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