PREPARING
A QUALITY
RESEARCH PAPER
The Writing Centre
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Topics
 Planning / Pre-writing
 Essay Structure
 Presenting Your Ideas
 Writing Mechanics
 Documenting
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Planning / Pre-writing
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Planning / Pre-writing
Assignment – Music 118 – World Music
FEBRUARY
Due date: March 30
S M T
W T
F
S
F
S
2
Start time management
plan now.
8-10 pages (2000-2500
words)
Try this website to help manage your
work:
http://www.lib.umn.edu/help/calculator/
9
16
23
SPRING BREAK
MARCH
S M T
W T
1
8
15
22
29
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Planning / Pre-writing
Choosing your topic
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READ the assignment details.
Make sure you understand the terminology.
Question, question, question.
Look at all the options.
Narrow down choices.
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Planning / Pre-writing
Choosing Your Topic
Questioning: Ask yourself…
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Why did I pick this particular topic?
What do I know about this subject?
What do I need to find out?
What resources are available?
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Planning / Pre-writing
Information Gathering
 Read the appropriate sections in your text.
 Read recommended readings.
 Search for relevant information and then research.
 Use the library.
 Use the electronic library.
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Planning / Pre-writing
Outlines - Organizing your information
Sub-Point
Main Point:
Main Point
Sub-Point
• Sub-Point
• Sub-Point
• Sub-Point
Sub-Point
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Planning / Pre-Writing
Sub-point
Sub-point
Sub-point
Main point
Main Idea of
Your Essay
Main point
Main point
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Planning / Pre-writing
Outlines - Organizing your information
Main Idea of your Essay
Main Point (1)
Sub-Point
Sub-Point
Sub-Point
Main Point (2)
Sub-Point
Sub-Point
Sub-Point
Main Point (3)
Sub-Point
Sub-Point
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Planning / Pre-writing
Critical Thinking About Your Topic
 Ask yourself questions as you go through the information
gathering process.
 Constantly integrate ideas from research into your essay
plan.
 Be analytic. Break down general ideas into sub-points.
 Are your points specific enough to your main idea?
 Is your outline realistic for your page limit: 8 – 10 pages?
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Planning / Pre-writing
Supporting Your Arguments
 Back up what you say with evidence.
 Keep accurate references as you research
and take notes.
 Be sure to put quotation marks around
any copied information.
 Do not plagiarize
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Essay Structure
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Essay Structure
Introduction
Sub point
Sub point
Sub point
Thesis Statement
Main point
Main Idea
Main point
Main point
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Conclusion
Essay Structure
Introductions
Start with general information specific to your topic. This
is often background information that provides context
and helps to set up your main idea or argument.
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Essay Structure
Introductions
 Begin your paper as clearly and concisely as possible.
 Define important terms.
 Explain concepts the reader will need in order to
understand the rest of your paper.
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Essay Structure
Thesis Statement
 Develop a working thesis statement.
 This is a starting point and will be edited.
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Essay Structure
Thesis Statement
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The main idea and focal point of the entire paper.
More than a statement of fact.
Identifies what you are arguing, comparing, or challenging
Points the reader to the arguments or information found in
your paper.
 Typically is made towards the end of your introduction.
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Essay Structure
Simple (working) Thesis Statement:
Make a statement
Defend / support your statement
_________________________BECAUSE
1)___________________________
2)___________________________
3)___________________________
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Essay Structure
Simple (working) Thesis Statement:
Make a statement:
The federal government policy on health care spending is
inadequate
BECAUSE
Defend / support your statement:
1) There isn’t enough money being spent
2) The provinces don’t have the capacity to pay for all needed
services
3) Individual provinces are getting around universal access
requirement by charging user fees
4) Not enough skilled health care workers are entering the
workforce
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Essay Structure
Revised Thesis Statement:
Federal government policy on health care has failed to
address the needs of Canadians for medical services. Not
only is there an inadequate federal financial contribution to
health care, but there are not enough health care workers
to adequately staff our health facilities and individual
provinces are allowing physicians to charge user fees.
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Essay Structure
Body of the Essay
The body of the essay is the presentation of your
main points and supporting evidence / arguments
in paragraph format.
IF you have developed a detailed outline, the
structure you have created should lead directly to
paragraph topics.
