Bratislava, Slovakia academic writing guide
Answer to the research question
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Answer to the research question. Ask yourself the question and then answer it with your thesis. Is it truly an answer? (if not, change the question or the answer!)
perhaps not so expected.
Clarity. It should be understandable after one reading and have no mistakes.
When should you write your thesis statement? It depends on when you know the answer to your research question. You may have an idea before you begin researching, you may discover it as you research, or you may not know it until you have almost finished writing your paper. It’s useful to have a thesis idea at the beginning to help you focus, but it’s also OK to change your thesis statement as you go through the writing process and learn and think more about your topic.
After you have a preliminary thesis statement (the answer to your research question), you can make a basic outline. You may be able to do this before doing any research, or you may need to read more about the topic first. You should, however, have a basic outline before you finish researching in order to ensure that your paper is focused on YOUR thoughts, not just your sources’.
A basic outline is your first attempt to organize the ideas of your paper. It will help you focus your research and consider the order of your ideas. To make one:
1. Write your question and answer (preliminary thesis statement). Don’t worry about writing a beautiful, memorable, strong thesis statement yet; just a simple answer to your question is enough to start the basic outline. 2. Write down all the reasons/arguments/effects/solutions (each type of paper is different) you have to answer your question and support your thesis. Do not look at your sources – use your own brain. 3. Look at your list and organize the ideas. Some may be combined as one larger idea; some may just repeat others in different words. You may decide to delete some too. 4. The remaining ideas will be the main points of your paper. These ideas are the sections of your paper. 5. Decide how to order these points. What order will you follow – chronological, cause
8 to effect, problem to solution, most important to least important, weakest to strongest? Which order will make your paper the strongest and most interesting? 6. Your paper should also cover alternative or opposing viewpoints to show that you have done complete research and considered all ideas. In this “con section,” you will present and refute (argue against) other views of your topic.
7. Those are very basic outlines. It is possible to add more to them, especially after a little research. For each section, think of how much support you have. If you have a lot of supporting details (facts, examples, expert opinions) and explanations, then you will need more than one paragraph for that section. Some sections, especially your strongest, need more than one paragraph, while others may have only one. 8. Divide your sections into smaller points. Write the idea of each possible paragraph as a sentence so you can see how/whether it still answers the research question.
Research Question: Why has childhood obesity increased in the United States? Thesis: Childhood obesity has increased in the United States due to the unhealthy environment in which many American children are raised. Sections: I. Children eat more than in the past. II. Children often do not eat healthy meals. III. Children do not have as much physical activity as in the past. IV. Parents model bad habits. V. Others say that food companies, advertising are responsible. EXAMPLE BASIC OUTLINE before research (argumentative paper) Research Question: Are birth control pills safe for women? Thesis: Birth control pills are safe. Sections: I. Pills contain nothing harmful to health. II. Pills bring health benefits to women. III. Myths about birth control pills are wrong. EXAMPLE BASIC OUTLINE after more thinking and/or research (argumentative paper) Research Question: Are birth control pills safe for women? Thesis: Although there are some disadvantages, birth control pills are safe. Sections: I. Pills contain nothing harmful to health. II. Pills bring some health benefits to women. IV. Myths about birth control pills are wrong. 1. They do not cause ovarian cancer, but prevent it. 2. They do not cause breast cancer. 3. It is safe to use them when breastfeeding if done right. IV. There are some minor disadvantages, but not for healthy women. (4 sections, with a total of 6 paragraphs) 9
Planning – Taking Notes An important part of the research and planning process is taking notes of the information and ideas that you find. As you read a source, marking and writing down the important things that you read will help you to remember them and understand them better. It may seem time-consuming, but writing the paper will go faster if you already have all your ideas marked and written down. Start taking notes from or on your sources during or after your research period. It’s easier to do this after you have a basic outline. Then you can organize the notes around the main points of your paper. Still, you will probably have more notes than you need for your paper because your original ideas and organization will change. Where to take notes
o Highlight or underline important information. o Take notes in the margin. Write down your comments/questions about the information. Note which main point from your paper the information supports (this will help you when you are organizing and writing your paper later).
o Create a separate Word document for each section of your paper. o Take notes of important information from paper sources. Don’t forget to include the author’s name. o Put text copied from web pages in quotation marks. Be very careful – this often leads to unintentional plagiarism. Don’t forget to include the author’s name and web address.
o Write the author's name at the top of the page.
