African American in Poverty

The Research Paper

A research paper has less focus on argument and more focus oninforming the audience about an issue. You are still arguing in a sense bypresenting certain facts and ideas as more authoritative or reliable than thoseyou do not present or do present and judge as outdated or less reliable; thusyou are basically evaluating the information that exists in the public realm ona specific topic by inferring connections and relationships.

Read the sources before deciding to include them in yourbibliography and ultimately your paper. A works cited page is a list of MLAcitations of the sources cited in the essay.

1,600 word research paper.

The introductory paragraph should introduce historical background,the context, and current relevance of the topic. You may use a quote, question,anecdote, and/or background information to attract the readers attention, butdo not start arguing in the introductory paragraph. Your thesis should capturethe main idea of your research and indicate the order of development of thebody paragraph topics. 

Body paragraphs should have an explicit topic sentence thatpresents part of the thesis. The paragraph should also present evidence in theform of quote, paraphrase, or summary from at least one, preferably two, ofyour sources to offer authority and to assist in your analysis of thecomplexity of the topic. Last, using your own voice and logic, develop ananalytical discussion evaluating the evidence and how it supports your thesis.

The conclusion should NOT simply repeat the thesis or bodyparagraph ideas, but it should also NOT continue to argue and present moreevidence. Instead, it should bring the reader full circle on the importance ofyour analysis of the topic and the points you have discussed in the bodyparagraphs. Frame your essay.