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Essay Structure
Conclusions
Reiterate your most important points (summarize)
and provide insight on your topic.
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Essay Structure
Conclusions
Insights:
 If you have pointed out problems throughout your paper,
propose possible solutions.
 Reflect on what have you learned from your paper.
 Identify some future perspectives.
 Think beyond the scope of what you have discussed.
 Try to end on a positive note, and look toward the future.
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Essay Structure
Introduction
Equal
Length
Equal
Strength
Conclusion
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Presenting Your Ideas
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Presenting Your Ideas
The First Draft
The purpose of the first draft is to identify what
information you have, to begin writing and to find
where there are gaps in the information supporting
your main points.
 Follow the blueprint you have created.
 Begin writing in detail.
 Don’t worry about the specifics of grammar &
punctuation.
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Presenting Your Ideas
Essential Components of
Every Paragraph
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Make a point (topic sentence).
Support or defend your statement (fact or opinion).
Ask yourself - Why is this information so important
to your point and this paper?
Incorporate examples.
Quote or paraphrase.
Provide logical transitions going from paragraph to
paragraph.
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Presenting Your Ideas
2nd and Subsequent Drafts
Revise for :
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Clarity in terms of meaning
Logical consistency in ideas
Addition of supporting evidence
Proper documenting
More appropriate transitions
Refer back to your thesis statement and modify it
if your research takes you somewhere you didn’t
expect in terms of your main idea or subsequent ideas.
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Writing Mechanics
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Writing Mechanics
Clarity

Choose words with definite meaning. Use a
good dictionary and a thesaurus often.

Clarify comparatives – If you are using the
words “more’” “less,” “greater,” “better,” always
make sure it is clear what you are comparing.

Clarify references when using pronouns (him,
her, its etc.). Make sure it is clear to the reader
what person, place or thing the pronoun is
referring to.
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Writing Mechanics
Clarity
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Keep things simple. Say exactly what you
mean.
Eliminate redundancies and the repetition of
ideas using different words.
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Writing Mechanics
Forcefulness
 Use active language.
 Zero in on the main point you want to make.
When possible eliminate empty words such as It
is, There is, There are.
Example: There are many ways to describe the
colours used by Coleridge. They are …..
Change to: Coleridge uses colour to create a variety
of moods in the reader. Red, for example….
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Writing Mechanics
The Most Common Major Errors
in University Level Writing
(From The Writing Centre, Ryerson University)
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…Subject-Verb Agreement
Writing Mechanics
These tend to occur if the subject is separated from the verb by some
descriptive words.
Error: The process of sinking these caissons were begun by clearing
unstable soil.
Process, not caissons, is the subject of were begun.
Corrected: The process of sinking these caissons was begun . . .
If you make this kind of mistake, start checking every sentence in which the verb
does not immediately follow the subject, and every sentence beginning with the
word ‘there.’
Error: In 1820 there was new plans proposed.
Plans, not there, is the subject of was proposed.
Corrected: In 1820 there were new plans proposed for the site.
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…Sentence Fragment
Writing Mechanics
Part of a sentence is punctuated as a complete sentence.
Error: During this time, when the final choice of a computer system is made.
“What happens? The word “when” makes the sentence incomplete.”
Corrected: During this time the final choice of a computer is made.
“You may also correct this by finishing the incomplete sentence.”
Corrected: During this time, when the final choice of a computer system is
made, you should consult with all the potential users.
Error: They came with a proposal. A proposal too good to refuse.
Corrected: They came with a proposal, a proposal too good to refuse.
You want to keep the emphasis, but “A proposal too good to refuse” has no
active verb, and should not be written as a sentence in formal writing.
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Writing Mechanics
…Comma Splice or Run-on Sentence
Two separate sentences are joined with a comma, or
run together without any punctuation.
Error: The new buildings would be expensive, the estimated cost of
renovating existing offices was half as much.
There are 2 separate sentences here, joined with the comma. Split them
up, or join them with a conjunction like and, but, or, or a semi-colon (;).
If the comma was not there, you would have a run-on sentence error.
Corrected: The new buildings would be expensive. The estimated cost
of renovating existing offices was half as much.
