Research Paper
Sonahana
Structuringyourresearchpaper.pptxStructuring your research paper
Begin with an outline of your paper
Opportunity to organize your thoughts
List all the information you need for writing the paper
Makes writing the paper easier
Basic structure of the paper
Title
Introduction
Arguments and evidence (try to include a case study)
Conclusion
References
Thinking of a suitable title
The title should tell the reader about your topic
It can also mention your case study
Try to keep your title within 15 words
E.g. you are writing a paper on why the US has weak gun control laws, with Florida as your case, as suitable title is:
- Gun Control Laws in the United States: The Case of Florida
Capitalize each letter of the title (except for conjunctions, prepositions and articles appearing in the middle of the title)
Introduction
Introduce your topic.
Briefly discuss the puzzle in your topic (in our example - even though many die from gun shootings and most people support greater gun control, the US has relatively weak gun laws).
Briefly explain the key terms in your topic (e.g. War of Drugs, affirmative action, climate change, hate speech, and so on).
Mention the scope of the paper – the time period you will focus on, your case study, the type of sources you will use.
Towards the end of the introduction, briefly provide a roadmap of your paper, including your main conclusions.
The introduction should be 1-2 paragraph long.
Arguments and Evidence
Logically structure your various arguments.
Discuss each argument in 1-2 paragraphs.
Substantiate your arguments with evidence, which can be in the form of data, historical facts or expert opinion.
Make sure to cite the source for all your evidence.
Do also provide counter-arguments (if applicable).
Write your paper for a lay audience, i.e., one that does not necessarily have expertise on your topic.
Case study
Depending on your paper topic, your case study can be a geographical unit (e.g. city, state), a law, a government initiative, an election cycle, a politician, and so on.
Examine how your general arguments apply to the case study – does the case study support all/some of the arguments or refute them?
In our example of gun control, the case study can be a state (as there is some inter-state variation in gun laws), the term of a president, the past few years (e.g. 2015-2020), or a particular gun control law (e.g. universal background checks).
Conclusion
Briefly summarize the arguments and counter-arguments that you present in your paper.
Present your opinion on these arguments – which ones do you find more/less convincing and why.
Finally present your answer to the research question that you ask in your paper – the answer may be tentative or qualified.
The conclusion should be 1-2 paragraph long.
Bibliography
Provide a complete bibliography of all the sources you cite in your paper.
The bibliography should be in a standard referencing style (e.g. APA, Chicago, MLA).
Further guidelines on these styles is available here.
Other things to keep in mind
Use direct quotes ONLY while conveying an opinion that you think should be conveyed verbatim. Paraphrase all other material.
Run your paper through Grammarly before submitting it. (More on this in the next class.)
