Drafting
Read over your notes carefully to ensure you have a firm grasp on the argument you intend to make, and your supporting evidence. Then begin writing a draft using your own words as much as possible. More information may be needed for some paragraphs, but wait until you've drafted the entire paper before you return to fill your research gaps.
Because you are borrowing the words, facts, or ideas of others when you research, you must tell readers that you have borrowed the material, and include a note about where you found it. Give credit to the author of anything you use in your writing, not only direct quotations and paraphrases, but also opinions, ideas, facts and figures (unless widely known, such as a date).
As you draft, be sure your paper includes:
A clear introduction, argument, and conclusion.
Appropriate transitions to clarify the relationships among ideas.
Citations for evidence to support your argument.
Precise language and topic specific vocabulary (if there is any) to inform about or explain the topic.
Quotes, Paraphrasing, Summarizing
When do I quote an author?
When the wording is exceptionally effective
When meaning or emotion of the passage would be lost in rewording
How do I quote an author?
Always use quotation marks and exact wording.
Keep direct quotes to a minimum. Fewer quotes are more powerful quotes.
When do I paraphrase an author?
When you want to include information you have found, but want to write it in your own words.
When the information you have found needs to be reworded in a less complex way
How do I paraphrase an author?
Rewrite the sentence or passage in your own words. Changing a few keywords is NOT paraphrasing.
No quote marks are necessary, but you must cite your source.
Using "paraphrase indicators" (see below) will help you in writing a paraphrase.
When do I write a summary?
When the source offers common knowledge that you want to remember
When you only want to record an overview of a paragraph of a whole article rather than record a specific idea within an article.
How do I write a summary?
Common knowledge does not require a citation.
No quote marks are needed for information summaries, but everything that is not common knowledge requires a citation.
Examples
Goal: Discuss Pearl as a devil child and find evidence that proves that point.
Actual Quote:
Pearl was born outcast of the infantile world... An imp of evil, emblem and product of sin, she had no right among christened infants.
Paraphrase (restating the whole source in your own words - should be approximately the same length as the original statement):
Upon her birth, Pearl was already deemed an outcast. She was a result of sin and therefore a symbol of it, thus having no connection to the other Puritan children.
Summary (restating in your own words - literally sums up the whole concept in one sentence):
Pearl was immediately seen as an outcast because she was a result of her mother's sin.
Direct Quote:
"Pearl was born an outcast of the infantile world. An imp of evil, emblem and product of sin, she had no right among christened infants" (Hawthorne 45).
Paraphrase Indicators
Using these words will help alert your reader that you are paraphrasing.
Demonstrates
Shows
Argues
Claims
Reports
Proposes
Examines
Notes
Indicates
Observes
Finds
Points Out
Discusses
Hypothesizes
Defines
Identifies
States
Explains
Describes
Suggests
Revising & Editing
Revising can be a difficult idea to grasp, but if you take the time to do it, it will most certainly raise your final grade. Focus on the content and organization of your paper. Ask yourself questions such as whether each section contributes to the thesis, whether the paper stays focused, and whether each section has sufficient research to prove its point. Check your citations.
Editing & Proofreading are important final steps. In addition to reviewing the paper yourself, it can be useful to have a third party read through. This is also the time to create a title page, if applicable.