Research Question: Why has childhood obesity increased in the United States? Thesis: Childhood obesity has increased in the United States due to the unhealthy environment in which many American children are raised. Sections: I. Children eat more than in the past (portion sizes have increased). II. Children often do not eat healthy meals. 1. Healthy food is hard to get (expensive + rare). 2. Schools provide unhealthy food
1. Physical activity in schools has decreased. 2. Some children live in areas unsafe for outdoor activity. 3. Many children watch too much TV. IV. Parents model bad habits. 1. Parents do not have time, money, or information to prepare healthy meals. V. Food companies and advertising may bear some responsibility, but parents should be able to help children resist them. (5 sections, with a total of 8 paragraphs) 10
o Take notes of important information. In the margin, note which main point from your paper the information supports.
o Write one piece of information on each card. o Don’t forget the author’s name and other source information. o Put the main point from your paper at the top of the card so you can organize all the notes later.
Background information about your topic which is necessary for your paper. Arguments and explanations which support or oppose your ideas.
Facts, examples, expert opinions, and other supporting details. How to take notes
sources with ideas, but not many details, related to your topic.
for directly copied words. Good for details which will support/oppose you.
After going through your sources and taking notes, you can create a detailed outline by adding details to your basic outline as well as adding any new points that you found. A detailed outline plans each body paragraph of your paper for you, from main point to supporting points to supporting details.
Many students would prefer to skip this part of the writing process and just start writing their papers, since it takes a lot of time, thinking, and re-thinking to develop a good outline. Well, if you are an advanced academic writer, go ahead. Writers with a lot of experience know what works best for them. However, if you are still learning how to write academic papers, you should make a detailed outline for several reasons:
You will have a map to follow when writing your paper.
You will avoid major organizational problems in your paper if you organize your ideas before you write.
You will have a chance to think more about your topic, refining your ideas. Some instructors will require draft outlines before your paper is due, or even final outlines with your paper, so you need to know how to write outlines.
After you have mastered the academic writing process, then you can decide whether or when to write a detailed outline. Here are the steps to follow when making your outline: 1. First, make changes to your basic outline’s thesis and main points until you are satisfied with your ideas and the order of your sections. 2. Then go through your notes and find supporting points for each section of your outline.
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3. Organize the supporting points in each section. 4. Go through your notes and add supporting details (facts, examples, expert opinion, descriptions, quotes, etc.) to each point. Be thorough so that the reader of your outline can understand how the detail supports the point. o Always include the source of any research that you put in your outline (Author, year). If you use the source’s exact words in your outline, use quotation marks. 5. Now, based on the amount of supporting points and details in each section, you can determine how many paragraphs you will need. 6. Divide your outline into paragraphs, each with a main point written in sentence form (preliminary topic sentence) and list of supporting points and details.
1. Pills contain hormones produced by women’s bodies. - Combination (estrogen+progestin) and progestin only (Planned Parenthood, 2003) - Estrogen – activates uterus, thickens walls. Progesterone – helps uterus accept egg (National Cancer Institute, 2003) 2. Pills give women the right amount of hormones so they can’t get pregnant - Estrogen pill stops egg production, progestin pill will “thicken cervical mucus” so no fertilization (Planned Parenthood, 2003, Basics section, para. 2) - Hormones “fool the body into acting as if it’s pregnant” (Alice, 1998) Section/Paragraph #2 Taking birth control pills has benefits for women's health. 1. Avoid unwanted pregnancy 2. Improve skin - less acne, less “excess” hair (Greenfield, 2004a) 3. Other benefits are fewer ovarian cysts, and less likelihood of anemia (Greenfield, 2004a) 4. Less painful menstruation - not so many cramps, lighter flow (Planned Parenthood, 2003) 5. Women can enjoy life Section III: Myths about birth control pills are wrong. Paragraph #3 Birth control pills do not cause ovarian cancer. 1. On the contrary, birth control pills help fight against cancer. - Progestin pill caused “increased cell turnover in the ovarian epithelium, indicating that progestin might lower ovarian cancer risk by activating cancer-preventative molecular pathways in the ovary – Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center (“Oral contraceptives,” 2002). More cell turnover means pre-cancerous cells are destroyed earlier and faster. - Women who took pills with more progestin had lower risk of ovarian cancer than women on pills with more estrogen, but all women taking the pill had lower risk of ovarian cancer than other women (“Oral contraceptives,” 2002) 2. Some doctors even advise women to take the pill for five years because of its benefits in preventing ovarian cancer (Greenfield, 2004b) 3. The longer women use pill, more protection they have against ovarian cancer. - Women who used pill for 1 year had 10-12% less chance of ovarian cancer. - Women who use it for 5 years decrease risk of ovarian cancer by 50%. – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Harvard Medical School (National Cancer Institute, 2003)
4. Pill can especially help women with ovarian cancer in family history. …
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EXAMPLE DETAILED OUTLINE (informative paper) Thesis: Golden Retrievers are valuable as support animals. Section I: Retrievers are intelligent and thus trainable. Body Paragraph 1: Golden Retrievers are one of the most intelligent and trainable dog breeds. 1. Hunting dogs in 19th century (Benji, 1992) 2. Very intelligent dogs - “In several current studies, Golden Retrievers have consistently placed in the top five breeds when tested for intelligence” (Maximillian, 2003, p. 1238). - First in a survey of 14 intelligence + training categories. Retrievers, German Shepherds, and Labrador Retrievers all usually at top (Huff, 2008). 3. Better behavior than other intelligent dogs - More trainable than G. shepherds and Labs (Huff, 2008) - Only breed with 100% passing rate at obedience schools (“The semi-annual study,” 2008). 4. Intelligence and trainability make them successful helping dogs in a variety of tasks.
