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Jonathan Friesen - Writing Coach

Choosing a topic this handout provides detailed information about how to write research papers including discussing research papers as a genre, choosing topics, and finding sources. Contributors: jack raymond baker, allen brizee last edited: 2013 10 07 01:53:41 the first step of any research paper is for the student to understand the assignment. If this is not done, the student will often travel down many dead end roads, wasting a great deal of time along the way. Do not hesitate to approach the instructor with questions if there is any confusion. A clear understanding of the assignment will allow you to focus on other aspects of the process, such as choosing a topic and identifying your audience.

A clear understanding of the assignment will allow you to focus on other aspects of the process, such as choosing a topic and identifying your audience. A student will often encounter one of two situations when it comes to choosing a topic for a research paper. The first situation occurs when the instructor provides a list of topics from which the student may choose. These topics have been deemed worthy by the instructor therefore, the student should be confident in the topic he chooses from the list. Many first time researchers appreciate such an arrangement by the instructor because it eliminates the stress of having to decide upon a topic on their own. However, the student may also find the topics that have been provided to be limiting moreover, it is not uncommon for the student to have a topic in mind that does not fit with any of those provided.

However, the student may also find the topics that have been provided to be limiting moreover, it is not uncommon for the student to have a topic in mind that does not fit with any of those provided. If this is the case, it is always beneficial to approach the instructor with one's ideas. Be respectful, and ask the instructor if the topic you have in mind would be a possible research option for the assignment. Remember, as a first time researcher, your knowledge of the process is quite limited the instructor is experienced, and may have very precise reasons for choosing the topics she has offered to the class. If she likes the topic, great! if not, do not take it personally and choose the topic from the list that seems most interesting to you. The second situation occurs when the instructor simply hands out an assignment sheet that covers the logistics of the research paper, but leaves the choice of topic up to the student.

The second situation occurs when the instructor simply hands out an assignment sheet that covers the logistics of the research paper, but leaves the choice of topic up to the student. Typically, assignments in which students are given the opportunity to choose the topic require the topic to be relevant to some aspect of the course so, keep this in mind as you begin a course in which you know there will be a research paper near the end. Do not be anxious on account of a perceived lack of authority or knowledge about the topic chosen. Instead, realize that it takes practice to become an experienced researcher in any field. If the student begins thinking about possible topics when the assignment is given, she has already begun the arduous, yet rewarding, task of planning and organization. Once she has made the assignment a priority in her mind, she may begin to have ideas throughout the day. Brainstorming is often a successful way for students to get some of these ideas down on paper. Though brainstorming is particularly effective when a topic has been chosen, it can also benefit the student who is unable to narrow a topic.

Though brainstorming is particularly effective when a topic has been chosen, it can also benefit the student who is unable to narrow a topic. It consists of a timed writing session during which the student jots down mdash often in list or bulleted form mdash any ideas that come to his mind. At the end of the timed period, the student will peruse his list for patterns of consistency. If it appears that something seems to be standing out in his mind more than others, it may be wise to pursue this as a topic possibility. It is important for the student to keep in mind that an initial topic that you come up with may not be the exact topic about which you end up writing. Research topics are often fluid, and dictated more by the student's ongoing research than by the original chosen topic. Such fluidity is common in research, and should be embraced as one of its many characteristics. The purdue owl also offers a number of other resources on choosing and developing a topic: developing your thesis writing a thesis sentence: an introduction few sentences in your paper will vex you as much as the thesis sentence.

The purdue owl also offers a number of other resources on choosing and developing a topic: developing your thesis writing a thesis sentence: an introduction few sentences in your paper will vex you as much as the thesis sentence. And with good reason: the thesis sentence is typically that one sentence in the paper with the potential to assert, control, and structure the entire argument. Complicating the matter further is that different disciplines have different notions of what constitutes a good thesis sentence. Sometimes you'll encounter differences not only from discipline to discipline, but also from course to course.  one of your professors might frown on a thesis sentence that announces your process:  this paper will argue x by asserting a, b, and c. So what makes a good thesis sentence? despite the differences from discipline to discipline and from course to course, a good thesis will generally have the following characteristics: a good thesis sentence will make a claim. A good thesis rarely turns an intellectual problem into a black amp white, either/or proposition that the writer will then defend.

A good thesis rarely turns an intellectual problem into a black amp white, either/or proposition that the writer will then defend. Rather, a good thesis offers a nuanced and interesting perspective that the writer can develop via careful analysis. This perspective must be more than an observation.  for example, america is violent is an observation. Americans are violent because they are fearful the position that michael moore takes in bowling for columbine is an argument. Put another way, a good thesis sentence will inspire rather than quiet other points of view.

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Put another way, a good thesis sentence will inspire rather than quiet other points of view. One might argue that america is violent because of its violent entertainment industry. In short, if your thesis is positing something that no one can or would wish to argue with, then it's not a good thesis. Every paragraph in your paper exists in order to support your thesis and its claim.

Every paragraph in your paper exists in order to support your thesis and its claim. Accordingly, if one of your paragraphs seems irrelevant, you have two choices: get rid of the paragraph, or rewrite your thesis so that it is complex enough to embrace the whole of your argument. A good thesis not only signals to the reader what claim you're making, but also suggests how your argument will be presented. In other words, your thesis sentence should suggest the structure or shape of your argument to your reader.

In other words, your thesis sentence should suggest the structure or shape of your argument to your reader. Say, for example, that you are going to argue that american fearfulness expresses itself in two curious ways: a and b. In this case, the reader understands that you are going to have two important points to cover, and that these points will appear in a certain order. If you suggest a particular ordering principle in your thesis and then abandon it, the reader could become confused. John donaghy: finding patterns, solving problems professor john donaghy's method is founded on the understanding that a good thesis comes from good analysis.

John donaghy: finding patterns, solving problems professor john donaghy's method is founded on the understanding that a good thesis comes from good analysis. In his view, analysis is a complicated process that requires readers to break down a text event, object, or phenomenon into parts, discovering patterns among the parts, and coming up with a theory for why these patterns exist. In fact, professor donaghy argues, we are analyzing all the time: life presents us with data that we are continually sorting by finding patterns, creating categories, and making meaning. Students can be encouraged to see that they already possess analytical skills that can be transferred to writing papers.

Students can be encouraged to see that they already possess analytical skills that can be transferred to writing papers. To illustrate how analysis brings us to the development of a thesis, professor donaghy suggests three steps regarding a simple reading of the following gary snyder poem, pine tree tops: in the blue night frost haze, the sky glows with the moon pine tree tops bend snow blue, fade into sky, frost, starlight. First, when analyzing, students need to be conscious of examining parts of a text, looking for patterns or repeating elements. In a short poem, students can make a number of simple observations, including: number of words 34 number of syllables in words mostly single syllable parts of speech: mostly nouns adjectives are scarce surprisingly few verbs second, students need to try to determine how these parts and patterns are speaking to each other.