Different authors often refer to the same sources. When authors, books, or articles are cited often, take special note of them. This repetition should be a clue that these persons or works are important and can be useful for your paper.

As you delve further into your topic, you will refine or modify your topic. This process will continue until you write the last draft of your paper. As you refine your paper's topic, you must also set its tone. To do this, decide whether your goal is to analyze, persuade, or inform your reader. Then, write something down. Even a few words will help you think clearly and keep you on track. As you continue to refine your topic, these words will develop into an outline and help you form the thesis of your paper. Lastly, think of questions that you would want your research to address.  They will provide a sense of direction and help you maintain focus as you sort through and evaluate your sources and tie your ideas together.

Note-Taking

Note-taking is essential to research; it is a critical skill. To be a good note-taker, you must set aside a specific amount of time so you can work without distractions. You must also organize your thoughts quickly. When taking notes, you should steer between recording too much and recording too little. In other words, try to be both thorough and concise. But above all, it is imperative that you take accurate notes. Careful note-taking will help you avoid the problem of plagiarism.

You can write your notes on a set of index cards. Index cards make it easy to arrange and rearrange information and can be very conducive to the organization of your paper.  You can also take notes in a notebook, beginning every entry on a fresh new page. You can also use letter- or legal-size sheets, and clip them together in any way you’d like. Using a word processor, such as Microsoft Word will help save you time and improve the accuracy of your notes upon transcribing notes. When you do not have access to a computer, it is advisable for you to take notes by hand and transfer them on to your computer at a later time.

Whether you summarize, paraphrase or quote directly, be sure that you keep an accurate record of the exact page numbers and location where the material was found on your notes.

• For books: jot down the author, title, edition (if any), publisher, place and year of publication, and exact pages on which you find your material.
• For articles: jot down the author and title of the article; the title of the periodical (journal, magazine, newspaper); its volume, issue number, and date; and the exact pages on which you find your material.
• For websites: jot down the name of the author and title of the webpage; the date you accessed it and the URL from where you retrieved the information.

Organization

Knowing how a paper is organized will help you organize your thoughts.  An organized paper has three main parts.

• The introductory section is where you introduce your topic, explain  why it is important or interesting, and outline the game plan for the rest of the paper.
• The middle content or body section is where you build your argument in detail and work toward an answer to your original question.  Pretend you are a lawyer introducing evidence that supports your case and helping the jury (reader) see how the evidence leads to your conclusion.
• The conclusion is where you state your principal answer to the original question and briefly review the supporting evidence.  A good way to finish is to indicate some questions that remain unanswered.  You may wish to suggest possible directions for further research on this topic or broader implications of the problem you have discussed.

Writing an Outline

To produce a clear and logical paper, you should construct an outline before you begin to write.  An outline will help you get an overview of your paper and figure out how each of its sections relates to the others. It will make it easier for you to keep track of the important aspects of your topic and focus your research on relevant points. It will also help you make sure that your argument follows logically from the facts, information, and opinions found during your research.

As you write your outline, you can begin to shape the information you have into a thesis statement for your paper.  A thesis statement is a single sentence that formulates both your topic and your point of view.  It is your answer to the central question or problem you have raised.  Writing this statement will enable you to see where you are heading and remain on a productive path as you plan and write your paper.

As you finalize your outline, carefully review your notes to see how strongly they will support the various points you want to make. Delete everything that is irrelevant to your thesis statement, or, that might weaken your argument.  Keep only the ideas and information that will help you accomplish what you set out to do, and that will lead your readers to care about your investigation, presentation, and conclusions. Your final outline need not be written in complete sentences, but it should contain your key thoughts and information sources.  It should be detailed enough to guide you through the first draft of your paper. 

Writing a Paper

After you have written an outline, your thoughts may be easily developed into clear sentences and paragraphs.  After you write the first draft of  your paper, carefully reread and revise it until you are ready to put it into its final form which should represent your best effort. In revising, you may want to add, eliminate, or rearrange material.  Using a word processor will make this process easier. Be sure to save your material frequently and create a backup disk.

In your paper, you will create an argument that moves from a reasonable beginning to a sensible conclusion.  Your paper will, in effect, answer the following questions:

•  Why is the question I'm asking interesting and/or important?
•  What have I found that leads to the answer I believe is most persuasive or logical?
•  What are the implications of my answer for a broader understanding of the topic and for questions that remain unanswered?

The main goal of your paper is to communicate. Your paper should be your own synthesis of what you have learned from several sources. Do not simply repeat what you have read. Your paper should express your own educated point of view. It should reflect, not emotions or value judgements, but the ideas you have formed as a result of your reading and research.

For more help on grammar and writing, check out the links put together by the Resource Center staff.