Getting the research paper process started and approach to developing a topic.

1. C:Userskatherine.b.cottleDropboxeng 102Milestone Exercise for ENG 102.doc 1
Milestone Exercise for ENG 102
Exercise 1: Framing a Research Question and Efficient Access
of Information
The first thing students have to do, when writing a research paper, is to figure out what
they are going to research. Students may be given a topic or they may not: either way,
people have to dig a little to discover the aspect of the topic that they want to discuss.
Usually, research papers are hard because people are trying to cover too much ground and
can’t do it well. Students start out with really broad search terms like “national debt” or
“poverty” when they should be searching by something like “national debt public assistance
or “education’s impact poverty.” ” (Also be aware of Boolean searches. You connect the
terms with “and,” “or,” and “not’ to either broaden or narrow the search. In this case, we add
terms to narrow the search, but connect them with an “and” to make sure all of the terms are
included.)
If students try to cover too much ground, they will not be able to discuss in depth what
needs discussing or find the information they need. So students need to narrow their focus
and ask themselves the following questions:
1. What am I interested in? (If assigned a topic, is there one aspect that I find more
interesting than another?)
2. Is there any controversy around it? Are there aspects that people disagree about?
3. What is the disagreement or controversy about?
4. Is there research on both sides of the controversy? Can I find it?
5. What terms can I use to search for it?
6. Are there synonyms for those terms or other ways to search?
Milestone Assignment #1 (addresses questions 1 and 2 on the Information Literacy
Rubric)
1. Think of two potential research questions (they have to be about completely different
topics, not different parts of the same topic).
2. Write the question or topic as a series of keywords, not just one phrase.
3. Now, using the Library Databases, come up with 5 articles for each topic. List them
(APA formatting), but do not comment until the end.
4. At the end, look at the range of articles and ask yourself: Did I ask a good question or
do I need to refine it?

2. C:Userskatherine.b.cottleDropboxeng 102Milestone Exercise for ENG 102.doc 2
So, at the end of the exercise, you will have two sets of this information:
1. Potential topic, listed as a series of keywords and phrases.
2. 5 articles from the library database about that topic, formatted APA Style.
3. A short answer assessing your success and how you could have refined your search to
make it more successful.
Exercise 2: Evaluation of Information
Now that you have some articles, you need to see if they are what you want. There are lots
of questions that you need to ask yourself.
1. Is the information from an academic or reputable source?
2. Is the person or people who wrote the article credentialed? (Are they considered
experts in their field or are they self-proclaimed experts?)
3. Can you see the sources that the author used? Are they reputable?
4. Does the author mainly use primary sources (original data or writing) or secondary?
5. Has the article been peer reviewed? What did the other academics say?
6. Does the author discuss both sides of the issue or is the presentation one-sided?
7. Is the information current?
8. Does the article address an aspect of your research topic?
9. Does it support or negate your ideas and thesis?
Milestone Assignment #2 (addresses question 3 on the Information Literacy Rubric)
1. Pick which research topic you are planning to go with.
2. Write a beginning thesis statement. (It may be refined as you go through the process)
3. Now, look at your five articles and assess them, using the questions above. Write an
annotated bibliography.
a. List the articles as they would appear on an APA formatted References page.
b. After each article listed, write a paragraph where you answer the questions
above.
c. End each paragraph with a statement about whether you will use it or not and
why.

3. C:Userskatherine.b.cottleDropboxeng 102Milestone Exercise for ENG 102.doc 3
Exercise 3: Effective and Ethical Use of Information;
Effective Use of Technology
You have your thesis statement and you have your sources. Now you get to start writing
your research paper. For this exercise, you will start by picking out sections of your sources
and deciding whether you want to use them as quotes, paraphrases or summaries. Then, you
will incorporate them into some paragraphs that will eventually be used for your paper. You
will also incorporate APA formatting and citing.
Milestone Assignment #3 (addresses question 4-6 on the Information Literacy Rubric)
1. Pick out three quotes from your sources (along with complete citation information, as
if you are creating a References page) for use in your paper. Copy those sources into a
document. Now, assign and label a designation for each quote.
a. One will be used as a quote.
b. One will be used paraphrase.
c. One will be used as a summary.
2. Write your thesis statement again, whether it has changed or not
3. Write 2-3 paragraphs, incorporating the outside sources.
a. Write the paragraphs for eventual use in your final research project.
b. You must set them up/ introduce them.
c. Include the outside source, along with citation information.
d. The citation information will tell your instructor which quote is being used as
a quote, a paraphrase, or a summary. (rubric question #4 and #5)
e. Tie the outside information into the argument presented by your thesis
statement. (rubric question #4)
f. Observe APA formatting in addition to citation.
g. Submit in the manner requested by your instructor, whether it is printing out,
email, or by submission through Blackboard. (rubric question #6)