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SECTION 1
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RESEARCH
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INTRODUCTION

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2 Guide to Writing a Research Paper

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Writing is an essential way to communicate in academic fields. When you write, you
share your opinions, report research findings, express new connections between ideas,

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question common assumptions, and demonstrate knowledge. When your ideas are

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written, they are available to many people, both now and in the future. Therefore, it is

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very important to understand how to write an academic paper that is thorough, well-­

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organized, accurate, and original.

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Types of Academic Papers

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An essay is a fairly short piece of writing (generally several pages long) that is narrowly

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focused and is not necessarily based on scholarly research. An essay may be based

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on factual evidence, such as a report on a particular topic, or based on the writer’s
personal opinion and experiences, such as a response to a text or a persuasive essay.
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Essays and research papers are similar in their overall organization—­introduction,
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body, and conclusion—but the elements of a research paper tend to be much longer
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and more well-­developed.

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A research paper, or term paper, is a common requirement in academic courses,

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both undergraduate and graduate. The expectations for research papers vary accord-
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ing to the academic field. In social sciences (history, linguistics, communication,

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etc.), research papers are a common requirement. Science classes (such as chemis-
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try, ­physics, or biology) tend to not require research papers as frequently. In your
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discipline-­specific courses, the professor will tell you whether a research paper is
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required and will provide the format and style requirements for that particular field.
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In a research paper, the writer must support his or her perspective with other scholars’
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research to create a comprehensive discussion of the paper topic. A research paper

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demonstrates thorough knowledge of a particular topic, based on the writer’s in-­depth

reading on the subject, critical analysis of the material, and careful exposition of the
topic. The process of writing a research paper requires a good deal of time, energy, and
focus in order to find and read high-­quality, relevant sources that support your thesis,
and then to develop a thorough discussion of the topic. Because research papers may
be many pages long, the body of a research paper is sometimes divided into sections in
order to keep the organization clear for the reader. The academic research paper is the
precursor of other important writing you may do in your discipline—reports, theses,
dissertations, and journal articles.
Just as in an essay, a research paper must have a thesis statement, which presents
the central focus of the paper and the writer’s point of view on the topic. A thesis
statement is a sentence in your paper—usually in the introduction—that expresses
the main idea of the entire paper. It frequently indicates the relationships between
ideas in the paper and/or the flow of ideas that will follow. (See Section 2 for more
information on thesis statements and research questions.)
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1: Introduction to the Research Process 3

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Report and Argument Research Papers

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All research papers require an exploration of the work of other scholars on the chosen

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topic. The type of research paper you write will depend on your research question

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and your treatment of the information that you gather. There are two basic types of

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research papers: report research papers and argument research papers. It is impor-
tant to understand which type of paper your instructor expects and which type is

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suited to your topic. Knowing this will help you determine what form your thesis
statement will take and how you approach the topic in your paper.

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Report Research Paper

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A report research paper is a common element of undergraduate courses. It requires
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that the writer gather information from several sources and present it in paraphrase
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(i.e., in the writer’s own words) in a coherent, organized way. In this type of paper,
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the student discusses what others have written without attempting to add personal
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opinions about the issue. Writing a report research paper requires finding sources on
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the chosen topic, gathering facts from these sources, and presenting the information
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gathered in an organized paper. Analysis of the topic is central to a report paper: The
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writer must break the topic into logical parts in order to evaluate and understand it.
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In doing so, the writer becomes an expert on a very specific topic and can present the
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information to the reader in an interesting and coherent way. An example of a report

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topic would be “The history of the electric light bulb.” This type of assignment allows
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the student to examine scholarly sources and to demonstrate the knowledge gained
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through research.
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Argument Research Paper

An argument research paper is one in which the writer uses other sources to support
his or her own opinion on an issue. The writer may make judgments about others’
ideas, add personal comments and opinions, and present facts in order to support
the overall argument. University courses often require argument research papers, and
scholarly work in general communicates new perspectives and advances in knowledge
through this type of writing. An argument paper may conclude with a suggestion for
future research, and this can form the basis of a proposal (as for an undergraduate or
graduate thesis or a dissertation).
To write an argument research paper, you must read relevant scholarly research on
the topic and then use these sources to support your thesis in such a way as to con-
vince readers of your opinion. An argument paper must take a stand on an issue that
has several different points of view. Whereas a report paper presents facts and infor-
mation gathered from other sources, an argument paper simply presents a perspective
that not all readers may agree with. An example of an argument topic is “Pipelines are
an effective and safe means of transporting crude oil across land.” The writer’s goal in
such a paper is to persuade the reader of his or her point of view, with that view being
supported by other scholars’ research and informed opinions.
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4 Guide to Writing a Research Paper

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Overview of the Research Process

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The process of finding relevant sources, gathering information, and drafting and

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revising a research paper can take weeks or even months. There are many stages

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in writing a strong research paper, starting with thinking about an interesting and

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appropriate topic, proceeding into the actual research process, and finally, moving
into the act of writing. A project of this magnitude is much more manageable, and

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the final product is generally better, when the process is broken into steps, as shown
in Figure 1.1. It is important to remember that a good research paper cannot be

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written at the last minute, so be sure to allow enough time to focus on each of these

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steps and to construct your research paper to your satisfaction.

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Figure 1.1 illustrates that you may need to move back and forth among these steps
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as you develop your ideas and discover new facts about your topic. Many of the steps
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include a question to help you evaluate if you are ready to move on to the next step. If
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the answer is Yes, then you are ready to proceed. If the answer is No, then it is helpful
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to return to that step (or an earlier step) and spend more time working on that stage
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of the process. Although moving backward in the process may seem tedious, doing
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so early on can help you avoid lengthy revisions later and, in the end, you will have a
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stronger paper.
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1: Introduction to the Research Process 5

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Figure 1.1 The Research Process

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Write a complete
Check content, draft: introduction,
Draft the body
organization, body, conclusion,
of the paper.
and formatting. citations, and
bibliography.

Respond to your
Revise sections YES instructor’s comments
Hand the
of the paper that by making changes and
paper in to
need more work. corrections.
your
Are you satisfied Submit the revised draft
NO instructor.
with your paper? if required.