Preparing a Research Paper (part 2)

Overview

Last week we discussed following 6-step plan whenever starting a new research paper or project:

1. Clearly defining your topic
2. Identifying appropriate sources
3. Developing a thesis statement and outline
4. Using your thesis and outline to create an opening paragraph
5. Creating a first draft of the full paper
6. Seeking feedback on your first draft and making revisions

Previously, we worked on #1 and #2, and today we’ll work on #3 and #4. After today, you’ll be responsible for writing a first draft of your paper and having an individual conference with me to discuss it.

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Thesis Statements

Your thesis statement (central claim) should clearly present the most important information about your topic that you’d like someone to accept as true (based upon the reasoning and evidence that will be presented in the remainder of your paper).

If you are struggling to present the main topic of your paper (ie: what you identified in Step 1) as a thesis statement, I encourage you to read Professor Erik Simpson’s 5 Ways of Looking at a Thesis. To briefly summarize this document, you might consider one or more of the following strategies when crafting your thesis:

1. Your thesis can say something a little strange. Good papers go out on a limb, and they support their limb with reasoning and evidence.
2. A good thesis creates an argument that has a clear direction to it. You can use your thesis to lay out how your paper will build from one point to another. This type of thinking helps avoid the two weakest ways of organizing a longer research paper: the “pile of information” and the “plot summary with comments”.
3. You should be able to fit your thesis into the “Magic Thesis Sentence” (MTS) which is “By looking at [BLANK], we see [BLANK], which most readers don’t see; it is important to look at this because [BLANK]”. Note that I’m not recommending you include this exact MTS format in your paper, but it’s a useful test to see if your thesis fits relatively closely into this framework.
4. A good thesis should exclusively discuss the text(s) you are focusing on. A good test of this is whether you could substitute another text or topic into your thesis statement with it still making sense.
   • For example, “educational trends in America are worsening” fails this test because the statement “personal finance trends in America are worsening” still makes sense.
   • However, “educational trends in America due worsening an increasing perception that public schools unfairly favor certain political ideologies” passes the test, as this claim would not make sense if “personal finance” were substituted into it.
5. A thesis statement should make a substantial amount text(s) you are focusing on irrelevant to the reader. If your thesis forces you to explain something from every single page of a longer article it is most likely overly broad or lacking in focus. An overly broad thesis predisposes your paper towards being a simple summary of the main text you’re focusing on.

Question #1: Using your topic from last week (or a new topic that you’ve moved to since then) create an “MTS” version of your paper’s thesis. For this question, aim to follow the MTS format as closely as possible.

Question #2: Share your MTS thesis with a partner of your choosing, give them a minute or two to read and think about it, then have a short discussion sharing your thoughts. Afterwards, briefly summarize the conversation in a few of sentences.

Question #3: Using the feedback from Question #2 (if appropriate), rework your thesis statement from Question #1 to no longer rigidly mirror the MTS format. That is, rewrite it to use your own voice and personal style, and modify the structure to better fit your paper’s introductory paragraph.

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Outlines

The most effective papers excel in balancing clarity with complexity.

• For example, a “pile of information” paper, which functionally is just a set of interchangeable points, is easy to make extremely clear. However, this clarity comes at the expense of complexity, and readers will likely find it boring and unfulfilling.
• Conversely, an overly complex paper might require the reader invest too much time and effort into understanding what the author is saying, and this can be a source of frustration, or can even cause for a reader to skip over or discount the later portions of the paper.

Outlining is a useful strategy to find an appropriate balance of clarity and complexity.

• In an outline, your aim is to identify the main topics of several paragraphs that each contribute something new in support of your thesis statement.
• Ideally, these paragraphs should build upon each other, meaning it’d be difficult exchange their order without completely ruining your paper.
  • In some circumstances, particularly for Option #2 of our paper, some degree of exchangeability can be appropriate (since some statistical mistakes are entirely independent of other mistakes).

