Guide to Writing and Research

Section 1:  The Process of College Writing

Generating ideas and planning

Subject and topic:

The biggest challenge is narrowing a subject down to a topic that can be handled well.

Here are some potential sources of information for research papers (but be sure to follow the specific requirements of your assignment):

Personal experience is of some use in college writing, but usually the assignment will require research and analysis of material outside one's own personal experience.

Observation might be useful for analysis of art.

Interviews and questions are useful for many kinds of  assignments in the social sciences area.

Text materials are the most frequently used source in college writing

Internet sources can be useful, but beware of poor materials

Purpose:

Be sure the purpose of writing is clear, both as the writing is done and after the paper is finished.

Some possible purposes are to inform, persuade, analyze, argue, summarize, evaluate, recommend, request, propose, entertain.

Each purpose has particular requirements that will change the content and manner of expressing ideas in the paper.

Audience:

Think about the audience for the paper. What will make the writing suitable for that audience?  Think of the audience as including others besides the professor.

Many college students say they don't think about audience.   The purpose of writing in an academic setting is not creative fulfillment, but communicating one's ideas to other people, so it is important to consider the expectations and needs of the audience.

Length and design of the document:

Follow the requirements of assignment; they are often specified by the professor.  The objective is to develop the ideas fully, and to reach the appropriate depth of analysis in the paper.   Page limits can be taken as indications of the breadth and depth the professor wants for the paper.  In any event, it is always better to delve more deeply into a subject, rather than to do a superficial job with a broad subject.

Exploring the subject

Experiment with various ways of developing your ideas about the subject. Some possibilities are as follows:

List ideas, in no particular order

Make clusters of ideas, showing the relationships of ideas as they are developed and tested.

Write down questions that will be answered in the paper.  This is a good way to identify areas needing development

Free writing involves just starting to write and seeing where it leads.  Remember that free writing is only a way to begin a paper, and the paper turned in as either a rough draft or final copy will have been organized and revised so that it is a formal, organized presentation of ideas.

Take notes about the texts and readings that will be the reference sources.  These notes will determine what is included in the paper and suggest methods of organizing the ideas. 

Develop a focus and a thesis

The central idea should be expressed in the form of a thesis.  A thesis is a generalization (not just a fact) that tells the reader what the writing is about.  One definition of a thesis is that it is a statement of a topic, along with a comment.

The thesis should almost always be placed in the one of the opening paragraphs in a research paper.  The thesis informs the reader about the ideas that are developed in the paper.  The purpose for a research paper is not to spring a surprise at the end, as it might be in writing fiction.

Most writers find that they can avoid writer's block by getting the content down first, and then polishing the language and structure later.  Writing a good paper does not mean simply writing it one time, then turning it in to the professor.  Good writing, especially writing based on research, requires multiple drafts and revisions, as the thought process develops and one learns more and more about the topic.

Be sure to check the thesis after the first draft is completed and revise it if the ideas have changed or become more refined.  The thesis will almost always change at least to some degree, because writing itself is a process of learning and discovering about the subject.

Organization plan

An outline is a formal or informal statement of items to be included in the paper, in the order in which they will appear.  A writer will almost always want to prepare an outline for papers, especially papers involving research.

A variation on this theme is the topic sentence outline.  These can be very useful for students who have problems with paragraph structure.  Preparing a topic sentence outline reminds the writer that each paragraph should consist of one major, fully developed idea, and no more (or less) than that.

Section headings are very useful for longer papers, and are often required  in the social sciences disciplines.  Section headings help the reader to follow the pattern of  development of ideas (and help the writer to organize  thoughts, as well.)

Rough draft

A technique to overcome writer's block is not to get stuck on any one part.  For example, if the introduction poses problems, start with another section. The introduction is often the hardest section of a paper to write, and always must be thoroughly revised after the draft is completed.  Referring to the outlines and other materials prepared at the beginning should help keep the writer on track with the flow of ideas.  Assume that a thorough revision for style and structure will be necessary, and concentrate on getting the ideas developed fully and logically for the first draft.

An introduction does two things: it engages the reader's interest, and states the thesis. There are many interesting and varied ways to begin a paper.  These include quoting a provocative passage from another work, giving an example of the problem or issue that is the subject of the paper, telling a story that illustrates the nature of the problem or issue, or simply explaining the subject and stating a thesis.  Regardless of technique, the introduction should engage the reader in the material and create interest.

Effective thesis:

Must be a generalization, not a fact:

Examples:

1.    The first polygraph was developed by Dr. John Larson in 1921. (This is a statement of fact and not a thesis)

2.    Because the polygraph has not been proved to be reliable, its use by employers should be banned.  (This is a thesis because it states the topic and makes a comment)

The thesis must be sharply focused, and not vague

Develop the ideas fully. This is probably the most common problem for college students.

Don't neglect the conclusion to the paper.  The conclusion should return to the thesis and sum up how the evidence and reasoning that has developed the main points. Don't just repeat points, but experiment with other ways to express the main ideas.  Synthesize the materials and let the reader know about its significance.  Perhaps most important:  never introduce new materials in the conclusion because there is no opportunity to develop those ideas fully.