Writing to Inform and Explain

Developing a Research Paper

Why Write?

Every time an author writes he or she has a purpose

Express and Reflect

Inform and Explain

Evaluate and Judge

Inquire and Explore

Analyze and Interpret

Take a Stand/Propose a Solution

Step 1: Developing a Thesis

Thesis Statement: the sentence that states the essay’s

purpose

Provides justification to the essay

Prevents an assertion sufficiently limited to find support

in the essay

It is the central argument around which the essay

revolves

Step 1: Thesis Writing

A good thesis:

Expresses the main idea

Answers or sets up the “So What” Question

Says something meaningful and answers an interpretive

question

Presents an arguable statement which can be

supported with sustained evidence

Step 1: Thesis Writing

There are 3 types of thesis statements:

Static

Dynamic

Integrated

Step 1: Thesis Writing

Static

Unchanging, still, inactive

General and somewhat vague

Ex: Twain uses humor in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

for many reasons.

Step 1: Thesis Writing

Dynamic

Lively, active, growing, developing

Adds how or why

Ex: Twain uses humor in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

to accomplish his goal.

Step 1: Thesis Writing

Integrated

Brings together processes or functions that are normally

separate, made up of aspects that work well together

Offers connection to the real world

Ex: Twain uses humor in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

to lampoon Southern society in order to reevaluate

society’s beliefs.

Practice: Identifying Types of Thesis

Statements

With your face partner, determine whether or not the

following thesis statement is static, dynamic, or

integrated. Provide 1-2 sentences of justification for your

choice:

Harper Lee explains the true meaning of courage in her

novel To Kill a Mockingbird by having many characters face

challenges throughout the novel.

Practice: Identifying Types of Thesis

Statements

With your face partner, determine whether or not the

following thesis statement is static, dynamic, or

integrated. Provide 1-2 sentences of justification for your

choice:

Harper Lee explains the true meaning of courage in her

novel To Kill a Mockingbird.

Practice: Identifying Types of Thesis

Statements

With your face partner, determine whether or not the

following thesis statement is static, dynamic, or

integrated. Provide 1-2 sentences of justification for your

choice:

Harper Lee educates readers about the importance of

courage in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird by creating

situations in which characters are forced to go against

societal norms.

Step 2: Body Paragraphs

The body of your essay includes information that connects

back to your thesis.

For our essay, we will follow the CLEAR Paragraph

structure:

Claim

Lead-in

Evidence

Analysis

Relevance

Step 2: Body Paragraphs

Claim

This is your topic sentence

Much like your thesis drives the essay, your claim should

drive the paragraph

A strong claim is dynamic and addresses a specific

point about the topic

Step 2: Body Paragraphs

Lead in

The lead in introduces background information about

the claim, and ultimately sets up the evidence. The

lead in can be paraphrased or summarized information

from your research, however you still need to cite any

time you paraphrase or summarize.

Step 2: Body Paragraphs

Paraphrasing

The act of putting a passage from

source material into your own words.

A paraphrase must also be attributed

to the original source.

Paraphrased material is usually

shorter than the original passage,

taking a somewhat broader segment

of the source and condensing it

slightly.

Summarizing

The act of putting the main idea(s)

into your own words, including only

the main point(s).

Once again, it is necessary to

attribute summarized ideas to the

original source.

Summaries are significantly shorter

than the original and take a broad

overview of the source material.

Step 2: Body Paragraphs

Evidence

The evidence you use should be a quote from one of your

sources.

Quotations must be identical to the original, using a

narrow segment of the source. They must match the

source document word for word and must be

attributed to the original author.

Step 2: Body Paragraphs

Analysis

The analysis portion of your paragraph is breaking down the

evidence for the reader. Things to consider:

What is the author saying?

What does the evidence show?

Step 2: Body Paragraphs

Relevance

The relevance portion of your paragraph should answer the

“So What” Question.

Why does the evidence you’ve provided connect back to

your thesis?

What real world implications can be taken away?

Practice: Deconstructing Body Paragraphs

Read through the sample body paragraph from the essay “Every Little Girl Wants to Be a Princess, Right?”

Look for elements of the CLEAR paragraph structure.

Underline the Claim

[Bracket] the Lead-in

Circle the Evidence

Highlight the Analysis

Put *asterisks* around the Relevance

Journal #2

Free write about your overall topic for your paper (the

topic that your group as a whole researched).

Based on your research, what have you learned about

your topic and why is it important for other people to be

informed about your topic? What will other people gain

from having read your research paper and how it will it

impact their lives?

Step 3: Intro and Concluding Paragraphs

Introduction

Hook/Opener

Quote, question, fact

General Overview

Introduce Research Topic/Question

Thesis statement

Step 3: Intro and Conclusion

Examples of Hooks and Openers

Provide a “What If Scenario”

Provide a fact from your research

Provide a quote from your research

Ask a rhetorical question

Provide information about a historical event

Step 3: Intro and Conclusion

Conclusion

Restate thesis

Summarize main findings

Explain Significance

Your final chance to answer that “So What”

Question

Overall Essay General Specific

General

Step 5: MLA Format, Citations, and Works

Cited

Format

Refer to Handout

In-text Citations

Works Cited

Refer to Handout

Step 5: MLA Format, Citations, Works Cited

In-text Citations

If you know the author:

Provide a signal word or phrase along with the author’s last name and a page number

Ex: According to Author X ….”__________________” (3)

If you don’t know the author:

Provide the name of the title of the source and page number in parenthesis at the end of the quote

Ex: (“Title of Article” 3)

If citing a website:

Provide a signal phrase that includes the name of the website, not the entire URL

Ex: CNN.com, Forbes.com, etc.

No paragraph or page numbers are necessary

Step 5: MLA Format, Citations, Works Cited

Works Cited

The works cited is the last page of your essay, note it is on it’s own separate page, not listed after your conclusion

It is titled Works Cited, no bold or italics

Double space all citations, but do not skip entries between lines in a single citation. If a citation goes past one line indent by one tab

Entries appear in alphabetical order

Use Easybib.com to help you make your citations, then copy and paste to your Works Cited