Unit 18 STRATEGIES FOR PREWRITING THE RESEARCH PAPER: DEVELOPING THE WORKING THESIS STATEMENT, TAKING NOTES, SUMMARIZING, ORGANIZING YOUR NOTES, OUTLINING
STRATEGIES FOR PREWRITING THE RESEARCH PAPER: DEVELOPING
THE WORKING THESIS STATEMENT, TAKING NOTES, SUMMARIZING,
ORGANIZING YOUR NOTES, OUTLINING
SUPPORTING DETAILS
1 Convert print into vibrating rod
2 Convert print into speech and Braille
3 Convert print into electronic impulses
4 Convert calculating operations into speech
5 Convert typed messages into speech
III Computers helping people with motion disabilities
A Wheelchairs with legs
B Void-operated computers
C Eye-operated computers
1. Erica
Sutter’s work
D. Work stations
Task 8 Write an outline for your research paper. Write your working thesis
statement at the top of your paper. Then show three main topics with at least three
subtopics under each one. List the main topic with Roman numerals and the subtopic with
capital letters.
Task 9 Read the dialogue and fill the replies according to the context (the adviser
and postgraduate). Reproduce the whole dialogue.
And after summarizing?
Are authentic materials preferable?
Good. We can proceed to the stages of prewriting.
What are the purposes of note-taking?
Prewriting Stages
− Mr. Williams, I have begun the prewriting of my research paper.
− (1) Developing a working thesis statement is tangible. Drafting a working thesis
statement expresses the main idea of the paper. Take notes.
− (2)
− It is the right way to do it. Once you have chosen a topic for a report, you need to
consider what information you want to include. One way to decide is to write
questions you want the report to answer. While you are researching your topic, keep
your questions in mind and look for facts that answer them.
− (3)
− The purposes of note-taking are to summarize main points in your own words and
record quotations that you might use in your research paper.
− (4)
− After summarizing and organizing your notes comes the stage of outlining. As the
basis of your outline, use the categories into which you grouped your notes. Then
look over your notes to determine the overall organization of the paper. If your
subject is historical event, chronological order may be appropriate. If you intend to
describe something, spatial order may be suitable. However, the two most common
methods of organizing research papers are order of importance and development
order. Plan the outline of your research paper by deciding on a method of
organization and by assigning your categories accordingly, using Roman numerals. It is your final prewriting step.