Stages of writing and research * Brainstorm
- Decide what you want to write about, take lots of notes * Research
- Use working thesis to guide research but be open to redirection
- Use works cites/bibliographies in resources you already have * Outline
- Thesis, point form body paragraphs and possible citations
- Sort out what ideas are before you articulate * 1st draft
- Write without editing, get all ideas out * 2nd draft * 3rd draft
- Edit, fine tune, get it proofread * Thesis statement
- Explain the impact or relevance of research to your reader, contextualize and explain the “why,”engage active language and a strong position: argue, prove, explain, educate
- Don’t define a general theme without specifying, use words like “explore, consider, review,” summarize existing research/histories Larger argument: paraphrase Particular terms: quote No ellipses and no square brackets, leave capitals Quote at the end of clause/sentence to avoid modifying Don’t need author’s name when obvious (pronouns suffice when using 1 author) Be concise (remove adjectives, adverbs (especially -ly ones) Punctuation after brackets ex: “___” (1), ___. Quotations can be their own sentence if situated between contextually relevant (before quote) and analytical (after quote) sentences) 5-7 sentences per body paragraph