I. Finding a Topic
A. Think & Discuss.
First, you need to think about what you might find interesting to study, research and write about for two
months. Discuss possible topics with other students and professors.
B. Conduct Preliminary Research
Conduct preliminary research by searching through the materials organized for the course, visiting Butler Library, and consulting on-line sources (See Research Resources). A good starting point is The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics [Ref HB 61 N47 1987]. Although this is called a dictionary, it is really a four-volume encyclopedia that covers every imaginable name, term or theory in economics. Individual entries are half-
page to four-pages in length.
C. Write a brief Topic Statement
Write a Topic Statement of not less than one paragraph and not more than one page (typewritten, double-spaced). Make a clear statement of the term paper topic, as you understand it. Briefly state why you think the topic will be interesting to research. What sources did you use to select the topic?
Most professors will allow students to change topics if they find the original topic is too difficult, or lacks the interest originally anticipated by the student. However, the student must submit a new topic statement and follow all the other steps in the project.
The course instructor will review your Topic Statement and make suggestions about how to construct a term paper around the topic, including suggestions on possible references, key points that should be considered, ideas about organizing the paper, and problems to anticipate (if any). While the student does not have to follow every single suggestion on the paper, it will be expected that the suggestions will be taken into account as the paper progresses.
II. Preliminary Bibliography
Keep track of all references you consult. Annotate the important sources with one to three sentences that describe their content. The bibliography will be a work in progress throughout the semester, as you add some items, and remove others. Most professors will require that you submit a Preliminary Bibliography with 6 - 12 items, soon after they have reviewed your Topic Statement. See Bibliography, Footnotes & Endnotes.
III. Preliminary Outline
Like the bibliography, the paper outline is a working document that undergoes frequent revision. Most professors require students to submit a Preliminary Outline about mid-way through the semester. This encourages you to make decisions about the direction of your research early in the semester; and this, in turn, requires that you do research early in the semester. The Preliminary Outline must reflect research and thinking abouit your topic. If your Preliminary Outline doesnot reflect adequate research, your professor will probably require you to do it again.
You should use this outline as an opportunity to organize their own thoughts and the initial research into a guide toward what the paper will be about. The more organized you can be throughout this process the easier the final term paper will be to pull together.
The course professor will critique the outline and return the outline to you in a timely manner. However, students should always keep a copy of the outline in their possession while the instructor reviews it.
IV. Rough Draft or Progress Report
What have you accomplished since the earlier paper outline is a fundamental aspect of the Progress Report or Rough Draft. In other words, the outline should not have been lying folded in a book or on a shelf since it was returned. Have you followed up on your professor's suggestions? Have you found sources on most of the original points in your outline? Have you found it necessary to change directions within the subject area of the paper?
The Progress Report or Rough Draft will allow your professor to make some final suggestions and head-off potentially grade-rducing difficulties. Any problems with the organization, research, or the analysis in the project will be pointed out by the instructor. This is the penultimate step in the writing project. The next thing that the professor will see is the finished work.
The Progress Report or Rough Draft should
- be more than an expanded outline. Although it can remain in the format of an outline, you need to have enough research completed to know most of what you will include in the paper.
- should identify the basic organization of the term paper with most major subjects identified and justified, problems with the research should be pointed out in the report.
- list all of the references used up to this point, listed in an appropriate bibliography format. Your final paper will have at least 6 different reference books and/or articles. Most papers will probably have more than that.
Most professors will not accept a final term paper unless a progress report or rough draft has already been submitted.
Remember: Read and revise your work, and then reread it and revise it again.