Step 2: DraftingAP Language Research Paper

K. Shimabukuro

Let’s review where we’ve been…

STEP 1: PREWRITING Decide on a topic to write about.

Write a thesis for your argument.

Create a rough outline of your topic.

Do your research.

Notes/Sources (10 of them)

Inclusion of a graph, chart, political cartoon, visual

Here’s where we are…

You will revise your outline based on your research Look at your thesis- based on the information you found, do you

have to revise it?

Refine/revise what major topics you’ll cover. Organization is key in a research paper, so make sure you’re organizing your information into mini-topics.

Add specific facts and information based on your research.

I suggest that you include parenthetical citations next to your information so that it’s easier to write the rough draft later. This also prevents inadvertently forgetting to cite sources later.

Remember, your notes were organized by source, here you want to organize by topic.

Is there information you will not use because it does not fit into your general topic?

Where will you integrate your visual?

Sample Outline- click on the image to go to the webpage source

Another sample- click on image to go to the webpage source

The Revised Outline

The purpose of this revised outline is to give me a clear idea of your argument, and the facts that support it.

These are the things I’ll be looking for: The quality of your notes as well as the strength of the argument.

The organization of your argument, to make sure that your sub-topics support your thesis and are clearly connected.

How you integrate your visual

Your response to counter arguments

Your conclusion/final thoughts on the topic

Remember, this revised outline should allow you to easily write your rough draft later in the week.

This revised outline will also serve as a template for your introduction later in the week.