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Unit VII Research Paper Draft 3
Follow the directions below for the completion of your Research Paper Draft 3 (introduction,
review of literature, and body) for Unit VII. If you have questions, please email your professor for
assistance. As always, you may also seek out the guidance of the Success Center; the tutors are
always there to assist you with your writing and comprehension. You may
submit writing assignments to the Success Center by using a “Writing Center Request form”
located on the myCSU Student Portal. To submit a “Writing Center Request form,” log into the
myCSU Student Portal, click on “Success Center,” and then click on “Tutoring.” If you have
questions concerning APA or your writing assignment, you can contact the Success Center at
teamsucceed@columbiasouthern.edu or by phone at ext. 6538.
Purpose:
The purpose of Draft 3 is to build upon Draft 2 and to move your drafting process forward so that
you can add a body, conclusion, and abstract to your paper, making it a cohesive, whole
academic paper.
Description:
In this assignment, you will take Draft 2 (introduction and review of literature), written in Unit VI,
and add the body of your paper. Your body paragraphs should contain the six elements indicated
below and be developed in an appropriate manner. If the body does not contain these elements,
it is likely you have not fully developed the body, and this lack of development can severely
impact your grade for this assignment. You will need to write at least four body paragraphs while
incorporating five academic sources for this assignment. The paragraphs should be thorough and
cover all the listed elements. Your Draft 3 (introduction, review of literature, and body) should
include the elements listed below. With the addition of your Body, you should have a paper that is
approximately 7-10 pages long, without the addition of a conclusion or abstract and without
counting your cover page or references page.
Elements:
Your grade for Draft 3 is largely based on your inclusion of various elements and the overall
quality of your writing. Your Draft 3 must contain the following elements.
1. Cover page and APA formatting:
You should include an APA-style cover page for your Draft 3. See the example on page 16 of The
CSU APA Guide (6th edition). Your cover page should include the following: the title of your
paper, your name, and the name of your university (Columbia Southern University). The running
head should include up to 50 characters from the title of the paper, along with a sequential page
number in the upper right-hand corner.
2. Introduction:
Using the comments that you received on your Draft 2, revise your introduction. There are some
pitfalls to writing an introductory paragraph, and you can avoid some of them by reading through
the Checklist: “Avoid Certain Mistakes in the Introduction” on p. 495 of Strategies for Writing
Successful Research Papers.
3. Review of literature:
Using the comments that you received on your Draft 1, revise your review of literature, and
include it with this newest draft.
4. Body paragraphs:
Each paragraph of the body of your Research Paper should be a cohesive unit. It should be tight,
but developed. It should serve a function, and its purpose should always be to bolster the thesis.
Therefore, you should use the following order for each paragraph in the body.
a. Topic sentence: This sentence summarizes the entire paragraph in one strong, well-written
sentence, and it directly supports the thesis statement.
b. Explanation of topic sentence (1-2 sentences): Often times there is more to be said about
the topic sentence, more explanation that is necessary in order for it to be a clear idea, so there
are usually a few sentences that follow the topic sentence that explicate the idea more for the
reader. These sentences not only “unpack” the topic sentence, but they also anticipate the
evidence that will be used to support the topic sentence, usually indirectly.
c. Introduction to evidence (1-2 sentences): No piece of evidence (quotation, example,
paraphrase, etc.) should be dropped into a paragraph without first introducing it. An introduction
might include the title of the source, the author, and/or a short description of the source/author’s
credentials. In this way, no evidence is presented without a context because it is this context that
makes the evidence meaningful.
d. Evidence: The evidence that you present backs up your topic sentence and, by extension,
supports your thesis statement. The evidence that you supply can be a number of things: a
quotation from a source; a reasonable, illustrative example; a statistic; commentary from an
interview; etc. e. Explanation of evidence: No piece of evidence stands on its own or is
convincing on its own. Although it may seem to draw a direct line to your topic sentence to
support it, often the reader needs you to make the connection between the two. Further, the
general rule is that for each sentence of quoted material, your explanation should be just as long,
so if you include a block quotation, the block quotation should be met with an equally long
explanation.
f. Transition (1-2 sentences): Transitions are essential for research papers because body
paragraphs, especially, are written as units, and it is the transitions that allow for these units to be
linked together. Take a look at the list of transitional expressions on pp. 44-45 in The Little, Brown
Compact Handbook with Exercises.
5. References:
Include a references list as the last page of your Research Proposal. See the example on pages
6, 7, and 21 of The CSU APA Guide (6th edition).
UNIT VII STUDY GUIDE
Writing the Body of Your
Research Paper
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VII
Reading
Assignment
The Little, Brown
Compact Handbook with
Exercises
Chapter 28:
Verb Voice,
Sections 28a-28b
Chapter 44:
Other Marks,
Sections 44a-44e
Strategies for Writing
Successful Research
Papers
Chapter 23:
Writing the Introduction
Body, and Conclusion,
Section 23b
Chapter 24:
Revising, Proofreading,
and Formatting the Rough
Draft, Sections 24a and
24c-24d
Learning Activities
(Non-Graded)
See information below.