Corrected: The new buildings would be expensive and the estimated
cost of renovating existing offices was half as much.
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Writing Mechanics
…Misuse of the Semi-Colon
The semi-colon (;) joins two sentences into one, without an
and or but. This can be a very effective construction, but
you must have a complete sentence on either side of the ;
Therefore and however frequently begin the second
sentence.
Error: In 1886, 36,000,000 tons of cargo moved through the St. Lawrence
Seaway; in contrast to the average of 11,000,000 tons in the 1950’s.
The portion after the ; is not a complete sentence; replace the ; with a comma or
change the second part (as suggested below).
Corrected: In 1886, 36,000,000 tons of cargo moved through the St. Lawrence
Seaway; in contrast, an average of only 11,000,000 tons moved through in the
1950’s.
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Writing Mechanics
…Dangling Modifier
This occurs when a sentence begins with a verb form ending
in -ing or -ed (with or without “By” or “In” or “When,” or other
prepositions or conjunctions, in front of it). This -ing or -ed
word should refer to the subject of the sentence, which will
usually follow the comma.
Error: By spending time with their children in play, the children can develop their
language ability.
Spending is left dangling, as it is not the children who are spending time and
there is no other word in the sentence that spending could refer to.
Corrected: By spending time with their children in play, parents can help them
develop their language ability.
It is the parents who are spending the time. . .
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…Word Confusion
Some common examples
Writing Mechanics
where / were eg. Where are you? They were angry.
there / their eg. There is. . . Put it there.
They argued their case.
Hint: Remember where and there both refer to place and both have the
same ending.
Then / than eg. Then she went to the store. (indicating time)
eg. He is faster than his friend. (indicating comparison)
its / it’s eg. It’s not right it’s = it is
The ‘ means a letter omitted.
eg. The dog found its bone.
Hint: Think of his, her, its as a group. (No apostrophe.)
too / to
eg. He came too. (also) It was too late. (comparative)
eg.Try to sleep. Go to the store.
would have / would of eg. I would have come.
Would of doesn’t exist. It’s just our slurring of have when we speak.
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Writing Mechanics
Editing for Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation
 Try to leave time between finishing your paper and
proofreading it.
 Read your essay aloud.
 A proofreader’s trick: read your sentences, one at a time,
starting from the end of the essay and working backwards.
This helps you to read what you have actually written,
rather than what you meant to write.
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Writing Mechanics
Editing for Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation
 You can use the word-processor’s SEARCH
key to check every occurrence of the words that
give you problems (eg. it’s/ its, or their/ there).
 Use the spell check, of course, but always do a
final read. Spell check doesn’t necessarily pick
up mistakes in appropriate word use.
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Documenting
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Documenting
Each documenting style sets guidelines for:
 The format of your paper
 In-text citations
 A reference page for the end of the
paper
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Documenting
Why do you have to document?
 To support the points you have made in your
paper and acknowledge the source of your ideas
 To provide references for your reader
 To eliminate any chances of plagiarizing
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Documenting
Modern Languages Association (MLA) Style
Some websites that will help you understand the
basics of MLA Style:
http://www.stfx.ca/people/writingc/ (The Writing Centre /
Resources / Documenting Sources)
http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/append/AXI.H
TML
http://www.lib.ohiostate.edu/guides/mlagd.html
http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/works_cited.htm
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Documenting
MLA guidelines for in-text citations
 (Author’s last name page number)
(Smith 253)
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Quotation Example
 The company manager “was obeyed, yet he inspired
neither love nor fear, nor even respect” (Conrad 87).
 Conrad describes the company manager: “He was
obeyed, yet he inspired neither love nor fear, nor even
respect” (87).
 “He was obeyed,” writes Joseph Conrad of the
company manager in Heart of Darkness, “yet he inspired
neither love nor fear, nor even respect” (87).
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Documenting
Block Quotations
 Place quotations longer than four typed lines in a freestanding block of typewritten lines, and omit quotation
marks.
 Start the quotation on a new line, indented one inch from
the left margin, and maintain double-spacing.
 Your parenthetical citation should come after the closing
punctuation mark. When quoting verse, maintain original
line breaks.
