Description
Steps for Writing your Research Paper
Choose a topic you love. You will be spending a lot of time with this topic, so make your life easier and happier by picking a topic to work with that you genuinely care about.
Figure out pros and cons of an issue related to your topic. Boil down what you’re going to research. The narrower your subject, the easier the task.
Choose which side you want to argue for.
Research both the pros and cons. Collect evidence for your argument, as well as for the opposing viewpoint. You need to understand, acknowledge, and respect the opposing viewpoint. Again, collect evidence for both sides.
Create an outline.
Your Outline Will Look Something Like This:
Introductory Paragraph
Here you’ll give the context for your argument. What’s the situation? What’s the background? What’s the issue? You will include a thesis statement that includes your argument. Your thesis statement will look something like this:
“I believe X because , , and __.” (When you revise your paper, you will probably want to delete the “I believe” part of the sentence and just start with, “X because , , and .”)
II. First Body Paragraph(s)
Start with a Topic Sentence that encapsulates the point you discuss in this paragraph. For example, what is the issue you will be looking at in this part of your paper? Then you might write a sentence expressing a main point of the opposing side regarding that point. Provide a piece of research to support this viewpoint. (This could be a quote, a statistic, or piece of research from an article.) Then write a statement that expresses your side of that point. You will crush the opposing viewpoint by hammering it with at least three points, pieces of evidence, quotes, statistics, historical data, etc. in support of your statement.
In your outline, this pattern will look like this:
II. First Body Paragraph(s)
Topic Sentence (what point are you discussing in this paragraph?)
Opposing viewpoint on this point
Statistic, quote, data, research, etc. to support this viewpoint
Your viewpoint on this point
Statistic, quote, data, research, etc.
A second piece of evidence to support your point of view
A third piece of evidence to support your point of view
III. Second Body Paragraph(s)
Topic Sentence (what is the next point you are discussing in your paper?)
Opposing viewpoint on this point
Statistic, quote, data, research, etc. to support this viewpoint
Your viewpoint on this point
Statistic, quote, data, research, etc.
Second piece of evidence supporting your point of view
Third piece of evidence supporting your point of view
IV. Third Body Paragraph(s)
Topic Sentence (what is the last point you are discussing in your paper?)
Opposing viewpoint on this point
Statistic, quote, data, research, etc. to support this viewpoint
Your viewpoint on this point
Statistic, quote, data, research, etc.
Second piece of evidence supporting your point of view
Third piece of evidence supporting your point of view
V. Concluding Paragraph
Topic Sentence (What is the forecast for this issue? Where is this situation headed?)
Opposing viewpoint believes it’s going to win
Quote, progress being made toward, etc.
Your belief that in order to ensure your point of view, several things need to be done. List the action steps needed to be taken.
A.
B.
C.
Finish with a whopper of a concluding sentence. Wrap the whole thing up in a way that packs a punch with your reader. This is the clincher. Here’s where you bang in the last nail on the coffin of the opposing argument.
Finally, you will have a list of sources cited in your paper. These sources will be listed alphabetically by author, in MLA format. You will have at least 6-8 sources, it’s great to have more. This is a separate page at the end of your paper and does not count towards your final page count.