Guide for writing term papers
William V. Hudon
Bloomsburg University
A virtually infinite number of questions may be asked about any of the
primary sources utilized in the courses I teach. When analytical essays
are assigned with primary sources as the subject of analysis, first read the
text very carefully, utilizing the separate guide for reading the source.
Answer each question on that guide, and attend the classroom discussion (or
discussions) of the text. Those answers and that discussion should help
you formulate your ideas more fully. Then follow this step-by-step guide
for writing. This method, which is just basic expository writing, can be
used to create a persuasive paper of most any length. Analytical essays
assigned in my 100 level (survey) classes must be five (5) paragraphs in length
(introduction, 3 paragraphs of evidence, and conclusion). In upper-level
courses, (300 and 400 level) assigned length will vary.
Step 1: Determine the thesis statement (TS) for your paper
After reading the text assigned as the subject matter for the paper,
and after participating in the classroom discussion of the text, you should
choose one element from the text that has struck you as being especially
important and interesting. You might arrive at this as a result of
considering the questions I suggest for discussion, or completely independently
of those questions and of the discussion. Whatever that one element is, it
should be of interest to you, to the extent that you want to write about
it.
Once you have chosen that element, frame a thesis around it that
embodies a reaction you had or a conclusion you drew in the course of your
reading, one that you believe can be sustained through reference to the
text. It must be something that you can demonstrate on the basis of the
text you have read, and nothing else. This is the starting point for all university-level papers,
a thesis that can be argued on the basis of the material studied. The
thesis is something
that separates a university-level paper from a mere summary or "report." Let me
give you an example. When teaching about ancient Greece, I often assign a
legal text written by an Athenian speechwriter and attorney named Lysias,
entitled "On the killing of Eratosthenes." It is a text about a
juicy case of adultery and murder. After reading that text, you might
think that Lysias's view of women was exceedingly negative and reflected simple
male domination of Greek women. Your thesis might then be: "Lysias's
text 'On the killing of Eratosthenes' demonstrates that Greek women were
controlled by a society which valued men alone." A thesis statement
cannot be an unqualified value judgment, or a sentence that fails to define your
viewpoint, since, by definition, those cannot be sustained with historical
evidence. An unqualified value judgment like "Lysias maintained a
perverted notion of the relationship between men and women," (here
'perverted' is the word that expresses the value judgment) can only be sustained
if the reader shares your same values. A sentence like "I will
analyze what Lysias says concerning the relationship between husbands and
wives," takes no clear position, commits you as a writer to no particular
line of argumentation, and hence is not a thesis statement. Express your
thesis as clearly and briefly as you can, in one sentence.
Identifying this point and putting it into one sentence is the most difficult
part of the writing process, so put in lots of effort. Once you have done
this, you've got the thesis statement (TS).
Step 2: Create the paragraph topic sentences (PTS) for your paper
After choosing that element and writing the thesis statement,
ask yourself why you came to that conclusion. List five or six
reasons. Then pick the three or four (or more, depending upon the length
of the assignment) for which you have the best textual evidence.
Write each reason in one clear sentence. These will be the paragraph
topic sentences (PTSs). Put them in your own words. Never
include a primary source quotation in one of these sentences. Paragraph
topic sentences tell the reader what the paragraph will be about, and if you
include a quotation, then the entire paragraph that follows such a PTS will have
to be about that one quotation alone. Save all quotations for the body of
the paragraph. To continue with the Lysias example, here are three
possible PTSs: 1. Lysias indicated that adultery was evil because it
undermined the control of husbands over wives. 2. As Lysias presented
the case, it was clear that the husband, in a case of a wife's adultery, could
define her value in monetary, not human terms. 3. Lysias demonstrated
that Greek men maintained careful surveillance over their wives in a number of
ways. Once you have the three sentences (or more, depending on the
assignment) written, STOP!
Re-read the TS and each of the PTSs If any PTS does not directly support
the TS, rephrase the PTS or the TS before you proceed. This
"stop and check" operation is crucial. One of the best things to
check at this stage is to be sure that one or two of the key words in the TS
also appear in each PTS. Once you completed this
step, you have that thing that no one likes to create--a clear OUTLINE
for your paper. BRAVA!/BRAVO!
Step 3: Develop the paragraphs, incorporating textual evidence
Once the TS and PTS's are in order, develop paragraphs of evidence
which will follow your topic sentences. The paragraphs should be somewhere
between 1/2 and 3/4 of a page long, in a normal (12 point) typeset with standard
one-inch margins all around. This may sound long, but remember this is
EXPOSITORY writing. Newswriting, where every sentence is a paragraph unto
itself, is different. You must develop and fully explain each reason why you
came to the thesis statement you are defending, in order to convince your reader
of its reliability.
As evidence in your paragraphs, use short quotations from the text of no
more than three (3) lines each in your paper's typeset. Why this
rule? Well, if your quotation is more than three lines, you must take the
material, indent it, set it in single-spacing, and set up a block
quotation. What happens when you encounter block quotations in
books and other materials that you read? If you are like me, then in most
cases, you don't read them. So, don't ask anyone else to read them,
either. Instead, keep them short, and weave them into your paragraphs in
the format called "direct address," interspersing words and sentences of your own.
