by George Brosi

Your research paper has your by-line on it. It is written in your unique voice. It is organized around a thesis which you have chosen as the very best answer to a research question which you have selected. Nobody is going to insist that you express the same opinion tomorrow. But while you are supporting the thesis of your research paper, today, you want to do it with unequivocal conviction as strongly and consistently as you can.

You are in command of this paper. You begin it with a paragraph totally in your own words which asserts your control over the process and you end it with a paragraph also totally in your words which leaves the reader with a convincing summary of the telling points you have made to lead you to your inescapable conclusion.

The whole paper is in your voice. Each paragraph begins and ends in your voice. Never create a kind of collage out of your sources to give an overview of a topic and never manipulate the words of others to express your own point. Instead, say everything that needs to be said in your words and simply bring in sources to augment and lend credibility to what you are writing. Do not let your sources speak for you. Their role is simply to support your writing.

The basic ideas of good writing pertain to research writing as well. All writing is made up of independent clauses, groups of words which express some person, place or thing doing something or at least experiencing a state of being. To write clearly, figure out who is doing what! What group of people are you writing about? What are good nouns to use to describe this group? What are these people doing? What would you like them to do differently? What good verbs can express this?

Your research paper is addressing a research question. Who? What? Where? When? How? Why? These are the fundamental questions that need to be answered. Have you dealt with all these aspects of your research question?

If you have raised a pertinent question, illuminated the spectrum of answers to this question, clarified the conventional wisdom on this question and shown how your answer to the question supersedes the alternative answers, you have really accomplished something significant. When you do this in a personal voice which is eloquent, you truly have a right to be proud.

The skills utilized to accomplish this significant task are useful in numerous job and life situations. Now that you have gone through the process this once, hopefully you can enter into it in the future with confidence and even pleasure.