Research Paper - Writing Guide

A research paper consists of three parts; an introduction, body and conclusion all of which are unified by a main idea or topic. This guide, created using the book The Craft of Research by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, & Joseph M. Williams, will discuss how to create and frame a good topic and explain how to write each of the three parts.

Topic

When beginning a research paper one of the first steps is to define the topic. A topic is a statement of the concept or overall idea of the paper. A good topic does more than just gather information on a subject; it focuses on the significance of understanding something that was previously unknown or not fully understood. When framing a good topic there are three steps to follow. These steps are to help organize the three parts of a good topic. Later, in the topic sentence and introduction sections of this guide, an explanation on how to write, phrase, and locate these three parts will be discussed.

1. Name your Topic: what you are writing about

I am studying

2. Imply your Question: what you don’t know about the topic

because I want to find out who/how/why

3. State the Rationale for the question: why you want to know about it

in order to understand how/why/what

A good topic is not only interesting to the writer but is significant to others. This is the importance of step 3, having a rationale explaining why it is important to ask the question (step 2) at all. A good writer needs to be able to communicate the significance of their topic.

Step 1 states the area of interest, step 2 implies something that we do not already know and gives the topic a direction to work towards. Step 3 lets the reader know why it is important to answer the question in step 2; step 3 is the significance of the paper.

For example:

1. Name your Topic:

I