A term (or research) paper is primarily a record of intelligent reading in several sources on a particular subject. The task of writing such is not as formidable as it seems if it is thought out in advance as a definite procedure with systematic perpetration.

The procedure for writing such a report consists of the following steps:

1. Choosing a subject
2. Finding sources of materials
3. Gathering the notes
4. Outlining the paper
5. Writing the first draft
6. Editing the paper

Now let’s look at each of them.

CHOOSING A SUBJECT

Most good papers are built around questions. You can find subjects in any textbook. Simply take some part of the text that interest you and examine it carefully. Ask yourself the following things about it to see if you can locate a question to answer in your paper. Does it tell you all you might wish to learn about the subject? Are you sure it is accurate? Does the author make any assumptions that need examining? Can two of the more interesting sections in the text be shown to be interrelated in some useful way? Your paper is an attempt to write a well-organized answer to whatever question you decide upon, using facts for the purpose of proving (or at least supporting) your contention.

The most common error made by students in choosing a subject for a term paper is to choose one that is too general. (The most specific subject will always have enough aspects to furnish a long paper, if you think about it for a while.)

FINDING SOURCES OF MATERIALS

A. Limitations. Tradition suggests that you limit your sources to those available on the campus and to those materials which are not more than 20 years old, unless the nature of the paper is such that you are examining older writings from a historical point of view.

B. Guides to sources.

1) Begin by making a list of subject-headings under which you might expect the subject to be listed.

2) Start a card file using the following forms.

a) Book and magazine article:

i. Subject

ii. Author

iii. Title

iv. Facts of publication

v. Library call number

b) News story:

i. Subject

ii. Facts of publication

iii. Headline

c) Periodicals:

i. Author

ii. Title

iii. Name of periodical

iv. Volume and page number

v. Month and year.

Sort these cards into (a) books and (b) each volume of periodicals. Then look up call numbers other periodicals and sort out those for each branch library. This sorting save library time.

C. Consult the card catalog in the library to locate books – record author, title, publisher, date of publication and call number.

D. Consult guides to periodicals, such as:

• • Education Index
  • Readers Guide
  • International Index to Periodicals
  • Psychological Abstracts

These are aids to finding articles on any subject. They list subject heading, with various titles of articles under them, together with the location of each article.

GATHERING THE NOTES

A. Examine the books and articles – several volumes at a time will save steps.

Skim through your sources, locating the useful material, then make good notes of it, including quotes and information for footnotes. You do not want to have to go back to these sources again. Make these notes on separate cards for each author – identifying them by author.

B. Take care in note-taking; be accurate and honest. Be sure that you do not distort the author’s meanings. Remember that you do not want to collect only those things that will support your thesis, ignoring other facts or opinions. The reader wants to know other sides of the question.

C. Get the right kind of material:

1. Get facts, not just opinions. Compare the facts with author’s conclusion.
2. In research studies, notice the methods and procedures, and do not be afraid to criticize them. If the information is not quantitative, in a study, point out the need for objective, quantified, well-controlled research.

OUTLINING THE PAPER

A. Do not hurry into writing. Think over again what your subject and purpose are, and what kind of material you have found.

B. Review notes to find main sub-divisions of your subject. Sort the cards into natural groups then try to name each group. Use these names for main divisions in your outline. For example, you may be writing a paper about the Voice of America and you have the following subject headings on your cards.

1. Propaganda – American (History)
2. Voice of America – funds appropriated
3. Voice of America – expenditures
4. Voice of America – cost compared with Soviet propaganda

The above cards could be sorted into six piles easily, furnishing the following headings:

1. History (Card 1)
2. Purpose (Card 5)
3. Organization (Cards 6, 7)
4. Cost (Cards 2, 3, 4, 9)
5. Effects (Card 8 )
6. Future (Card 10)

You will have more cards than in the example above, and at this point you can possibly narrow down you subject further by taking out one of the piles of cards.

C. Sort the cards again under each main division to find sub-sections for your outline.

D. By this time it should begin to look more coherent and to take on a definite structure. If it does not, try going back and sorting again for main divisions, to see if another general pattern is possible.

