Instruction
Writing Your Rough Draft: Tips for Drafting Your Paper
Remember that the research paper will run between 8-10 pages, will integrate sources from a diverse array of resources using MLA style, will have a clear thesis/research question as the backbone of the paper, will avoid fallacious rhetoric, and will construct logical arguments to advance the ideas in the paper. In short, the research paper is where you fulfill the goals you set forth in your proposal paper. Before starting your draft, review the research paper guidelines.
Research papers can be tough to write, but the peer review process presents an opportunity to get assistance with the revision process. In order to get an adequate review, it's time to create a rough draft of the research paper. The clearer your draft, the better the review experience will be!
Here are a few important tips about drafting that you should keep in mind:
Use effective transitions between paragraphs.
Include only those details and sources that support your thesis. Don't go off on tangents or include opinions that don't point back to the thesis.
Each paragraph should have a topic sentence. A paragraph needs at least 5-8 sentences that fully and adequately support the topic sentence.
Use appropriate tone, voice, and persuasion.
Don't use too many quotations in your paper.
Cite your sources properly IN THE BODY OF YOUR PAPER (the text of your paper) according to MLA formatting.
Read your sentences aloud to check for run-ons and fragments.
Don't end a paragraph with a quote. If you quote something, your next sentence should be your own thoughts, analysis, and comments on that quote.
Charting Your Draft
To help you with your draft, you may want to use something like the chart below. You can read the example, and then insert your own wording and ideas for your body paragraphs. Not every box needs to be filled in, and not every box needs to be very detailed; simply jot notes to help you see where your paper is going to make sure it includes all the required elements. If you have more than four paragraphs, you'll need to add to this form. You can copy and paste this chart into your word processing program or you can select the following link for a Microsoft Word copy of this drafting chart to save to your desktop.
Transition sentence to get from the previous paragraph
Topic sentence
Supporting evidence: quotations, summaries, and/or paraphrases
Analysis and comments on supporting evidence
Concluding Sentence
Example
Despite this new research, the government continues to allow oil drilling.
One of the main reasons the government should reconsider is because of the depletion of natural resources.
One quotation from online article. One summary of statistical findings.
This is a problem because we won't have much left in 50 years and without alternatives we'll be stuck in a crisis.
The government needs to stop using as much oil and needs to use more alternative sources.
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 4, and so on
Putting the Draft Together
Now that you have a sentence outline and the chart above, you should easily be able to take the pieces and put them together. After you have your draft together, read it a couple of times - especially out loud, correcting basic mistakes you may find.
As you put this draft together, remember that it must be 8-10 pages in length, include a minimum of five sources, contain a Works Cited page, and be formatted in MLA style. The title page and Works Cited page do not count toward the final page requirement.
Peer Review
If you took ENG101 with Rio, then you should be familiar with the concept of peer reviewing. If not, chances are you've had the experience of sharing your work with another person or a group of people in other college classes or in your place of work. These days, workers are often required to work in a team environment, which makes it important to know how to critique and how to offer constructive criticism to others. Because this is an online classroom with varied start dates, creating a forum for students to share their work with one another is difficult; however, you will be given the opportunity to engage a peer review using self-reflection and an external reader.
How to Peer Review
Commenting on another's work is not difficult if you remember a few rules:
Be honest in your responses.
Provide constructive criticism directed at the writing, not the writer.
Be specific and offer solutions if possible.
Review the following Web sites to learn more about the process of peer review:
Peer Reviews: Responding to a Draft
Peer Editing Guide
Peer Review Practice
Although reading information on peer review can be helpful, it is not as effective as practice. Imagine that a peer has handed you his/her essay to review. Take the time to read this Student Essay and answer the questions that appear below (a few answers are provided for you to help you get started). Then check your answers against the answer key at the end.
Questions
Answers
1. What does the writer do well in this essay?
He clearly explains the dangers of genetically engineered crops, using strong evidence to support his ideas. He also integrates his source materials nicely.
2. What does the writer need to work on in this essay?
3. State the main point of this essay.
4. Does the introduction grab your attention? Does it lead smoothly to a thesis? If not, what could the writer do to improve it?
5. What is the thesis statement? Does it contain a strong opinion and specific focus? Explain.
6. Does each paragraph develop one main idea? Describe the main idea of each paragraph (five words or less for each). Does each topic sentence tie back to the thesis?
7. Does the writer offer evidence for the points he or she makes in each paragraph? If so, is the evidence convincing?
8. Does the writer use transitions between paragraphs and ideas?
9. Does the conclusion briefly summarize in a fresh way the writer's main argument and then end on a memorable note (such as a quotation, thought, image, or call to action)? What is that memorable impression that the conclusion leaves?
10. Are quotations integrated smoothly? Do they flow with the grammar of the sentence? Are all quotations cited correctly?
