Introduction to research paper writing

The length for a college research paper, of course, varies: a freshman might write five or ten pages; a doctoral candidate might write several hundred - the equivalent of a book. The presentation of content also varies, depending on the type of research paper. The two most common types are the report and the persuasive (or "thesis") paper. A report is an organized presentation of information about a subject, without an argumentative stance on the part of the writer. The writer collects, evaluates, organizes, and objectively restates the information found during research. Some judgment or evaluation is involved during research and in selecting information to be presented, but the presenta tion overall is intended to be objective rather than persuasive.

Reports can present generally accepted facts: perhaps biographical information (for instance, the circumstances of Thomas Jefferson's early life, his involvement in the American Revolution, his record as President, etc.) or perhaps information about a process (for example, the commercial methods for weaving rugs). Or a report can present opinions about a subject; a review of the critical opinions of literature about American blacks (critics who view black literature as a discussion of the human experience, those who see it more narrowly as a demon stration of minority experience, and so forth) or a summary of the views of Americans on the extent of oil reserves in the United States (the view that we've reached the crisis point, the belief that plentiful reserves are available but are being hidden from the public, etc.). A persuasive paper, on the other hand, presents an idea (or "thesis") that needs support. As with a report, the writer collects, evaluates, organizes, and restates information; however, the overall presentation is intended not just to report on that information but to persuade readers to see the information in a particular way.

The persuasive paper, too, uses both generally accepted facts and the opinions of people besides the writer. For example, both a report and a persuasive paper could use the facts of Jefferson's life; however, whereas the report would simply present those facts, a persuasive paper would use them as support for an argument that Jefferson was an enlightened statesman, that he was a strong supporter of individual rights, or that he was an imaginative inventor. A persuasive paper on rug manufacturing might argue that a particular technique is the most efficient way to weave rugs commercially. An investigation of the critical opinions of literature about American blacks might lead to a persuasive paper arguing that black literature is about the human rather than the minority experience. And an examination of the views of Americans on the extent of oil reserves in the United States might result in a paper arguing that the radical divergence of opinions results from the failure of responsible officials to release the full story about oil reserves.

The research leading to a report or a persuasive paper is the same, and the content of each type of paper for a given topic will be similar. So which kind of paper should you write? Both kinds can be satisfac tory. However, you're likely to be asked to write a persuasive paper because it usually is the more demanding and sophisticated of the two types. Both types of papers require you to locate sources, collect infor mation, evaluate facts and opinions, and organize them for presenta tion. And despite the persuasive approach of the thesis paper, both types of papers require objective honesty on the part of the writer. Most instructors give preference to the persuasive paper because it requires you to synthesize supporting evidence into some sort of conclusion. That makes you more actively involved with the information you find in research. The step of processing the information to reach and support a conclusion generally results in greater learning about your topic and about conducting research and writing a long paper - in fact, about thinking. Because most college instructors emphasize persuasive papers in their courses, that is what this book emphasizes.