Academic Essay Tutorial - Chapter 5: Developing your Paper - by homeworkvan

Chapter 5: Developing your Paper

You can follow the below steps to assist you in developing an A grade paper. Kindly note that the steps outlined are not conclusive, and are just a general guideline. I encourage each writer to develop their own method of writing an academic paper quickly.

1.      Research

This is perhaps the most critical step in the entire essay development process since it lays the background for strong essays and research papers. Poor quality essays are usually not well researched since they normally miss a lot of the major talking points and ideas.

Avoid an overreliance on a single resource as it is considered poor academic practice. For a balanced argument in your essay, research a wide variety of resources on the topic to identify the multiple perspectives involved. Keep track of the particular argument position forwarded by each resource. Have an adequate list of sources depending on the word/page count of your paper.   

2.      Select a paper structure.

Identify the paper structure most appropriate for your type of paper to ensure it is coherent (arguments are presented with a logical flow). See chapter 7 for the different types of structures.

3.      Outline

Before writing an essay, it helps to break it into its constituent parts to make it more manageable. This is called developing an outline and it should contain the major talking points you identified in your research. This step helps your organize your thoughts and arguments.

Your strongest points should always be in your first paragraph.

For ex.

Title: Is Animal Testing Ethical?

1. Introduction
1. Introductory statement
2. Thesis statement: While concerns regarding the ethics of animal testing are valid, it is prudent to analyze the benefits and drawbacks of animal testing so as to determine the efficacy of the practice and guide a framework for future solutions.
2. Body

1. First Supporting Idea (Topic Sentence): Animal testing contributes to vital life-saving drugs and treatments.
1. Scientific advances
2. Can study side effects of drugs.
2. Second Supporting Idea (Topic Sentence): There are no adequate alternatives to testing experimental cures and treatments on a living, whole body system

1. Human and animal anatomy are too complex for cell culture methods.
2. Computer models are still unreliable.
2. Third Supporting Idea (Topic Sentence): Animal testing is practiced with ethical considerations for the animals.

1. Scientists do not use animals or inflict suffering on them if it avoidable.
2. Scientists operate under various controls for protecting animals
2. Conclusion

1. Closing statement
2. Restate thesis: With the need to develop cures and treatments for human and animal ailments, animal testing is morally and ethically justified..

NOTE: Always write a dummy/working thesis statement and refine it upon concluding your paper when you have a better idea of what your paper is about.

To make it easier for me, I usually go the extra mile and clarify how many words I would write in each section.  

The introduction and conclusion should make up not more than 25% of the total word count of the essay. For instance for a 500 word essay, I could break it into

·       Introduction (80 words)

·       Body paragraphs (340 words=4*85 words) try and make your paragraphs almost the same length. However, this is not mandatory. Unless it is creative writing, do not have body paragraphs shorter than 5 sentences in length. 

·       Conclusion (80 words)

NOTE: avoid having a paragraph that takes up an entire page. The purpose of the paragraph is not only to logically organize your points but also to provide a pause for the reader. If you have lengthy paragraphs, the readers mind does not take a pause and they get bored with your paper or get lost along the way.  

Now it looks much easier to handle. 

1.      Present your argument

In this section, you fill in the outline with analysis and evidence. You can use any of the techniques outlined in Chapter 6. You can choose to cite the evidence while presenting them, or take note of them and cite the sources in the next step. However, you will save a lot of effort and time by noting down each resource as you write the paper instead of writing them down after concluding your writing.

If you choose to use my style, the moment you meet the word count for each sections, end it and go to the next section. 

2.      Referencing

Add the references and follow the style provided in the order instructions. 

3.      Proofreading

Carefully review your essay for grammar, style, and spelling mistakes. In addition, ensure the paper adheres to the instructions and marking rubric regarding content, focus, organization, and development of ideas.  

To proofread for grammar and spelling errors, a good resource to use in grammarly.com. For the rest of the errors, check your work against the checklist in chapter 8. 

4.      Plagiarism Checking

Ensure you review the paper for plagiarism before turning it in to the class. There exist plagiarism checker services such as Turnitin.com that can assist in your plagiarism review.

=========================================================
The following is PLAGIARISM REPORT for 'Academic Essay Tutorial - Chapter 5: Developing your Paper - by homeworkvan'.

COPYRIGHT © 2018. All Rights Reserved by homeworkvan.