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Writing a research paper entails careful planning and library time. By breaking down the tasks into manageable chunks of time, you will successfully find sources of information, take appropriate notes, and draft, edit and review your paper. The key to achieving top results lies in a student's ability to plan well and to target information that will demonstrate one's ability to analyze and put forth a point of view.
- Brainstorm ideas about your topic to start narrowing the topic and leading to a rough thesis statement.
- Create a time schedule to write the paper.
- Get to the library and start assembling a working bibliography.
- Meet with the reference librarian if you need assistance in finding sources.
- Take careful notes. Make sure that you label your notes as paraphrase, summary, or direct quotations.
- Start assembling an outline. Use your notes to look at the topics, then look at the general points that will support the topics.
- Use your outline to draft your paper.
- Make sure to use the appropriate style format (APA, MLA, Turabian, Chicago) to document sources.
- Use the edit/revision checklist to polish your paper.
- Refer to the Lauinger Library website regarding "15 Steps to Good Research."
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