Research papers generally follow the same basic structure: an introduction that presents the writer’s thesis, a body section that develops the thesis with supporting points and evidence, and a conclusion that revisits the thesis and provides additional insights or suggestions for further research.

books and scholarly articles. Academic books generally fall into three categories: (1) textbooks written with students in mind, (2) monographs which give an extended report on a large research project, and (3) edited-volumes in which each chapter is authored by different people. Scholarly articles appear in academic journals, which are published multiple times a year in order to share the latest research findings with scholars in the field.

The purpose of an informative essay, sometimes called an expository essay, is to educate others on a certain topic. Typically, these essays aim to answer the five Ws and H questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how.

. The Informative Research Report is a report that relays the results of a central research question in an organized manner through more formal sources. These resources could include Google Scholar, library catalogs and academic article databases, websites of relevant agencies, and Google searches using (site: *.gov or site: *.org). A report is written from the perspective of someone who is seeking to find specific and in-depth information about a certain aspect of a topic.

Reintroduce the argument introduced in your thesis statement. Reiterate the key points of your research. Offer some forecasts for the future (example: “Hopefully now with a clearer understanding about free soloing and the rock-climbing community, others might understand the draw to such a seemingly risky sport…”).

Begin with a topic sentence. Using one of the five Ws or H questions here will remind you and your readers what you will focus on in this paragraph. Introduce your sources in a sentence or two to summarize what the information revealed about your topic. Include a direct quote using P.I.E. and reflect on what the source illuminated about your question.

Define the topic. Provide short background information. Introduce who your intended audience is. State what your driving research question is. Create a thesis statement by identifying the scope of the informative essay (the main point you want your audience to understand about your topic).

The initial stage is an introduction, which should start with the sound hook sentence to engage the reader in what a writer plans to share. One example is: “A community is generally defined by people in a group who live together in a particular area, or a group of people who are considered a unit because of their shared interests or background.”

books and scholarly articles. Academic books generally fall into three categories: (1) textbooks written with students in mind, (2) monographs which give an extended report on a large research project, and (3) edited-volumes in which each chapter is authored by different people.

The point of an informative essay is not to convince others to take a certain action or stance; that role is expressly reserved for persuasive essays. Instead, the main objective is to highlight specific information about your topic. In this project, you may be asking “after researching general aspects about my topic, what do I want others to understand about it?”

The purpose of an informative essay, sometimes called an expository essay, is to educate others on a certain topic. Typically, these essays aim to answer the five Ws and H questions: who, what, where, when, why, and how.

The Informative Research Report is a report that relays the results of a central research question in an organized manner through more formal sources.

. The introduction (usually one paragraph)     1.    Introduces the texts to be synthesized:             (i)  Gives the title of each source (following the citation guidelines of whatever style                     sheet you are using);               (ii)  Provides the name of each author;             (ii)  Sometimes also provides pertinent background information about the authors,                    about the texts to be summarized or about the general topic from which the                    texts are drawn.

The introduction (usually one paragraph)     1.    Contains a one-sentence statement that sums up the focus of your synthesis.     2.    Also introduces the texts to be synthesized:             (i)  Gives the title of each source (following the citation guidelines of whatever style                     sheet you are using);               (ii)  Provides the name of each author;             (ii)  Sometimes also provides pertinent background information about the authors,                    about the texts to be summarized, or about the general topic from which the                    texts are drawn.

A synthesis can serve different purposes, depending on the assignment. In a background synthesis, your goal is to collect and organize information from various sources by topic or theme, presenting an overview of what is known about a subject. This type does not require an argument or thesis—it simply helps readers understand the current state of research or information.

Synthesis is related to but not the same as classification, division, or comparison and contrast.  Instead of attending to categories or finding similarities and differences, synthesizing sources is a matter of pulling them together into some kind of harmony

People synthesize information naturally to help other see the connections between things they learn;

At its most basic level, a synthesis involves combining two or more summaries, but synthesis writing is more difficult than it might at first appear because this combining must be done in a meaningful way, and the final essay must generally be thesis-driven.

The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invaded from North Germany in around 450, and settled on the eastern side of what is now called England. Their language, Anglo-Saxon, spread across to the west of England and developed into what we now call Old English. Many of the words we use today still relate back to Old English – but this was soon to change too.

The next 300 years acted like a big melting pot, in which all these languages and different influences were mixed, until the language that gradually emerged was Middle English.

For some people, it is not difficult to use Standard English, because it happens to be their local dialect. But for others in different parts of the country, they may have to remind themselves to follow the rules, including the sentence order and grammar of Standard English, when they are speaking or writing in a formal context. However, Standard English can be spoken in any accent, and must not be confused with talking ‘posh’.

Newspapers are written in Standard English and it is used by newsreaders on national television, who need to be understood by people with different local dialects, all over the country.

Standard English today Although language changes all the time – think of new words like Internet, Web site, and so on – we still use Standard English as the formal form of our language. Standard English is the form that is taught in schools, following set rules of grammar and spelling.

