6 Opinion Essay

Research directions and guidelines:

  • Use only recommended and/or required sources for your research notes.
    • You will need a minimum of 3 different sources.
    • You can collect one citation with notecards from ProCon.
    • You can collect more than one citation with notecards from Opposing Viewpoints or eLibrary.
  • Use NoodleTools to collect your notes and bibliography information.
    • REMINDER: Always complete the citation for your source before you begin taking notes.
    • Create notecards from the bibliography view in NoodleTools (if you don't, you'll need to make sure to link your citation to your notecard).
    • You can create more than one notecard for each citation/source you use, just like we did during your speech reseach. This can make your notecards easier to use when you begin your outline and rough draft.
  • Take useful notes in your own words and use helpful strategies like:
    • Skim a source/article BEFORE you decide to use it for notes.
      • Read the heading of sections OR the first line of paragraphs quickly.
      • Does it contain enough information to make it useful?
      • Do I understand the information easily or are there too many unknown vocabulary words? (A few are OK - just look them up in a dictionary!)
    • Print the article if it is easier to take notes that way.
      • Check the number of pages you are printing...and ask for help if you need to print only a section of a long article.
    • Read a chunk...then take notes.
      • Read a chunk - you choose the size: paragraph, section, 1/2 a page.
      • Jot down a brief summary, important details and supporting facts.
        • Avoid complete sentences or repeating words over and over again.
      • Only take notes on the information you need. Skip the rest.
        • Think about your opinion statement and research question and ask yourself if the information you are reading will support your opinion, provide a different view or include facts to support your opinion.
    • Import charts and graphs, if possible, instead of describing them in NoodleTools.
      • Directions:
        • Right click on an image (chart, photo, graph, etc.).
        • Select "Copy Image URL"
        • In a NoodleTools Notecard, look for the little tree icon and click on it.
        • Past the image URL in the first spot. Add a description if you think that will be helpful.
        • Click INSERT.
    • More is better
      • Gather more facts, supporting opinions and information than you think you will need. It is easier to have MORE than you need than to have to go back for more research when you are writing your rough draft.
      • You need at least three reasons to support your opinion.
      • You should have at least one piece of evidence (statistic, fact or example) to support each reason.
      • You need at least one reason (with evidence) that acknowledge a different opinion. It should be the strongest argument against your opinion.

Recommended and Required Sources