Lesson 13

The Goal:  

In this lesson you should focus on completing your research and begin drafting your paper. Remember, the first draft shouldn’t stress you out! It can be a mess. You will revise the paper at least twice! However, you should decide on a very focused thesis statement. Without it, your paper will read like a well formatted collection of facts rather than a tightly focused essay.

A good thesis statement should outline the structure of your paper. For instance this thesis statement from A Writer’s Reference:

“Much maligned and the subject of unwarranted fears, most bats are harmless and highly beneficial.'

would look like this in the outline of the paper:

I. A few paragraphs worth of discussion and examples of how bats are portrayed in the media, movies, and fiction.

II. A section that discusses the research which debunks the media portrayal of bats.

III. A few pages of how bats are good for ecosystems, beneficial to humans, and other research that shows how valuable bats are.

 

What to Read:

1. “Introduction to Primary Research: Observations, Surveys, and Interviews' by Dana Lynn Driscoll in Writing Spaces, Vol 2.

2. Individual Student Research

 

   Research Paper Draft #1:

Draft 1 (50 points)

  • 3-5 pages of writing, 1 Works Cited page,
  • 3-5 sources
  • some grammar and punctuation errors are OK
  • some unorganized paragraphs are OK
  • some formatting problems are acceptable

Submission Checklist:

  •  Research Paper Draft 1 - 50 points
  • Annotated Bibliography with 5 additional sources (15 total) - 20 points