Category: Level 2 pages

Outlining

Outlining

A strong outline is like a road map for your research paper. Outlining can help you maintain a clear focus in your research essay because an outline helps you see your whole paper in...

Note-Taking

Note-Taking

Taking notes well is a highly underrated skill. If you take notes well, your writing process will flow much more smoothly than if you take notes with an erratic and incomplete system. In addition,...

Evaluating Sources

Evaluating Sources

As you gather sources for your research, you’ll need to know how to assess the validity and reliability of the materials you find. Keep in mind that the sources you find have all been...

Thesis or Focus

Thesis or Focus

Once you have a specific, narrow topic, you’ll want to be sure you bring that specific topic into your essay effectively and maintain focus on that specific topic. It can be easy to wander...

Research Strategies

Research Strategies

As you search for sources on your topic, it’s important to make a plan for that research process. You should develop a research strategy that fits within your assignment expectations and considers your source...

Prewriting Strategies

Prewriting Strategies

Did you ever work on a creative project—paint a picture, make a quilt, build a wooden picnic table or deck? If you did, you know that you go through a development stage that’s kind of...

Narrowing & Developing

Narrowing & Developing

Narrowing Your Topic / Asking the Right Questions It may seem easy to choose a topic for a research paper, but it can actually be difficult sometimes. In fact, determining a good, solid research...

Writing Process Overview

Writing Process Overview

Do you know what a Slinky® is? It’s a toy that can serve as a metaphor for the writing process. A Slinky is one piece of material that’s coiled in many loops. Writing is...

Assignment Analysis

Assignment Analysis

Analyzing Your Assignment and Thinking Rhetorically Rhetoric can be defined as the ability to determine how to best communicate in a given situation. Although a thorough understanding of effective oral, written, and visual communication...

The Research Process

The Research Process

An Overview Writing a research paper is often the most complex writing task you’ll engage in during your college career. The process of locating sources, note-taking, drafting, and editing offers you the opportunity to...

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