20160115022528658.ppt
- 1. Writing a Research Paper: Generating Questions & Topics Ashley Velázquez Brought to you in cooperation with the Purdue Online Writing Lab
- 2. What’s a Research Paper? A research paper— 1. requires you to critically think about, evaluate, organize, and compose; 2. is an assignment or project that grows over time as you interact with other sources; 3. varies in length; 4. is generally written on a topic decided by your teacher.
- 3. How Do You Start? Typically, the hardest part of starting a paper is starting!
- 4. Choosing a Topic • How do you usually choose a topic? 1. Read. 2. Talk with a friend or classmate. 3. Write down your initial thoughts about the topic.
- 6. Topic: Attendance in College Classrooms •Possible question: – Should attendance be required for a passing grade? •Possible answers: – No (why?) – Yes (why?) – Dependent (on?) •Possible Reasons: – Students are too busy to always go to class. – Students can’t participate if they’re absent. Ask a Question, Make a List
- 7. • What is freewriting? – You write without thinking, or stopping. The trick is to write whatever comes to mind, even if you trail off topic. Let’s try! Freewriting
- 8. Cubing • Cubing is a good way to look at your topic from 6 different perspectives. Here’s what you do: — Describe it — Compare it — Associate it — Analyze it — Apply it — Argue for and against it
- 9. What is Your Purpose? Who is Your Audience? What is your purpose? • Sometimes we get blocked because we don’t know why we’re writing this. Who is your audience? • Knowing who would read about our topic helps us focus our message and find a starting point.
- 11. Now Write! Hopefully this presentation has helped you develop some skills for thinking about topics and developing questions.
- 12. The OWL is also Helpful • There are many resources on the OWL’s website, one of which is about research papers and generating questions. Here’s the link: https://owl.english.purdue. edu/owl/resource/658/ 1/
- 13. The End Writing a Research Paper: Generating Questions & Topics By: Ashley J. Velázquez Brought to you in cooperation with the Purdue Online Writing Lab