Genre and the like 2

Genre and the Research Paper
Summary: This handout provides detailed information about how to write research papers including discussing research papers as a genre, choosing topics, and finding sources.
Contributors:Jack Raymond Baker, Allen Brizee
Last Edited: 2011-03-30 09:06:38
Research: What it is.
A research paper is the culmination and final product of an involved process of research, critical thinking, source evaluation, organization, and composition. It is, perhaps, helpful to think of the research paper as a living thing, which grows and changes as the student explores, interprets, and evaluates sources related to a specific topic. Primary and secondary sources are the heart of a research paper, and provide its nourishment; without the support of and interaction with these sources, the research paper would morph into a different genre of writing (e.g., an encyclopedic article). The research paper serves not only to further the field in which it is written, but also to provide the student with an exceptional opportunity to increase her knowledge in that field. It is also possible to identify a research paper by what it is not.
Research: What it is not.
A research paper is not simply an informed summary of a topic by means of primary and secondary sources. It is neither a book report nor an opinion piece nor an expository essay consisting solely of one's interpretation of a text nor an overview of a particular topic. Instead, it is a genre that requires one to spend time investigating and evaluating sources with the intent to offer interpretations of the texts, and not unconscious regurgitations of those sources. The goal of a research paper is not to inform the reader what others have to say about a topic, but to draw on what others have to say about a topic and engage the sources in order to thoughtfully offer a unique perspective on the issue at hand. This is accomplished through two major types of research papers.
Two major types of research papers.
Argumentative research paper:
The argumentative research paper consists of an introduction in which the writer clearly introduces the topic and informs his audience exactly which stance he intends to take; this stance is often identified as the thesis statement. An important goal of the argumentative research paper is persuasion, which means the topic chosen should be debatable or controversial. For example, it would be difficult for a student to successfully argue in favor of the following stance.
Cigarette smoking poses medical dangers and may lead to cancer for both the smoker and those who experience secondhand smoke.
Perhaps 25 years ago this topic would have been debatable; however, today, it is assumed that smoking cigarettes is, indeed, harmful to one's health. A better thesis would be the following.
Although it has been proven that cigarette smoking may lead to sundry health problems in the smoker, the social acceptance of smoking in public places demonstrates that many still do not consider secondhand smoke as dangerous to one's health as firsthand smoke.
In this sentence, the writer is not challenging the current accepted stance that both firsthand and secondhand cigarette smoke is dangerous; rather, she is positing that the social acceptance of the latter over the former is indicative of a cultural double-standard of sorts. The student would support this thesis throughout her paper by means of both primary and secondary sources, with the intent to persuade her audience that her particular interpretation of the situation is viable.
Analytical research paper:
The analytical research paper often begins with the student asking a question (a.k.a. a research question) on which he has taken no stance. Such a paper is often an exercise in exploration and evaluation. For example, perhaps one is interested in the Old English poem Beowulf. He has read the poem intently and desires to offer a fresh reading of the poem to the academic community. His question may be as follows.
How should one interpret the poem Beowulf?
His research may lead him to the following conclusion.
Beowulf is a poem whose purpose it was to serve as an exemplum of heterodoxy for tenth- and eleventh-century monastic communities.
Though his topic may be debatable and controversial, it is not the student's intent to persuade the audience that his ideas are right while those of others are wrong. Instead, his goal is to offer a critical interpretation of primary and secondary sources throughout the paper--sources that should, ultimately, buttress his particular analysis of the topic. The following is an example of what his thesis statement may look like once he has completed his research.
Though Beowulf is often read as a poem that recounts the heroism and supernatural exploits of the protagonist Beowulf, it may also be read as a poem that served as an exemplum of heterodoxy for tenth- and eleventh-century monastic communities found in the Danelaw.
This statement does not negate the traditional readings of Beowulf; instead, it offers a fresh and detailed reading of the poem that will be supported by the student's research.
It is typically not until the student has begun the writing process that his thesis statement begins to take solid form. In fact, the thesis statement in an analytical paper is often more fluid than the thesis in an argumentative paper. Such is one of the benefits of approaching the topic without a predetermined stance.

