Making a Research Plan
Short Summary:
This video lesson provides a seven-step guide to creating a research plan for academic essays. It emphasizes planning ahead, assessing one's situation and audience, choosing a relevant topic based on personal interests, conducting broad initial research to understand the existing scholarly conversation, formulating a focused research question and problem, identifying counterarguments, and drafting a working thesis statement. The process uses a problem-solution genre framework (Introduction, Claim, Counterarguments, Conclusion - ICCC) and encourages the use of resources like calendars, online databases (Google Scholar, JSTOR), and reference works. The ultimate application is to significantly reduce the time and effort required to write a research essay by front-loading the planning and research phases. The method described involves a systematic progression from broad topic selection to a concise, arguable thesis.
Detailed Summary:
The video is structured around seven steps for creating a research plan, preceded by an explanation of the expected features of a research essay.
Section 1: Understanding the Research Essay Genre: The video begins by defining the research essay as a problem-solution genre, structured using the ICCC (Introduction, Claim, Counterarguments, Conclusion) format. It stresses the importance of a strong thesis statement supported by evidence and a clear understanding of the existing scholarly conversation. The speaker recommends studying sample essays to understand this structure.
Section 2: Time Management and Situational Assessment: The speaker emphasizes the importance of early planning ("If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail"). He suggests using calendars and a time allocation strategy (e.g., one week of planning for every two to three pages of the final paper). He also advises assessing one's writing situation, understanding assignment requirements, and identifying the target audience. Self-assessment of strengths and weaknesses is crucial for effective planning.
Section 3: Choosing a Topic: This section focuses on selecting a research topic based on personal interests. Two scenarios are discussed: choosing freely or selecting from a predetermined list. The key takeaway is to choose a topic that genuinely excites the researcher.
Section 4: Broad Reading and Research: This step emphasizes the importance of understanding the existing scholarly conversation before formulating a research question. The speaker recommends using various resources like libraries, online databases (Google Scholar, JSTOR), encyclopedias, and subject-specific dictionaries to gain a broad overview of the topic. He suggests identifying different perspectives and grouping them into distinguishable camps. The book "They Say / I Say" is recommended as a helpful resource.
Section 5: Discovering the Research Question and Problem: After broad reading, the researcher should formulate a specific research question (avoiding yes/no questions) and a broader research problem that the research will address. The research question should be concisely answered by the thesis, while the research problem is the larger issue that provides significance to the research.
Section 6: Focusing Research and Identifying Counterarguments: This step involves identifying the different "orbits" of scholarly conversation related to the topic and finding "conversational partners" (scholars with differing viewpoints). The goal is to understand various perspectives to better position one's own argument.
Section 7: Drafting a Working Thesis Statement: The final step involves formulating a working thesis statement. The speaker guides the process of refining a paragraph-long argument into a concise, arguable one-sentence thesis statement. He emphasizes that the thesis should directly address the research problem and question. A handout illustrating the structure of an argument (thesis, reasons, evidence, warrants) is mentioned.
Conclusion: The video concludes by summarizing how each step contributes to the overall research process, highlighting that a significant portion of the essay is already completed after following these steps. Resources like writing manuals and writing centers are recommended for further assistance.