Create a Research Question
Craft Your Thesis Statement
- You may want to think of your thesis statement as an answer to your research question.
- Your thesis statement should:
- tell readers what your paper is about
- assert a claim that others may agree or disagree with
- appear at the end of your introduction (generally)
- be 1-2 sentences
- be a statement, not a question
- be written in your own words
- be proven in your paper
- Tips for writing a thesis statement
Prepare an Outline
- How to Outline
- Types of Outlines
- Follow the MEAL Plan
- Main Idea: Your topic sentence stating the claim that the paragraph is advancing.
- Evidence: How you're supporting your topic sentence's claim. Utilize paraphrasing or direct quotations from cited materials.
- Analysis: Your evaluation of the evidence, which explains the evidence you've provided and its overall relevance to your main idea.
- Link: Link back to the larger claim in your paper. This ensures that you end the paragraph with a strong statement that connects back to your thesis.
Write Your First Draft
- Flesh out the outline you created. You'll want to analyze the information you discovered, compare and contrast the evidence, then come to your own conclusions.
Revise and Rewrite