Writing a Paper: Writing Your Paper

A good technique for ordering your research paper's claims/evidence in a logical way is to create an outline. Begin by writing down your thesis statement (this is the main idea of your paper). A good thesis statement clearly defines/explains whatever question your professor has asked you to address, and (if applicable) what your position is on this question .

example: How did the Bauhaus influence modern design?  The Bauhaus' focus on functional design has significanly influenced furniture design over the past 90 years, and still continues to do so.

Below your thesis statement, write down your compiled research in a logical order (order of events, order of arguments, list of factual evidence, etc.). Finish your outline with a concluding statement that clearly answers the quesion that your thesis statement posed/addressed.

example: The products available at modern, mass-produced furniture retailers like Ikea indicate that the design ideas of the Bauhaus still remain significantly influential on the direction of contemporary furniture design.

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Now that you have an outline, begin writing--in your own words--about whatever topic it is that you must address.  Generally speaking, your paper will have: 

An introduction 
This is where you address your audience and explain why you're writing the paper. What's the topic? What are the issues you're going to address? Is there any background information you need to cover?  And so on. Include your thesis statement.

Research 
This is the bulk of the paper. Tell your readers what you've found--historical information, scholarly facts to support your opinion, alternative opinions, and so forth. Whenever you're quoting or paraphrasing something or someone--a book, an article, etc.--make sure to include the textual citation. Help on how to do that can be found here. 

A Conclusion 
Wrap up what you've been writing about.  Elaborate on the concluding statement that you wrote at the end of your outline--is further research needed on this topic? Are there more issues to consider that you didn't get to address in your paper? Was the research that you compiled significant in any way? This is the part of your paper where you answer the question "So why should I (or my reader) care about any of this?"

You've written the paper! Hooray!

But you aren't done. Now is the time to check for mistakes. Read over the paper and look for:

• Spelling errors (this includes names and places, which spell check might not catch)

• Citation errors (make sure that you've attributed all quotes, summaries, and paraphrasing to the appropriate sources)

• Grammatical errors 

• General writing mistakes (make sure that you aren't misusing a word, that you don't accidentally change tenses in the middle of a paragraph, and so forth).

​After you read over your paper once or twice, give it to someone you trust to read. A second (or even a third) pair of eyes will frequently catch errors that you didn't initially see.  

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