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 How
to Write a Term Paper
 Draft and
Revise a Research Paper
Courtesy
of Thomson Gale - www.gale.com
This guide is designed to support you as you use
electronic and print resources to:
Draft and
Revise a Research Paper
"There are days when
the result is so bad that no fewer than five revisions are
required. In contrast, when I'm greatly inspired, only four
revisions are needed."
- John Kenneth Galbraith
1. Try freewriting your first draft.
a. Freewriting is a
discovery process during which the writer freely explores a
topic. Let your creative juices flow. In Writing without
Teachers, Peter Elbow asserts that "[a]lmost everybody
interposes a massive and complicated series of editings
between the time words start to be born into consciousness
and when they finally come off the end of the pencil or
typewriter [or word processor] onto the page" (5).
b. Do not let your
internal judge interfere with this first draft. If you stop
to check spelling, punctuation, or grammar, you are allowing
editing to disrupt the flow of creative energy.
c. When material
you have researched comes easily to mind, include it.
Add a quick citation, one you can come back to later to
check for form, and get on with your discovery.
2. Subsequent
drafts focus on writing a paper that flows smoothly, supports
fully, and speaks clearly and interestingly.
a. Create a smooth
flow of words, ideas and paragraphs.
1) Rearrange
paragraphs for a logical progression of information.
2) Transition
is essential if you want your reader to follow you
smoothly from introduction to conclusion.
a)
Transitional words and phrases are the tiny
stitches that provide coherence within your paper.
External transition: Words and phrases that
are added to a sentence as overt signs of
transition are obvious and effective, but should not
be overused, as they may draw attention to
themselves and away from ideas. Examples of external
transition are "however," "then," "next,"
"therefore." "first," "moreover,' and "on the other
hand." Internal transition is more subtle.
Key words in the introduction become golden threads
when they appear in the paper's body and conclusion.
When the writer hears a key word repeated too often,
however, she/he replaces it with a synonym or a
pronoun. Below are examples of internal transition.
No longer
interested in the fate of Sethe and her
children, Baby Suggs, Holy withdraws
to her bed and waits for Death. Chattel slavery
has finally broken her spirit. Her
only request is for patches of color. Grown
weary of a world dominated by gray, she
longs for a bit of lavender or yellow.
For Denver, however, there is no escape.
Lonely and afraid, she must survive without
the grandmother who has been her only
comfort.
b)
Transitional sentences create a flow from
paragraph to paragraph. They include individual
words, phrases, or clauses that refer to previous
ideas and that point ahead to new ones. They are
usually placed at the end or at the beginning of a
paragraph. Below are examples of transitional
sentences. A sentence that creates a transition
from the sample introduction to the first paragraph
of the paper:
Before
exploring the effects of slavery on the women of
Sweet Home and 124, /
one must first consider the effects of slavery upon
black women in general.
The
first underlined clause points back to the
thesis, which, was the last sentence in the
introduction. The second underlined clause
points ahead to the body of the paper, which
will begin by summarizing the effects of slavery
on black women.
A sentence
that creates transition from a discussion of the
fate of Baby Suggs to an exploration of the
conflicts in Sethe's life:
Baby
Suggs falters when she
sees the scars on Sethe's back; for her they
symbolize the horrors of slavery inflicted on one
more generation of black women.
The use of
Baby Suggs' name points the reader back to the
preceding section of the paper and connects it to
the next section, one that will explore Sethe's life
as a slave at Sweet Home.
c) A
transitional paragraph is designed to conduct
your reader from one part of the paper to another.
It may be only a few sentences long.
b. Each paragraph
of the body of the paper should contain adequate support for
its one governing idea.
c. Speak clearly.
1) Tone:
The paper's tone, whether formal, ironic, or humorous,
should be appropriate for the audience and the subject.
2) Voice:
Keep you language honest. Your paper should sound like
you. Understand, paraphrase, absorb, and express
in your own words the information you have researched.
Avoid phony language.
3) Sentence
formation: When you polish your sentences, read them
aloud for word choice and word placement. Be concise.
According to Wallace Stevens, an American poet, "Life is
the elimination of what is dead." So is good writing.
Strunk and White in
The Elements of Style advise the writer to
"omit needless words" (23). First, however, you must
recognize them.
d. Keep yourself
and your reader interested.
1) First,
deliver on your promises. Be sure the body of your paper
fulfills the promise of the introduction.
2) Avoid the
obvious. Offer new insights. Reveal the unexpected.
3) Craft your
conclusion as carefully as you have your
introduction. Conclusions are not merely the
repetition of your thesis. The conclusion of a research
paper is a synthesis of the information presented
in the body. Your research has led you to conclusions
and opinions that have helped you understand your thesis
more deeply and more clearly. Lift your reader to the
full level of understanding that you have achieved.
3. Revision
means "to look again."
a. Find a peer
reader to read your paper with you present. Or,
visit your college or university's writing lab. Guide
your reader's responses by asking specific questions.
Are you unsure of the logical order of your paragraphs?
Do you want to know whether you have supported all
opinions adequately? Are you concerned about punctuation
or grammar? Ask that these issues be addressed. You are
in charge.
b. Here are
some techniques that may prove helpful when you are
revising alone or with a reader.
1) When you
edit for spelling errors read the sentences
backwards. This procedure will help you look closely
at individual words.
2) Always
read your paper aloud. Hearing your own words puts
them in a new light. Listen to the flow of ideas and
of language. Decide whether or not the voice sounds
honest and the tone is appropriate to the purpose of
the paper and to your audience.
3) Listen
for awkward or lumpy wording. Find the one right
word, Eliminate needless words. Combine sentences.
4) Avoid
passive voice. "Beloved was buried without a
name." is less energetic than "Sethe buried
her baby without a name."
5) Be
ruthless. If an idea doesn't serve your thesis,
banish it, even if it's one of your favorite bits of
prose.
6) In the
margins, write the major topic of each paragraph. By
outlining after you have written the paper,
you are once again evaluating your paper's
organization.
4. Ask your
professor for guidelines on the paper's final form or refer
to The MLA Handbook (pp. 264-65). Some general
guidelines:
a. Use paper
that is 8 1/2" by 11".
b.
Double-space.
c. On the first
page, in the left margin, 1" from the top, type
Your name
Your professor or instructor's name
The course name and number
The date of submission
d. On every
subsequent page type your last name and the page number
in the right margin 1/2" from the top.
e. Create 1"
margins on the top, bottom and sides of the page.
Works Cited in this Guide
Barnet, Sylvan, and Hugo
Bedau. Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing: A Brief Guide to
Argument. Boston: Bedford, 1993.
Brent, Doug. Reading as
Rhetorical Invention: Knowledge,Persuasion and the Teaching of
Research-Based Writing. Urbana: NCTE, 1992.
Elbow, Peter. Writing
without Teachers. New York: Oxford University Press, 1973.
Gibladi, Joseph. MLA
Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 4th ed. New York:
Modern Language Association, 1995.
Klauser, Henriette Anne.
Writing on Both Sides of the Brain: Breakthrough Techniques for
People Who Write. Philadelphia: Harper, 1986.
Rico, Gabriele Lusser,
Writing the Natural Way: Using Right Brain Techniques to Release
Your Expressive Powers. Los Angeles: Houghton, 1983.
Sorenson, Sharon. The
Research Paper: A Contemporary Approach. New York: AMSCO, 1994.
Strunk, William, Jr., and
E. B. White. The Elements of Style. 3rd ed. New York:
MacMillan, 1979.
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