WRITING THE PAPER
ORGANIZATION
The paper should have the following sections:
INTRODUCTION
The introduction consists of a few paragraphs at the beginning that draw
attention to the topic, explain your focus, state your thesis, preview the paper as
a whole, and provide a transition to the next section. By a thesis I mean one
sentence that summarizes the main conclusions of your analysis – what it reveals
about conflict. Although you may be fuzzy about your thesis when you begin the
analysis, try to develop a specific thesis by the time you have completed the
paper. A good thesis is a kind of theory statement explaining the way conflict
works, as illustrated by the analysis. The thesis could be based on an idea from
the course, the literature, or your own insights.
BACKGROUND
First, discuss background and history of the conflict, such as the parties involved,
the events that occurred, the main issues that have been identified, and so forth.
Cite sources used for your background.
Second, review literature on concepts that are the focus of your analysis (e.g.,
research and theory on conflict frames, hidden power in organizations, or
marital conflict). The review should:
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draw from academic books and articles on conflict,
cite at least three sources beyond those used for background on the
conflict, not counting sources that are assigned readings for the course
(these can be cited as additional sources), and
use APA style for citations (see the Purdue OWL website).
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Describe the texts analyzed in the paper and their source.
Describe coding categories.
ANALYSIS
RESULTS
Describe, document, and summarize the observations of your analysis (e.g.,
instances of particular conflict frames or other concepts).
Interpret the significance of the observations (e.g., how contrasting conflict
frames revealed political or cultural differences; how communication about
relational or identity issues escalated conflict).
This section should be the longest and most detailed part of the paper.
CONCLUSION
Summarize the main observations and implications of the analysis while
reinforcing and expanding on the paper’s central thesis. Emphasize implications
of your case study for understanding conflict generally.
APPENDIX
Include a copy of your texts materials marked in a fashion that shows how you
coded them. If the texts are extensive (e.g., a complete book), include
representative portions or the most important sections.
STYLE AND FORMAT
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Use subheadings before each main section of the paper (i.e., “Background,”
“Analysis,” “Results,” “Conclusion,” “Appendix”). You might also break up the
results section into subsections with subordinate subheadings, like this
(following APA style):
Analysis
Identity/Self Presentation Frames
[Paragraph begins here.]
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Double space throughout.
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The paper should read like the report of a research project. This means that you
describe your methods and document your observations and conclusions
carefully (by citing examples from the text) and use appropriate style.
Appropriate style in this case means an objective and descriptive tone and
moderate formality. Avoid excessive self-reference (e.g., “At first I thought
about doing…but then I decided to…), slang, and so forth. Instead of writing as
if I was the only person reading the paper, write for a more general audience
(i.e., people interested in conflict).
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The paper should be at least eight pages, not counting the appendix, with
standard font, margins, spacing.