Research Tips

When doing research, interpretation of the material you read matters and can lead you to the development of your own thesis.  There is probably no right or wrong thesis as long as it is reasonable, logically connected to the subject researched. In fact, new ideas and thoughts are welcome, a refreshing change from the ordinary.

The best way to research a subject is to read about it carefully, take notes as you read, think about the ideas other writers have expressed, and feel perfectly free to determine your own thoughts on the subject. Reading varied opinions on a subject researched is worthwhile. Sometimes disagreeing with what others have said is a good starting point for developing your own thesis. 

At first, you might react to a research assignment by thinking that you know nothing about the topic and don’t even know where to begin. That’s normal, since you are expected to do the research in order to learn about a subject, develop a thesis, and then prove your ideas about the subject. As you find more and more information on the subject, pick and choose among sources to select the ones that offer support for your own ideas. Because there is often more information about most subjects than can be used, being selective makes a difference.

The best way to write the paper itself is to put aside all that you’ve read about the subject and write your first draft without referring to your notes or looking at what your sources have said. You might note places where sources need to be incorporated, but wait until you’ve finished the first draft before including outside information.  For subsequent drafts, you can choose from the quotations and ideas that verify or substantiate what you have said and then integrate the material into your paper.

The SWC has further information on the nuts and bolts of research, documentation, etc. (Research). Research projects do involve hard work, but they also provide a great opportunity to learn in depth about different subjects and stretch your mind as you develop your ideas.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! ‘Til then, hang ten!

A Moment in Time

Suppose that one day the waters were so still that we couldn’t surf as planned. The most immediate explanation might be that there was simply no wind that day. We might then search for the reason why the winds didn’t come as expected that day. Perhaps the weather report expected the wind on the wrong day, and so the waters were still today. We might then think about deeper reasons for why the wind was nowhere to be found.

As humans, we search for explanations for why things happen as they do. To that end, people ask questions to make sense of the world around us. This is the foundation of scientific inquiry—using reason and questioning to reach answers about what might have once seemed unknowable. This is the foundation of the cause-effect essay.

A cause-effect paper is designed to explore a chain of events. In its simplest form, you might explore a single cause and its relationship to a single effect. The goal of this essay is to show a clear link between the proposed cause and its effect, and illustrate how the two are related. Why are they related events instead of coincidences? So the two events must be introduced, a link must be proposed between these events, and the writer must show evidence that proves the causal chain exists.

However, the cause-effect essay is one of the most difficult types of essays to write because it focuses primarily on time. Cause must precede effect, and the cause must be the reason the effect takes place. If the essay fails to prove that the two events are related, then essay doesn’t work. Consider events as a link in a chain, where all the links must be strong in order to hold the weight of the essay.

Cause-effect can be complicated enough with only a single cause and a single effect. This type of essay can be even more complex when considering multiple causes or effects. Even the nature of the time relationship can vary. Arguing that a single cause produces three direct effects is not the same as arguing that a single cause snowballs into a chain of effects. One chain of events is direct, even with multiple effects, while the second chain of events is indirect and layered. In the second case, the chain of events is linked, with the middle link holding the chain together at its center. While both are cause-effect relationships, one requires more evidence and concrete reasoning in order to work as a coherent whole.

In the end, a cause-effect paper relies on how well the chain of events is shown and documented. The chain of events must be shown clearly, whether you are exploring cause, effect, or both within your essay. Although writing about time can be complicated, cause-effect can be useful to establish a time relationship between any two events.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! ‘Til then, hang ten!

On Academic Tone

“Killer waves!” says Roxy.

“Gotcha,” says the dude.

Most of us have heard that we should write the way we talk, but the way we talk is often not what we need for college writing because we’re filling in blanks and using phrases or slang easily understood by our friends. Academic writing requires a different way of speaking, and there are conventions used for college essays that are not typical of everyday speech (or writing emails, letters, notes, diaries, or Tweets.)

The following ideas may help to transmogrify a paper from casual to college level.

1. Remove contractions – use do not instead of don’t, for example.

2. Replace slang with other words that have the same meaning.

3. Use third person pronouns (he, she, they, them, it, etc.) instead of second person pronouns (you, your, yourself).

4. Omit unnecessary words, filler: Well, as I was saying about extra words, it might be good to delete them. 

5. Triple check all punctuation. You may also need to review other grammar rules, which is worth the time it takes.

Translating from a casual style to a college level style may be simpler than it initially seems.

“The waves are suitable for surfing,” Roxy observed.

“I understand,” replied her friend.