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The Writing Process
These OWL resources will help you with the writing process: pre-writing (invention), developing research questions and outlines, composing thesis statements, and proofreading. While the writing process may be different for each person and for each particular assignment, the resources contained in this section follow the general work flow of pre-writing, organizing, and revising. For resources and examples on specific types of writing assignments, please go to our Common Writing Assignments area.
Academic Writing
These OWL resources will help you with the types of writing you may encounter while in college. The OWL resources range from rhetorical approaches for writing, to document organization, to sentence level work, such as clarity. For specific examples of writing assignments, please see our Common Writing Assignments area.
Common Writing Assignments
These OWL resources will help you understand and complete specific types of writing assignments, such as annotated bibliographies, book reports, and research papers. This section also includes resources on writing academic proposals for conference presentations, journal articles, and books.
Mechanics
These OWL resources will help you with sentence level organization and style. This area includes resources on writing issues, such as active and passive voice, parallel sentence structure, parts of speech, and transitions.
Grammar
These OWL resources will help you use correct grammar in your writing. This area includes resources on grammar topics, such as count and noncount nouns, articles (a versus an), subject-verb agreement, and prepositions.
Punctuation
These OWL resources will help you with punctuation, such as using commas, quotation marks, apostrophes, and hyphens.
Visual Rhetoric
These OWL resources will help you understand and work with rhetorical theories regarding visual and graphical displays of information. This area includes resources on analyzing and producing visual rhetoric, working with colors, and designing effective slide presentations.
Media File Index
The resources in this section contain links to all the media files found on the Purdue OWL. In this section, you can click on links that will take you to a resource where you can view or download a PowerPoint presentation or workshop, sample paper, sample employment document, vidcast, podcast, or Flash movie.
Giving to the Purdue Writing Lab
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The Purdue University Writing Lab
The Writing Lab at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, had humble beginnings when Muriel Harris founded the Lab in 1976. It began as a one-room space with three consultants who worked with Purdue writers at any skill level. The Lab has grown to three rooms, with the addition of computer workstations, specialized writing services, two satellite locations in the Undergraduate Library and in Meredith Residence Hall, and the Online Writing Lab (OWL). The Writing Lab is more than a place for students to receive help with writing; it serves as a model for an international community of writing centers and composition scholars.
The Writing Lab tutors consist of Graduate Teaching Assistants who tutor writing in all subject areas, Undergraduate Teaching Assistants for first year-composition, and Business Writing Consultants for job search documents and professional writing assignments. Tutors work one-to-one with Purdue undergraduates and graduate students in 30-minute consultations. The Writing Lab also offers workshops covering a variety of topics, from the writing process to résumés and cover letters. Some workshops are designed specifically for the needs of ESL students, who also find the lab’s conversation groups and self-study materials helpful for improving their English language skills.

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The fund was established in honor of Muriel “Mickey” Harris, who founded the Writing Lab in 1976 and retired in May 2003. The fund recognizes the groundbreaking work Mickey achieved in building an international writing center community.

Your tax-deductible gift to this fund enables tutors in the Writing Lab to pursue professional development, and helps foster Mickey’s longstanding philosophy of encouraging both undergraduate and graduate tutors to participate in conferences, presentations, and workshops.
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If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution, please make checks payable to Purdue University, with The Writing Lab, OWL (Online Writing Lab), or Muriel Harris Tutor Development Fund in the memo line. Checks should be mailed to the following address:

