Planning a Research Paper
Tess Stockslager
Director,
Center for Writing and Languages
What we’ll cover today
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Planning: the big picture
Topic selection
Thesis statement
Outlining
Choosing sources
Integrating sources
First step: Make a plan.
• Read instructions early and carefully.
• Ask questions if necessary.
• Create your own deadlines for the outline,
notes, first page, first draft, etc.
• Build in time to receive feedback from the
Online Writing Center.
Choosing a Topic
• Always follow the assignment instructions.
• Start with what interests you, then do some
preliminary research.
• You can get topic ideas from course reading,
lectures, classmates’ comments, or things
that interest you outside of class (reading,
movies, your job, etc.).
Go narrow!
• Broad topics mean information overload
and (usually) shallow papers.
• Take your initial idea and make it as narrow
as you can.
• Jesus his earthly life his childhood
temple incident what Jesus meant by “my
father’s business”
Creating a Thesis Statement
• Your paper’s main argument and each main
point, presented in brief
• Might be called a hypothesis or claim
• Usually belongs near the beginning of the
paper, but not the first sentence
A thesis statement…
• Is usually a single sentence, but a long one.
• Should be arguable—not a mere statement of
fact.
• States your opinion, but backs it up with
reasons (and doesn’t use the word “I”).
• Should provide your readers with a road map
for the rest of the paper.
In this paper, I’m going to show why I support
candidate A over candidate B.
• It gives no indication of the main points of the paper,
or the author’s reasons for his or her position.
• Why this author supports the candidate in question
is a topic for an editorial-type essay, not an academic
paper.
• *The author has used a tactic known as
“announcing,” which is acceptable in some
disciplines but generally not in the humanities
(English, history, etc.).
Because of his well-informed strategies for eradicating organized
crime, his reformist stance on government-level corruption, and
his extensive experience in the legal profession, Harvey Dent is
the stronger of the two candidates for district attorney.
• Clear reasons for the position are given.
• The focus has shifted from the author’s personal views to the
strength of the candidate himself.
• The author’s more subtle presence has also solved the problem
of announcing.
Outline Misconceptions
• Must include Roman numerals.
Wrong. You choose the format.
• Must be completed before you begin writing
and can never change.
Wrong. It helps to have some sort of outline
before you begin, but this is a fluid document.
Outlining Secrets
• If you’ve already written a thesis statement,
you’ve already got your main outline points.
• If you write a really thorough outline, you’ve
pretty much written your paper. You just need
to add transitions and incorporate sources.
• Outline points can also turn into headings
(APA) or make up the table of contents
(Turabian).
Your outline: Your paper’s keystone
• Whatever your outline looks like, keep it in a
place where you’ll see it. This will…
– Keep you motivated.
– Prevent you from going off topic.
– Help you move forward when you get stuck.
Choosing Sources
• You should be doing research throughout the
whole process.
• Some sources give you basic information and
help you narrow your topic. (This is where
encyclopedias can be helpful.)
• Other sources (specific, in-depth, “scholarly,”
“peer-reviewed”) strengthen your argument.
Important note on citation
• If words or ideas from a source appear directly
in your paper, you must cite that source.
• If you used a source early on to inform you
about a topic, but you end up not really using
the ideas in your paper, check with your
professor as to whether you should cite it.
Where to look for sources
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Talk to your professor.
Use the sources that your other sources cite.
Use the Jerry Falwell Library’s resources.
Browse a local library or bookstore.
Talk to others interested in the topic.
Evaluating Sources
• Again, follow the assignment instructions.
• Learn what an appropriate source looks like in
your field.
• Be especially careful with encyclopedias,
websites, older sources, and popular works.
• Find out what you can about the author. Is this
person qualified to be writing on this topic?
• Be aware of hidden assumptions and biases.
Integrating Sources
• Don’t try to cite a source you haven’t read
and understood.
• But don’t overwhelm yourself—e.g., you
might not need to read the entire book.
• As you read, take meaningful notes. Always
jot down the page number!
Three ways to integrate a source
• Quotation: Exact words of the source. Enclosed
in quotation marks.
• Paraphrase: Ideas are from the source, but the
words and sentence structure are your own.
• Summary: Like a paraphrase except that you’re
hitting the main points only. A summary is
shorter than the original text.
How not to paraphrase
• Choose a sentence that sounds good. While
keeping the book open on your desk, look up a
synonym for each word.
• This takes forever.
• The wording will be awkward.
• If the sentence structure remains the same as
in the original, this is plagiarism.
How to paraphrase
• Choose a short section of text and read it until
you understand it.
• Put the book/article away.
• How would you explain this concept to
someone? Write that down.
• Revise to ensure accuracy (check the original)
and academic language.
Introducing Quotations
• A quote shouldn’t hang out by itself.
• Either add a signal tag (According to
Thomas, “Old age should burn and rage at
close of day.”)
• …or integrate the quote into a sentence. (He
warns his readers not to “go gentle into that
good night.”)
More on integrating sources
• Keep summaries short.
• Don’t quote too much. Most of the paper
should be in your own words.
• Whether you quote, paraphrase, or
summarize, you need to include a proper
citation according to the assigned style.
Want more?
• www.liberty.edu/onlinewritingcenter
• Free resources: web guides, worksheets,
videos, links
• One-to-one tutoring: written feedback or
live appointments via Skype