E. You may want to indicate the parts of your outline in traditional form as follows:

1. Example

a) Example

i. Example

ii.) Example

2. Example

3. Example

a) Example

Use these designations only in the outline and not in the paper itself, or it will look more like an extended outline that a paper.

WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT

You are now ready to write.

A. Write the paper around the outline, being sure that you indicate in the first part of the paper what its purpose is. Follow the old formula:

1. Tell the reader what you are going to say (statement of purpose)

2. Say it (main body of the paper)

3. Tell the reader what you’ve said (statement of summary and conclusion)

B. A word about composition:

1. Traditionally, any headings or sub-headings included are nouns, not verbs or phrases.

2. Keep things together that belong together. Your outline will help you do this if it is well organized. Be sure you don’t change the subject in the middle of a paragraph, and be sure that everything under one heading in your outline is about the same general topic.

3. Avoid short, bumpy sentences and long straggling sentences with more than one maid ideas.

EDITING THE PAPER

You are now ready to polish up the first draft.

A. Try to read it as if it were cold and unfamiliar to you. It is a good idea to do this a day or two after having written the first draft.

B. Reading the paper aloud is a good way to be sure that the language is not awkward, and that it “flows” properly.

C. Check for proper spelling, phrasing and sentence construction. Be sure that pronouns clearly refer to nouns.

D. Check for proper form on footnotes, quotes, and punctuation.

E. Check to see that quotations serve one of the following purposes:

1. Show evidence of what an author has said.
2. Avoid misrepresentation through restatement.
3. Save unnecessary writing when ideas have been well expressed by the original author.

F. Check for proper form on tables and graphs. Be certain that any table or graph is self-explanatory.

A thesis statement:

* tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.
* is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
* directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of      an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel.
* makes a claim that others might dispute.
* is usually a single sentence somewhere in your first paragraph that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.

If your assignment asks you to take a position or develop a claim about a subject, you may need to convey that position or claim in a thesis statement near the beginning of your draft. The assignment may not explicitly state that you need a thesis statement because your instructor may assume you will include one. When in doubt, ask your instructor if the assignment requires a thesis statement. When an assignment asks you to analyze, to interpret, to compare and contrast, to demonstrate cause and effect, or to take a stand on an issue, it is likely that you are being asked to develop a thesis and to support it persuasively.

How do I get a thesis?

A thesis is the result of a lengthy thinking process. Formulating a thesis is not the first thing you do after reading an essay assignment. Before you develop an argument on any topic, you have to collect and organize evidence, look for possible relationships between known facts (such as surprising contrasts or similarities), and think about the significance of these relationships. Once you do this thinking, you will probably have a “working thesis,” a basic or main idea, an argument that you think you can support with evidence but that may need adjustment along the way.

Writers use all kinds of techniques to stimulate their thinking and to help them clarify relationships or comprehend the broader significance of a topic and arrive at a thesis statement.

How do I know if my thesis is strong?

If there’s time, run it by your instructor or make an appointment at the Writing Center to get some feedback. Even if you do not have time to get advice elsewhere, you can do some thesis evaluation of your own. When reviewing your first draft and its working thesis, ask yourself the following:

* Do I answer the question? Re-reading the question prompt after constructing a working thesis can help you fix an argument that misses the focus of the question.

* Have I taken a position that others might challenge or oppose?If your thesis simply states facts that no one would, or even could, disagree with, it’s possible that you are simply providing a summary, rather than making an argument.

* Is my thesis statement specific enough?

Thesis statements that are too vague often do not have a strong argument. If your thesis contains words like “good” or “successful,” see if you could be more specific: why is something “good”; what specifically makes something “successful”?

* Does my thesis pass the “So what?” test? If a reader’s first response is, “So what?” then you need to clarify, to forge a relationship, or to connect to a larger issue.

* Does my essay support my thesis specifically and without wandering? If your thesis and the body of your essay do not seem to go together, one of them has to change. It’s o.k. to change your working thesis to reflect things you have figured out in the course of writing your paper. Remember, always reassess and revise your writing as necessary.

* Does my thesis pass the “how and why?” test? If a reader’s first response is “how?” or “why?” your thesis may be too open-ended and lack guidance for the reader. See what you can add to give the reader a better take on your position right from the beginning.