Research

1
Research

• Organization

2
Requirements

• 6- 8 pages of writing
• Does not include appendix, works cited, etc.
• Order 1st page includes heading, paper pages
  2-8, appendices (if used), works cited page

3
Your Reader

• Assume that your reader is well-educated, but
  does not know much about your subject.
• Your goal is to lead the reader through the major
  theories, history, and development of any issues
  related to your topic
• You must LEAD your reader. In other words, you
  need to set a clear path for him/her to follow.

4
Your topic

• Make sure you know everything about your topic.
  This will help you decide what comes first, what
  comes second, etc.
• Re-read your paper. Do you refer to anything that
  you have not yet introduced? If so, fix it.

5
Terms

• Before using terms, make sure you have defined
  them. Think about what terms are used in relation
  to your topic that the average person may not be
  familiar with (this includes acronyms)
• To do now Make a list of key terms in your
  paper, and define them for a lay person.
• While writing before using any of the terms you
  just listed, explain what it means in an
  appositive
• Ex
• The Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA,
  states that.
• Partial term abortion, which is when blah blah
  blah, is an issue of major contention

6
To Start

• At the beginning of your paper, you should
  explain your topic. Do not just jump into it.
  Give the reader some context for it.
• After explaining what your topic is, you can then
  move on to when the topic first became an issue
  (e.g. While xyz had been an issue for thousands
  of years, it has only come to the forefront of
  the American consciousness within the last 30
  years. The ancient ltinsert culture heregt
  performed xyz in the year 200 b.c., ltrest of
  history heregt. It was in 1975 that the issue
  became a hot topic in America. In that year
  ltinsert exciting happenings heregt).

7
Stay grounded

• Give history in chronological order. Do not skip
  back and forth in time
• Give a context for everything. For instance, if
  youre talking about America, say in America or
  to Americans. In other words, do not skip back
  and forth between places, either.

8
Introduce your theorists

• Make it clear where (i.e. from whom) every bit of
  information is coming from. If it is one
  theorists opinion, do not put it in your own
  words without first stating that it is someone
  elses theory. If you do, it sounds like thats
  what you think.
• Put it in context According to Joe Jones, a
  leading environmentalist, ltinsert his opinion
  heregt. However, Marly Madison, who owns a logging
  company, disagrees. She feels that, in fact,
  ltinsert her opinion heregt.

9
Dont skip around

• Make sure your organization is logical. You may
  choose to organize by theory. If so, make it
  clear you are talking about one aspect, and give
  both sides of the argument. When moving on, make
  sure its clear that the topic is changing.
• Clearly differentiate between theories.
• Clearly differentiate between sides of the issue.
• If you choose to organize by all pros followed by
  all cons, make that clear as well. Make sure your
  reader knows youre switching to a new side.