Expanding the Research Paper - lecture notes from Bruce Ballenger's Curious Researcher

1. E X P A N D

2. E X P A N D -
have a conversation with Dave
• Why? Where? Who? When?
What?
• What do you mean by _____?
• How do most people see this?
How do you see it differently?
• Are you kidding? I didn’t know
that. What else did you find
out?
• Can you give me an example?
• Did that surprise you?
• What other questions does this
raise?
• Who does this affect, mostly?
• What is being done about this?
• I’m not sure I believe this. Why do
you?
• What do you think we should do
about this?

3. E X P A N D -
“Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop”
- Lewis Carroll Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
• Anecdote – story to frame your
paper topic
• Scene – a look at some
revealing aspect of your topic
• Profile – introduction of
someone who’s important to
your topic
• Background – important or
surprising background
information
• Quotation – a great quote that
captures the question your
paper will explore
• Dialogue – conversation
between people involved in your
topic
• Question – ask what you asked
about your research
• Contrast – compare two things
that highlight the problem you
explore

4. E X P A N D -
getting into the meat of your argument
• Be engaging, not bland
• Show how your topic affects
people AND a specific person
• Use specific, relatable
examples
• Emphasize the lesser known
details about your topic
• Keep returning to the
question/thesis that is driving
the essay

5. E X P A N D -
coming to an end
• avoid “kicking in the dead horse”
• avoid saying “in conclusion” or “to
conclude”
• avoid endings that trail off onto
different topics
• DO leave with an idea to reflect on
• CONSIDER trying the “snake
bite” technique