This standardization spread across Britain, replacing all other dialect forms, that is, the other local styles of English spoken around the country. Latin and French were no longer used in law or academic work, which culminated in the 18th century, when dictionaries and grammar books were first written. Dr Johnson wrote an influential dictionary in 1755, which fixed many of the spellings we still use today.

For example, you probably speak to your friends in a way that you would never speak to, say, an interviewer in an interview. Hopefully, you would write differently in an exam than you would in a text message or e-mail! When we communicate with different people and in different situations, we naturally follow different sets of rules and patterns, often without having to think about the switches and transitions we are making.

Each Works Cited entry has 9 components. You may not use each component in the reference; however, they all form a function to help the reader find the source you have cited.  Note the punctuation after each element: Author. Title of Source. Title of Container, Other Contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Publication date, Location.

Remember that each Works Cited entry is the key for your reader to find the exact source that you used for information. Following MLA style exactly means that you will include all of the information necessary for your reader to find your original source.

Start the Works Cited page on a separate page. This should be the last page of your paper. Margins and pagination (last name and page number on the top right) remain the same as the rest of the paper. Title the page Works Cited. Center the title Do not italicize the title Only the title is centered; the rest of the page is left justified The entire Works Cited should be double-spaced. Do not add a space between citations (i.e., do not add an extra double space between citations). Citations should be in alphabetical order.

This material must always be cited:  A direct quote  A statistic  An idea that is not your own  Someone else’s opinion  Concrete facts, not considered “common knowledge”  Knowledge not considered “common”

If you follow MLA style and indicate your source both in your essay and in the Works Cited section, you will prevent the possibility of plagiarism. If you follow MLA guidelines, pay attention to detail, and clearly indicate your sources, then this approach to formatting and citation offers a proven way to demonstrate your respect for other authors and artists.

The in-text citation is offset with parentheses, clearly calling attention to itself for the reader. The reference to the author or title is like a signal to the reader that information was incorporated from a separate source.

In-text citations are used throughout your paper to credit your sources of information. In MLA style, the in-text citation in the body of the essay links to the Works Cited page at the end. This way, the reader will know which item in the Works Cited is the source of the information.

Be sure to seek out sources that are current or up to date. Depending on the topic, sources may become outdated relatively soon after publication, or they may remain useful for years.

To examine the author’s credibility or ethos—that is, how much you can believe of what the author has to say—review their credentials. What career experience or academic study shows that the author has the expertise to write about this topic?

To evaluate your research sources, use critical thinking skills consciously and deliberately. You will consider criteria such as the type of source, its intended purpose and audience, the author’s (or authors’) qualifications, the publication’s reputation, any indications of bias or hidden agendas, how current the source is, and the overall quality of the writing, thinking, and design.

“Tips for Skimming Books and Articles” explains how skimming can help you obtain a quick sense of what topics are covered.

Because knowledgeable experts carefully review the content before publication, scholarly journals are far more reliable than much of the information available in popular media. Seek out academic journals along with other resources. Just be prepared to spend a little more time processing the information.

Your sources will include both primary sources and secondary sources. As you conduct research, you will want to take detailed, careful notes about your discoveries. These notes will help trigger your memory about each article’s key ideas and your initial response to the information when you return to your sources during the writing process. As you read each source, take a minute to evaluate the reliability of each source you find.

Secondary sources discuss, interpret, analyze, consolidate, or otherwise rework information from primary sources.

Writers classify research resources in two categories: primary sources and secondary sources. Primary sources are direct, firsthand sources of information or data. For example, if you were writing a paper about the First Amendment right to freedom of speech, the text of the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights would be a primary source.

The best way to revise your thesis statement is to ask questions about it and then examine the answers to those questions. By challenging your own ideas and forming definite reasons for those ideas, you grow closer to a more precise point of view, which you can then incorporate into your thesis statement.

Confidence In addition to creating authority in your thesis statement, you must also use confidence in your claim. Phrases such as “I feel” or “I believe” actually weaken the readers’ sense of your confidence because these phrases imply that you are the only person who feels the way you do. In other words, your stance has insufficient backing.

Ability to be argued A thesis statement must present a relevant and specific argument. A factual statement often is not considered arguable. Be sure your thesis statement contains a point of view that can be supported with evidence.

Specificity A thesis statement must concentrate on a specific area of a general topic. As you may recall, the creation of a thesis statement begins when you choose a broad subject and then narrow down its parts until you pinpoint a specific aspect of that topic.

A thesis is not your paper’s topic, but rather your interpretation of the question or subject. For whatever topic your professor gives you, you must ask yourself, “What do I want to write about it?” Asking and then answering this question is vital to forming a thesis that is precise, forceful, and confident.

writers need a thesis statement to provide a specific focus for their essay and to organize what they will discuss in the body of their writing. A thesis statement is an argumentative central claim in a paper; the entire paper is focused on demonstrating that claim as a valid perspective. Your thesis statement should be in your introduction because you must make sure that the audience is aware of your paper’s intent so that there is clarity from the outset. Consider placing the thesis toward the bottom of your introduction. This allows you a few sentences to introduce the concept and prepare the reader for your purpose.