11. Is there a Works Cited page reflecting each author quoted in the body of the essay? Are the entries of the Works Cited page in correct MLA format? Are they alphabetized? Does each entry have all the necessary citation information? Does the Works Cited section appear on its own page?
12. Is the essay formatted correctly (margins, font, spacing, etc.)? If not, what needs to be corrected?
13. Does the essay have a creative title that describes the purpose/point of the paper in a catchy, clear way?
The title is boring. Perhaps something like "Regulations: The Only Safeguard Against Genetically Engineered Crops."
14. Are there grammar and spelling errors in the essay?
15. If you were writing this essay, what would you do differently? Why?
After you have completed the table above, check your answers against this Practice Editing Key.
Final Notes
In preparing for the peer review experience, you will want to apply the same critical eye to your paper as you did to the sample student paper above. You will be asked to identify three criteria where you could improve, or where you tend to be weak when it comes to writing. These will become part of a self-reflection that will be due as part of the peer review experience. Because you will be using a resource from outside class to complete the review, you will have a little longer to submit this assignment. Please read the assessment directions carefully!
Assessing Your Learning
Graded Assignments
Review the lesson several times before proceeding to the assessments below.
Important information: Before you begin your assignments, please review and follow the procedures below in the completion of ALL writing assignments.
Lesson 11 Assignments
Draft, Review, and Reflect:
Step 1: Complete a rough draft of your research paper. When it is complete, write three categories in which you feel your essay could be stronger, or choose areas in which your writing has shown weakness in the past. Also remember to submit this draft to TurnItIn.com! It will allow you and your instructor to see the "originality index" which will help you determine if you are using too many sources. Depending on its length, your paper should fall below 25 to 30 percent similarity in terms of the use of outside sources.
Step 2: Submit the Rough Draft for peer review. There are various options for completing this part of the assignment. Choose ONE that works for you..
Option #1: Submit your essay to SmartThinking: Rio Salado offers SmartThinking's online tutoring to their students. SmartThinking employs professional tutors who will give your draft a very thorough review. To use SmartThinking, you will need to access it through your student homepage, and follow the instructions provided. Once you enter SmartThinking, use their essay review service to submit your paper. SmartThinking has a 10-page limit for their service. They return work within 24-48 hours after submission.
You can access SmartThinking for Rio Students on the RioLearn homepage.
If you choose this option, here's what you'll need to turn in for credit: submit a copy of your essay review form or a copy of your chat session if you choose the live option.
Option #2: Submit your essay to Essay Forum. Essay Forum is a free, online peer review board moderated by top students, including graduate students and professors. After registering, you can submit the text of your essay with some guidelines for the review, such as your three areas of weakness or the description of the research paper project provided above. Do note that because this is a volunteer-based service, you may have to wait to get feedback. You can read more about this service at Essay Forum's Frequently Asked Questions.
If you choose this option, here's what you'll need to turn in for credit: submit a link to the relevant forum on which your essay was reviewed and/or screenshots of your essay and the review comments. To take a screenshot on Windows, use the PrtScn key and then paste using CTRL-V into a Word document. On a Mac, use the COMMAND-SHIFT-3 shortcut to take a shot. This will save the screenshot to your desktop as an image file that you can email to your instructor.
Option #3: Use a peer: Meet up with a friend, relative, or other person you trust. As a tip, sometimes libraries offer peer-to-peer tutoring.
If you choose this option, here's what you'll need to turn in for credit: submit the "peer review questions" worksheet. The questions should be answered in depth, so make sure you choose someone you can trust since you will be graded on the review and your subsequent reflection. Here is a copy of the Peer Review Questions to download.
If you have another idea on where to get a review, please check with your instructor.
Step 3: Submit evidence and self-reflection
Submit evidence of peer review as described above.
In addition, write 1-2 paragraphs that detail the following information:
What was the most interesting piece of feedback you received from the review? This can be something surprising, something disturbing, or even something that you do not agree with.
How do you plan to address your feedback as you work on your revision?
Your work is worth 50 points and will be assessed on the following rubric:
The topic that would most appeal to me is the effectiveness of substance abuse prevention efforts in teenagers. This topic appeals to me because I have a personal story of addiction and often wonder if things would have turned out differently had I had substance abuse education growing up. This is in no way taking away any personal responsibility of the choices that I made, but rather trying to figure out the effectiveness of substance abuse prevention efforts which I think is fascinating.
Exploring this topic will help me out in my working life because this is what I do on a day to day basis. I think that going back to my teenage years and putting everything in writing as well as interviewing several teenagers who have had any type of substance abuse prevention education will give me a different perspective on how to do my job better and or differently. What is working? How can I make myself more relatable? what is going thru a teenagers brain?