Phase One: Generating Ideas

In this phase of the research paper, students are invited to complete three sequential steps. These steps represent the generative phase of the essay where the student is engaged with pulling in relevant ideas and sources that might be included in the final paper. This phase encompasses informed brainstorming (or brainstorming that pulls from relevant literature in the field of study). Each step can take as little or as long as the student needs. Nevertheless, keep in mind the timeline of the project.

 

Task 1. Preliminary/ exploratory research

Utilize your college library database to retrieve sources.

Generally, your instructor will have some guidelines on the types and amount of sources required. It would serve you well to locate one and a half times the required sources. You may not get to read or utilize all of them, but it is important to begin with a nice chunk of literature to peruse.

Browse abstracts and introductions. Write notes about what is in the source, and how it might contribute to your paper (an annotated bibliography)

 

Task 2. Free write!

Jot down what interests you about this topic and/or what question do you want answered.

Think about any examples or cases that might spark your interest.

Briefly discuss whether you anticipate any particular answers or findings.

Think about how your interest or approach to this topic might be similar to the literature you found. Also, jot down ways in which it is different!

 

Task 3. Generate research question/claim/thesis

Now that you have perused some literature and jotted down some initial ideas, think about what claim or question you want to be the focus and core of your paper.

Write this down in 3 different ways in more more than 1 or 2 sentences.

Write your text here

 

Tips and Hacks

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Use the library database to start collecting relevant sources. Generally, your professor will have guidelines about amount and types of sources you need. Collect more as you will often find a number of them redundant or not as useful as anticipated (let alone problematic!).

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Browse abstracts, introductions and conclusions. Take notes as you go to keep track of ideas, claims and evidence. Before you know it, you’ll have an annotated bibligraphy that is helpful for you as you dive further into the project.

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Write your main claim or research question in three different ways. This will force you to articulate it in more sophisticated ways and provide you with options as you move to the next step.