How to Write a Term Paper Proposal
If your topic is too broad, your research paper is unlikely to be successful because it will look like a general overview. You should narrow your topic down to a certain aspect, concept or idea and make it specific and manageable. For example, if your topic is Global Warming, you should narrow it to Causes of Global Warming, Impact of Global Warming on Human Health or something like that.- Title: This is the draft title of what you want to research. Make it clear and comprehensible.
- Objectives: This part should define your outcomes after your research.
- Relevance and Importance: Include recent news, social events, articles, and blogs that convey the importance of the topic. Your topic should be up to date and capture the attention of the reader.
Because the abstract comes first, its tempting to write it first. However, writing the abstract at the end is more effective since you have a better understanding of what is actually in your paper. Youll also discover new implications as you write, and perhaps even shift the structure a bit. In any event, youre better prepared to write the abstract once the main paper is completed. You may (or may not) know what youre talking about, but if you see these marginal comments, you have confused your reader. You may have introduced a non sequitur; gotten off the subject; drifted into abstraction; assumed something that you have not told the reader; failed to explain how the material relates to your argument; garbled your syntax; or simply failed to proofread carefully. If possible, have a good writer read your paper and point out the muddled parts. Reading your paper aloud may help too. If you believe that a frequently used word or phrase distorts historical reality, dont put it in dismissive, sneering quotation marks to make your point (the communist threat to the free world during the Cold War).
Also, through our EditingPLUS service, you can get writing tips and advice about your specific manuscript from a specialist editor. As a synonym for subject matter, bone of contention, reservation, or almost anything else vaguely associated with what you are discussing, the word issue has lost its meaning through overuse. (There were many issues involved with Trumans decision to use the atomic bomb, and some historians have issues with his decision. ) Stop talking about issues and get to the point. To allude means to refer to indirectly or to hint at. The word you probably want in historical prose is refer, which means to mention or call direct attention to. In the first sentence of the Gettysburg Address Lincoln refers [not alludes] to the fathers of the nation [he mentions them directly]; he alludes to the Declaration of Independence [the document of four score and seven years earlier that comes to the readers mind, but that Lincoln doesnt directly mention].
In your report you should specify what the problems are and should give recommendations for improvement. Avoid the common solecism of using feel as a synonym for think, believe, say, state, assert, contend, argue, conclude, or write. (Marx felt that the bourgeoisie exploited the proletariat. Emmeline Pankhurst felt that British women should be able to vote. ) The use of feel in these sentences demeans the agents by suggesting undisciplined sentiment rather than carefully formulated conviction. Concentrate on what your historical actors said and did; leave their feelings to speculative chapters of their biographies. As for your own feelings, keep them out of your papers. (I feel that Lincoln should have freed the slaves earlier. ) Your professor will be delighted that the material engages both your head and your heart, but your feelings cannot be graded. If you believe that Lincoln should have acted earlier, then explain, giving cogent historical reasons. In casual conversation incredible often means extraordinary, astonishing, or impressive (Yesterdays storm was incredible.
If you use a lot of quotations from secondary sources, you are probably writing a poor paper. An analysis of a primary source, such as a political tract or philosophical essay, might require lengthy quotations, often in block format. In such cases, you might need to briefly repeat key points or passages as a means to introduce the authors ideas, but your analysis and interpretation of the texts meaning should remain the most important aim. (See also: Using primary sources and Use scholarly secondary sources. ) The outline should be produced before and while researching and writing a term paper because it will serve as the basis around which you will build your work. There are a lot of templates to choose from, but most of the time your instructor will require you to follow a certain essay format. The main parts should include an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Your professor may ask you to write a book review, probably of a scholarly historical monograph. Here are some questions you might ask of the book.
To learn in more detail the guidelines to write a great Introduction section, check out this course: How to write a strong introduction for your research paper The first sentence has a nonrestrictive relative clause; the dates are included almost as parenthetical information. But something seems amiss with the second sentence. It has a restrictive relative clause that limits the subject (World War I) to the World War I fought between 1914 and 1918, thus implying that there were other wars called World War I, and that we need to distinguish among them. Both sentences are grammatically correct, but the writer of the second sentence appears foolish. Note carefully the distinction between that (for use in restrictive clauses, with no comma) and which (for use in nonrestrictive clauses, with a comma). Your professor may ask you to analyze a primary document. Here are some questions you might ask of your document. You will note a common themeread critically with sensitivity to the context.
