Research Paper

The purpose of the research paper draft is for me to give you feedback and to help you where I can. This assignment will graded as complete versus incomplete.

Introduction: The first paragraph of your paper should simply identify (not define) the topic you are going to discuss. In this paragraph, you should state that the topic is important (not explain why) to educators. In a few sentences, you should say in very general terms: why the topic is important for teachers to know about. The introduction should be no more than one paragraph in length and the last sentence should be your thesis statement. The thesis statement is not your research question but the answer to your research question. Most importantly, the introduction should be short and to the point.

Literature Review: In order to answer your central question and topic, you must review at least eight (8) scholarly sources that discuss information relevant to your topic. The literature review is your chance to show that you are familiar with the literature pertinent to your topic of research. The literature review synthesizes sources chosen from the annotated bibliography.

Outline for writing your literature review:
• Before you begin this section, be sure that you have sorted your articles into different themes/topics based on the articles’ findings (sometimes called results). You can three or more themes/topics. After you sort your articles, it is important to give your sorted groups a descriptive name. The names of the sorted articles will become your headings for each of the paragraphs that you write in the body of your review. The body of your literature review will include,
a. Theme/Topic 1: a paragraph or several paragraphs that describe the first theme that you identified and compare, contrast and/or connect the articles you’ve selected.
b. Theme/Topic 2: a paragraph or several paragraphs that describes the second theme that you identified and compare, contrast and/or connect the articles you’ve selected.
c. Theme/Topic 3: a paragraph or several paragraphs that describes the third theme that you identified and compare, contrast and/or connect the articles you’ve selected.
**KEEP IN MIND: The body of the paper:
• should contain empirical evidence and analyses that support the argument you presented in your thesis statement; it should explain clearly why the topic is important to teachers, and give examples of how it pertains to the classroom and/or education in general. It should analyze the issue not simply describe or report it. The body of your paper must contain several citations.
• The first few paragraphs after the introduction should begin with definitions of the important technical terminology and theories of language and/or literacy that the reader will need in order to understand your paper. “Theories and Definitions” could be the first theme of the Literature Review. Remember that your audience should be your classmates, who have approximately the same level of knowledge you had prior to reading the research. Additional definitions should be given throughout the paper as necessary.
Discussion: The Discussion should reflect on how your research into this topic has influenced (changed or reinforced) your ideas about teaching or the subject matter. You should interpret/critique and describe the significance of your findings in light of what was already known about the topic being investigated. In other words, what do you think the findings from the literature review mean?
1. Start off by restating your research question and topic and whether your research from the literature review supports your thesis or not.
2. Next, make connections to your research.
• Explain possible reasons/explanations for your findings. Are the findings important? Why/why not?
• Then mention two or three key details that support or reject your hypothesis. These details could come from your field observations, readings from class or other classes, conversations with teachers, life experiences, etc.
• [You should not give new explanations or analyses of the issue. All citations made in the conclusion must have already been cited in the body of the paper.] Cite sources when referring back to information previously addressed.
Conclusion: In the conclusion you should draw things together and close the paper in a thoughtful way. Give the “take-home message” you want the reader to remember. Present the bottom line message, point, value of the research. The conclusion should be at least one paragraph, but no more than two paragraphs. It should contain the topic and thesis statement, a brief summary of your arguments, a reflection of your learning, and state again that the issue is important (not explain why – you already did this in the body).