The Research Paper
Definition
• A research paper is a piece of academic writing
that requires a more abstract, critical, and
thoughtful level of inquiry than you might be
used to.
• Writing a research paper involves (1) first
familiarizing yourself with the works of "experts"-for example, on the page, on the internet, or in
the flesh through personal interviews--to build
upon what you know about a subject and then
(2) comparing their thoughts on the topic with
your own.
You'll end up using relevant information--facts
and/or opinions--from these expert sources, these
"others," to support the topic you have been given
or chosen to explore. Then the final product will be
a unique and appropriate integration of evidence
you have located outside yourself and personal
insights generated from your own internal think
tank--your mind.
For this essay, you will use 1) the play (I expect
several direct references and direct quotes); 2)
four of the articles I provide
Sources
• Bad sources a bad paper make.
• You must use the sources I provide:
paraphasals (referenced) and direct quotations.
• Reference five (two provided) sources between
3 and 4 times each; a combination of direct
quotes & paraphrased information.
The Final Product
• The final product will be a unique and appropriate
integration of evidence you have located outside
yourself and personal insights.
• It is a research paper. You MUST rely on the research. If
you do not, despite the other qualities of your paper, you
are not meeting the criteria for this assignment and will
not get a passing mark.
• I do want to see your thoughts and analysis, but this is
not a reflective paper; it is based in research.
How to Use Sources
• The inclusion of sources isn't just some
arbitrary “can-you-use-the-library?” test in
disguise, but complements your own ideas
by providing academic context and
credibility to what you are asserting. No
teacher or professor will be marking what
the published experts have to say, only
how well you use what the experts have to
say to advance your paper's purpose.
Be Careful…
• Note: A mere review of the academic
"literature" in a field--i.e. a summary of the
existing body of knowledge on your
subject--does not make a research paper.
The two main types: To Analyze
or to Argue? That is the
question.
• Whether your paper is ANALYTICAL (uses
evidence to analyze facets of an issue) or
ARGUMENTATIVE (uses evidence to
attempt to convince the reader of your
particular stance on a debatable topic), is
definitely going to have a bearing on your
strategy from here on in. In fact, it will
determine your paper's purpose.
Analytical Papers
• "To analyze means to break a topic or concept
down into its parts in order to inspect and
understand it, and to restructure those parts in a
way that makes sense to you. In an analytical
research paper, you do research to become an
expert on a topic so that you can restructure and
present the parts of the topic from your own
perspective.”
• (SUNY Empire State College Writer's Complex)
Purpose
• Go into the researching stage with a specific
topic about which you have not made any kind of
conclusions.
• Your task is to survey the information and views
already out there--both before and once you
become familiar with the topic. That will require
critical thinking and reading, plus evaluation
of the resources you handle.
• By the end of the paper you will be able to
contribute your own thoughts to the academic
discussion by drawing some conclusions about
the topic you have just analyzed.
Critical Thinking
• In a research or reading context it means
not considering any view as "truth" simply
because a source has been published or
seems to be an expert.
• It requires you to maintain some objectivity
and ask questions to yourself as you read
(or watch or listen).
• Use what you find to draw your own
conclusions and to show your insight.
Argumentative (or Persuasive)
Papers
• In addition to the concept of critical
thinking (which any paper at the university
level will demand of you), another widelyused term at the college level which you
may or may not be familiar with in its
academic context, is the term argument.
This is the basis of the persuasive kind of
research paper.
Purpose?
• In direct contrast to the analytical paper,
your approach here is to take a stand on
an issue and use evidence to back-up
your stance.
• You are not just exploring a topic.
An Example
• For an ANALYTICAL research paper, let's
say you have decided to explore "the
purpose of madness in Renaissance
tragedies." You don't have an answer in
mind to turn that into a sentence (that
wouldn't be following the purpose of your
paper!) so you do some research to locate
instances of insanity in various plays.
• The body of the paper would analyze or break down the
topic into three or four "parts" which will later become the
main paragraphs of your draft.
• Perhaps your research helps you discover several
purposes to madness in these tragedies, with your paper
devoting a paragraph to considering each. Or perhaps
there's debate among scholars as to the main purpose of
madness, so you decide to present some of these
varying opinions.
• However you choose to explore the topic, in the body of
your paper you'd be using evidence from the plays
themselves (a.k.a. primary sources) and expert
opinions on the plays (a.k.a. secondary sources).
