Research Paper

Research Paper

In this essay, you will begin to think about your role as a member of the university community. As you see yourself moving towards a position on the topic, you should try to document that movement. What arguments or positions are convincing, and why? Your ultimate goal, though, is not to win a debate but to join a scholarly conversation and to use writing as a way of coming to know.

In your paper, you should do the following:

· Clearly articulate a research question (which may or may not be the initial question you posed in the “Research Question” Assignment);

· Show how you have responded to or answered this question through a thesis statement that communicates your position;

· Support your position with evidence that you have gathered and synthesized;

· Introduce and respond to positions that are different from yours, and include rebuttal when necessary;

· Show a constant concern for clear and cohesive organization, which includes writing paragraphs with identifiable topic sentences and transitional sentences;

· Display a solid grasp of MLA citation style and include a Works Cited page; and

· Begin to develop a consistent voice and style.

Guidelines

The final paper must be 8 pages, though you are free to write a longer paper. Please follow the formatting guidelines outlined on your syllabus in the section titled "Guidelines for Typewritten Work." Refer to Easy Access MLA citation and formatting styles. Be sure to include a writer's memo with this assignment.

Tips on the Writing Process

Although the purpose of this paper is to gain some facility with the research process, that process is always unstable. Do not be surprised if you find your position on the topic shifting as you write, or if—when you are close to the end of your paper—you feel more in the middle regarding your topic.

Many writers find it helpful to write the body of the paper before they write the introduction and thesis, so that they are not so committed to a position in the beginning that they have trouble moving away from it later when they find new evidence or shift away from their original position. You might want to draft your paper with a loose introduction and working thesis (or wait to develop a thesis until later in the drafting process), and keep an open mind to your evidence as you work through it.

A final tip: a great way to organize a paper is to write a solid draft first and then construct a "reverse outline," which is a fancy way of saying that you make an outline after your write the paper. This outline need not be extensive. Jot down your working thesis, write a number for each paragraph in your paper, and then next to each number, either write out your topic sentences/main points or briefly sketch them. This method helps you to see whether your paragraphs are ordered logically. Can you explain why you've put each paragraph next to the one that comes before and after it, for instance? This process also helps you to make sure that each paragraph has a main point that the sentences in that paragraph support. In your final draft, each paragraph should have a topic sentence that a) announces the paragraph's main point, and b) relates back to your working thesis and helps your paper along in some way. Your topic sentences will generally be the first sentence of each paragraph and will often function as transitional sentences as well. This may seem like a big role for one sentence, but in time, the process of writing topic sentences will seem more natural. Whether you decide to create a reverse outline or not, be sure that your paper has a clear focus, and that it persuades the reader of its main point in an organized manner.