Research Workshop SJCC Reading & Writing Center

Research Workshop SJCC Reading & Writing CenterSeries 3: The Writing Process

Exploring

Organizing and Analyzing Information

Ready to Outline and Write the Paper

Review of the Research Paper Process: What stage are you at?

From a Broad Topic to a Narrow Topic

•As you explore and find sources, move from a broad topic to a more narrow focus.

•Think of your topic as an entire pie; your research paper should only be a slice of pie—not the whole dish.

• To get started, identify at least two parts: ▫ the focus or scope of your topic ▫ your claim about your topic.

• Using “training wheels” such as In this essay I plan to prove that__________________________________________________________________________.

• A clear, precise thesis statement helps unify what you write; it’s a promise to your readers that you’ll stay with the topic you’ve declared.*

 *Source: Glenn, C., R.K. Miller, S.S. Webb, and L. Gray. The Writer’s Handbook. Second Ed. Boston: Thomson Heinle, 2004.

Thesis 101

Directly from The Craft of Research by Booth, Colomb, & Williams (pg. 101):

What question am I asking? What problem am I posing? Keep rehearsing that formula, I am working

on X to learn more about Y, so that my readers can better understand Z

Does this make sense? Am I missing anything important? What else would [my reader] like to know?

Good Questions to Ask Yourself

Steps to the Rough Draft•Once you have finalized your thesis--it

doesn’t have to be eloquent or pretty, but it should be a strong controlling idea--you can start to outline your paper.

•When you outline, consider what patterns, or combination of patterns might work for proving your thesis and structuring your essay.

•The next slide lists of some patterns of organization.

Rhetorical Moves/Patterns/Organization

• Description• Narration• Exemplification• Process Analysis• Causal Analysis• Definition• Classification• Comparison & Contrast• Argument• Or, Blended Options

More Sources for Organizing . . .•We will post links to the blog (

www.rwc.wordpress.com) to give you more ideas for patterns of organization and sample outlines.

•Also, trust your instinct about how you would present your ideas about your topic in an essay. Or, to put it another way, go with what makes sense—these additional sources are only meant to help you, not overwhelm you.

Organizing to Outlining . . .•In the next slide, we will look at a sample

outline for an argumentative paper.

•Then, we will go into more details about constructing an argument in your body paragraphs.

Sample Argument OutlineIntroductory SectionThesis (claim and reason): The American

government should lift economic sanctions against

Iraq, because this policy does more harm than good for both countries.

Body SectionsSection IClaim: The sanctions have not accomplished their

goal.Evidence: logical appeal (facts, expert authority)• Saddam Hussein is still in power• other dictators have withstood sanctions (Fidel

Castro)Section IIClaim: Rather than hurting Saddam, the sanctions

only make life worse for the common people ofIraqEvidence: logical appeal (statistics), ethical appeal

(fair, humane), emotional appeal• goes against American ideals of helping other

people• thousands of Iraqi children die each month

sanctions continue• restrictions on medicine and food hurt the

poorest people first

Outlines, cont. http://www.uwc.ucf.edu/handouts/Sample_Argument_Outline.pdf

Section IIIClaim: Lifting sanctions would benefit the American

economy by increasing oil productionEvidence: logical appeal (facts), emotional appeal• would cut down on gas and oil pricesSection IV -- Dealing with the Opposition1st Opposing View: Sanctions are necessary to

prevent Iraq from supporting terrorists andbecoming a regional problem againStrategy for Response: Concede that we want to

prevent more conflict and stop terrorism...but weshould lift sanctions gradually, and maintain a

military presence in the area (compromise)2nd Opposing View: Lifting sanctions would make the

U.S. look weakStrategy for Response: It is the humane and fair

action to take; also, sanctions contribute to hatredof the United States and encourage terrorist

sentiment (rebuttal)ConclusionEnd with a conclusion that suggests the larger

importance of this issue, and why we should care.Create a final statement that is powerful and

memorable.

Adapted from pg. 116 from The

Craft of Research by Booth et al.

(2008).The Toulmin Argument

REASON EVIDENCE

REBUTTAL/ACKNOWLEDGMENT RESPONSE

CLAIM

WARRANT

The Toulmin ArgumentSource image:

http://www-as.phy.ohiou.edu/~rouzie/fall151/catoulmin.gif

• From The Craft of Research (Booth et al., 2008)

TV violence can have harmful psychological effects on children claim 1 because those exposed to lots of it tend to adopt the values of what they see. reason 1 Their constant exposure to violent images makes them unable to distinguish fantasy from reality. reason 2 Smith (1997) found that children ages 5-7 who watched more than three hours of violent television a day were 25 percent more likely to say that most of what they saw on television was “really happening.” evidence supporting reason 2 Of course, some children who watch more violent entertainment might already be attracted to violence. acknowledgement But Jones (1999) found that children with no predisposition to violence were attracted to violent images as those with a violent history. response

Paragraph example of a version of the Toulmin argument.

Made up of three parts: •Lead in (or hook)•Background information•Thesis statement

Suggestions for a lead in:▫Begin with a question.▫Begin with a quotation.▫Begin with an unusual or odd fact▫Begin with a particularly interesting, striking, or

shocking fact.

Introductory Paragraphs

IN 1995, a year after Californians voted for a "three strikes and you're out" law that guaranteed much tougher sentences for criminals who reoffend, Curtis Wilkerson stole a pair of socks that cost $2.50. This is usually counted as a misdemeanor, but a prosecutor in Los Angeles got it classed as a felony. Since Mr. Wilkerson had already been convicted of abetting two robberies in 1981, when he was 19, his petty theft was counted as the third strike. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Getting Mr. Wilkerson and others like him out of prison is now the mission of a group of students at Stanford Law School. Under the supervision of two teachers, Michael Romano and Galit Lipa, they try to bring the most egregious injustices of California's three-strikes law before judges. About 1,000 "strikers" have written to them from prison, and about 20 are active cases. Three have been released so far.

Sample IntroductionFrom the article “A Voice for the

Forsaken; Criminal law in California” from The Economist (06/13/09)

•A good conclusion has these two characteristics: it summarizes the main points from the body of the essay, and it leaves the reader something to think about

Conclusion Paragraphs

1. Generalization—Sentences that make one of your specific points more general in focus.

2. Question for Further Study—Sentences that mention a related subject or question that is beyond the focus of the essay.

3. Synthesis of Main Points—Sentences that pull together the points proven in the essay to say something new.

4. Application—Sentences that apply the proven thesis statement to another idea or issue.

5. Argument Limitations—Sentences that explain how or why your conclusions are limited.

6. Emphasis of Key Point—Sentences that mention and add importance to one of the points of your essay.

7. Statement of Significance—Sentences that discuss the importance and relevance of the proven thesis statement.

From http://www.edarticle.com/k-12-subject-areas/writing/how-to-write-conclusion-paragraphs.html

More Conclusion Suggestions:

•Organize information first (outline or other technique)

•Write quickly to get across ideas (take it idea by idea).

•The rough draft is rough.•Then, you can revise for clarity and

proofread for grammar and spelling mistakes.

•Use transitions to help your readers to follow your ideas and build a bridge to the next paragraph.

Writing Tips

MLA CITATION•Look at the Series 2 PPT and the

additional resources posted on the blog for questions on in-text citations.

•The RWCUS blog has links to documents from EasyBib.com that explains MLA citation for the Works Cited page.

•Do you feel ready to write?

•Remember to consult with a librarian.

•Talk to a friend about your ideas.•Visit the SJCC Reading & Writing Center for individual help.

Anything Else?