W R I T I N G E F F E C T I V E R E S E A RC H PA P E R S

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO:

A+

General Information: Intro, Topic Sentence, etc.

Focusing Direction of Paper (Telling)

More Specific (Showing)

Supporting Details

Conclusion(Summarize

)

Info from Purdue Owl

STEP 1. CHOOSING A TOPIC

• WHAT IS YOUR TOPIC?

• Is it a topic assigned by the teacher?

• If the topic is your choice, what interests you?

• Why is your topic..

Interesting?Necessary?Important?

STEP 2. COLLECT RESOURCES

• EVALUATE YOUR RESEARCH

• Are they from reliable sources?

• Example: Wikipedia is not a reliable source,

• A URL ending in .gov or .edu are typically reliable.

• TAKE NOTES ON YOUR SOURCES

• Only note the useful information while reading.

• Start to think about some main supports for your paper.

• ORGANIZE YOUR INFORMATION

• By organizing your research, you make the process of

actually writing the paper a lot easier!

EXAMPLES:

• Source Cards

• Put supporting evidence/quotes on notecards/flashcards. This

way, you can reorganize them in different orders to what makes

the most sense as you go.

• Outline

• An outline can also be useful in organizing support evidence.

• Organizes points into main points and what their supporting

evidence is.

NOW, WRITING THE PAPER(YOU ARE WELL PREPARED FOR THIS!! )

STEP 3. WRITING A THESIS

• THESIS: AN ORGANIZATION OF THREE MAIN POINTS

THAT OUTLINES THE MEANING OF YOUR PAPER.

• ORGANIZATION:

• Strongest point at the end, hide the weakest in the middle.

• There are many ways to write this!

• “____ because of X, Y, and Z.”

• “X, Y, and Z lead to _____.”

• Put thesis at the end of the introductory paragraph.

STEP 4. FORMING BODY PARAGRAPHS

• Match your body paragraphs with the

organization of your thesis:

• Example: “_______ because of X, Y, and Z.”

• First Body Paragraph: X

• Supporting evidence here.

• Second Body Paragraph: Y

• Supporting evidence here.

• Third Body Paragraph: Z

• Supporting evidence here.

Here, the citation is at the end.

Your supporting evidence in your body paragraphs

MUST BE CITED (if it is not your original thought or idea)

EXAMPLE:

1. “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go” (Seuss 23).

2. This point can be seen in Dr. Suess’s quote, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go”(23).

Take a look

at the

PERIODS!This citation is

split, with the

authors name at

the beginning, and

the page # at the

end..

STEP 5. CREATING A WORKS CITED PAGE OR A BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Not only is it important to include in-text citations

of your research, but also to organize them at the

end of your document in the form of a works cited

page or a bibliography.

• For help with citations, please visit:

• Purdue Owl's Guide to MLA Citations (In-Text and Works Ci

ted Pages)

YOU’RE NOT DONE YET!Don’t forget to reread your paper.

Proofread for spelling and grammatical errors.

Have a peer look over your work for things you may have missed, and

check his/hers too!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!YOU’RE READY TO WRITE A RESEARCH PAPER!