The significance of scheduling time in university.

How to write a great 5-page paper
in seven steps

Step 1: Select a topic.

Do some research online and see what others have said about the topic of your interest. You can use a research literature database through the University of Ottawa library or can simply google your topic. Using an internet search engine can provide you with a lot of information about what other researchers think about your topic. It will also give you access to what journalists have written about the topic, white papers and documents from organizations, such as Health Canada or the CDC, which may not be published in peer-reviewed journals.

Step 2: Findcredible information.

Whether information is credible will depend on many factors. First and foremost, it will depend on the source of that information. Peer-reviewed scientific journal articles are one of the best sources. You can find peer-reviewed journal articles in online databases, such as www.pubmed.org. You can also visit the University of Ottawa Library at https://biblio.uottawa.ca/en and click on the link called Journal Search.

You may also look for organizations, such as SAMSA, CDC, NIMH, or WHO. These organizations frequently publish summary papers that are very thorough and often contain many good references to scientific papers.

If you include the term “research” in an internet search along with the terms you are interested in, such as research depression in adolescence rates, you will find articles from scientific journals, newspapers, as well as some research reports called “white papers.” White papers tend to be lengthy, detailed reports developed by agencies such as the Center for Disease Control or the NIH. White papers will often refer to a lot of research articles that may be valuable for writing your paper.

Newspaper articles can also provide an interesting way of looking at a topic. However, if the journalist does not provide the reference to the scientific paper on which the article was based, the newspaper article will not be credible information and, therefore, should not be used as a reference.

Step 3: Select papers that are the most relevant for your topic

Any search for papers related to your topic will likely generate fifty or even more titles. You will have to decide which articles are the most relevant for your topic. Depending on the topic, select 5 or more key papers that summarize what other people have written about your topic.

Step 4: Get familiar withthe ingredients of a well-written paper

Most well-written papers will have the following six components:

(a) a statement about why the topic you are writing about matters
(b) a goal, objective and thesis (i.e., what you plan to do,or what you think about a topic)
(c) the review of what others have done and found
(d) a critique of what others have done (i.e., what has been overlooked, what needs to be improved on)
(e) the implications of your findings (i.e., how your position changes how we view and do things).
(f) your conclusion.

Tip:If you have been asked to give feedback on someone’s paper, look at how many of these six elements are present in the paper. Keep in mind, when your instructor grades your paper, he or she will be using the same method.

Keep in mind that your instructors in other courses may have a specific outline that you should follow.

Step 5: Take a close look at how experts do it.

Before you start writing your paper, print a paper you enjoyed reading. Read it carefully and see how the paper is structured (i.e., identify the sections), see how the author sets up the argument, summarizes and criticizes past research (i.e., identifies shortcomings)and writes a conclusion.

Step 6: Divide your paper into sections.

Once you have collected enough information about what others wrote about your topic, you are ready to start writing. Instead of writing whatever comes to your mind, start by organizing that information into the following six sections we mentioned earlier:

1) The opening paragraph(s)(1/2 page)

The first paragraph or two of your paper is designed to introduce the topic of your paper, explain why the topic is important and state the goal or purpose of the paper. The opening paragraph of a paper is also a “hook” that grabs the reader’s attentionby telling the reader about why your topic matters.

Here is an example from a paper on coping with academic failure:

Estimates suggest that some ten percent of students will routinely fail a course during any high school year (Add Health, 1995) and that as many as 24% of students will fail high school exit exams in some school districts and states (UCLA IDEA, 2014). The impact of school failure can be considerable, affecting mental well-being (Benner, 2013; Cornell, Krosnick, & Chang, 2006), diminished self-worth (Cornell, Dewey, Krosnick, & Chang, 2006; Park, Crocker & Kiefer, 2007), and future academic success (D’Agostino, & Bonner, 2009; Griffin &Heidorn, 1996; Oaten & Cheng, 2010; Papay, Murnane, & Willett, 2010). Establishing the importance of specific failure coping behaviours may provide schools with a clearer set of strategies on how to intervene and support students who struggle with failure.
Despite the frequency of academic failure and impact on well-being, relatively little is known about the specific manner in which students cope following failure or the types of strategies that are most adaptive following failure (cf. Cornell, Dewey, Krosnick, & Chang, 2006).

