Types of Writing
Research Paper
Information on the research paper comes from Chris Thaiss' Write to the Limit (Fort Worth: Holt, Rinehart and Winston), 215-306. For more exact directions, please consult your professor's assignment.
Writing a research paper is a process that involves several steps. First, you must choose a topic, based on your assignment or an interest you've developed on your own. It usually helps to start with a question that your research project will answer, such as: "What caused the 1987 stock market crash? How do the poems of John Keats reflect incidents in his life? How can lasers be used in medicine?" (Thaiss, 1991, p. 219).
The next step is searching out and discovering information about the question you've decided to research. This necessitates a trip to the library to find books and articles about your subject--but also consider other sources, such as those knowledgeable in your field or an organization that might have information that would help you. Choose a method of taking notes that works for you: Thaiss presents index cards, notebooks, or computer files as options for researchers. Another aid may be a research log, which includes dated entries about what information you researched, where you found it, and what you think about the topic after reading that source.
Once you have all the information that you need, write out a rough outline or list of what you want to include in the paper. After writing the first draft of the paper, based on that outline, have others read and give you feedback. Don't forget the thesis statement, which both states what you have discovered about your topic as well as how the paper will be organized. Also, remember to document sources correctly, avoiding plagiarism. Use others' comments to support your own, but don't make the paper an endless string of quotes from your sources, with little of your own ideas.
After receiving feedback, carefully revise your paper, trying to consider
it from the perspective of a reader. If you have questions on any step
of the process, ask your classmates and/or teacher for help.