MODULE IN PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION

MODULE 11

Documented Essay vs. Standard Essay vs Research-based Argumentative

Essay OBJECTIVES: At the end of the period, the students must be able to:

1. Differentiate a documented essay from standard essay and argumentative essay.

2. Write different kinds of essays.

Documented Essay Vs Standard Essay Vs Research Based Argumentative Essay

A research paper or documented essay is a piece of writing in which you incorporate information—
facts, arguments, opinions—taken from the writings of authorities in a particular field.

The Documented Essay General Guidelines

A research paper or documented essay is a piece of writing in which you incorporate information—
facts, arguments, opinions—taken from the writings of authorities in a particular field. Sometimes a research
paper is no more than a report of current thinking in a field, but more often a research paper demonstrates a
thesis of your own, relying on outside (secondary) sources for development and support of the thesis. In other
words, you should not think of a research paper as merely a series of quotations from several sources on a
subject, or just a summary, in your words, of those sources—although you will probably include both quotation
and summary in your paper. Rather, the research paper is your synthesis of information on a topic: the
bringing together of information from various sources to establish a new perspective and to create a new
understanding of that material. It is your contribution to the field you are studying; you have educated yourself
on the topic and have come to an original conclusion about it, original in the sense you have thought of it
yourself from the research you have done.
Writing a research paper involves moving through several stages and performing a number of tasks.
Although it is not a strictly orderly process (you will be involved in several activities simultaneously), there is a
sequence to follow with starting, developing, and finishing strategies. Characteristically, the process entails
narrowing a large, general subject to arrive at a carefully focused thesis and collecting and incorporating
evidence/information that explains, clarifies, illustrates, argues, and otherwise supports your thesis. Because
both research and writing involve going back over things as much as going ahead, you will need to give
yourself plenty of time for exploring different directions (including some that you may abandon), for seeking
more information and discovering connections and relationships within it, for clarifying your understanding of
your topic in order to create a working thesis, for refining the thesis, and for writing and revising the final
paper.

Getting Started
The first step in writing a research paper is to ask a meaningful question about a subject. A
meaningful question is one which deals with an important aspect of a subject and which can be answered, at
least tentatively, with available information. If your professor assigns a topic or a question for you to write on,
s/he has done some of your work for you. A professor's question is based on knowledge of the important issues
in her/his field. But if you are given only a broad subject or if you have to choose your own subject, you must
do some preliminary research to find out what kinds of problems or issues are dealt with by people involved in
the field. For this preliminary investigation, you may consult encyclopedias, textbooks, or other general
reference works which offer summaries of general knowledge in the field. A look at indexes or periodicals in
the field will give you a sense of the topics that experts are writing about.

Techniques For Generating Ideas

Brainstorming • on paper • into a recording device • with a classmate • with your instructor • using lists
or diagrams • questioning through who, what, where, when, why, how? Asking yourself questions • What have
I learned about the subject from class or from my notes? • What have I learned from the text(s) in the course? •
What do I know about the subject from my own experience? • What am I interested in finding out about the
subject? • Where can I find more background information on the subject that will stimulate further thought or
more questions? As you do your preliminary reading, make notes on other questions that occur to you, on areas
that particularly interest you, on problems that suggest themselves.

You must read actively, probing the material for a perspective to which you can commit yourself. It is
impossible to predict how long this first step will take, but do not expect the process to yield immediate results.
Give yourself time to consider your preliminary reading and to play with the possibilities. Consider the overall
strategy for your paper: Should it • review sources? (arrangement by ideas—not authors) • analyze and
synthesize sources? (arrangement by arguments—not authors) • persuade the reader? (argue for a thesis of your
own) • inform the reader? • do a combination of the above? When you have narrowed your subject to a
manageable topic, you can begin to focus your research on materials that refer to your particular interest. (How
large a topic you can handle depends, to a large extent, on the length of the assigned paper and the amount of
time you have.) As you continue to focus your research on a limited area, you may formulate a preliminary,
tentative thesis—a main idea or proposition which your paper will discuss. Having a preliminary thesis will
help make you an active reader. As you examine sources, look for quotes, illustrations, statistics, etc. that
support your stated position. Be aware that your thesis will evolve as you continue your research. Do not feel
obligated to stay with a thesis that does not accommodate your changing understanding of a topic

Locating Sources
Writing an effective documented essay often depends on your ability to utilize the resources. You must
go beyond Google and Wikipedia searches. Finding and examining appropriate research materials as quickly as
possible will result in more effective research. If you have not used a library for research before, begin by
consulting librarians. They can let you know what kinds of materials are available and help you use indexes,
guides, and computer data bases to locate sources of information. Second, use your sources efficiently. When
you find a book you think may be useful, scan the table of contents and the index and read the introduction to
determine whether or not the book has information you need. Check the author's bibliography to see what
sources s/he has consulted. When you identify a useful book or periodical, look for more work by that author or
check additional issues of the same magazine for related articles. Third, use your professor as a resource. S/he
should be able to guide you to promising material by helping you to evaluate your sources and directing you to
the important writers and works in a field.

Organizing the Research and The Essay

As you read, keep accurate notes. You may take notes in a notebook, but many writers find that research
is easier to organize and manipulate if it is on index cards. For each source you use, make a bibliography
card with all the information you will need for bibliography and footnote citations: the author's or authors’
name(s), the title, the publisher, the city of publication, the date of publication, and the medium . Then, on
separate note cards, copy the quotation, fact, statistic, or idea that you want to use from the source, one item to a
card. Keep track of the source for each card by noting the author's last name or a shortened version of the title
on the card. Digital note-taking options are available, but it is important to use a system that works efficiently
for you, no matter what the medium. Since you want to avoid making your paper a string of quotations, and you
want to incorporate your research into the text of your paper effectively, try to paraphrase on your note cards
instead of transcribing long blocks of quotations. A paraphrase is not a sentence from the source in which
you have changed two or three words and then used the rest of the author's sentence. A paraphrase is a
brief account of the author's meaning in your own words. Typically, you will paraphrase a passage of several
paragraphs or pages (or even longer sections) in a few sentences.

