The Writing Assignment

The research paper

Don't regard a research paper as unlike other writing assignments. As in other essays, you should have a topic, a thesis, an introduction, good organization, unified and coherent paragraphs, transitions, and so on. A research paper should not consist of footnoted facts loosely strung together.

However, unlike other essays, a research paper depends on the use and citation of several sources of information, such as reference books, books related to your subject, relevant journal and magazine articles, speeches, and lectures. During the information-gathering period, get to know your library well. If available, check electronic databases. Learn how to locate a variety of materials that will give you a thorough (not one-sided) view of your topic. When you do find information, take careful notes that include bibliographical information about your source.

Practices for footnoting and preparing a bibliography vary. Therefore, when you're assigned a research paper, ask your instructor to recommend a style guide. Several general guides are available, as well as more specific ones designed for particular fields, among them language and literature, biology, business, history, and law.

Essays arguing a position from a single text

If your assignment is to write about a single text—for example, to take a position on an article in favor of regulating the Internet—read the text more than once. Look up terms you're uncertain about. Mark points that seem unclear or issues that may require research, and include outside research if is allowed by the assignment. (If you do use material from other sources, be sure to cite them, just as you would in a research paper.)

Determine the strongest and weakest arguments in the article. After studying the text carefully, decide whether you agree or disagree with the author's position. Remember that when you write your paper, you should provide a brief, fair summary of that position, whether you're agreeing with it or not. In an argumentative essay you must support your own viewpoint and answer the opposition.

Essays analyzing a literary work

When you're asked to analyze a literary work, or one aspect of a literary work, stay close to the text. Read it and, if possible, reread it. Your first job is to interpret meaning, which can take some time. Once you feel comfortable with your interpretation, take notes or mark the text with an eye to finding support for your topic and thesis. You'll be using quotations in your paper, so indicate those passages or lines that might be particularly effective.

Generally, when you write an essay on a nonliterary text, you focus on content, concentrating on the author's information and the quality of his or her arguments. When you write about a literary text, however, you must also pay close attention to the author's technique. If you don't already know such terms as meter, image, metaphor, simile, diction, flat character, and irony, check a glossary of literary terms. In your notes include specific words and images from the text, observations about structure (a poem's rhyme scheme, for example, or a novel's subplot), point of view, and tone. Remember, however, that when you discuss formal features like these in your essay, you should relate them to a point you are making, usually about the author's theme or purpose. Don't risk having your reader ask, “So what if the rhyme scheme changes in the last stanza?”

Narrative, descriptive, and autobiographical essays

For some essays, you'll use your own thoughts, observations, and experiences, without reference to a text. But as with essays of argument and analysis, you need to gather information to develop your main ideas, and taking notes is a good way to do it. Before beginning an essay describing your Aunt Gladys, for example, write down all the details you can about her, including any anecdotes that reveal her characteristics. At this point don't worry about organizing your observations. Remember that you're gathering information. If you haven't yet written a sentence stating a main idea, try to do so now. (For example, Although Aunt Gladys prides herself on being no trouble to anyone, she finds ways to get everyone in the family to do what she wants, or Aunt Gladys looks like a little old lady, but she acts like a teenage girl.) Without a controlling idea, your essay will be a list of details with nothing to unify them or give them purpose.

When a college application asks for an essay about yourself, your purpose will be to describe the traits, experiences, interests, achievements, and goals that show you're a good candidate for college admission. First, take notes about yourself—whatever you can think of. Be sure to consider things that emphasize your individuality. In going over your notes later, you may decide not to include the no-hit Little League softball game you pitched when you were nine, or every fast-food job you've ever had, but by making a complete list, you can look for patterns that will help you organize your essay. When it comes time to put your points in order, throw out unnecessary details, consolidating and summarizing—for example, mentioning that you held five fast-food jobs (but not specifying each employer) while attending high school and becoming class valedictorian.