MODULE ON WRITING RESEARCH PAPER

By : Jessian-Mae B. Rañola

INTRODUCTION

A. This module is primarily designed to the Sophomore Elementary major students of the
College of Development Education, who served as our respondents for this study. This
will serve as their guide to suffice their needs in developing the four macro skills
specifically in Writing.

B. Rationale

Research writing is undeniably part of a student’s life. Research means searching

for a theory, for testing theory, or for solving a problem. It means that something exists
that needs investigation and inquiry that later has to be solved (Portillo 2013). Thus,
writing a research paper takes so much time, effort, determination, and knowledge
about it.
This self-learning kit has activities that will surely help the students in writing
their research paper. Moreover, through this module the students will by doing and by
their own.
C. Below are the objectives for this adjunct learning module. Before you can proceed to the
pre-test or pre-assessment stage, read the objectives carefully:

GENERAL OBJECTIVE – At the end of this module, you will be able to write a research paper
on a topic that interests you so much.

Specific Objective:
1. Identify what type of research is to be conducted
2. Choose a topic and narrow it down
3. Construct a thesis statement
4. Make an outline
5. Write first draft of the research paper
6. Revise and finalize the outline and drafts

PRE-TEST
Let’s find out how much you know about the coverage of this module. Choose the letter that
you think best answers the question. Remember to answer all items. Write the answers in your
notebook. After taking this short test, your answers will be checked to find out your score. Take
note of the items that you won’t be able to correctly answer and look for the right answer as you
go through this module.
 1. This presents the main idea of the research paper.
a. Introduction b. Abstract c. Thesis statement d. Conclusion
2. Where will you write the significance of the study?
a. Introduction c. Review of Related Literature
b. Methodology d. Conclusion
3. What is the first step in writing research paper?
a. Write the objectives c. Choose a topic
b. Decide for the title d. Determine the respondents
4. After making your thesis statement, what is the next step?
a. Make an outline c. Choose a topic
b. Find information d. Construct a title
5. It states briefly the generalization inferred from each of the findings.
a. Introduction b. Abstract c. Thesis Statement d. Conclusion

After answering these questions, go to THE KEY at the end of this module to check your
answers. This also serves as a review of what was lectured earlier. If your answers are
CORRECT, go on to the next step.
If they are WRONG, review your handouts and then answer the questions again before
going on to the next step.

Let us begin this lesson by knowing the different types of research.

ACTIVITY 1 Know me first

Try to study the diagram below and answer the questions after.

TYPES OF Based on Rationalistic

RESEARCH Inquiry Naturalistic
Based on Basic/Fundamental Pure
Purpose Applied/ Action
Developmental
Historical
Descriptive
Qualitative Quantitative
Based on
•Case Study • Survey
Methodology •Content • Cross-Sectional
• Longitudinal
•Ethnography • trend Studies
• Cohort Studies
• Panel Studies
Correlational
Ex post facto (causal comparative)
Evaluation Experimental
•Formative •Field Experiment
•Summative •Quasi Experiment
Processing Questions:
1. Based on the diagram above, what is the difference between a qualitative research
and a quantitative research?

2. Define in your own words what is type of research based on methodology.

Now that you already know what the types of research are, it’s time for you to decide what
research you are going to conduct since you are guided already. The next activity will help you
choose a topic, how to narrow it down and make a thesis statement.

ACTIVITY 2 (Choosing a topic)

At this moment, think of a topic that interests you so much. For you to be able to know if
your chosen topic is possible, take a look at the checklist below.
 The subject is manageable
 Subject is not too technical
 Subject is not too learned
 Subject is not too specialized
 The subject doesn’t have only a very narrow range of source materials

If all the boxes are all checked, then you are now ready to start everything. However, if
all the boxes are not checked, try to think again of a topic which is being described by
the checklist above. Then proceed to the next activity.

ACTIVITY 3 (Thesis Statement)

A thesis statement presents the main idea of the research paper. All the other ideas in
the research paper must relate to the thesis statement. In this activity, you will learn how to
formulate a thesis statement.
Given the data below, plot your thesis statements.

1.

Souce: Primer: Saving Samar’s Lost Rain forests

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2.

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3.

