Inspiration Article
Justin lo
4.1.3AnalyzingtheResearchPaper.docxAnalyzing the Research Paper
The following steps will carefully guide you through a close analysis of the ideas and organization of the research paper we have read. This process may seem slow and obsessively focused, but it will produce results! By the end of this series of tasks, you will more clearly see the sample research paper and have a better understanding of how to organize your own research paper ideas.
1. Underline the thesis statement and then, on a separate paper, break it down and label each chunk according to the Sheridan Baker or problem solution model, whichever is appropriate. You may use your notes from last time to help you with this task.
2. Skim the paper and underline the topic sentence of each body paragraph. If you cannot identify a topic sentence in a paragraph, write a question mark in the margin next to the paragraph.
3. Skim the essay again and identify how many introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs it has. On a separate paper, write down the number of each type of paragraph. How long are most of the body paragraphs? Skim the body paragraphs and then write down your estimate.
4. Again, carefully skim the essay and mark those places where a significant transition occurs—where a new idea or a new phase of the paper appears. Annotate the paper in the margins to describe the new idea or phase appearing in the essay. How many of these significant moments do you think you will find?
5. Using all of the work you have done so far, and on a separate paper, create a rough plan or map of the sample research paper. In other words, use your analysis of the paper to describe its important chunks or sections and be sure to identify roughly how long each section of the paper is.
Question: Could you apply this same process to your own research paper? What do you think you would find out about your paper if you did?