Key Terms
1. Active voice
2. Parenthetical
expressions
3. Passive voice
4. Voice
EH 1020, English Composition II
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
Revise the introduction paragraph.
Revise the review of literature.
Write at least four body paragraphs while incorporating at least
five academic sources.
Unit Lesson
Introduction to Unit VII
The body of the research paper is, in so many ways, the justification for the
thesis. When you write a thesis from a place of research, as you have done,
then it is clear that you chose a topic, read about the topic, and from that reading
and thinking, you crafted a thesis. So, in many ways, the thesis is really the
conclusion that you have come to about the subject. Although it might seem
counter intuitive, this is the reason why the thesis is placed in the last sentence
slot in the introduction. You present your thesis to the reader up front so the rest
of your paper is your way of unfolding the logic and evidence behind the thesis
to the reader.
Part 1: Writing the Body of the Research Paper
Chapter 23, Section 23b, of Strategies for Writing Successful Research Papers
Each paragraph of the body of your research paper should be a cohesive unit. It
should be tight, but developed. It should serve a function, and its purpose should
always be to bolster the thesis. Therefore, you should use the following order for
each paragraph in the body:
a. Topic sentence: This sentence summarizes the entire paragraph in one
strong, well-written sentence, and it directly supports the thesis
statement.
b. Explanation of topic sentence (1-2 sentences): Often times there is
more to be said about the topic sentence, more explanation that is
necessary in order for it to be a clear idea, so there are usually a few
sentences that follow the topic sentence that explicate the idea more for
the reader. These sentences not only “unpack” the topic sentence, but
they also anticipate the evidence that will be used to support the topic
sentence, usually indirectly.
c. Introduction to evidence (1-2 sentences): No piece of evidence
(quotation, example, paraphrase, etc.) should be dropped into a
paragraph without first introducing it. An introduction might include the
title of the source, the author, and/or a short description of the
source/author’s credentials. In this way, no evidence is presented
without a context because it is this context that makes the evidence
meaningful.
d. Evidence: The evidence that you present backs up your topic sentence
and, by extension, supports your thesis statement. The evidence that
you supply can be a number of things: a quotation from a source; a
reasonable, illustrative example; a statistic; commentary from an
interview; etc.
1
e. Explanation of evidence: No piece of evidence stands on its own or is
convincing on its own. Although it may seem to draw a direct line to your
topic sentence to support it, often the reader needs you to make the
connection between the two. Further, the general rule is that for each
sentence of quoted material, your explanation should be just as long, so
if you include a block quotation, the block quotation should be met with
an equally long explanation.
f. Transition (1-2 sentences): Transitions are essential for research
papers because body paragraphs, especially, are written as units, and it
is the transitions that allow for these units to be linked together. Take a
look at the list of transitional expressions on pp. 44-45 in The Little,
Brown Compact Handbook with Exercises.
Part 2: Revision: How to Re-envision Your Research Paper Drafts
Chapter 24, Sections 24a and 24c-24d, of Strategies for Writing Successful
Research Papers
Although the final copy of your Research Paper is not due until Unit VIII, it is a
good idea to start thinking about revisions now. Revisions are something that
you can do throughout the writing process. Further, it is always advisable to
begin writing with your paper formatted so that you do not encounter undue
stress trying to format the paper last minute.
On pages 531-532 of Strategies for Writing Successful Research Papers, there
are grouped lists under each section of the paper, giving you an idea of what you
might want to consider when revising the introduction, body, and conclusion. In
addition, you will see a helpful box at the top of page 532 (Checklist:
“Global Revision”) that gives you an idea of how one might perform a global
revision of a paper.
Part 3: Unit Grammar Lesson: Other Punctuation Marks and Voice
Chapters 28, Sections 28a-28b, and 44, Sections 44a-44e, of The Little, Brown
Compact Handbook with Exercises
Learning Activities (Non-Graded)
The Little, Brown Compact Handbook with Exercises
Exercise 28.1: Converting between active and passive voice, p. 238
Exercise 28.2: Revising: Using the active voice, p. 238
Exercise 44.1: Revising: Dashes, p. 339
Exercise 44.2: Revising: Parentheses, p. 340
Exercise 44.3: Using ellipsis marks, p. 342
Exercise 44.4: Revising: Dashes, parentheses, ellipsis marks, brackets,
and slashes, p. 344
Apply What You Have Learned
Write a short 500- to 600-word story about two people who are having lunch
together. Include their conversation, information about what they are eating,
what they see, how they travel—anything that will allow you to use as many of
the punctuation marks you learned about in this unit’s practice exercises
(dashes, parentheses, ellipsis marks, brackets, and slashes). Be conscious of
when you use active voice and passive voice.
This activity is intended to give you the opportunity to apply what you have
learned and practice your writing skills. It is a non-graded activity, so you do not
have to submit it.
EH 1020, English Composition II
2