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How was the activity? Is it hard? Well, if you don’t have the knowledge on how to make
the thesis statement, probably you’d find this activity so di. Look at the points below so you’ll
be guided to do it.

Here are points to remember in formulating a thesis statement:

1. Draft the thesis statement in three sentences or longer
2. Make sure you have enough facts, examples, details or reasons to support the statement.
3. Include your thesis sentence in the introduction of your research paper.

There are specific methods for developing a thesis statement (Lester, 1994)
1. Stating an argument for or against an issue
2. Offering an advice or giving directions
3. Suggesting consequences
4. Giving instructions
5. Offering personal judgment
6. Making an interpretation

Now, make your thesis statement for your research paper. Just be guided by the points and
suggestions above as to how you’ll come up to a better thesis statement.
 ACTIVITY 4
At this point, you have done several steps in writing research paper. Check below if how
long will you work on this.

STEPS IN WRITING RESEARCH

 Choose a topic
 Find information
 State your thesis
 Make a tentative outline
 Organize your notes
 Write your first draft
 Revise your draft and outline
 Finalize everything (Wrap Up)

After gathering all the information you needed for your research paper, the question now is
how will you select the important details, information and related literature? This is now the
time to make your outline. The purpose of an outline is to help you think through your topic
carefully and organize it logically before you start writing. A good outline is the most important
step in writing a good paper. Check your outline to make sure that the points covered flow
logically from one to the other. Include in your outline an INTRODUCTION, a BODY, and a
CONCLUSION. Make the first outline tentative.

Make your own outline following the example below.

I. INTRODUCTION - (Brief comment leading into subject matter - Thesis statement on Shakespeare)
II. BODY - Shakespeare's Early Life, Marriage, Works, Later Years
A. Early life in Stratford
1. Shakespeare's family
2. Shakespeare's marriage
B. Shakespeare's works
1. Plays
2. Sonnets
3. Other poems
C. Shakespeare's Later Years
1. Last two plays
2. Retired to Stratford
III. CONCLUSION
A. Analytical summary
1. Shakespeare's early life
2. Shakespeare's works
3. Shakespeare's later years
B. Thesis reworded
C. Concluding statement
ACTIVITY 5 (Revise and Finalize)

Congrats! You’re now on the final steps of writing your research paper. You will not be
able to arrive at this activity if you didn’t accomplish first the preceding activities.

Read your paper for any content errors. Double-check the facts and figures. Arrange and
rearrange ideas to follow your outline. Reorganize your outline if necessary, but always keep
the purpose of your paper and your readers in mind.

CHECKLIST ONE:
1. Is my thesis statement concise and clear?
2. Did I follow my outline? Did not I miss anything?
3. Are my arguments presented in a logical sequence?
4. Are all sources properly cited to ensure that I am not plagiarizing?
5. Have I proved my thesis with strong supporting arguments?
6. Have I made my intentions and points clear in the essay?

If you answered YES to the questions above, you are ready for the next step below.

If you answered NO to the questions above, then review and revise the parts that you
prepared. Then apply the questions above to the revised parts of your research paper. Do this
again until you have answered YES to all the questions.

Re-read your paper for grammatical errors. Use a dictionary or a thesaurus as needed.
Do a spell check. Correct all errors that you can spot and improve the overall quality of the
paper to the best of your ability. Get someone else to read it over. Sometimes a second pair of
eyes can see mistakes that you missed. Have this checklist below:

CHECKLIST TWO:
1. Did I begin each paragraph with a proper topic sentence?
2. Have I supported my arguments with documented proof or examples?
3. Any run-on or unfinished sentences?
4. Any unnecessary or repetitious words?
5. Varying lengths of sentences?
6. Does one paragraph or idea flow smoothly into the next?
7. Any spelling or grammatical errors?
8. Quotes accurate in source, spelling, and punctuation?
9. Are all my citations accurate and in correct format?
10. Did I avoid using contractions? (Use "cannot" instead of "can't", "do not" instead of
"don't"?)
11. Did I use third person as much as possible? (Avoid using phrases such as "I think", "I
guess", "I suppose")
 12. Have I made my points clear and interesting but remained objective?
13. Did I leave a sense of completion for my reader(s) at the end of the paper?

