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AcademicandProfessionalWriting:WritingaResearchPaper

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THE WRITER'S HANDBOOK

W R I T I N G

R E S E A R C H

P A P E R

Handbook Index
Academic and
Professional Writing

HomeWriter'sHandbook:WritingaResearchPaper

Writing a Research Paper

Job Materials and

Application Essays
ApplicationEssays(and
PersonalStatements)

This page lists some of the stages involved in writing a

library-based research paper.

ResumeWritingTips
CoverLetters

Althoughthislistsuggeststhatthereisasimple,linearprocesstowritingsuch
apaper,theactualprocessofwritingaresearchpaperisoftenamessyand
recursiveone,sopleaseusethisoutlineasaflexibleguide.

BusinessLetters
Literary Analysis Papers
ReadingPoetry
UsingLiteraryQuotations

1. Discovering,Narrowing,andFocusingaResearchableTopic

PlayReviews

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Proposals and Dissertations

ResourcesforProposal
Writers
ResourcesforDissertators
Research Papers
PlanningandWriting
ResearchPapers
QuotingandParaphrasing
WritingAnnotated
Bibliographies
CreatingPoster
Presentations
Reviews
ReadingforaReview
CriticalReviews
WritingaReviewof
Literature
Scientific Reports
ScientificReportFormat
SampleLabAssignment

Finding,Selecting,andReadingSources
Grouping,Sequencing,andDocumentingInformation
WritinganOutlineandaProspectusforYourself
WritingtheIntroduction
WritingtheBody
WritingtheConclusion
RevisingtheFinalDraft

Discovering,Narrowing,andFocusinga
ResearchableTopic
Trytofindatopicthattrulyinterestsyou
Trywritingyourwaytoatopic
Talkwithyourcourseinstructorandclassmatesaboutyourtopic
Poseyourtopicasaquestiontobeansweredoraproblemtobesolved

Finding,Selecting,andReadingSources
Youwillneedtolookatthefollowingtypesofsources:

Writing Process and

Structure
Improving Your Writing
Style
Grammar and
Punctuation
Cite References in Your
Paper
Writing Center Home

librarycatalog,periodicalindexes,bibliographies,suggestionsfromyour
instructor
primaryvs.secondarysources
journals,books,otherdocuments

Grouping,Sequencing,andDocumenting
Information
Thefollowingsystemswillhelpkeepyouorganized:
asystemfornotingsourcesonbibliographycards
asystemfororganizingmaterialaccordingtoitsrelativeimportance
asystemfortakingnotes

WritinganOutlineandaProspectusforYourself
Considerthefollowingquestions:
Whatisthetopic?
Whyisitsignificant?
Whatbackgroundmaterialisrelevant?
Whatismythesisorpurposestatement?
Whatorganizationalplanwillbestsupportmypurpose?
top

WritingtheIntroduction
Intheintroductionyouwillneedtodothefollowingthings:

https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/PlanResearchPaper.html

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AcademicandProfessionalWriting:WritingaResearchPaper
presentrelevantbackgroundorcontextualmaterial
definetermsorconceptswhennecessary
explainthefocusofthepaperandyourspecificpurpose
revealyourplanoforganization

WritingtheBody
Useyouroutlineandprospectusasflexibleguides
Buildyouressayaroundpointsyouwanttomake(i.e.,don'tletyoursources
organizeyourpaper)
Integrateyoursourcesintoyourdiscussion
Summarize,analyze,explain,andevaluatepublishedworkratherthanmerely
reportingit
Moveupanddownthe"ladderofabstraction"fromgeneralizationtovarying
levelsofdetailbacktogeneralization
top

WritingtheConclusion
Iftheargumentorpointofyourpaperiscomplex,youmayneedtosummarize
theargumentforyourreader.
Ifpriortoyourconclusionyouhavenotyetexplainedthesignificanceofyour
findingsorifyouareproceedinginductively,usetheendofyourpapertoadd
yourpointsup,toexplaintheirsignificance.
Movefromadetailedtoagenerallevelofconsiderationthatreturnsthetopicto
thecontextprovidedbytheintroduction.
Perhapssuggestwhataboutthistopicneedsfurtherresearch.

RevisingtheFinalDraft
Checkoverallorganization:logicalflowofintroduction,coherenceanddepth
ofdiscussioninbody,effectivenessofconclusion.
Paragraphlevelconcerns:topicsentences,sequenceofideaswithin
paragraphs,useofdetailstosupportgeneralizations,summarysentenceswhere
necessary,useoftransitionswithinandbetweenparagraphs.
Sentencelevelconcerns:sentencestructure,wordchoices,punctuation,
spelling.
Documentation:consistentuseofonesystem,citationofallmaterialnot
consideredcommonknowledge,appropriateuseofendnotesorfootnotes,
accuracyoflistofworkscited.

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Lastupdated:August29,2014
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2014BoardofRegentsoftheUniversityofWisconsinSystem

https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/PlanResearchPaper.html

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