In this example, you can see how the author starts with the hook: “ten percent of students will routinely fail a course during any high school year and[…]as many as 24% of students will fail high school exit.” It gives the readersomething interesting to think about right away, such asfailing a test or exam, is very common. Next,the author states why that his topic is important, “the impact of school failure can be considerable, affecting mental well-being.”The author then identifies the shortcoming of the previous research, “Despite the frequency of academic failure and impact on well-being,relatively little is known about the specific manner in which students copeAnd finally, the author mentions the purpose of the paper:toidentify “the types of strategies that are most adaptive following failure”in order to support students.

Helpful hints: Do not get stuck on writing the perfect introductory paragraph. For the first draft, all you need is to outline a few ideas. You will rework your introductory paragraph when you get to the second and third draft. For a catchy opening paragraph, look for articles and interviews containingcompelling statementsand statistics that the reader will be interested in reading.

2) The goal or thesis of your paper (1/3 page)

There are two main kinds of paper students are asked to write in social science:a) research papers that involve collecting, analyzing and interpreting datawith a goal to discover something new, or b) research papers that involve offering a critical analysis of a topic.

When writing a research paper in which you are analyzing collecteddatato test a hypothesis, youcould present the goal of your paper by saying something like:

Most research to datehas focused on a….. The studies conducted over that past several years haveoverlooked/failed/neglected to examine… Accordingly, the objective of this study/paper/project was to investigate / evaluate the hypothesis that …..

When writing a research paper in which you review studies to critically evaluate a specific point of view, you could say.

The purpose/aim of this review is to evaluate/asses… or…
In this review, I argue thatthe majority of academic difficulties faced by students in university can be attributed to a lack of skills rather than a lack of ability.I will critically review evidence both for and against this view and provide recommendations on how better to investigate the nature of academic difficulties among students

3) The literature reviewand critique (3pages)

Virtually all papers will require that you locate your topic within the scholarly literature. This means that you will have to provide a brief summary of what other people wrote about your topicand show how you are adding something of value to that discussion.

a) Summary of the existing research:

Providing a brief summary of the existing research can be a daunting task, given that the literature on some topics spans decades. You can speed this process up by searching for “review” papers or “meta-analyses” on your topic. These papers will give you an extensive overview of research on your topic in one place.

Example

Here is an example of how to summarize the existing literature:

Research on romantic relationships has spanned decades, examining both the quality ( ) and viability ( ) of relationships across culture ( ), age ( ), orientation ( ) and race ( ). Theorists have emphasized a broad range of factors and processes that are critical to relationship satisfaction. Rusbult’s investment model (Rusbult et al., 1998) stipulates that the likelihood of remaining in a relationship is determined primarily by the commitment of individuals, which itself is determined by the level of personal satisfaction associated with the relationship, the perceived quality of alternative relationships, and the amount invested in the relationship ( ). Gottman’s XXXX model states that it is the presence of positive interactions, and the absence of aversive interactions, such as criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling, that predicts marital stability over time ( ). Spanier’s model of relationship satisfaction (Spanier 1976) highlights the importance of dyadic cohesion and consensus for relationship satisfaction ( ).

Support for these models has been considerable. In a large meta-analysis of studies involving over thousands of participants, Le and Agnew (2003) estimated that some two-thirds of the variance in relationship commitment could be accounted for by antecedents the investment model, but that commitment accounted for only a small portion of the variance in decisions about staying or leaving. Le and Agnew (2003) argued that important aspects of relationship functioning have been overlooked or underappreciated, such as the partner’s level of commitment in decisions to stay or leave, as well as the psychological needs of one or both partners. Similarly, although support for the importance of XXXX has been considerable, Gottman’s model has not generally emphasized the importance of the partner’s contribution to an individual’s level of criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling.

