Research Writing

Ch 1 – Nature of Research Writing

Why is research writing valuable? Why do we continue to do this type of writing?

Look at the theory of relativity: it originated from Galileo’s principle of

relativity, Newton challenged it with his classical

physics to include absolute time, and after a few more challenges from

Hendrik Lorenz and Joseph Lamor’s special relativity,

Einstein discarded all of that and came up with theory of relativity.

Who reads research papers or essays?

Ch 2 – Finding and Narrowing the Topic

Invention strategies Free writing Journal writing Brainstorming Listing Clustering Mapping

Thou Shalt Read Thou Shalt Question Thou Shalt do Research Thous Shalt Learn Thous Shalt have a statement Thou Shalt Write

Analysis – look in depth and see how your subject fits into the whole picture

Comparison – find similarities and differences

Evaluation – form your own opinion, personal judgment

Argumentative – take a stand

5 Important Questions you should be answering in your research

paper

Who – was involved? What – what happened? Why – why did it happen? When – when did it happen? How – how did it happen?

True research papers are more than a loose collection of anecdotal memories or a patchwork of data pulled from several books.

Owl @ Purdue University

Logos – logic based Accuracy and clear reasoning

Who says something is more important than what is being said

Pathos – emotion based Information that stirs feelings

Provides vivid images and details

Ethos – ethic based Character and credibility

Offers presentation of evidence / support

Challenge your sources – exercise

The Art of Persuasion

Use encyclopedias to get overview of your subject

Use library catalogs to find books Use search engines to find on-line

sources

Sources

What would be the difference between using these sources?

Bibliography cards – use one per card or page Annotated vs Works Cited

Notes – write abstracts of what you read

Research journal – often, filing them in accordance with your bibliographies

3 important elements in a thesis

1. Defining your thesis2. Focusing your thesis3. Supporting your thesis

Write a paragraph on the components of your thesis

narrative, explanatory, informative, classification

definition, descriptive

Alcohol-induced activities lead teenagers to drink excessively

definition cause / effect narrative

Alcohol-induced activities - definition

Alcohol-induced activities range from quarters to wet t-shirt contests, from bellyshots to Girls Gone Wild. These activities are front stage and center in most watering holes. In recent years as alcohol consumption plays a major role in local bars, college parties, and even in private homes, teenagers find themselves infused in modified card games, like poker, 21, and Spoons. Alcohol-induced activities are games that drinkers play that require you to take a drink or a shot to get ahead. With those rules, come the unruliness of what alcohol can induce.

Lead – cause / effect

Alcohol-induced activities are enjoyable, as games are, which leads the inexperienced drinker to drink more and more. Because of the continuous drinking, an inexperienced drinker, such as a teenager, will continue to drink without limits, because it’s fun. Drinking without limiting oneself will lead to poor judgments, like drinking and driving; worse off, it can lead to alcohol poisoning, which can end up fatal.

teenagers to drink excessively- narrative

In the Fall of 1983, my friend Lucy and I went to a party at a friend’s house after a football game. There were football players playing quarters and girls playing 21 with Bacardi 51. They were laughing and having such a good time, noone even paid attention when Leslie left the table, stumbling. I’m not sure where she went, but someone told me they saw her in the backyard, doing cartwheels. The next day at school, I asked her why she was doing cartwheels at the party, and she said, I don’t know. Was I doing cartwheels? She drank so much, that her memory was impaired.

Concluding paragraph

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that teenagers who drink will tend to drink more; what I am saying is that if it is fun to drink, then teenagers are more apt to drink without hesitation.

Alcohol-induced activities lead teenagers to drink excessively to the point that their memory becomes impaired, or worse off, they don’t remember anything.

When to Cite When repeating what someone said When using statistics When using historical information that is not

common knowledge and you had to look up this information

When using someone else’s argument to defend your position

When researching a topic and you decide to write immediately Paraphrase summary

Revising Convert

Abstract to concrete General to specific Forceless to forceful Passive to active Inflated to plain Discriminatory to nondiscriminatory

Add transitional phrases and connectors Words that connect related ideas

Cut cliches or words with empty meanings like very, a lot, stuff, things

Editing

Are transitional phrases and words convey effective meaning?

Is the writing style clear and easy to understand?

Does the language seem to fit the audience?

Do the grammar errors derail the meaning of the paper?

Proofing Is the thesis clear? Do the supporting arguments or

details directly explain or support the thesis?

Do the transitional phrases / words connect the ideas effectively?

Do the examples used as support – support the idea in the paragraph?

Are the introductory and the concluding paragraphs coherent and developed?