Tuesday, February 14, 2012

My Problem With Research Papers

    I am really dreading this 10-12 page research paper that I will have to start soon. I love to write but research papers bore me. . I have to come with a topic, thesis statement, construct the body of the paper, conclusion, and a bibliography. The research part isn’t bad, but implementing all the research into one long paper is a problem for me
            Finding a topic that’s relevant to the class has been hard for me. I have been unable to find a topic that I feel I will be able to write a 10-12 page paper on. Nothing has captured my attention. Some of the topics have been too broad. I have been skimming through my criminology book. Hopefully, something catches my eye.
            Once I find a topic to write about, the thesis statement will be easy. It’s the guideline and pre-summary to what my paper is going to be about.
            After my thesis statement, I have to construct the body of my paper. This is the difficult part. The information from my research has to balance the paper out. I can’t ramble on or be repetitive. I have to have enough information about my topic that I can use to write at least ten pages. I hate long length papers. If I can completely address a topic in less than ten pages, then I feel I shouldn’t have to write 10 pages.
            After I have successfully constructed the body of my paper, the conclusion has to be written. This is easy. I love this part because I know I am done with most of the research paper.
            The bibliography is what I really, really dislike because of the different styles such as MLA or APA. Sources  has to be written a certain way. For instance, newspapers, books, webpages, and etc. are all cites differently. It gives me a headache. Research papers are not my friend!

4 comments:

  1. Is your paper just on anything about Criminology? The best way is to find a topic that will have a lot of details that way it will be easier to go into detail. I actually find that it's easy once you have your thesis, thats what your paper is about so just exude the thesis. I agree with the bibliography part it takes a lot of time. You usually can find a website that automatically put it into MLA or APA style. I wish you the best of luck in your paper!

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  2. Honestly, I don't think that there's a subject IN THE WORLD that's interesting enough to write 10 pages about. Plus, do the instructors really READ these papers? I mean, I wouldn't put it pass some; however, I'd prefer it if people were a little more realistic. Now that I'm thinking about it, I doubt that I'd be able to write a research paper that lengthy on something that I actually find interesting!

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  3. Wow! I'd be stressed out too if I had to write a 10-12 research page paper. Finding a topic and writing the thesis seems like a piece of cake like you stated. My biggest downfall would be running out of stuff to write before the 10 page mark. I'd really try to find a website to put your paper in MLA format like ChunMorris said above. I really wish you the best of luck. If I was your instructor I'd just give everyone an A who attempted the paper cause I would not read them.

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  4. There are some good resources on the class website about Integrating and Citing Sources and Research. I have included links to 4 really good, reliable citation tools. You have to be careful of some online citation tools because they are out-of-date or don't do the citations correctly. It's always a good idea to double-check the citations, even if you use software to create them. I hope that these resources help you with your research paper. If you can find a topic that you're interested in, you'd be surprised how easy it is to write a long research paper. You have to keep in mind that you will be summarizing your research findings as well as adding your own ideas, so what sounds like a long paper is really about 50% discussion of what others have to say about the topic (the other 50% should be what you have to say about it). I can tell you from experience, both as a student and a professor, that we do, indeed, read research papers and we will not give you an A just for trying.

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