Drafting the Research Paper

English IIINCVPS

Where we areO You’ve chosen a topicO Researched your topic

O 4 sourcesO 1 graphic source

O Organized your research into an outlineO You might want to revisit your outline, and

improve it based on feedback before you draft. O You should be able to write your rough draft

straight from your outlineO Written a clear, concise thesis that states

your topic and position

PlagiarismO Plagiarism is very serious, and incidental

plagiarism is easy to do in a research paper. Perhaps you didn’t put something in quotes when taking notes, or you didn’t paraphrase enough

O Be sure to avoid it!O Double check your notes for paraphrasing,

direct quotes and summariesO Be sure to parenthetically cite at the end of

where you got the informationO When in doubt, Google the phrase to double

check

Drafting tips…O You also need to use citations in your paper,

so I know where your information came fromO Research papers include facts, not opinions,

so you should make sure you don’t lean on one side or another, or have bias in your paperO Avoid personal pronouns

O You need to determine what your purpose, or reason for writing is

O Your paper should have an objective tone to it, so that the facts can be trusted

More drafting tipsO Write an introduction that outlines your

entire paperO Be sure your research is organized by

sub-topicsO Don’t get hung up on pages. Focus on

the writing, if you’ve done all the steps correctly, you’ll be fine.

O Once you finish writing, set it aside for a little bit. Later, come back and read it out loud to catch any mistakes

FeedbackO Once your rough draft is graded, it is

very important that you go back through and read your feedback.

O I expect to see these changes made in your final draft.