ENG 200
Research Paper Instructions: How to Put the Whole Thing Together
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No title page
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MLA-style heading on top left side of the first page ONLY
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MLA-style running header with your last name + page number in the top right corner of every
page (including the first)
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Title: Please use the professional title you created in your Research Proposal (Title: Subtitle)
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Remember to stay in 3rd POV for the entire paper (NO: I, me, my, mine, myself, you, your,
yourself, we, us, our, ourselves…)
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Please be sure you have reviewed the Using Quotations PPT on Blackboard as it gives explicit
instructions as to how you should introduce, integrate, and punctuate all quotations.
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You do NOT need to label sections of your paper with subheadings or section breaks. This should
look like a normal essay with paragraphs simply transitioning into one another.
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You will be further developing the sections of your Research Proposal. Your RP is like the
foundation of your paper, from which you build. Do NOT plan to simply add a few quotations to your RP and call it a research paper.
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Introductory Section
o Use the material from your Research Proposal Introduction section, but now add
source material from the 1 or 2 sources you selected as background information. Be
sure to cite these sources (as quotations or paraphrases)
o Remember there is no set length for an introduction in a research paper. It can even
be a full page (or more).
o You are welcome to break up the introduction into 2 (or even 3) paragraphs, if you wish;
this is why it is an Introductory Section as opposed to just a paragraph
o Quotations and citations can certainly be used in this introduction (no matter what your
high school English teacher said)
o Thelastsentenceofyourintroductionshouldbeyourthesisstatement.Makesureyou
work your way up to it, so it fits smoothly into the end of the paragraph dont just stick
it there randomly.
o Please check out the Writing Intros and Conclusions folder in Resources on Blackboard
for help with this section
Body Paragraphs
o Remember your purpose: Are you trying to persuade the reader to be on a certain side
of a debate? Are you trying to answer a specific research question(s)? Or are you trying
to educate the reader about the importance of certain elements of the topic.
o Everyone will have a different number of body paragraphs there is no set number I am
looking for. It simply depends upon the complexity of your topic and the number of
subtopics you decided upon.
o Your body paragraphs will explore your subtopics and the current research that exists
about those subtopics. It should sound like a presentation of facts, ideas, and
information. Remember your purpose! Are you trying to persuade/answer/educate? o Stayfocusedonyour3-4subtopics;dontbetemptedtogooffonatangentortryto
cover things not previously discussed in your Research Proposal
o Your body paragraphs should be created from the following information:
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a combination of your 3 or 4 thesis subtopics + source information you have gathered about them (quotations + citations)
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Plus the elements from your research proposal (The Research Question and Focus as well as Past Research and Methodology) with source material to support
Conclusion Section
o This should begin with your restated thesis (your thesis statement, but in slightly
different words)
o There is no set length for this, but it is a section not just a single paragraph
o Do NOT summarize your paper!!! Do NOT begin with in conclusion!!!
o The material in this section should be developed from the following sections of your
research proposal: Future Research and Gaps in Research, Procedures, and
Significance and Relevance
o Be sure to use quotations and citations from source material to support your claims o PleaserefertotheWritingIntros&ConclusionsfolderonBlackboardforassistance
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MLA-style Works Cited Page (beginning on a separate page) *You should already have this
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APA-style References Page (beginning on a separate page) *You should already have this
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MLA-style Annotated Bibliography (beginning on a separate page) * You should already have this