1. Retrievers can remember and follow commands. - “their ability to effectively assimilate large numbers of training cues and to effectively recall that information makes them ideal candidates for seeing-eye purposes” (Spot, 2006a, p. 14). - Dogs must remember all commands and locations, such as busy intersections, crowded stores, bus stops, etc. - only takes average of 3 trips for Retrievers to learn everything (Spot, 2006a) 2. Retrievers’ good behavior makes them less likely to react aggressively in stress (Tin, 2008), which is necessary for seeing-eye dogs who may encounter stressful situations.
1. Retrievers have a great sense of smell. - Can distinguish more than 150 smells (Benji, 1992) 2. Disposition and trainability make them good sniffing dogs. - Used at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport to find drugs since 1978. Now used at more than 30 airports and secondary schools in Canada (Save the Pets, n.d.). - US, Japan, Peru , and others are starting to do this too (numerous articles).
1. Programs to raise seeing-eye puppies - Usually raised by a family for a year before training (Fido & Rover, 2008) 2. Dr. Dan Canine’s prison program (prisoners raise puppies) – a success - started in 1992, prisoners care for puppies from 8 weeks to 1 year. - released prisoners have a drop in re-offending rates compared to released prisoners convicted of similar crimes at same time - Prisoners gain maturity. Canine says, “the emotional commitment necessary to raise a puppy, love it, then give it away seems to help inmates cope more ably with post-prison life” (Shaggy, 2005, Effect on Prisoner section, para. 12). 3. So prisoners and Retrievers gain skills and maturity.
1. Companionship programs for elderly, physiotherapy for disabled with Golden Retrievers were started due to Canine’s program (Bauwau, 2009). 2. Pets benefit old or disabled – they gain hope. - Dr. Sandy: “The patients report feelings of greater optimism about their disability, and their hospital stays are shorter than estimated” (Zelda, 2007, para. 2). 3. Retrievers = best breed for this
- Other dogs, smaller or mixed, have more discipline problems (Bauwau, 2009). 4. Retrievers’ intelligence and trainability fit these programs perfectly, and they give caregivers a sense of responsibility and hope. 13
Writing the First Draft There are many ways to write the first draft of your paper. The key is to be prepared before you start – have a purpose, a thesis, enough research, and a plan (some sort of outline). And then, just write.
You could start at the beginning and write until the end. Or you could write paragraphs separately, in any order you like. Many writers do the body paragraphs first and save the introduction and conclusion for the end.
Read about the introduction, body, and conclusion in this guide before you start. Know how to use source material (see Research and APA Style Guide, pp. 13-26) before you start.
Then just write! Do not worry about perfection yet. Do not worry about grammar. Keep going! If you are missing information, mark the spot and then do more research later to fill in the gap.
Be aware of plagiarism. Write down the source whenever you use anything from a source.
Do not wait until the last minute! You will need time to revise, edit, and proofread. The Introduction The introduction of an academic paper is usually 1-2 paragraphs long – longer for longer papers with more background information. In general, your introduction should do the following things: Gain the immediate attention of the audience
Here are some (but not all) of the ways to start an interesting and relevant introduction: o Short anecdote that leads to your topic o Surprising statement/fact that relates to your topic o Quotation from a famous person or expert that introduces your topic o Brief and INTERESTING historical review of your topic o Statement which stresses the importance of your topic o Contradiction – someone else’s opinion (opposite of yours) about your topic
Do NOT be boring! Use the first sentence (often called the “hook sentence”) to hook the readers’ interest.
Do NOT be too general! Immediately dive into your specific topic; don’t waste space with a general introduction of the entire subject area. Remember that your audience is familiar with the subject area. And never start with the origins of humankind: “Since the beginning of history”!
Do NOT begin with your thesis idea! Use the introduction to build up to your thesis statement, so it comes with a little tension.
Give only the history, facts, or definitions that readers will need to understand your topic and thesis. Keep in mind what the audience already knows. 14
o Use facts/statistics to show the problem if necessary. o Avoid dictionary and encyclopedia definitions if possible and explain in your own words what the important concepts in your paper mean. o Use source information to provide background information, but not to answer the research question or give your opinion.
Make sure that the readers now know enough to follow your paper, but not too much that they have lost the focus of your paper.
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