Writing in the Disciplines Knowledge Base

On this page, our goal is to provide a plan of action for writing the most common papers. At their core, the action plans offer an ideal sequence of steps, a suggestion for the path to follow while writing which takes into account both cognition (time to think) and composition (time to write).

Our recommendations also assume ideal circumstances: the writer started work early, and therefore has plenty of time. If your circumstance is not ideal, then the plan is still useful for sequencing the writing process. If you have no time, then read through the action steps, and skip ahead to the outline. We strongly recommend reading the Assignment Pathway explanations of each type of paper (or part of the paper) before using the outlines! The outlines will use specific vocabulary, some of which have particular meanings.

The Research Report

Schedule — Time for completion is expressed in percentages of time rather than duration — a work distribution approach. The action steps are expressed sequentially, though much of the work will end up being recursive, meaning that you will go back to a section to revise or rework ideas.

Note that writing tasks happen THROUGHOUT the research process — if you draft parts as you go, even if that is just creating bulleted lists of core ideas, then writing the final paper feels less like an imposition and more like an integrated part of the whole. It still is a different task; it still takes work. But rather than having to build the whole paper from the ground up, the scaffolding is in place, and you’re just adding walls and a roof.

Keep a research journal. This doesn’t have to be fancy — it’s just a place for you to keep track of all the stuff that goes on in your brain while conducting and writing up research. The journal can be hand-written on real paper or electronic. The journal includes everything from musing on ideas to comments on papers. Using a digital tool is especially convenient because you can tag entries or create folders to keep stuff organized.

Timing:   About 20% to RQ, PS,  and method;  40% to  literature searching and annotation, data collection, and data analysis; 40% to writing and revising.

Getting Started

• Research question — coming up with a testable idea
  • must be expressed in measurable terms (how much, how many, how often, why, what, who, etc.)
• Problem statement
  • Write this as a mini-literature-review, using a problem statement form.
  • Problem statements are easiest to follow in the classic “A but B therefore C” format in which contradictory, opposing, or conflicting states are shown to co-exist, leading logically to a research question.  A resolution to the contradiction is promised by the research question.
  • Examples: Orange = A; Green = B;  Purple = RQShort-term medical missions (such as medical school health initiatives) supplement local and state health care services for the poor throughout the global south. Even with these additional providers, the inability to access adequate health care largely continues to affect the poor. This research examines whether the influx of providers may fragment health care systems and change the way patients and providers use health services (Scott 2013). The proposed study aims to address this by explaining how patients use short-term medical missions (STMMs) and the role of STMMs in patients’ larger health networks. Currently over 50% of all treated wastewater is land-applied in the state of Florida. In this state, where surface water nutrient pollution problems are common, new legislation has recently been passed requiring more careful monitoring of nutrient contributing landscapes. As the state is set to invest billions of dollars to control nutrient pollution, it is important to confirm and certify that previous assumptions and theories on the fate of nutrients in long-term effluent irrigated landscapes are correct. This research aims to confirm the long-term potential of phosphorus transport in Florida landscapes for improved cost effectiveness and efficiency of water quality improvements plans.
  •  Note: the problem statement is the motivation for the research, expressed in academic terms. For writing the paper, it will evolve into the Introduction. In other parts of academic life, the problem statement answers the ubiquitous “What’s your research about?” question, whether to a curious friend or a demanding professor.
• Design method
  • Be sure to get feedback before you begin research — it’s easy to mess up small details, and having fresh eyes on your plan will help you avoid errors
  • Write a first version of the methods section (you will revise this later)

Getting Data

• Administer / Collect data
  • Take notes on what you actually did
  • Revise method with what you actually did
• Analyze data
  • Begin by listing the basic outcomes, then look for relationships among questions
  • If quantitative, run stats (descriptive or inferential)
  • Create for those results which show the most important outcomes 
    • not every piece of data needs a chart! 
  • Write sentences for the results list
    • Quantitative: from  #s to words, e.g.,  from “77% Yes”  to  “A majority of respondents (77%) agreed that ‘pet parent’ was a more effective term than ‘fur baby’ (Fig 2)”.
    • Qualitative: from short phrases and concept maps to full sentence, e.g., from “Personal conceptions of pet ownership — possession, employee, family” to “Three distinct patterns emerged regarding how relationships with pets were framed by our participants: pets as prized possessions, pets as those with a job to perform, and pets as children or family members.”
• Write major insights
  • Lists of what you learned or think about the results
  • Lists of relationships to other material in the literature (similar to, different than, opposite of)
  • This list will help you write the Discussion section
• Do you need to revise RQ based on outcomes?

Getting Words on Paper

• Write final version of Methods
• Write Results section
• Write Discussion
• Write Introduction
  • Revise problem statement as needed
  • Write the rest
    • Topic + Significance
    • Lit review leading to problem statement
    • Expanded RQ (if necessary)
• Compile whole and get reviewed
• Revise
• Submit

 

The Review Paper

Schedule — this plan is expressed in percentages of time rather than intervals — a work distribution approach. It is expressed sequentially, though much of the work will end up being recursive

• Review papers take time to think — this is a difficult text to write last minute!
  • Decide on question / motivation driving the review
  • Decide on type of review — at the broadest level, you’ll decide between a topic-driven or criteria-driven review. 
  • Begin an annotated bibliography
    • Even if not required, this will help you keep track of sources
      • Reference in proper form
      • Summary or notes (this is info that gets synthesized and cited)
      • Key ideas mapped (info you may need to refer to as you write)
      • evaluation/assessment of article’s use to your project (keeps you organized as you write and provides your original contributions)
  • Begin mapping content — after you’ve found about ⅓ of the total required, map what you’ve got so far — how will subheadings break down? Do you need to amend search criteria? 
  • Finish bibliography
  • Map / Outline paper
  • Write Introduction
  • Write body sections
  • Write conclusion
  • Get feedback
  • Revise and submit
• ⅓ to thinking and thinking / ⅓ to collecting and annotating sources / ⅓ to writing

 

The Proposal

 

 

The Poster Presentation