Students will learn to use interdisciplinary methods from the humanities and social sciences to probe the sources of the past for answers to present questions. They will learn to draw comparisons and connections among diverse societies across a range of historical eras. They will further learn to convey their findings through writing that is clearly structured, precise, and persuasive. Afterwards, you need to write an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. These are the main parts of your paper so let us provide you with some details on how to do it right. Because of their specific requirements, its best to know a little about how to write an abstract before doing it. This guide explains the basics of writing an abstract for beginners, including what to put in them and some expert tips on writing them. Abstracts are also incredibly useful for indexing. They make it easier for researchers to find precisely what they need without wasting time skimming actual papers. And because abstracts sometimes touch on the results of a paper, researchers and students can see right away if the paper can be used as evidence or a citation to support their own theses.
" For research in formal sciences or exploratory research, you could consider stating a research question instead: "In this study, we examine the following research question: Is X related to Y?" Note that the research question doesn't always have to be stated in the interrogative form (with a question mark); instead, you can put the question into a declarative sentence: "In this study, we investigate whether X is related to Y. " Hypotheses and research questions are effective because they help give shape to the paper and serve as "signpost phrases" that guide readers through your paper smoothly. When you wake up in the morning you are conscious, though your conscience may bother you if youve neglected to write your history paper. Well break down the writing process into easy steps to help you understand how to write a research paper fast no matter how long it must be. The gym you work for has been losing members recently and would like to know why they are leaving. The gym manager has asked you to write a report about why these customers are leaving.
If you find that your introduction is too long or overflowing with citations, one possible solution is to cite review articles, rather than all the individual articles that have already been summarized in the review. After the title and abstract, the introduction is the next thing your audience will read, so it's vital to begin strongly. The introduction is your opportunity to show readers and reviewers why your research topic is worth reading about and why your paper warrants their attention. A local campsite is running a competition in collaboration with a local magazine. Theyve asked you to write a review of the campsite, talking about the area and facilities and stating whether you would recommend it to other campers. Beware of the word literally. Its commonly misused, and you almost never need it in historical prose. Literally means actually, factually, exactly, directly, without metaphor. The careful writer would never say, Roosevelt literally swamped Landon in the election of 1936.
Remember that a good review is critical, but critical does not necessarily mean negative. This list is not meant to be exhaustive, nor is it a suggested outline. Of course, you can ask these same questions of any secondary historical work, even if youre not writing a review. Here you have a long compound introductory clause followed by no subject and no verb, and thus you have a fragment. You may have noticed exceptions to the no-fragments rule. Skilful writers do sometimes intentionally use a fragment to achieve a certain effect. Leave the rule-breaking to the experts. Youre given an essay title and two ideas clearly linked to the title. You write an essay giving your opinions about the title, using the ideas given. You must also add a third, different idea of your own linked to the title. The title will be a subject of general interest you wont need any specialised knowledge. Once you've narrowed your focus to the specific topic of your study, you should thoroughly cover the most recent and most relevant literature pertaining to your study. Your review of the literature should be complete, but not overly longremember, you're not writing a review article.
- Summarize the relevant literature on your topic
- Describe the current state of the art
- Note any gaps in the literature that your study will address
This list is not a suggested outline for a paper; the wording of
the assignment and the nature of the document itself should
determine your organization and which of the questions are most
relevant. Of course, you can ask these same questions of any
document you encounter in your research. A final tip: although
the Introduction is the first section of the main text of your
paper, you dont have to write that section first. You can write
it, or at least revise it, after you have written the rest of the
paper: this will make the Introduction not only easier to write
but also more compelling. - Well, I gotta go now.
- Anyway, I should get going.
- Ive got to leave you now.
- Id better get going.
- Well, its time to go
- Make sure you write soon
- Dont forget to drop me a line soon. - Look after yourself.
- Take care of your self. I hope these tips help you to write
effective introductions that capture the attention of readers and
reviewers. If you're interested in more writing tips, check out
our 10 Tips for Writing an Effective Abstract.
