Writing A Paper
Where do you begin writing a paper? Instructors are great resources to contact in your attempt to decide on a specific topic for your paper. The reference librarians at Library are also critical resources in helping you find relevant material for your paper. Be sure to check out the information on this page, search engines to research paper topics and material to best support your thesis. Do you need help with critiquing your paper? See the Writing Center or CPIA writing tutor. Citing the sources you used in writing your paper can be complicated, so checkout the extremely helpful link. Be sure not to fall victim to plagiarism and educate yourself on the rules.
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| Research Your Paper |
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The quality of your paper is greatly dependant upon the quality of information you get. It is important to find the most appropriate database or search engine to use in order to gather relevent information quickly and correctly. The best way to start researching a topic on the internet is to use a search engine. The next step is to look for relevant information in printed materials. This can be done from UCAT on Homerweb.
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| Writing A Thesis/Outlining |
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What is a THESIS?
A thesis statement clearly explains the position presented in the paper. A thesis statement is a declaration of that which you intend to prove in your paper. Traditionally, the thesis statement of a good essay can be easily spotted at the conclusion of paragraph one.
For example, if your essay was to argue that Hamlet's madness was feigned, your thesis statement might look something like this: Evidence in Shakespeare's play demonstrates quite clearly that while Hamlet's madness may seem genuine on the surface, it was very clearly feigned.
Do not forget to cite your sources!
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| Begin Writing |
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As an author you must pay careful attention to grammar, structure, and presentation of content. For assistance please refer to the writing center. A trained tutor will assist you with Grammar, Writing Tips & Techniques, and even how to research a topic |
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| Citing References |
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Accurately documenting sources used for research is an important part of the writing and research process. Documentation is important because:
- It is used to give credit for information originally written elsewhere.
- Documentation enables others to find the same information again.
- Failure to give credit for drawing on the work of others constitutes plagiarism.
All documentation (bibliographies, endnotes, citations, references, lists of works cited, etc.) should be done according to the style appropriate for the audience that will be reading or reviewing the writing. Be sure to ask your professor which format he or she prefers. The two most common formats for citing works used are APA and MLA.
For any source, electronic or print, there isn't always a perfect example. If appropriate examples do not exist, use common sense and adapt the closest example found. |
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