Study
Skills Handout:
How to Write a Research Paper
Introduction
The
handout below is just one of the many study
skills handouts available through the Tutoring Center. If you
are having trouble with study skills of any kind, or if you have
questions about study skills that are not addressed here, stop in
the Student Commons Building, Room 1300, at the Normal campus and
talk to a tutor. He/she can provide additional handouts, help you
recognize your strengths and weaknesses and help you formulate a
plan to develop effective study strategies. To find out when tutors
for various courses are available in Pontiac
or Lincoln
contact the receptionist in Pontiac (815-842-6777) or Lincoln (217-735-1731).
How
to Write A Research Paper
A Guide for Tutors and Students
Heartland
Community College Academic Support Center
Prepared by Carol Baker, Melissa Clark, Nancy Mazur and Ellen
Vogel
Guidelines
on How to Write a Research Paper are broken down into
the following steps.
Introduction:
Research
papers are required writing in many courses at Heartland Community
College. To write an effective paper, you can expect to invest many
days to several weeks completing the paper. This is not an easy
task, but it is one which will provide you with the rewards of learning
how to communicate effectively. You will be expected to express
your ideas along with the ideas of others, to write in your own
voice, to interpret, analyze and evaluate your research, and to
respond appropriately to a variety of rhetorical situations.
A
research paper examines a topic with research support. Usually it
is expected to be a thorough explanation of the topic and includes
your thesis or position with regard to the topic. It may or may
not include your evaluation of the research. The particular requirements
of your paper will be provided by your instructor.
This
resource provides you with the guidelines you will need to successfully
complete a research paper from start to finish. The guidelines meet
the specifications set forth by the writing program at Heartland
Community College and were compiled by Heartland’s Academic
Support Center staff in conjunction with the Writing faculty. These
guidelines are a tool for you to use for writing any research paper
while you are a student at Heartland Community College. They have
been drawn from many sources, and therefore include the steps that
are generally found in many textbooks about writing as well as a
growing number of online writing centers found on the World Wide
Web. The guidelines are presented to you in three parts.
The
first part presents a chart which gives you an overview of the six
steps and the processes which are typically involved in each of
the steps. This will give you an idea of how to schedule your time
to finish each step. As you schedule the tasks necessary to do your
research paper, keep in mind that no two papers are alike. The steps
in the process do not necessarily proceed exactly as shown. You
may find the steps are often interchangeable and you can return
and redo a task as the project develops. This set of guidelines
is only an example of how to write your research paper. Therefore,
you will need to adapt the example given here to the instructions
you get from your instructor and what works best for you with each
particular writing assignment.
The
second part gives you several pages listing more detailed suggestions
on what you need to do to proceed from one aspect in the process
to the next in order to complete the step. This will help you break
the large task of writing a research paper into more manageable
chunks. Once you have determined how much time you will need to
complete the tasks, go back to your chart and write in due dates
for each step. You will find that by working through the various
tasks found under each step you will more efficiently reach your
goal: the completed research paper you finally hand in.
Your
course guide, the instructor and the required or recommended
texts for your class will provide you with most of the information
you need to complete your research paper and in much greater detail
than these guidelines. The guidelines are intended to supplement
your classroom experience and to provide you with a comprehensive
overview of what is involved in writing a research paper. We hope
they will lead you to explore other resources that will guide your
journey in writing.
Wherever
you are in your development as a writer, writing a research paper
is a challenging task, and one of the most important skills you
will be expected to master while in college. Your research paper
is an assessment of how well you can communicate what you have learned
with others.
Happy
researching to you!
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