How to Write Essays Part 2: The Research Stage

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You need to have enough amount of the right materials to be able to write an excellent essay. You can do so by performing research the right way. And you can do so if you know how the research process works. The research stage is also a process in which the end product is your argument or thesis which you will later write as your thesis statement.

KNOW WHAT TO DO

➔ Read all instructions. ➔ Interpret and analyse carefully the given

instructions, question, title, topic or whatever there is given.

dO THE ACTUAL RESEARCH

Research and development come together. Researching is the beginning of development. You research to develop something. In the case of essay writing, you research to develop your thesis which you will write into a thesis statement. As you research, you should also start developing.

This phase in the essay writing process is a process in itself. It is the process of developing your thesis:

➔ starting from gathering evidences,➔ to selecting from them what you will include as supporting

points in your essay and➔ coming up with your conclusion

Your conclusion is also your argument and the thesis statement you will write in your introduction. During the entirety of the research phase – from start to finish – you are in the process of developing your thesis or argument.

Research, development and outlining overlap. You begin to research and, after a short while, you should start incorporating into your research your developing of your thesis. When you stop your researching, you continue your thesis development by choosing which pieces of evidences you have gathered from your research you will include in your essay.

Overlapping: Research, Development and Outlining

To do this, you can organise into a preliminary outline all or some selected evidences. It is a preliminary outline which you will further trim down to a near final outline. This is where outlining overlaps with development. When you have decided that you have arrived at your final or near final outline, this is where the process of developing your thesis stops. But you can still develop further or revise this thesis, as necessary.

To help you remember and internalise this guideline as you carry it out, you can use the following mnemonic:

Mnemonic: R-D-O - Research, development and outlining. They overlap.

Tip: Sounds like R.D.O. for Revenue District Officer

1. scope of your research (research phase)

2. evidences gathered (research phase)

3. selected evidences (outlining phase)

4. conclusion / argument / thesis (outlining phase)

Developing Your Essay: Developing Your Thesis or Argument

Developing Your Essay: Developing Your Thesis or Argument

1. You start with the scope of your research. Know what you need to do and what you need to research by reading the entire instruction.

2. Gather evidences which you think will help you come up with your own argument or thesis.

3. Then, you actually do come up with your argument/thesis by first selecting which among the evidences will you use to actually do come up with your argument/thesis.

4. Finally – at least in this phase – you will come up with your argument/thesis using as basis the evidences you selected. To do this, organise your chosen evidences into an outline. This is the start of the next phase in essay writing which is outlining. This start is where the two phases of development and organisation overlap.