1、,The Research Paper -Process,1. Choosing a topic (1) Selecting a general topic (2) Reading and thinking (3) Narrowing down the scope of your topic to a facet or facets which can be developed into a research paper. (4) Formulating the final topic 2. Collecting Information (1) Using the library (2) Re

2、ading (3) Taking notes,3. Analyzing the information, organizing ideas and working out an outline,3.1 The thesis statement A thesis statement is a single sentence that expresses your main point of view toward your topic. It serves as a guideline to your paper. What you are going to write should cente

3、r around it, support it, bear it out, and disprove arguments against it. 3.1.1 Determine what kind of paper you are writing before you write the thesis statement: An analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown an

4、d evaluation to the audience. An expository (explanatory) paper explains something to the audience. An argumentative paper makes a claim about a topic and justifies this claim with specific evidence. The claim could be an opinion, a policy proposal, an evaluation, a cause-and-effect statement, or an

5、 interpretation. The goal of the argumentative paper is to convince the audience that the claim is true based on the evidence provided. i,2. Your thesis statement should be specificit should cover only what you will discuss in your paper and should be supported with specific evidence. 3. The thesis

6、statement usually appears at the end of the first paragraph of a paper. 4. Your topic may change as you write, so you may need to revise your thesis statement to reflect exactly what you have discussed in the paper.,Thesis Statement Examples,An analysis of the college admission process reveals one c

7、hallenge facing counselors: accepting students with high test scores or students with strong extracurricular backgrounds. The paper that follows should: explain the analysis of the college admission process explain the challenge facing admissions counselors,Example of an expository (explanatory) the

8、sis statement: The life of the typical college student is characterized by time spent studying, attending class, and socializing with peers. The paper that follows should: explain how students spend their time studying, attending class, and socializing with peers,Example of an argumentative thesis s

9、tatement: High school graduates should be required to take a year off to pursue community service projects before entering college in order to increase their maturity and global awareness. The paper that follows should: present an argument and give evidence to support the claim that students should

10、pursue community projects before entering college,3.2 Outlining,Four suggestions: Parallelism : Each heading and subheading should preserve parallel structure. If the first heading is a verb, the second heading should be a verb. e.g. I. Choose Desired Colleges II. Prepare Application Coordination :

11、All the information contained in Heading 1 should have the same significance as the information contained in Heading 2. The same goes for the subheadings (which should be less significant than the headings). e.g. I. Visit and evaluate college campuses II. Visit and evaluate college websites A. Note

12、important statistics B. Look for interesting classes,Subordination : The information in the headings should be more general, while the information in the subheadings should be more specific. e.g. I. Describe an influential person in your life A. Favorite high school teacher B. Grandparent (A favorit

13、e teacher and grandparent are specific examples from the generalized category of influential people in your life.) Division : Each heading should be divided into 2 or more parts. e.g. I. Compile resume A. List relevant coursework B. List work experience C. List volunteer experience,Examples of outli

14、nes : a.topic outline b. sentence outline,Topic: The School Library Thesis: The library plays a very important part in a students life Outline: I. A student has to borrow books from the library. A. He needs reference books for his elective courses. B. He may want to read novels, stories and plays. I

15、I. He reads newspapers and magazines in the library. A. Many new magazines are on display in the First-Reading-Room. B. There are newspapers from all provinces. C. Back numbers may be borrowed at the counter. III. He nees the library all the more in his junior and senior years. A. The library provid

16、es him with books for his research. B. He would not be able to write his graduation paper without using the library.,4. Writing the First Draft,4. 1. Using your own words 4.2 Using the proper tenses 4.3. Using facts and views 4.4. Paying attention to logic and the organziation 4.5. Making your tone

17、objective rather than personal 4.6. Choosing the right style,5. Revising the draft and Finalizing the Paper,Make sure that your paper has Unity Coherence Clarity Also, pay attention to your language, such as brevity in wording and variety in sentence patterns Finally, see to it that you correct all

18、the technical errors in your draft, including punctuation, grammar, spelling and the format of your notes and bibliography. Make a clean copy of your final draft, proofread it carefully and have all the mistakes corrected. And, now, your research paper is ready.,In the following weeks (1316th ), you are required to write a paper of about 1000 words. The outline is available. F