Writing Homework Help

Overview

Your research paper will focus on a piece of literature we studied this term. Finding the right topic to explore within this literature is crucial to your success in writing your research paper. You will enjoy the assignment more if you select a topic that interests you or stimulates your curiosity.

The research prompt can be reduced to this question: What argument do you want to make about something we’ve read this semester?

Once you’ve decided what literature you want to focus on, think about what interested you about the story, such as a social or cultural issue, a historical event, or a character’s development. You might want to go back to your selected literature in the textbook. Following each selection is a group of thought-provoking questions that may help you decide what kind of argument you’d like to make. Always keep in mind your reaction to the literature, and be sure the claim you end up making mirrors the effect the literature has had on you.

Overview 3

There are several questions you can ask yourself once you’ve decided what you want to explore more carefully:

• Is my claim about this literature reasonable?
• Is this claim interesting? Why do I think it’s important?
• Does the text (and research) support this claim?

Once you’ve established the responses to these questions and determine that your topic is a strong one, you might want to begin organizing your thoughts into an outline.

Overview 4

As soon as you have a solid outline, begin filling in the gaps with your original discussion and support from your sources. Keep in mind that the structure of this paper isn’t unlike the other papers you’ve written.

Being organized is one key to strong research papers. Be sure to keep your resources and your notes organized and neat for easier documentation (for the next module).