Research Paper? Where do I begin?

Many of you have not written a long research paper before and you may be feeling a little anxious over the eight-page requirement. Yes, it looks daunting. Yes, it is a lot of work. But it is not impossible. We are going to break this down into manageable chunks. Essentially, most papers are made up of the same models, just some expand on the ideas a little more. For example, when we worked on a simple five paragraph essay, you learned to have an introduction, three main points, and a conclusion. Your research paper will be very similar in structure but it will need more space for those points. So if you are writing an eight-page paper, it will be easy to imagine that your introduction will comprise at least one page, your main points will need two pages each, and your conclusion will be one page. So do not worry about the total limit. Just focus on each section.

In order to fill those main points, you are going to need to gather data. This is where the research in the research paper comes from :). I use a formula I learned about fifteen years ago that has served me well in all of my research. It's called RENNSQQ. I'll break it down but learn it. I will beat this formula into your head a million times over the remainder of the semester. I have probably taught this formula to more than a hundred students at the university in the Writing Center.

R-Reasons
E-Examples
N-Names
N-Numbers
S-Sensory Words
Q-Questions
Q-Quotations


When you are beginning your research, let this formula guide you. Look for reasons and examples to use in your paper. Look for credible experts (names) to build your ethos. Look for numbers--dates, statistics, percentages. This is the evidence, the logos, needed to build your case. Sensory words include the language necessary for your field, great expressive language, and the pathos. Sometimes a thesaurus nearby is helpful here. Questions guide your research. What are you hoping to prove? What are you trying to understand? And finally, quotations that stand out to you in your research, pull them aside and note the source and page number. These will be great to build your paragraphs and argument. Remember, we need textual evidence.