- Film & Book reviews:
- Characters, actors and others:
- the main character
- the main actor
- protagonist
- played by
- the characters are believable
- the main characters are well-crafted
- some characters are a little two-dimensional
- villain / hero / heroine / anti-hero
- (written) by
- directed by
- played by
- starring
- the lead role is played by
- star actor/actress
- play a secondary role
- author
- scriptwriters
- a production by Avoid quoting a secondary
source and then simply rewording or summarizing the quotation,
either above or below the quotation. It is rarely necessary to
quote secondary sources at length, unless your essay focuses on a
critical analysis of the authors argument. (See also: Writing a
Book Review) Your professor wants to see your ability to analyze
and to understand the secondary sources. Do not quote unless the
quotation clarifies or enriches your analysis. When in doubt, do
not quote; instead, integrate the authors argument into your own
(though be sure to acknowledge ideas from your sources, even when
you are paraphrasing).
One imagines Roosevelt (in his wheelchair no less!) dumping the hapless Landon off a pier in the Everglades on election night. The swamping was figurative, strictly a figure of speech. The adverb literally may also cause you trouble by falsely generalizing the coverage of your verb. London was literally destroyed by the blitz. This suggests that the whole city was destroyed, when, in fact, only parts were destroyed. Rewrite as The blitz destroyed parts of London. Now youve qualified properly (and gotten rid of the passive). Your local lm club is asking its members to write a lm review to post on its website. Write a review of a lm you have watched recently in which say whether you liked it or not and if you would recommend it to other members of the club. For research in empirical sciences, stating a hypothesis can be an effective way of framing the research. For example, instead of stating "In this study, we show that X is related to Y by method A," you could say, "In this study, we hypothesize that X is related to Y, and we use method A to test this hypothesis.
Ever since I was a kid, Ive been really keen on camping. Every summer, my mum and dad would pack our tent and drive us to a different campsite across the country. Or at least that was the case until Holiday Campsite opened nearby. Heres another one of those common problems that does not receive the attention it merits. Discipline your prepositional phrases; make sure you know where they end. Notice the mess in this sentence: Hitler accused Jewish people of engaging in incest and stating that Vienna was the personification of incest. The reader thinks that both engaging and stating are objects of the preposition of. Yet the writer intends only the first to be the object of the preposition. Hitler is accusing the Jews of engaging, but not of stating; he is the one doing the stating. Rewrite as Hitler accused the Jews of incest; he stated that Vienna was the personification of incest. Note that the wordiness of the original encouraged the syntactical mess. Simplify. It cant be said too many times: Always pay attention to whos doing what in your sentences.
Now your English teacher has asked you to write an essay. You can use our easy guide to craft winning research papers fast, get better grades, and enjoy your life in college. Alternatively, you can address our specialists to write research paper for you. As a result, youll spend less time but get more pleasure from studying at university. Writers who properly use MLA also build their credibility by demonstrating accountability to their source material. Most importantly, the use of MLA style can protect writers from accusations of plagiarism, which is the purposeful or accidental uncredited use of source material produced by other writers. In your English class, you have been talking about the subject of cultural heritage. Now your English teacher has asked you to write an essay. Your research has given you tons of great ideas. Now you have to organize them for your impressive presentation. Dont skip this vital step because without it, your project will lack focus and you will need more time for revising your draft trying to make sense of your jumbled thoughts. Thats why you need an outline. You have to finalize your thesis and create a working outline that you plan to cover and that will serve you as a roadmap and keep you focused.
How to Write a Conclusion for a Research Paper
Many readers find this practice arrogant, obnoxious, and precious, and they may dismiss your arguments out of hand. If you believe that the communist threat was bogus or exaggerated, or that the free world was not really free, then simply explain what you mean. Obviously, you should not just stop abruptly as though you have run out of time or ideas. Your conclusion should conclude something. If you merely restate briefly what you have said in your paper, you give the impression that you are unsure of the significance of what you have written. A weak conclusion leaves the reader unsatisfied and bewildered, wondering why your paper was worth reading. A strong conclusion adds something to what you said in your introduction. A strong conclusion explains the importance and significance of what you have written. A strong conclusion leaves your reader caring about what you have said and pondering the larger implications of your thesis. Dont leave your reader asking, So what? In your English class, you have recently had a discussion about science and young people.