In this example, you can see that the authordoes not mention every single paper written on relationships. Instead, the author cites the main modelsof romantic relationshipsand then refers to meta-analysis (a large study) by Le and Agnew (2003).

b) The critical review

When summarizing the existing research, itis not enough to just state what others have done. You will alsohave to identify what researchers have overlooked or failed to do. Very often, the papers you will be reading will highlight these shortcomings.It is very helpful to keepgenerating a list of “shortcomings” as you are reading about your topic,

Here is an example of how to critically review the literature. I have highlighted the terms that point to shortcomings:

Synthesizing the results of existing research, both published and unpublished studies is difficult, in part, due to the variety of different definitions and methodologies used. The American Psychological Association Task Force Survey, for example, surveyed educators about violence over both the current and past year (McMahon et al., 2014), whereas other studies and surveys have inquired about rates of violence within a single year (Wilson, Douglas & Lyon, 2011) or at any point during their careers (OSSTF, 2005). Additionally, surveys have not always explicitly separated violence that was witnessed from violence personally experienced (ETFO, 2018) and some have defined a physical threat on the basis of the perceived intent (i.e., “when someone used words, gestures, or actions with the intent of intimidating, frightening, or harming them physically or otherwise” p. 294) rather than just on the characteristics of the behaviour (Gerberich et al., 2011).

… The study, although important in highlighting the seriousness of violence against teachers, is limited in some ways. The study, like many others, did not investigate the frequency of incidents of harassment and violence, just overall rates, and did not examine the impact of harassment and violence on health, mental health, and job performance. Additionally, the timeframe specified in that survey, i.e., this year or last year, may not provide the degree of precision necessary to make direct annualized comparisons about rates of harassment and violence, and although a wide range of types of harassment and violence were examined, other types of harassment, such as threats of and actual false accusations, were not measured.

When critically reviewing a topic, make sure you mention what is good, too, i.e., the contribution of the study. In the example above, the author says, “The study, although important in highlighting the seriousness of violence against teachers, is limited in some ways.”The idea is not to trash the existing research but to try to find its limitations.

4)Implications (1/2 page)

In this next part, you should consider the implications of your paper. If this is a research paper in which you have conducted an experiment or survey, there will be some new results, data or facts on a topic. If this is a paper in which you take a position that finds shortcomings in research on a particular topic, there will be a new position on that topic. New findings and/or a new position will have implications for at least three things, namely (a) theory (i.e., how people think about the topic), (b) method of investigation (i.e., how people research the topic, talk about the topic, measure the phenomenon), and (c) policy (i.e., how people do/implement something).

Example
Here is an example of how to present the implications of your findings:
The goal of this paper was to examine the extent to which student difficulties can be attributed to a lack of skill rather than a lack of ability. Focusing on a lack of skill has a number of implications for how we think about and support student success and achievement. First, viewingstudent academic difficulties largely as a lack of skill that may not have been acquired upon entry to university suggests that many students will underperform and fail to reach their full potential not because of any lack of intellectual ability but as the result of a lack of skill that could be acquired at any time. Second, if the majority of student academic difficulties are due to a skills deficit, then more resources and training should be directed towards skill development. Third…
5) Conclusion (1 paragraph)
A conclusion is usually a one-paragraph summary of a) what you found (if it is a research study) or b) what you have concluded based on the review of the research (if it is a review paper or an opinion). The conclusion is an opportunity to underline what else can be done or what you are planning on doing (if it is a research study).
Example
Here is one example of a conclusion.
Results of this study suggestthat most educators will be exposed, repeatedly, to instances of harassment and violence over the course of their careers and that many of these incidents will lead to some kind of mental injury that will require or results in time off work. Despite the existence of zero-tolerance policies and guidelines in many schools and school boards, rates of harassment and violence experienced by educators remain alarmingly highand appear to be increasing. Addressing these high rates as well as the impact on educators, will require a variety of actions that involve students, educators, school boards and researchers, including (a) increasing resources to support educators and address their mental and physical health needs, (b) providing additional training for administrators to ensure that they have the skills to adequately address harassment and violence in schools and provide meaningful support to educators who experience harassment, and/or violence, (c) ensuring that policies and protocols concerning harassment and violence are understood and consistently applied including the implementation of student consequences that are appropriate and effective, and (d) increasing resources to ensuring that all students, including the most vulnerable students, are able to express frustration in an appropriate manner.
In this conclusion, the author briefly states the finding, “Results of this study suggest…” Then the author points to a discrepancy,” Despite the existence of zero-tolerance policies and guidelines…. rates of harassment and violence experienced by educators remain alarmingly high.” Finally, the author makes the suggestionregarding the course of action t, “Addressing these high rates as well as the impact on educators, will require a variety of actions…including (a) increasingresources…”
Step 7. Revise, revise, revise.