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Documenting
Block Quotation - Example
 In "Sources," Adrienne Rich explores the roles of
women in shaping their world:
The faithful drudging child, the child at the
oak desk whose penmanship, hard work,
and style will win her prizes, becomes the
woman with a mission, not to win prizes but
to change the laws of history. (23)
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Documenting
Indirect Quotation
 Sometimes you may have to use a quotation
that you did not find in the original source.
 Use "qtd. in" to indicate the actual source you
found it in.
Ravitch argues high schools are pressured to act as
"social service centers, and they don't do that well"
(qtd. in Weisman 259).
High schools are pressured to act as "social service
centers, and they don't do that well" (Ravitch qtd. in
The Writing Centre
Weisman 259).
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Paraphrase Example
Documenting
“We are now in the midst of a technological revolution that is full of surprises.
No one thirty years ago was aware that one day household computers would
become as common as dishwashers. And those of us who used the old
Arpanet of twenty years ago had no idea that it would evolve into the Internet”
(Searle 37).
1) Plagiarism:
The current technological revolution is surprising. Thirty years ago no one
expected computers to be as common today as air conditioners. What once
was the Arpanet, has evolved into the Internet and no one expected that.
THIS MUST BE DOCUMENTED AS SEARLE’S IDEA
2) Quotation, Paraphrase and Documentation (Properly attributed)
John Searle states that we are in a surprising technological revolution in which
computers have “become as common as dishwashers” (37). Twenty years
ago no one could have predicted the Arpanet would become the Internet
(Searle 337).
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Documenting
Works Cited List

A list of only the works that you “cite,” or refer to in your
paper
 Authors' names are inverted (last name first)
 If a work has more than one author, invert
only the
first author's name, follow it with a comma, then continue
listing the rest of the authors.
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Documenting
Works Cited List
 All references should be double-spaced.
 Any references spanning more than one line must
appear as a hanging indented paragraph
 Underline or italicize titles of books, journals, magazines,
newspapers, and films.
 Use quotation marks around the titles of articles in
journals, magazines, and newspapers. Also use
quotation marks for the titles of short stories, book
chapters, poems, and songs.
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Planning / Pre-writing
158
2004
2
3
20040304
20040302
20040228
20040214
20040208
20040207
20040206
004
0
0040204
Subject:
Music
Starting on:
Ending on:
2/2/2004
3/30/2004
According to the dates you have entered, you have 56
days to finish.
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By Wed Feb 04, 2004: Understand your assignment
• Suggestions for understanding assignment sheets
By Fri Feb 06, 2004: Select and focus topic
• Refine your topic
• How to begin
By Sat Feb 07, 2004: Write working thesis
• Definition: Thesis Statements and Research Questions
• Sample thesis statements
By Sun Feb 08, 2004: Design research strategy
• QuickStudy: Designing a research strategy
The Writing Centre
• AskUs at the Libraries
can also help
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By Sat Feb 14, 2004: Find, review, and evaluate books
• Keep careful notes, with source clearly indicated
• Search the library's catalog
• QuickStudy: Finding Books
By Sat Feb 14, 2004: Find, review, and evaluate books
• Keep careful notes, with source clearly indicated
• Search the library's catalog
• QuickStudy: Finding Books
By Sat Feb 28, 2004: Find, review, and evaluate
journal/magazine/newspaper articles
• Keep careful notes, with source clearly indicated
• QuickStudy: Finding Articles
• Research QuickStart
• Look up articles in an appropriate
The Writing Centre index
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By Thu Mar 04, 2004: Outline or describe overall structure
• Starting a Writing Project
• Help with planning your structure
By Tue Mar 09, 2004: Write 1st draft
• Writing Your First Draft
• Online Writing Center at the U of M
• CLA Student Writing Center in Lind Hall
By Mon Mar 15, 2004: Conduct additional research as necessary
• QuickStudy: Evaluating Sources
• 'Ask Us' at the University Libraries
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By Fri Mar 26, 2004: Revise & rewrite
• Revising Your Work
• Online Writing Center at the U of M
• CLA Student Writing Center in Lind Hall
By Tue Mar 30, 2004: Put paper in final form
• QuickStudy: Citing Sources
• Proofreading Strategies
• The Elements of Style - William Strunk, Jr.
• Strategies for Improving Sentence Clarity
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