Writing a Research Paper: A Realistic Timeline

So...It's that time of the year. My thoughts and plans were sooooo unrealisitc. I love researching and love writing, but it takes a lot of time to make them work together. I do not want this entire semester to be a wash so here are some interesting things that I have discovered that will hopefully work out in my future writing projects. I hope that you find this information helpful.

Develop your topic over the winter or summer break and start to build your bibliography

Write down your KWL before the Semester Starts (What do you know? What do you want to know? What can you learn from the sources that you are thinking of using?)

Identify at least one major primary source to use and ask ILL for the material as early as possible

Write your Lit Review within the first month of the semester (It will change some, but it is better to have SOMETHING written down)

Write your Prospectus Review within the second month (It too will change, but it is better to have SOMETHING written down)

Select a research day (or couple hours per day) to search for material and look through the material you have found

ALWAYS slow down after collecting documents to write notes about why you gathered them, what does/might it add to your topic, what additional questions do you have after looking at the material? Try to write these documents into a part of your paper within the next week. (It’s ok if it does not all fit, the process of writing gives you shape)

By the end of the third month have your sources selected and summaries written.

Take the fourth month to pull together your notes into a full draft. Revise, Revise, Revise....

Use the writing center, your peers in class, family, AND friends from other departments to help you along the way.

Revise in small chunks. Do not tackle the entire paper at one time. It’s dizzying and unproductive.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, if you work diligently on a schedule like this…you’ll have time to STOP AND ENJOY THE FLOWERS. A good paper cannot be written from within the confines of solitude. Be with people.