Research Writing
Ch 1 – Nature of Research Writing
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Why is research writing valuable? Why
do we continue to do this type of
writing?
Look at the theory of relativity:
it originated from Galileo’s principle of
relativity,
Newton challenged it with his classical
physics to include absolute time, and
after a few more challenges from Hendrik
Lorenz and Joseph Lamor’s special
relativity,
Einstein discarded all of that and came up
with theory of relativity.
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Who reads research papers or essays?
Ch 2 – Finding and Narrowing the
Topic
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Invention strategies
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Free writing
Journal writing
Brainstorming
Listing
Clustering
Mapping
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Thou Shalt Read
Thou Shalt Question
Thou Shalt do Research
Thous Shalt Learn
Thous Shalt have a statement
Thou Shalt Write
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Analysis – look in depth and see how your
subject fits into the whole picture
Comparison – find similarities and
differences
Evaluation – form your own opinion,
personal judgment
Argumentative – take a stand
5 Important Questions you should
be answering in your research
paper
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Who – was involved?
What – what happened?
Why – why did it happen?
When – when did it happen?
How – how did it happen?
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True research papers are more than a loose
collection of anecdotal memories or a
patchwork of data pulled from several books.
Owl @ Purdue University
The Art of Persuasion
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Logos – logic based
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Accuracy and clear reasoning
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Who says something is more important than what is being
said
Pathos – emotion based
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Information that stirs feelings
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Provides vivid images and details
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Ethos – ethic based
Character and credibility
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Offers presentation of evidence / support
Challenge your sources – exercise
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Use encyclopedias to get overview of
your subject
Use library catalogs to find books
Use search engines to find on-line sources
Sources
What would be the difference between using these
sources?
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Bibliography cards – use one per card or
page
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Annotated vs Works Cited
Notes – write abstracts of what you read
Research journal – often, filing them in
accordance with your bibliographies
3 important elements in a thesis
1.
2.
3.
Defining your thesis
Focusing your thesis
Supporting your thesis
Write a paragraph on the
components of your thesis
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narrative, explanatory, informative,
classification
definition, descriptive
Alcohol-induced activities lead teenagers to drink
excessively
definition
cause / effect
narrative
Alcohol-induced activities - definition
Alcohol-induced activities range from quarters to wet t-shirt
contests, from bellyshots to Girls Gone Wild. These activities are
front stage and center in most watering holes. In recent years as
alcohol consumption plays a major role in local bars, college
parties, and even in private homes, teenagers find themselves
infused in modified card games, like poker, 21, and Spoons.
Alcohol-induced activities are games that drinkers play that
require you to take a drink or a shot to get ahead. With those
rules, come the unruliness of what alcohol can induce.
Lead – cause / effect
Alcohol-induced activities are enjoyable, as
games are, which leads the inexperienced
drinker to drink more and more. Because of
the continuous drinking, an inexperienced
drinker, such as a teenager, will continue to
drink without limits, because it’s fun. Drinking
without limiting oneself will lead to poor
judgments, like drinking and driving; worse
off, it can lead to alcohol poisoning, which can
end up fatal.
teenagers to drink excessively
- narrative
In the Fall of 1983, my friend Lucy and I went to a
party at a friend’s house after a football game. There
were football players playing quarters and girls
playing 21 with Bacardi 51. They were laughing and
having such a good time, noone even paid attention
when Leslie left the table, stumbling. I’m not sure
where she went, but someone told me they saw her
in the backyard, doing cartwheels. The next day at
school, I asked her why she was doing cartwheels at
the party, and she said, I don’t know. Was I doing
cartwheels? She drank so much, that her memory
was impaired.
Concluding paragraph
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that
teenagers who drink will tend to drink more;
what I am saying is that if it is fun to drink,
then teenagers are more apt to drink without
hesitation.
Alcohol-induced activities lead teenagers to
drink excessively to the point that their
memory becomes impaired, or worse off, they
don’t remember anything.
When to Cite
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When repeating what someone said
When using statistics
When using historical information that is not common
knowledge and you had to look up this information
When using someone else’s argument to defend your
position
When researching a topic and you decide to write
immediately
 Paraphrase
 summary
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Convert
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Abstract to concrete
General to specific
Forceless to forceful
Passive to active
Inflated to plain
Discriminatory to nondiscriminatory
Add transitional phrases and connectors
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Revising
Words that connect related ideas
Cut cliches or words with empty meanings
like very, a lot, stuff, things
Editing
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Are transitional phrases and words convey
effective meaning?
Is the writing style clear and easy to
understand?
Does the language seem to fit the
audience?
Do the grammar errors derail the meaning
of the paper?
Proofing
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Is the thesis clear?
Do the supporting arguments or details
directly explain or support the thesis?
Do the transitional phrases / words
connect the ideas effectively?
Do the examples used as support –
support the idea in the paragraph?
Are the introductory and the concluding
paragraphs coherent and developed?