Research Essay
This essay should be 400-500 words, and about any topic you are interested in (as long as it's reasonably academic...see me if you're not sure about your topic). Check out the Idea Generator (sixth in the list of links to the right) for possible topic areas. This blog shows the steps necessary to do a proper research essay. Posts 1-19 are all relevant to some degree. Please read through them at your own pace. I will be able to help you with citation, or anything else, when you need it.
1. What is academic writing?
Writers write for various purposes, and therefore don't always use the same style. The style of writing is determined by the purpose. You must remember the audience you are writing for. Writing an email to a friend is very different to writing an essay. You cannot write an academic essay using the same tone/ language that you would when writing to a friend.
The purpose of academic writing is to show what you have learned, and what conclusions you have reached, from your research into a topic. Ideas expressed in academic essays have to be expressed in a scholarly tone, and supported by referring to facts or conclusions already published by writers in academically respected forums.
For more detailed information, check the "Writing Centre" link to the right (handout numbers 3 and 4).
The purpose of academic writing is to show what you have learned, and what conclusions you have reached, from your research into a topic. Ideas expressed in academic essays have to be expressed in a scholarly tone, and supported by referring to facts or conclusions already published by writers in academically respected forums.
For more detailed information, check the "Writing Centre" link to the right (handout numbers 3 and 4).
2. Avoid using personal language
As you know, the tone of an academic essay (that is, the style of language used) shouldn't be like that of a conversation. Therefore, it is usual to avoid the use of personal pronouns (I, we, us etc) as much as possible. The writer is supposed to make an objective presentation of his/her idea. In other words, the writer should rely on logical argument, plus evidence borrowed from other published work, to make the reader accept the point of view presented in the essay.
Don't use expressions like "I think..." or "In my opinion...", and never write questions addressed directly to the reader ("What do you think of...?", "Do you know...?"). For practice avoiding the use of personal pronouns, go to the link on the right titled "Avoiding personal language".
The following website has similar information as well.
http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/arts/sociology/2.3.1.xml
Don't use expressions like "I think..." or "In my opinion...", and never write questions addressed directly to the reader ("What do you think of...?", "Do you know...?"). For practice avoiding the use of personal pronouns, go to the link on the right titled "Avoiding personal language".
The following website has similar information as well.
http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/arts/sociology/2.3.1.xml
3.Choosing a topic
Before you can even think about writing your research essay, you're going to have to do a lot of reading. Therefore you should choose a topic that interests you. Take some time over this, and choose carefully.
It can sometimes be difficult to decide what you want to research. Try thinking about questions such as:
What subject did you like best at high school?
What do you study in university, and why?
What websites do you visit most often?
Trying to answer questions about a topic you're interested in can also help focus your thoughts. If you have no idea for a topic to research, you might find it useful to glance through the Idea Generator (link on the right), particularly Arts & Humanities or Social Sciences, to get you started on something.
It can sometimes be difficult to decide what you want to research. Try thinking about questions such as:
What subject did you like best at high school?
What do you study in university, and why?
What websites do you visit most often?
Trying to answer questions about a topic you're interested in can also help focus your thoughts. If you have no idea for a topic to research, you might find it useful to glance through the Idea Generator (link on the right), particularly Arts & Humanities or Social Sciences, to get you started on something.
4. Narrowing your topic
Once you've chosen a topic, you'll probably need to narrow it down. For example, maybe you're interested in Ancient Egypt. That's a very broad topic, so you'll need to narrow your focus onto a particular subject within the topic, the pyramids, for instance. Techniques such as brainstorming or freewriting are often used to give you ideas.
At this point you need a research question. What is it about the pyramids that you want to research? Research questions generally begin with "How..." or "Why...". How were the pyramids built? Why were they built?
Other examples could be:
Why did a particular event happen the way it did, and not another way?
Why did Obama win the last election?
Why did the Soviet Union collapse?
How have race relations changed in the US since the 1960s?
In other words, good researchers (in social sciences) usually investigate developments in society which may seem somehow surprising (How question), or the causes of an event or trend (Why question).
At this point you need a research question. What is it about the pyramids that you want to research? Research questions generally begin with "How..." or "Why...". How were the pyramids built? Why were they built?
Other examples could be:
Why did a particular event happen the way it did, and not another way?
Why did Obama win the last election?
Why did the Soviet Union collapse?
How have race relations changed in the US since the 1960s?
In other words, good researchers (in social sciences) usually investigate developments in society which may seem somehow surprising (How question), or the causes of an event or trend (Why question).
5. Getting an overview
Perhaps you have decided a broad subject area that you are interested in, but are having trouble narrowing your focus to a specific topic area. If so, you should take the basic step of identifying key words connected to your subject. This can help you get started. Check the link titled "Information Search" (on the right of this page) for an explanation. At the bottom of that page, also read "Tip Sheet 3" (in the green box) about getting an overview.
Doing some background reading to get an overview of your subject gives you a general idea about the subject, and shows you how it can be separated into sub-topics. Then you might see what topic you'd like to focus on. Encyclopedias (for example, Encyclopedia Brittanica) are excellent sources for getting an overview. Wikipedia is okay, although not as reliable. Anyone can write for Wikipedia, and it's known to be less than 100% reliable. Wikipedia can never be used as a direct source for research essays.
Doing some background reading to get an overview of your subject gives you a general idea about the subject, and shows you how it can be separated into sub-topics. Then you might see what topic you'd like to focus on. Encyclopedias (for example, Encyclopedia Brittanica) are excellent sources for getting an overview. Wikipedia is okay, although not as reliable. Anyone can write for Wikipedia, and it's known to be less than 100% reliable. Wikipedia can never be used as a direct source for research essays.
