Deciding on a topic for your research paper may be the first and most frustrating step. In some cases, your teacher may have limited selections for you to choose from, or you may even be assigned a topic. If the choice is wide open to you, you should choose a topic that has some significance to you. Perhaps your research paper will integrate ideas from two or three different subject areas. The topic you choose should be important and interesting to you.

Getting ready to write:

In getting ready to begin your research paper, there are some important steps to follow:

• Understand the depth of your topic. What are its finer points, subcategories, etc.? Try to think as much about your topic as you can. What can be said? If you can't think of much, then your topic is probably too narrow and you should change it. If your list is long and quite varied, perhaps your topic is too broad or general; in that case, you should focus on a specific facet of your topic. Whatever your case may be, THINKING about your topic is an often neglected but very important first step in writing.
• Next, write your thesis statement on an index card. Be sure your statement of intent, purpose, belief (this is your thesis statement) is clear, simple, and easy for you and your future readers to understand.
• Begin to research. You should approach your research with the idea that you will collect much more information than you will use in your paper.
• Take careful notes.
• Create an outline to help you organize your information. Your outline doesn't have to be incredibly detailed (unless your teacher requires it) to be effective. An outline simply is a map or a plan, a list of points you want to make and the order in which you will make them.
• Now you're ready for the composition to begin. You have a clear understanding of what you want to say and how you want to say it, and if you don't, go back to the beginning and get it.
• You will need a new disk to save your work on. Trying to put this big assignment on your regular data disk is risky.

Note cards:

For each source you consult, you will need to fill out a bibliography card. Check your MLA style guide to be sure what information you need. Put this information in the correct order right away on the card, so compiling your works cited list later will be easy.

A note card is an index card that contains one piece of information that you found interesting or potentially valuable to you as you scanned through that stack of books or scrolled through your online sources. It is critical that you only put one idea, one note, per card. Note cards must contain the page numbers from the source you  got this information from. Notes can be:

• Quotations: Direct quotes must have quotation marks around them and be followed by name of the person who said it and a brief comment about who that person is.
• Paraphrases: A paraphrase is when you put a difficult or complex passage into your own words so that both you and your reader will more clearly understand it.
• Summaries: If you find a chapter in a book that really supports your thesis, rewrite it so that only the essential ideas remain. It is okay to use some of the author's original phrasing, especially if you can't think of a better way to say the same thing.

Strategies for writing your first draft:

1. Start at the beginning and write in order until you get to the end. All your note cards should be in order according to your outline. Not everyone has the skill to do this.
2. Write sections randomly, according to what you feel like doing that day, and later assemble them in a logical order.
3. Use the relay system: Make your second best point first, then your third, then your fourth-?, and end up with your strongest, best point last. What is read last, is often what is remembered most.
4. Save your introduction for the end. Just begin with your first paragraph to use methods B or C above After you write your conclusion, you will have a better idea of the exact phrasing that would be appropriate for your introduction.

Strategies for writing your second draft:

1. Read your first draft after some time has passed since you first wrote it. One of the most difficult things about proofreading is that you cannot be objective about your own writing. Putting some time between composing and proofreading will help you see your weaknesses better.
2. Also, read your paper out loud. If you read it silently, your brain, which already knows what you want to say, will automatically fill in all the empty spots, and it will compensate for and correct mistakes. Better yet, have someone else read your paper out loud to you, and tell him or her not to make any corrections or judgments, but just read it as it is.
3. You will no doubt, find that some sentences you wrote don't make sense, or that one idea does not lead smoothly into another idea. Now is the time to look critically at each sentence and each paragraph. Ask yourself the following questions about sentences and paragraphs:

• Does it serve a purpose related to the sub-topic or main thesis?
• Does it logically follow and/or lead into neighboring ideas?
• Does it say what I want it to say?

4. This idea has helped many students put misguided thoughts in order. Take your paper and cut all the paragraphs apart. Lay them out on the floor. Rearrange them in a more pleasing order. Write out new paragraphs as you need them, and put them on the floor where they belong. Take out paragraphs that don't belong or cross out sentences that don't belong. Look for empty spots in your reasoning. Add transitions as needed. Refer to your outline to be sure you aren't missing something. If everything looks good, then tape the pieces together and then go back to the computer to do your rearranging.

Using Sources & Parenthetical Documentation:

You’ve got 40 note cards full of great information. How do you get it into the body of your paper? Use the following examples as models for including all those summaries, paraphrases, or quotes.

Pay attention also to the variations in parenthetical documentation: placement of the author’s name, name of book, the page numbers etc. will vary depending upon how you weave the information into your writing.

1. Holden's goal was to stop children from growing up, but he realized that his goal was impossible. As he watches Phoebe on the carousel, he says, "The thing with kids is. . . " (234). [Here you are using a direct quote.]

2. Global warming is one theory that scientists are concerned with. According to Jonathan Weiner in his book The Next One Hundred Years, there is the possibility that continued warming will thaw icebergs enough to raise sea levels and thereby flood our coastal cities (107-108). [All you need is page numbers because you say who he is and what his book is. You have used a summary here.]

3. Blah, blah, blah. . . . paragraph of your own. Sarah Morton also believes discrimination is harmful to a person's sense of self. She says, "blah, blah, blah" (425). [Direct quote]

4. The study revealed that "the exclusive use of English contributes consistently and positively for Mexican-American pupils at all grade levels" (Carter 19). [Partial quote]

5. The author longed to see a profoundly human system of education. He was particularly fond of the German schools, believing them to be far superior to the British system. In his Elementary Education he writes:

But the higher one rises in a German school the more is the superiority of the instruction over ours visible. Again and again I find written in my notes, the children human. They had been brought under teaching of a quality to touch and interest them, and were being formed by it. (Arnold 28)

A [direct quote over four lines long] should be indented as shown above. Indent the left margin two tabs for each line and leave the right margin equal to the rest of the paper. Use no quotation marks to designate the quote. DO NOT single space the indented quotation. Do not add extra lines before or after the indented quotation. Also, in this case only, the period goes after the quote.

6. Bilingualism is often accompanied by biculturalism, which makes translation from one language to another difficult, if not impossible (Hertzler 428). [Paraphrase]

7. Some other programs to help aid the shut-in residents of communities are brought into focus by Elizabeth S. Johnson and John B. Williamson. They say that "the development of community programs, such as Meals on Wheels, day care, home care, and congregate living help senior citizens to remain in their communities" (139). [Direct quote]

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