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A Welcome from the Directors
Greetings from the Writing Lab at Purdue, and welcome to the new Writing Lab website! We have spent the past few semesters creating a new site to better assist you, our users, in finding information about our Lab.
As always, the center of our work is one-to-one tutorials with students. Our trained tutors assist all undergraduate and graduate students working on any writing project, in any stage of the writing process.
We also offer services specifically for students studying English as a Second Language, students working on employment or Professional Writing documents, and students in English 106 and 108. Please check out the main menu for more information about these and other services.
If you have any questions or comments about the Writing Lab, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
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Tammy Conard-Salvo, Writing Lab Associate Director
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Writing Instructors
These OWL resources will help instructors develop curricula for teaching a wide range of writing. This area includes resources on teaching writing across the curriculum and teaching writing in the disciplines, as well as an index of slide presentations on teaching writing. This area also includes a link to the OWL Exercises.
Writing Tutors
These OWL resources will help writing consultants develop strategies for tutoring a wide range of writing. This area includes resources on how to run a writing conference and how to tutor students in job search documents and creative writing. This area also includes an index of slide presentations on teaching writing and a link to the OWL Exercises.
Teaching Resources
These OWL resources will help instructors use multi-media tools to teach writing. This area includes links to the OWL Podcasts, the OWL Writing Exercises, and the index pages for OWL slide presentations and workshops on writing.
Preventing Plagiarism
These OWL resources contain lesson plans and activities to help teachers instruct students on how to understand and avoid plagiarism. Activities in the "Contextualizing Plagiarism" section ask students to discuss and write about plagiarism, copyright, collaboration, authorship, and plagiarism policies. Activities in the "Avoiding Plagiarism" section ask students to differentiate among summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting and use MLA and APA in-text citations appropriately. The resources with titles that include "Handout" provide handouts that are free to print for your students by using the print option in your web browser. The "Handout" resources correspond with the resource listed above it.
Invention: Starting the Writing Process
Summary: Tips for how to start a writing assignment.
Contributors:Stacy Weida, Karl Stolley
Last Edited: 2011-02-09 02:23:00
Writing takes time
Find out when is the assignment due and devise a plan of action. This may seem obvious and irrelevant to the writing process, but it's not. Writing is a process, not merely a product. Even the best professional writers don't just sit down at a computer, write, and call it a day. The quality of your writing will reflect the time and forethought you put into the assignment. Plan ahead for the assignment by doing pre-writing: this will allow you to be more productive and organized when you sit down to write. Also, schedule several blocks of time to devote to your writing; then, you can walk away from it for a while and come back later to make changes and revisions with a fresh mind.
Use the rhetorical elements as a guide to think through your writing
Thinking about your assignment in terms of the rhetorical situation can help guide you in the beginning of the writing process. Topic, audience, genre, style, opportunity, research, the writer, and purpose are just a few elements that make up the rhetorical situation.
Topic and audience are often very intertwined and work to inform each other. Start with a broad view of your topic such as skateboarding, pollution, or the novel Jane Eyre and then try to focus or refine your topic into a concise thesis statement by thinking about your audience. Here are some questions you can ask yourself about audience:
• Who is the audience for your writing?
• Do you think your audience is interested in the topic? Why or why not?
• Why should your audience be interested in this topic?
• What does your audience already know about this topic?
• What does your audience need to know about this topic?
• What experiences has your audience had that would influence them on this topic?
• What do you hope the audience will gain from your text?
For example, imagine that your broad topic is dorm food. Who is your audience? You could be writing to current students, prospective students, parents of students, university administrators, or nutrition experts among others. Each of these groups would have different experiences with and interests in the topic of dorm food. While students might be more concerned with the taste of the food or the hours food is available, parents might be more concerned with the price.
You can also think about opportunity as a way to refine or focus your topic by asking yourself what current events make your topic relevant at this moment. For example, you could connect the nutritional value of dorm food to the current debate about the obesity epidemic or you could connect the price value of dorm food to the rising cost of a college education overall.
Keep in mind the purpose of the writing assignment.
Writing can have many different purposes. Here are just a few examples:
• Summarizing: Presenting the main points or essence of another text in a condensed form
• Arguing/Persuading: Expressing a viewpoint on an issue or topic in an effort to convince others that your viewpoint is correct
• Narrating: Telling a story or giving an account of events
• Evaluating: Examining something in order to determine its value or worth based on a set of criteria.
• Analyzing: Breaking a topic down into its component parts in order to examine the relationships between the parts.
• Responding: Writing that is in a direct dialogue with another text.
• Examining/Investigating: Systematically questioning a topic to discover or uncover facts that are not widely known or accepted, in a way that strives to be as neutral and objective as possible.
• Observing: Helping the reader see and understand a person, place, object, image or event that you have directly watched or experienced through detailed sensory descriptions.
You could be observing your dorm cafeteria to see what types of food students are actually eating, you could be evaluating the quality of the food based on freshness and quantity, or you could be narrating a story about how you gained fifteen pounds your first year at college.
You may need to use several of these writing strategies within your paper. For example you could summarize federal nutrition guidelines, evaluate whether the food being served at the dorm fits those guidelines, and then argue that changes should be made in the menus to better fit those guidelines.
Pre-writing strategies
Once you have thesis statement just start writing! Don't feel constrained by format issues. Don't worry about spelling, grammar, or writing in complete sentences. Brainstorm and write down everything you can think of that might relate to the thesis and then reread and evaluate the ideas you generated. It's easier to cut out bad ideas than to only think of good ones. Once you have a handful of useful ways to approach the thesis you can use a basic outline structure to begin to think about organization. Remember to be flexible; this is just a way to get you writing. If better ideas occur to you as you're writing, don't be afraid to refine your original ideas.
Teaching Detailed Writing and Procedural Transitions
Media File: Teaching Detailed Writing and Procedural Transitions
This resource is enhanced by a PowerPoint file. Download the free Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer
Students new to writing lab and research reports often underestimate the importance of consistency of terminology and detail as well as appropriate and precise procedural transitions. One reason for this is that they may not clearly understand the purpose of this kind of writing beyond a school setting.
In the professional world, a lab or research report serves to both publicize new information and to give future researchers a framework for testing and applying the original researchers’ methods. As all instructors who deal with writing understand, it is difficult to reproduce the conditions of scientific publication for students. However, the following activity emphasizes the function of an audience with needs and expectations, while simplified, that mirror those of the scientific community they ought to have in mind as they write.
Activity: Describe Setting a Mousetrap
Put students into groups of two or more. Give them a standard mouse trap and ask them to write a set of directions for setting and disabling the trap. Make sure they do not have access to directions for setting mousetraps (e.g. discard the directions and limit access to the Internet). Prohibit students from using visual elements in this exercise. Students may think at first that the assignment is easy and beneath them, but will soon understand the difficulty of inventing terms that describe each part of the trap and the operations that must be performed in order to set the trap correctly and safely. Students will need at least 10-15 minutes to write the first part of the exercise. Expect a lot of noise as students verbally work on defining their terms as a group.
Next, select a volunteer to set and disable a mousetrap according to the directions of another group for the entire class. The volunteer should be provided only with the written directions of the selected group. Have the volunteer read the directions aloud as s/he attempts to set the trap and instruct him or her to follow only the directions as stated. S/he should also be instructed to let the class know when s/he is confused or cannot proceed. Chances are, the volunteer will run into problems right away. Here’s a list of common problems:
• Unclear, wordy, or imprecise descriptions
• Inconsistent use of key terms
• Missing or imprecise procedural transitions
This activity can be a good way to socialize new lab partners and simply introduce the importance of precision, consistent use of terms, and procedural transitions. If this is your aim, you can end the activity at the end of class and perhaps ask students to write a reflection of why the activity was interesting or important. You can also use this activity to introduce the challenges of writing a methods and materials section. Ask students to work with their directions over the course of a few class periods. They should be asked to revise together for accuracy and clarity and, importantly, the genre conventions of methods sections (e.g. using past tense, passive voice etc).
A good way to extend this exercise is to require students to refine their instructions and add graphics to their explanations as homework.


