1. “Mini” Research Unit
Researching, Writing, and
Presentation Skills Essays

2. The Essence of Writing
is Communication.
• Communicating your ideas, thoughts,
and beliefs.
• Communicating what you have
learned.
• Forming your own opinions, insights,
and ideas are crucial components to
writing a good essay.

3. A Step-by-Step Approach
From The Everything Study Book by Steven Frank
1. Choose a general topic.
2. Read, think, percolate.
3. Design a thesis statement.
4. Conduct research.
5. Take notes on sources.
6. Jot down your own ideas.

4. A Step-by-Step Approach
7. Organize your notes.
8. The three-part essay:
introduction, body, conclusion.
9. Write the first draft.
10, Revise and redraft.
11. The final edit

5. 1. Choose a General Topic
• Given the type of assignment, choose
a topic that interests you. If the
topic is original and exciting to you, it
will be reflected in your essay.
• Be sure to narrow your topic to a
manageable size. Don’t become
overwhelmed by TMI.

6. 2. Read, Think, Percolate
• Once you have your topic, immerse
yourself in reading and thinking about it.
This will help you narrow down the general
topic to a more specific one.
• Good ideas take time…let the information
percolate. Soon your own ideas and
thoughts will emerge – be sure to jot them
down.

7. 3. Design a
Thesis Statement
• The thesis statement is the backbone of
the essay.
• The thesis statement is NOT the same
thing as the topic. The topic is what you
have read about to generate ideas. A
thesis statement is your viewpoint about
some particular aspect of the topic.
• The thesis statement is a single sentence
that sums up the central idea of the essay.

8. A Thesis Statement
Should…
• Be Specific
• Reflect Your Own Ideas
• Be Something You Believe
• Be Something You Can Build A Solid
Argument to Support
• Be a Single, Direct Sentence

9. 4. Conduct Research
• There are two kinds of essays: one
that requires you to do research
using information from outside
sources to explain and support your
thesis. The other is an essay
discussing your own thoughts and
feelings on a particular subject.

10. Types of sources
• Outside sources include primary and
secondary.
• Primary sources: texts focusing on
the subject of the essay, specific
works of literature, historical
documents, or essays and articles
presenting certain theories.

11. Types of sources
• Secondary sources: books and articles by
critics, historians, scholars, and other
writers who comment on and address
primary sources.
• Where to look: Library, Indexes,
Bibliographies, Internet
** Worksheet: Textbook Special Features

12. 5. Take notes
6. Jot down your own ideas
• Quotation – restates a passage or a part
of a passage from a source in the original
writer’s exact words.
• Paraphrase – restates the ideas in a
passage rephrased completely in your own
words.
• The heart of the essay should be your own
ideas. Other sources only serve to support
our ideas.

13. 7. Organize your notes.
• Read through and evaluate your notes-
which notes are necessary for your
argument. Everything in the final
presentation must relate to the thesis
statement.
• Only significant information should be
included in the presentation.
• Group information (note cards) together,
such as same point of view or issues.

14. 8. The Three-Part Essay:
Introduction
• The introduction is where you
introduce your general topic and
specific thesis statement.
• The introduction needs to be a single,
well-written paragraph. By being
succinct*, the introduction has more
impact.
• marked by compact precise expression without wasted words <a succinct description

15. Introduction and Thesis
Statement
• Begin the intro paragraph with a broad,
general statement about the paper’s topic.
The first sentence should be well written,
interesting, and give the reader some idea
of the paper's topic. The rest of the intro
then bridged the opening statement with
the thesis statement, which is usually the
last sentence of the introduction.

16. More Introduction….
• The introduction should come entirely
from you. It is not the place to quote and
paraphrase outside sources. Those
sources belong in the body of the paper,
where you use them to prove the thesis
statement.
• The reader should be impressed by your
ideas!

17. 8.TheThree-Part Essay:
Body
• The body is the bulk of the essay where
your detailed argument that supports the
thesis statement.
– Material clearly relates to the Thesis
Statement
– Explain all points carefully, making them clear
to the reader.
– Be sure it flows smoothly and logically from one
point to the next.

18. Note cards
If working from note cards it is easier
to create a focused paragraph. Each
grouping of note cards you created
became a section in the rough outline.
Those rough outline entries became
the central points of individual
paragraphs.

19. 8.TheThree-Part Essay:
Conclusion
• Represents a clear understanding of
the thesis as a proven fact.
• Recap the major points and refer to
the thesis statement in some form
and reinforce it as a proven fact.
• Again, the conclusion should be
mostly in your own words.

20. 9. Write the first draft.
10. Revise and redraft.
11. The final edit.
• Good writing takes time and effort
to produce. It doesn’t happen all at
once.

21. Bibliography
Frank, Steven. The Everything Study
Book, Adams Media Corporation, MA.
1996.