Research Writing

Plagiarism & Copyright

See the copyright guidelines for detailed information on what constitutes plagiarism and how to determine copyright.

When considering source materials to support your argument, you will want to conduct quality research using academic, scholarly sources.  Furthermore, you will want to paraphrase as much as possible—which still requires parenthetical citations within the sentence as well as full-source citations in a Reference, Bibliography, or Works Cited page at the end of the paper.

Work on paraphrasing your sources and limiting your quotations.

Research Writing Categories

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Choosing Research Paper Topics: Reading for Information | View Worksheet

Learn about how to choose research paper topics by going through a series of steps to form ideas and pick the most viable topic.

Conducting Research and Gathering Information | View Worksheet

Learn how to go about conducting research and gathering information to engage in structured searching based on a plan that makes the process smoother.

Note-Taking Strategies, Note-Taking Methods and Why They Matter | View Worksheet

Learn about note-taking strategies and note-taking methods to make keeping track of information easier and more organized while researching your paper.

Developing a Strong Thesis Statement | View Worksheet

Learn how to develop a strong thesis statement that challenges your readers to think and stays both specific and focused.

Evaluating and Analyzing Data From Primary Research | View Worksheet

Practice completing data analysis of primary research by answering questions that help interpret data for inclusion in a research paper.

Using the Invisible Web to Find Information | View Worksheet

Finding Articles From Scholarly Journals in Online Databases | View Worksheet

Practice finding scholarly journal articles from online databases of academic journals to find resources for your research paper that are reliable and valid.

Exploring Research Paper Topics: Forming the Focus | View Worksheet

Learn the process of forming a focus for research paper topics, and make sifting through information to narrow your topic down easier.

Clarifying the Focus of Your Thesis Statement | View Worksheet

Learn how to clarify and focus your thesis statement through a few simple steps that require you to ask questions and show supporting points.

Staying on Topic: Rough Draft vs. Outline | View Worksheet

Practice comparing a rough draft and an outline to help determine if you are keeping your research paper on topic. More basic grammar information

Research Writing


Understand the research process and learn to sort and compile the information and compose a thesis-driven research paper.

Research Process

Begin the research process the right way and learn how to sort through the information and prepare your outline.
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Organization

Learn how to clarify and maintain your focus in your research paper that expedites the writing process.
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Citing Reference

Start to understand and identify how to correctly use in-text citations, footnotes and reference pages.
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Writing Process

Compile your research in an organizational fashion to compose a thesis-driven research paper.
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View all guides and worksheets in the Research Writing category.  View Guides