Critical Interpretations at the End
• Your concluding paragraphs would finally
incorporate some of your critical
interpretations of both the plays and the
experts' essays. Here, you'd include a
critical evaluation and discussion of your
overall findings as well as some
conclusions based on the patterns you've
researched or detected yourself to make
some final comments about the purpose of
madness in Renaissance tragedies.
Same Topic, Different Approach
• Now, an ARGUMENTATIVE paper would
lay out exactly what you consider to be the
purpose of madness in Renaissance
tragedies in a declarative sentence right in
the introduction--the thesis statement.
Thus, the template would change
accordingly to "the purpose of madness in
Renaissance tragedies is ______ (for
comic relief? to provide a reflection of
moral chaos? and so on and so forth)."
See, it ceases to be just a topic (notice above that our topic
for the analytical paper is not a sentence!) and has become
instead an interpretation. The course of the paper will
develop why you believe--and importantly, why the reader
should believe--what you do.
This time, you'll select only that evidence (still examples from plays and
opinions from experts) which directly supports your thesis. The body of
your paper turns into a site for laying out the proof you've collected
rather than a canvas for examining a topic.
And considering that scholars still debate the psychological state of
Prince Hamlet (close to 400 years after the play was written!), there is
no right or wrong answer. You will not get a bad mark if your teacher or
professor happens to completely disagree with your thesis. That's not
the point. Solid back-up and convincing arguments, not safe thesis
statements, are what make for happy teachers.
Which to Do?
• Because your insights, which are what your
teachers and professors are most interested in,
argumentative papers are probably the most
popular type of research paper.
• If you choose the analytical route, be sure to
have 2-3 paragraphs (or at least a page), at the
end, where you share your conclusions, insight,
understanding of the topic.
Use Citation Machine
& Owl Purdue
• The website is very user-friendly and
makes citing your sources simple.
• I insist that you use it and expect no
problems.
• http://citationmachine.net/
• Also use Owl Purdue (+ MLA) for
formatting. I strongly suggest that you reread the sample paper and the notes that
accompany it.
How and When to Cite
• If the information you are including is not
COMMON KNOWLEDGE (which means
that most people, not just you, possess
this knowledge), you MUST give your
source.
Paraphrase and Cite
• It is expected that most times, you don’t
quote directly, but, rather, paraphrase and
then cite your source.
• Because it was not an original idea, and
was not common knowledge, even when
you have gone to the trouble to re-word,
you MUST cite.
Notes
• The first part of your assessment will be your notes.
• Pull the main ideas you want to use from your source,
and either cut and paste phrases / lines into a word
document or create hand-written notes.
• Again, do not pull big sections that you may be tempted
to borrow to heavily: take smaller pieces and elaborate in
your own words. star, number, etc).
• Do some paraphrasing of sections you like and include
these in your notes.
• Be sure to have your MLA citation for the source at the
top of the page. Include the page number so I can find
the original easily. You must have clearly-organized
notes for each source.
The Process
• With the first source, sit down and start to read.
• You are reading with purpose: you know what your topic
is; you want to determine what this author has to say.
• When you find a section in the reading that you like, and
think you may use, put a sticky note on it, and a few key
words or questions or thoughts on the sticky.
• After you’ve read the article, and have sticky notes
throughout, I suggest you go back through and start
organizing your ideas: I used to number my ideas (use
sticky notes) into possible sections.
• If you want to use something word-for-word, just move
along after you mark it; if you want to paraphrase the
idea in a passage, start to do so on paper (slide 23).
No Notes, No Mark, No Kidding!
Personal Insight & Observation
• When you start to put your paper together,
if you are sharing a personal reflection,
observation, experience or idea that
comes from your analysis of the topic, you
DO NOT have to cite a source.
• This is a formal essay (no “I think”, “I feel”,
“I believe”).
• Usually, in a paragraph, you have used
(and cited) one or more external sources,
and have also made your own assertions.
Try to organize in such a way that it’s
obvious what YOUR ideas are.
Rubric
• The rubric will be saved on the Wiki page.
It would be really wise to read it carefully,
and to check your competence in each
area (CAREFULLY), before you submit
your paper.
Evaluation
• Research for Beginners:
• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/h
ypertext/ResearchW/types
• 15% of overall mark
• You must have rough notes, rough copy
and final copy to be accepted.
• The paper must be based in research; to
meet the requirements, this must be the
case. This is not simply a literary essay.