Quote only
those portions of the text you are using for evidence that are most important,
ESPECIALLY if the passages that seem to back up your point are lengthy. Paraphrase the
rest of the material. Here is an example of a couple of sentences that
might appear below a paragraph topic sentence. The example comes from a
primary source passage that spans two pages in a reader:
"Eratosthenes seduced my wife," Lysias said, and "in corrupting
her, he brought shame upon my children and outrage upon me."(159-160)
Lysias insisted that Euphiletus remained justified in killing the criminal
because he "did not commit this act for the sake of money," and
he similarly did not seek to derive, "any other advantage" in the
process.(160) USE THIS FORM WITH ALL QUOTATIONS INCORPORATED INTO YOUR
PAPER AS EVIDENCE. This kind of creative use of the texts will make your
paragraphs much more readable and persuasive. After such quotations in
papers for all of my classes, (excluding the formal research papers
sometimes assigned in my 300 and 400 level courses) do not use footnotes, but
rather, simply put the page number from the text we are all using into
parenthesis at the end of the sentences, as demonstrated above.
Step 4: Write the conclusion and the introduction
Then, write a concluding paragraph, and an introductory
paragraph. In the concluding paragraph you must say something about the
historical significance of what you have argued. ***Over the years,
this has proven to be the toughest part of the assignment for the vast majority
of my students, so do it carefully and follow these directions.***
Explain why is it important for
someone who is studying the period and culture from which the text derives to
know what you have just explained in the evidence section of your paper. Most often, the historical significance
lies in the way that your ideas might reinforce or contradict standard images and ideas
people may have about the time period, culture, author, and/or text under
investigation. What does the information you have presented in the paper
suggest about the people and the society from which it derives? Let me
give you an example. Let's say you demonstrated in your paper that a
philosophical or religious text first laid down a bunch of laws stated in very
absolute terms about what people ought to do (there are many such texts in human
history). Let's say you also showed that the text then prescribed a series
of vigorous--even gory--punishments to be meted out if the laws were violated
(there are lots of these, too). What does the determination with which the
rules were stated, plus the dreadful consequences of misbehavior, suggest about
whether or not people were actually following the rules or laws when the text
was put together? How would you characterize the society overall based on
what you have found? Do any of these suggestions or characterizations
match up with the typical view most people have of the period you are
studying? If your information does not match up with that standard image,
then you have found something truly significant, that is, something that might change
the way people think about the past. These are the things that must be
explained in a good conclusion. The concluding paragraph needs a PTS that
connects somewhat to the TS, just like all the other paragraphs do. Here's
an example "The (what you have
found) in
(text
title)
suggests a number of interesting things about life in contemporary ______(place
where the text was
composed) ."
To get yourself ready to write the
conclusion, try to think of a parallel example of what you have found that is
located in our contemporary world, and what you might conclude about people here
as a result. DO NOT WRITE ABOUT THE PRESENT BUT USE THE EXAMPLE TO HELP
YOU THINK ABOUT THE PAST, AND THEN WRITE ABOUT THE PAST.
Then, and only then, write the introductory paragraph. This paragraph should introduce the text, the
author, and the time period from which they come, setting the text in
context. It should lead gradually, and logically, down to the
thesis. The thesis statement must be placed as the final sentence of
the introductory paragraph. Then, establish a paragraph break to
the first PTS, for the beginning of the first paragraph of evidence.
Then, and only then, see how long the paper is. Pay careful attention
to the specific length requirements and limits of the assignment you are
completing.
Step 5: Edit, proofread, and apply finishing touches to your paper
If the paper at this point seems too long, do some cutting. Take out
the weakest paragraph of evidence, or weed a weak sentence or two out of each
paragraph. If too short, add a paragraph of evidence, or find ways to
expand on what you said in the paragraphs you already have. When adding or
deleting whole paragraphs, make sure you are not violating the parameters of the
assignment. All papers in my 100-level survey classes, for example must
be five (5) paragraphs in length. Also, do a final
check on the TS and PTS's to be sure the PTS's really back up the thesis.
Remember that the most important goal is to demonstrate the legitimacy of
your argument. When you proofread, watch the verbs. Be sure to
use past tense throughout--this is history, after all, and all those you
are writing about are deceased, so let them rest in peace. For example, never
write, "As a young man, Aristotle studies political literature," always
write, "As a young man, Aristotle studied political literature."
In addition, avoid passive voice as if it were the plague. Passive voice
is operating when the subject of the sentence is being acted upon. Never
write "Brutus and his friends were accused of plotting against
Caesar," (subjects being acted upon: "were accused").
Rather, always write "Brutus and his fellow conspirators organized a
careful plot to kill Caesar" (subjects acting: "organized").
Be sure to create a formal title page for your paper, with a real title. Titles are tough to write, but you must include one. Attach that formal title page to the rest of the sheets in the paper, using one staple in the upper left-hand corner. Buy and use a stapler--be professional about your work. There is no need for any fancy report cover--they are BANNED on assignments for my courses. I am interested in your ideas and in nothing else, so put your energy and resources there.
**This method can be used
to create a well-organized paper of any length, from a three-page paper to a
book manuscript of several hundred. If every one of your paragraphs backs
up the thesis statement, you will have constructed a paper that will read
smoothly and convince your audience.***
DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, HAND IN ANYTHING THAT FAILS TO CONFORM TO THIS
METHOD OF ORGANIZATION. If you are unsure about what I am looking for,
or you would like me to give you advice on any part of this undertaking, please
come to see me. I find the writing process fascinating, and I always learn
something when I help someone with their prose. I WANT TO HELP YOU
SUCCEED, SO COME TO SEE ME IN MY OFFICE (OR SEND E-MAIL, OR CALL). If
you follow the directions above, and you come to see me with a rough
draft for guidance, I guarantee success.