I have read and graded hundreds of papers over many, many years. In my experience, you can usually tell, with some exceptions, whether a paper is going to be an “A,” “B” or a “C” paper by the end of the first page. “A” papers are highly structured and well written from the very first paragraph on.

I can also tell you from my personal experience that there is no polished, structured and well-phrased paper without multiple revisions. Here are some simple tips that can help you revise your paper and bring it to the next level:

1) Highlight the first sentence of every paragraph. Then readjust sentences you highlighted. In a well-written paper, the first sentence tells you the key idea of the paragraph. By reading them aloud, you will be able to identify poor transitions between the paragraphs.
2) Keep sentences short. A sentence that has more than 20 words becomes really difficult to read. Writing short sentences also forces you to be clear.
3) Read your paper out loud. Reading out loud helps you identify glaring mistakes, such as long sentences, repeated words and vague arguments.

More tips on writing a great paper:

• Start right away and do some work on it every day (if you can).
The most important aspect of writing a paper is that you work on it regularly. You should set an hour or two at a time to read, write and reflect on what you are reading and writing about.

• Write down your thoughts and ideas as you go.
Once you have selectedarticles you are planning on usingfor your paper, starttaking notes. Write down (a) what different researchers say about your topic, (b)what they think was overlooked(c) your own thoughts about the shortcomings of research(d) why the topic matters (i.e., its implications).The key activity is to read, think about what you are reading and write down your thoughts.

• Use headings.
Headings help you keep an eye on whether you have addressed all those five key components we talked about. If your instructor told you not to use headings, you can take them out at the end. But while working on your paper, keep them in. It is easier to focus ad work on a smaller section at a time.

• Allow yourself to write a rough first draft.
Lots of students get stuck on writing the first sentence or the first paragraph because they do not know what to say. The truth is, you will not have a clear idea about your topic until you have completed at least the first draft. So, remind yourself it is just a first draft and pound out a very, very rough draft. Turn off your internal self-critic and write your thoughts as they come but do follow the general outline of (a)” hook” (b) your goal, objective and thesis (i.e., what you think), (c) the review of what others have done, (d) what has been overlooked, or needs to be improved on, (e) the implications of what you have found, and finally (f) your conclusion. Do not get deterred by poor wording, incomplete sentences, and weak arguments. Once you have some thoughts on paper, you will have a better idea of what you want to say and how you want to say it. That is what the second, third and maybe even the fourth draft is about

• Find and use a good grammar checker.
If you are someone who tends to make a lot of spelling mistakes, like me, you may really benefit from a grammar checker like Grammarly. Grammarly analyzes your sentence structure and will identify a whole range of mistakes – spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes, misuse of words, as well as sentences that are too long. It costs about $12 a month. It also has a plagiarism checker. If the money is an issue, you and a friend could share it. Grammarly is not perfect. It certainly will not help generate new ideas or structure your article, but it will save you a lot of grief when it comes to spelling and grammar.

• Make your references nice and tidy.
References are often very, very time-consuming.It is easy to lose track of them and make formatting mistakes. In this course, you will learn how to use a reference manager, called Zotero. To use Zotero, you will need to (a) create an account at www.zotero.org and install the application on your computer. Once installed, you can use Zotero to extract the article information directly from a webpage or PDF and then insert it directly into your paper. Zotero will also automatically create your reference list. This will save you hours of work and make sure that yourreferences are impeccable.

• Become familiar with APA style guide.
Most of your paper in the social sciences will need to follow APA style. Here is the definitive resource of any questions you may have about how to write a paper in APA style:https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_style_introduction.html