Question #4: Using the template given below, construct an outline of your paper. In doing so, you might recognize the following:

1. In academic writing, a paragraph generally contains 3-7 sentences and 100-200 words. This amounts to roughly 2-3 paragraphs per page, so for a 3-6 page paper your outline might reflect 8-12 paragraphs (which includes an introduction and conclusion). You shouldn’t feel obligated to strictly abide by these norms, but they’re worth keeping in mind while planning your paper and gauging how it will be received by a reader.
2. Each paragraph should add something new to your paper. You don’t want multiple paragraphs that say essentially the same thing, and you don’t want multiple distinct topics in the same paragraph.
3. With a few exceptions (such as a conclusion paragraph), each paragraph should include evidence and a clear link back to the larger argument or topic of your paper.

Template:

1. Introduction
   • Thesis statement
2. Body Paragraph #1
   • Main topic
   • Connection to thesis
   • Relevant evidence (reasoning, sources, etc.)
3. Body Paragraph #2
   • Main topic
   • Reason why this paragraph should come after Body Paragraph #1
   • Connection to thesis
   • Relevant evidence (reasoning, sources, etc.)
4. Body Paragraph #3
   • Main topic
   • Reason why this paragraph should come after Body Paragraph #2
   • Connection to thesis
   • Relevant evidence (reasoning, sources, etc.)
5. \(\ldots\) (continue as necessary)

Question #5: After creating your outline, exchange it with the same partner you worked with on Questions #1-3, then have a brief discussion where you both share your thoughts on each others outline. Then, as your response to this question, briefly summarize your main takeaways from the discussion of your outline.

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Opening Paragraphs

In general terms, the purpose of a introductory paragraph is to place the reader into the analytical space of your essay. To accomplish this, you should ensure your introduction achieves the following:

1. It clearly and precisely lays out the main topic of your essay.
2. It motivates the main topic in a way that is engaging and interesting to the reader.
3. It explicitly states your position on the main topic of the essay. In other words, it includes your thesis statement.

A good introduction will also foreshadow the main lines of argumentation that will be used in body of your essay.

There are many effective ways to structure an opening paragraph that achieves the aforementioned objectives. However, if you are struggling to organize an effective introduction, you might consider this template from Brandies University, which suggests you include the following structural components:

1. An opener - a statement that garners the reader’s attention and also moves the essay forward.
2. Shared context - claims about the papers main topic that provide background information that a reader readily accept as true without the presentation of evidence.
3. Topic or Purpose - a clear statement of what your paper will focus on. This component typically can fit the framework of “this paper examines …” or “the purpose of this essay is to …”
4. Motive - a specific sentence somewhere towards the middle of your introduction that addresses why a reader should care about your thesis/essay. This often uses statements like “but”, “however”, or “yet” in a manner similar to the strategies we’ve previously discussed for effective scientific presentations.
5. Thesis - the central claim of your paper.
6. Roadmap - a sentence or two that lays out the structure of your paper by previewing or foreshadowing the main lines of argumentation that will be discussed.

Question #6: Draft an introduction paragraph that includes all 6 structural components mentioned above.

Question #7: Exchange your introduction paragraph with the same partner you’ve been working with, identify each of the structural components in their paragraph, and briefly discuss your thoughts on their introduction. In your response to this question, briefly summarize your main takeaways from the discussion of your outline. You might address how easily your partner could identify the 6 requested components and whether any of them were awkward or unclear.

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Next Steps

Please upload a copy of your responses to Questions #1-7 onto P-web to receive credit for today.

Next, following the instructions you received via email, sign up for a 1-on-1 time slot to discuss a draft version of your paper. You should upload your draft to P-web at least 3 hours before the meeting time you sign up for.

Additionally, if you’d like to give your final presentation on Tuesday 12/5, you must sign up for one of the slots on Thursday, Friday, or Monday, as I’d like to discuss your work on the final with you before you present any of it. If you have a preference towards presenting on Tuesday versus Thursday, please leave a comment when you sign up to explain your preference.