Steps to Writing a Research Paper
True or False: Your thesis can change as you conduct research.
True
What is a primary source?
The primary source is the original, raw information that the student is basing their entire research around.
What is meant by the term intended audience?
The audience to which the paper is intended (could be a group of people, an individual, etc.)
What is hedging?
Hedging is a technique used in academic writing to make statements and arguments come off less certain.
What’s the difference between a primary and a secondary source?
A primary source is a document/artifact/excerpt/etc. directly from a person/time/place/event whereas a secondary source is removed from the situation/event/time/place/context in which the subject is being studied.
Name the citation style sources should be in a history paper.
Chicago.
Many different methods for analyzing a research paper have overlapping points. True or False?
True.
Give an example of what hedging looks like in a research paper on the Revolutionary War.
Our Example: “It appears that in this document, the Declaration of Independence…”. You can either use this or another one you come up with that we feel is a sufficient example of hedging.
Name three NON-WRITTEN sources that can be used as primary or secondary sources in a research paper:
Art, cartoons, photographs, oral histories, or maps are all acceptable answers to this question.
When should a footnote be added after a paragraph within a history paper?
When directly quoting or paraphrasing something.
What is a limitation that you may face when analyzing a source?
Author bias, time gap, and missing information are all acceptable answers.
Name one method of organizing a student’s research paper? (there are 2) Explain it.
Answer: The Outline Method or The Cutting Method. Outline Method: you should be able to form an outline for the argument using only the first sentences of each paragraph. Cutting Method: the writer cuts a physical draft by paragraph and asks another person to order them in a way that makes the most sense.
Is this a good research question to write a paper on: “What role did women play in the Revolutionary War?” Why or Why Not?
No, it falls into the "too broad" category.
A student uses key ideas from a book or source in their paper, but does not directly quote the book or put it in the footnotes. It is, however, placed in the bibliography. Is this plagiarism?
Why is historical context important when analyzing a source?
These answers are all acceptable: reliability, ethicality of the source, if it is a primary source, if it is misleading or not, understanding the SES structures at the time, political state of the world, background information to clarify motivations of people and groups, understanding your intended audience and clarify what is common knowledge versus lesser known, knowing WHY and HOW and BY WHOM certain historical events happened, and what significance the event/person/people/act/art/etc. had throughout history.
Should you have a research question prior to doing research or research prior to coming up with a research question? How does this affect how you evaluate primary sources?
Trick question! These are both valid responses! There is much debate in the historical community as to whether one is more beneficial for writing an effective paper. As for how it applies to evaluation strategies, whether you start your research with an RQ can change the way you go about your research and which primary sources you gravitate towards/end up utilizing. Sources you otherwise might find effective could prove to be less beneficial to your argument depending upon what you choose to do.