Exploring a topic in depth . . .

From Reading to Writing As you read Macbeth,

several questions probably came to mind. Was

Macbeth a real person? Was treason a serious

threat to the monarch in Shakespeare’s day? Did

Banquo’s descendants ever rule Scotland?

Exploring a topic in depth . . .Out of these questions you might develop a

topic for a research report. A research report is

an academic paper in which you present

information you have gathered and synthesized

in exploring a subject.

B a s i c s i n a B o x

RUBRIC Standards for Writing

A successful research project should

• provide a strong introduction with a clear thesis statement

• use evidence from primary and secondary sources to develop and support ideas

• credit sources of information

• follow a logical pattern of organization, using transitions between ideas

• synthesize ideas with a satisfying conclusion

• provide a correctly formatted Works Cited list at the end of the paper

Research Report at a Glance

Writing Your Research Report 1 Prewriting and Exploring

Writing, like life itself, is a voyage of discovery.

Henry Miller

Writing, like life itself, is a voyage of discovery.

Henry Miller

To explore topics, you might begin by looking through the magazine section of the library, or think of movies you’ve seen or books you’ve read. Generate a list of interesting and researchable questions.

Planning Your Research Report

1. Choose a topic. What topic appeals to you most? What would you like to learn about it? You might make a cluster map with a general topic area in the center. Connect related ideas with lines and circles radiating outward.

air traffic controllers

new airports

aircraft noise

accidents

aviation

Planning Your Research Report

2. Narrow your topic. Is your topic too broad to cover in the research report you plan to write? How can you divide it into smaller subtopics? You may need to do some preliminary research as you narrow your topic.

3. Set on your goal. What do you want your writing to accomplish? Do you want simply to learn more about your subject, to prove a point, or to elicit a strong response from your audience?

Planning Your Research Report

4. Identify your purpose. Will your main purpose be to inform, to examine cause and effect, to compare and contrast, to analyze, or a combination of these?

5. Write a statement of controlling purpose. What will you focus on in your paper? Your controlling purpose will guide your research and give you direction as you work. Your controlling purpose should be flexible, so you can revise it as you continue your research.

Writing Your Research Report2 Researching

The best place to begin your search for

reliable information is the library. Consider

making a list of questions about your topic

that will help to guide your research. The

information you find will either be in primary

or secondary sources.

Writing Your Research Report2 Researching

Primary sources furnish eyewitness

accounts of events. Primary sources include

letters, journals, diaries, and historical

documents. Secondary sources present

information that is derived or compiled from

other sources. Encyclopedias, many books,

newspapers, and magazine articles are

examples of secondary sources.

Writing Your Research Report2 Researching

Evaluate Your Sources

Some sources of information are better than

others. Use these guidelines to evaluate

your sources.

To what extent is the author’s

viewpoint biased? Be sure to read

material from a variety of viewpoints.

Writing Your Research Report2 Researching

Is the source up-to-date? Certain

fields such as science, technology,

and medicine change rapidly. Use

recent information when researching

these fields.

Is the source reliable? Supermarket

tabloid newspapers, for example, are

not reliable sources of information.

Writing Your Research Report2 Researching

What is the intended audience? Is

the source written for young people,

for the general public, or for experts in

a particular field?

Writing Your Research Report2 Researching

Make Source Cards

When you have found information that is relevant to your topic, you will need to make source cards. Use index cards to record publishing information for each source you decide to use. Number each source card and refer to it when you take notes. You will use these source cards to credit sources in your report and to write your Works Cited page.

Writing Your Research Report2 Researching

Take Notes

Keeping your controlling purpose in mind,

take notes on pertinent information. Use a

separate index card for each piece of

information and write the number of the

source on each note card.

Writing Your Research Report2 Researching

Organize Your Material

Once you have gathered the information

from your sources, you can begin to

organize your notes. One way to do this is to

make a topic outline. Begin by grouping your

note cards into stacks of related material.

Determine the main idea of each stack.

Next, think about the best way to arrange

your stacks of note cards.

Writing Your Research Report2 Researching

Organize Your Material

Chronological order works well for

historical or biographical information,

although you may wish to try other

organizational patterns, such as

comparison-and-contrast order or cause-

and-effect order. Write your outline based

on the order of the main ideas and

subpoints in your stacks of notes.

Writing Your Research Report3 Drafting

Your report, like many other essays, will

begin with an introduction that states your

thesis and will end with a conclusion that

restates this thesis and summarizes your

main points. The largest part of your

report, the body, should explain and

support your topic.

Writing Your Research Report3 Drafting

Develop a Thesis Statement

When you finish your research, you

should have a good idea of what you

want your report to accomplish. Rework

your statement of controlling purpose into

a thesis statement that expresses the

main idea of your report.

Writing Your Research Report3 Drafting

Write Your Draft

In the drafting stage, concentrate on

getting your ideas on paper using your

own voice. Follow your outline and refer

to your note cards as you write.

Writing Your Research Report3 Drafting

Write Your Draft

Support your thesis. Use the information

from your sources creatively, analyzing,

synthesizing, making inferences, and

interpreting evidence to reach a

conclusion.

Writing Your Research Report3 Drafting

Write Your Draft

Document your sources. After each quotation, paraphrase, or summary in your paper, write in parentheses the author’s name (or the source title, if no name is given) and the page number. Use your note cards and source cards to identify the sources of information used in your report.

Writing Your Research Report3 Drafting

Evaluate Your Draft

Think about these questions as you review your draft.

How could I make my thesis statement clearer?

What additional support for my thesis can I provide in the body of the report?

Writing Your Research Report3 Drafting

Evaluate Your Draft

What material can I delete?

How can I organize my material more

effectively?

What material could I paraphrase

rather than quote directly?

Writing Your Research Report3 Drafting

Evaluate Your Draft

What facts and documentation do I need to check?

How can I better accomplish my purpose?

Writing Your Research Report4 Revising

TARGET SKILL

PARAGRAPH BUILDING

Writing has unity when all the sentences in a

paragraph support its central idea. As you

revise your research report, delete any

unrelated ideas.

Writing Your Research Report5 Editing

TARGET SKILL

SHIFTING VERB TENSE

Keep in mind that writers generally avoid

shifting verb tense in a paper. However, not

all shifts in verb tense are incorrect. A shift

in tense may be needed to show when an

action occurred in relation to another action.

Writing Your Research Report6 Making a Works Cited List

When you have finished revising, editing, and proofreading your report, make a Works Cited list and attach it to the end of your paper.