6. Research question
After you have done some background reading and narrowed your focus, you should write your research question. As you know, it should probably begin with “Why” or “How”. The research question should be what you want to learn about the topic. The purpose of writing it now is simply to keep your mind focused while you do your research. It will ensure that you read and take notes only on information necessary for your essay. Later, it will also be useful when you write your thesis statement.
7. Finding sources
You should know by now that sources are the places where you get information about your topic, such as books, magazines, journals, Internet articles, and so on. As I wrote earlier, information found in Wikipedia is not totally reliable, so don't use it except to get a general overview of your topic. Any website with a ".com" address is a commercial site (it's a business), so researchers don't use such sites either as the information can't be trusted to be objective. Web addresses ending in ".edu" or ".gov" are considered to be reliable however, as they belong to universities or governments. ".org" may be fine too, depending on the organization and the topic you're researching.
Google Scholar is a good source of academic articles. There are other search engines besides Google though, and they will provide different results (for example, try http://www.altavista.com). Metacrawlers, which search many search engines at once, can be useful too(http://www.metacrawler.com). Separating key words in your search with OR, AND, or NOT (you must use capital letters) can help you find the kind of information you're looking for. This is called boolean searching. If you interested in learning how it works, read the explanation at http://www.internettutorials.net/boolean.asp
This should be enough information to help you find material on the Internet. If you're interested in a more in-depth (Power Point) explanation, click on the Internet Searches link to the right, and then the blue "Wading Through the Web" link.
Google Scholar is a good source of academic articles. There are other search engines besides Google though, and they will provide different results (for example, try http://www.altavista.com). Metacrawlers, which search many search engines at once, can be useful too(http://www.metacrawler.com). Separating key words in your search with OR, AND, or NOT (you must use capital letters) can help you find the kind of information you're looking for. This is called boolean searching. If you interested in learning how it works, read the explanation at http://www.internettutorials.net/boolean.asp
This should be enough information to help you find material on the Internet. If you're interested in a more in-depth (Power Point) explanation, click on the Internet Searches link to the right, and then the blue "Wading Through the Web" link.
8. Taking notes
Once you have found some sources, it is time to start taking notes. You should not be writing onto a Word document at this stage. There is still a need for pen and paper in the 21st century!
Unless you have some magical powers, you will not find information in the order that you will eventually write it in your essay. Some of the information that might appear useful at first might not be included in your essay after all. It is too early to know exactly what facts you will use. Your research question may change slightly over the next few weeks.
Therefore, you have to get organized! Many researchers recommend using index cards, because it is easy to shuffle and rearrange them when you start to put your first draft together. However, a notebook is probably just as good. The point is, whenever you take notes from a source be sure to start by writing the title, author, page number etc (see the "Taking notes" link to the right). If you're using many websites, bookmark them and create a folder for them. This will be useful when you cite your sources later.
It is also a very good idea to establish sub-topics within your research question, so that you can find all the notes you've taken related to particular things easily (once you start to write your first draft). Be sure to read "Tip Sheet 11: Creating Subtopic Headings" via the "Taking notes" link.
Unless you have some magical powers, you will not find information in the order that you will eventually write it in your essay. Some of the information that might appear useful at first might not be included in your essay after all. It is too early to know exactly what facts you will use. Your research question may change slightly over the next few weeks.
Therefore, you have to get organized! Many researchers recommend using index cards, because it is easy to shuffle and rearrange them when you start to put your first draft together. However, a notebook is probably just as good. The point is, whenever you take notes from a source be sure to start by writing the title, author, page number etc (see the "Taking notes" link to the right). If you're using many websites, bookmark them and create a folder for them. This will be useful when you cite your sources later.
It is also a very good idea to establish sub-topics within your research question, so that you can find all the notes you've taken related to particular things easily (once you start to write your first draft). Be sure to read "Tip Sheet 11: Creating Subtopic Headings" via the "Taking notes" link.
9. Citing sources: Quotations
When you find words that perfectly express an idea that is important for your essay, especially if they support/validate the argument you are trying to make (your main opinion about the topic), it is normal to quote them. That means putting quotation marks ( these things " ") at the beginning and end of the sentence/sentences you are copying.
Most of the time, writers include the name of the source's author and the year published at the beginning of the sentence, and the page number at the end. Note the following example. According to Smith (2005), "border collies are the most intelligent dogs" (p.47). Other ways of introducing the author's name include the following:
Smith (2005) has pointed out that...
As Smith (2005) says,...
Smith (2005) has made it clear that...
Smith (2005) explains/states/suggests/writes that...
If you don't include the author's name at the beginning, you might write it like this: "Border collies are the most intelligent dogs" (Smith, 2005, p.47).
If the quote is longer than two sentences, it should be indented. Generally speaking, a single quote should not take more than 4 or 5 lines of your paper, and you shouldn't quote too often. I would suggest a maximum of 6 for a small essay such as you are writing.
Most of the time, writers include the name of the source's author and the year published at the beginning of the sentence, and the page number at the end. Note the following example. According to Smith (2005), "border collies are the most intelligent dogs" (p.47). Other ways of introducing the author's name include the following:
Smith (2005) has pointed out that...
As Smith (2005) says,...
Smith (2005) has made it clear that...
Smith (2005) explains/states/suggests/writes that...
If you don't include the author's name at the beginning, you might write it like this: "Border collies are the most intelligent dogs" (Smith, 2005, p.47).
If the quote is longer than two sentences, it should be indented. Generally speaking, a single quote should not take more than 4 or 5 lines of your paper, and you shouldn't quote too often. I would suggest a maximum of 6 for a small essay such as you are writing.
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