Interpret

Guiding Questions

    • How do I write an effective thesis statement that synthesizes my research findings?

    • How do I create an outline to organize my ideas and information in support of my argument?

As you INTERPRET your findings, you pull many pieces together to make a complete picture. If you took organized notes all along, it won't feel like digging through a puzzle box.


Source: Puzzle by Olga Berrios under a Creative Commons license

Overview

Being able to find information and make sense of it is a necessary life skill. We do this all the time, whether it’s arguing a thesis statement for a school assignment or making an important decision in your job or life.

During the INTERPRET phase you will take the information you have gathered during RESEARCH and use it to enhance your knowledge and answer the research question identified during PRE-SEARCH. This information will become evidence to support your claims or thesis statement, or to prove or disprove a hypothesis. If you are writing a research paper, you will develop a thesis statement and organize your notes into an outline. Regardless of your product, you need to step back to analyze and make sense of the information you have found in order to come to an original conclusion.

As you INTERPRET and create new knowledge, you will probably start to feel more confident about your project and take greater ownership of your research. This is also a time to step back and make sure you have enough information. You may discover that you need to go back and do some more RESEARCH or that some of the information recorded in your notes is not relevant to your final argument and should be set aside.

Tool Tips

Tools you might use during this stage:

Notable Quotable

"How do I know what I think until I see what I say?"


Source: E.M. Forster, English Novelist