2. Did I begin each paragraph with a proper topic sentence?

2. Have I supported my arguments with documented proof or examples?
3. Any run-on or unfinished sentences?
4. Any unnecessary or repetitious words?
5. Varying lengths of sentences?
6. Does one paragraph or idea flow smoothly into the next?
7. Any spelling or grammatical errors?
8. Quotes accurate in source, spelling, and punctuation?
9. Are all my citations accurate and in correct format?
10. Did I avoid using contractions? Use "cannot" instead of "can't", "do not" instead of
"don't"?
11. Did I use third person as much as possible? Avoid using phrases such as "I think", "I
guess", "I suppose"
12. Have I made my points clear and interesting but remained objective?
13. Did I leave a sense of completion for my reader(s) at the end of the paper?

FOR THE LAST ACTIVITY:

Check your paper if it has the essential parts:
Preliminaries
1. Cover page
2. Title page
3. Acknowledgement
4. Abstract
5. Table of Contents
6. List of Tables
7. List of Figures
The Main Text

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
a. Background of the study
b. Conceptual Framework
c. Statement of the Problem
d. Statement of the Hypotheses
e. Significance of the Study
f. Scope and Delimitation of the Study
g. Definition of Terms
CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
a. Related Literature
b. Related Studies
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY
a. Research design
b. Respondents
c. Data-gathering instruments
d. Statistical Instruments

CHAPTER 4 PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS and INTERPRETATION OF DATA

CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS

a. Summary of Findings
b. Conclusions
c. Recommendations

Reference Materials
1. Bibliography
2. Appendices

Check if the parts of the preliminaries are all compiled. If so, arrange them
chronologically following the given format.
For the main text, check also the parts. In like manner, arrange them according to the
above presentation. Include the reference materials – the bibliography and appendices. You can
have the entire research report photocopied for your file. Have your work paperbound. Now
you are ready to submit your research report. But before that, are you now ready to take the
POST TEST below? If YES, answer the questions below. Good Luck!

POSTTEST
Encircle the letter of your answer.

1. In choosing a topic, it should be ________.

a. Broad, technical, and the sources must be limited
b. Specific, narrowed, and not technical
c. Manageable, too specialized and learned
d. Broad, manageable, and too technical
2. Arrange the correct sequence of writing a research paper.
I. Make a thesis statement IV. Write the title
II. Choose a topic V. Find related literatures
III. Give the summary and VI. Identify variables
conclusion
a. II-VI-I-IV-V-III c. II-I-VI-IV-V-III
b. II-VI-I-V-III-IV d. II-I-VI-V-III-IV
 3. It states briefly the generalization inferred from each of the findings.
a. Introduction c. Thesis statement
b. Abstract d. Conclusion
4. Which is not included - Introduction, Financial report, Review of literature,
bibliography?
a. Introduction b. Financial report c. Bibliography d. Review of
Literature
5. Where can you see the statistics of the research paper?
a. Methodology b. conclusion c. Results and Discussion d. Review of
Literature

KEY TO PRE-TEST, ACTIVITIES AND POST TEST

Key to PRE-TEST
1. c
2. b
3. c
4. a
5. d

Key to ACTIVITY 1 Know me first

1. A qualitative research is more of explanations or descriptions, while quantitative

research is more of numbers and statistics.
2. A research based on methodology focuses on how the research is being done. It also
includes the design, procedures, and types of instruments to be used in a research.

Key to ACTIVITY 3 (Thesis Statement)

1. Samar’s forests have been continuously cleared by logging companies. In a span of 26

years, commercial logging had moved deeper into forests leaving about 45% forest
cover, that is 550,000 hectares of forests lands are being cleaned. Thus, Samar’s forests
are threatened.
2. Kaingin is the cutting and burning of trees for clearing a land. If Kaingeros will continue
doing this activity, our rain forests would probably vanish. This also means that myriads
of problems would arise sooner or later.
 Key to POST TEST

1. B
2. D
3. D
4. B
5. C

REFERENCES

http://www.aresearchguide.com/html

https://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/researchcourse/develop_write_titlepage.html

https://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/researchcourse/develop_writing.html#planning

http://usiofindia.org/CAFHR/Guidelines/

http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/