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1. Memory
2. Attention
3. Speed
4. Flexibility
5. Problem Solving
Your Personalized Training Program

1. Memory
Select all aspects of your memory that you want to improve
• Remembering names after the first introduction
• Keeping track of several ideas at the same time
• Learning new subjects quickly and accurately
• Recalling the location of objects
You have the power to change your brain
Scientists have discovered that the brain can reorganize itself when confronted with new challenges, even through adulthood. Based on this research, Lumosity's exercises are engineered to train a range of cognitive functions, from working memory to fluid intelligence.
2. Attention
Select all aspects of your attention that you want to improve
• Avoiding distractions
• Concentrating while learning something new
• Maintaining focus on important tasks all day
• Improving productivity and precision at work or home
Scientifically demonstrated benefits
Scientific studies have shown that Lumosity training can improve your ability to dynamically allocate attention, which sharpens memory and processing skills.
3. Speed
Select all aspects of your processing speed that you want to improve
• Adapting to changing environments
• Speeding up cognitive processes
• Reacting quickly
• Decision-making in time-sensitive situations
Designed by neuroscientists
Lumosity exercises are designed by neuroscientists and are based on independent scientific research from institutions like Harvard, Stanford and Berkeley.
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Select all aspects of your mental flexibility that you want to improve
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• Multi-tasking quickly and efficiently
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• Avoiding errors
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Research shows that training just 10-15 minutes a day on Lumosity can lead to dramatic improvements over time.
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Select all aspects of your problem solving skills that you want to improve
• Calculating figures in your head
• Making quick and accurate estimations
• Dissecting complex arguments
• Determining the best course of action
Experience the benefits of Lumosity training
Lumosity users report positive and often remarkable results that include: better face-name recall, faster p• Memory
• Attention
• Speed
• Flexibility
• Problem Solving
roblem-solving skills, and a quicker memory.