The effort of paraphrasing is worth it because the process of paraphrasing will sharpen your
understanding of a source as you draw out the main ideas. It is wise to stop every so often, perhaps after
reading each source, to reconsider your thesis. Should it be refined, qualified, expanded, abandoned? When you
begin to write the paper, your judgment may change, of course. The very act of trying to write the paper, to
shape the material, will prompt you to see your topic in new ways, clarifying what was hazy, perhaps even
leading you to revise your thesis. Your thesis is the key to organizing your paper. It defines your purpose in the
paper and so suggests a shape which will convey that purpose to a reader.

It is useful to review the notes from your reading and list important details from these notes (those that
recur or support your hypothesis, for example) as a first step to setting up categories for an outline. Moving
from notes to an outline involves connecting the information from different note cards according to categories
of important ideas. As with your tentative thesis, your outline may move through more than one stage. You may
see gaps that need to be filled, information that needs to be added or deleted, or material that needs to be
rearranged to produce a logical sequence of ideas. It may become clear to you that you need more information
about some aspect of your topic, and at this point you may return to the library for further research. You may
even do this more than once as you go through several drafts. When you have enough information to adequately
support your thesis or fulfill the paper's purpose while satisfying the required length of the assignment, you may
consider your research complete. The final outline will serve as a bridge between the information you have
gathered and the presentation of that information in the documented essay/research paper.

WRITING AND REVISING

Preparation of a first draft involves understanding the nature and function of the three basic sections of
an essay: the introduction, which places the research question within a context and presents the thesis;
the main body paragraphs, each of which develops a separate but related aspect of the topic; and the
conclusion, which usually reviews the thesis and major supporting points and may also suggest questions
for further study.
Include quotes and paraphrased material where appropriate. In general, keep quotes as short as possible,
so they serve your purpose and do not dominate the essay. Arriving at the final draft through a series of
revisions involves shifting from the point of view of a writer to that of a reader. As you write and revise,
consider your audience. Would an intelligent reader understand your argument and why you made it? Would
your argument be likely to persuade an independent thinker? To "see again" with the distance of a reader leads
the writer to analyze what s/he has written for clarity, organization, and unity. As in writing any essay, you
should not expect your paper to come out finished in one draft. Allow yourself time for rewriting.

DOCUMENTING
Citations (parenthetical citation, footnotes, or endnotes) are not so mysterious as they sometimes seem.
They are included in a research paper in order to give credit to an author for information or ideas taken from
her/his work. Documentation also includes complete publication information so that a reader can locate and
review the source material to determine if you have used information fairly and accurately or to find out more
about the subject.
A citation—either parentheses including the last name of the author, a page number, and
sometimes the year or a raised number indicating a footnote or endnote—must appear after each quote
or paraphrase in your paper. You need not cite “common knowledge” in a field— information that everyone
who studies the subject knows or facts that are generally accepted in all the sources you consult. Specific
statistics, names, dates, places, findings, and interpretations or ideas that are unique to an author must be cited.
Generally, you will have to include a Bibliography, Works Cited list, or References section, arranged
alphabetically, at the end of your paper. Information you will need to provide includes the author’s (or
authors’) full name(s), title of the work, editors (if any), publisher, city and state of publication (and
country if not published in the U.S.), the year of publication, page numbers (if necessary), and medium.
 However, documentation styles vary. Whenever you are given an assignment that includes research or
documentation, be sure to ask your professor which style you should use. The order of information as well as
spacing and punctuation are different for different styles. It is important to use a style guide or manual and to
check your work very carefully to be sure that it conforms exactly to the required style.
The most prominent documentation styles include the following: MLA (Modern Language
Association), commonly used in the liberal arts and the humanities, which incorporates parenthetical
documentation within the text and a list of works cited, including full bibliographic information, at the end of
the paper; APA (American Psychological Association), used primarily in the social sciences, which utilizes
an author-date citation system within the text and lists references alphabetically in a reference list at the end of
the paper.

How To Write A Documented Essay

1. Read the essay instructions provided by the course instructor.
The rubric or project description will include the specified documentation or citation format for the
assigned essay. The instructor might assign a certain style manual for the essay or provide his or her own
system of documentation.

2. Write an outline of the essay

Write an outline of the essay according to its purpose or argument. For instance, an opinion essay would
begin with an overview of the issue. Then other viewpoints might be introduced. Next, the essay would put
forth the each claim and justify each claim with evidence. Use subheadings with bullets for a detailed outline.

3Go to the library

Go to the library. Check out any style manuals that are assigned by your instructor. Bring the outline.
Research the subject, broadly at first, then progressively narrow topics according to the information that is
needed for the essay. For instance, an instructional essay on methods of cooking eggs might start out with
research on "cooking eggs," then narrow to "hard-boiled eggs" and "egg-cooking temperature."

4Take notes
Take notes while reading the research material for use later when you write the essay. This makes
avoiding plagiarism easier by minimizing the chance the citations will be left out of the essay.

5Avoid plagiarism of any material

Avoid plagiarism of any material, no matter the source. Plagiarism means taking someone's work and
passing it off as your original material. The only material that does not need to be cited in an essay is that which
is considered public knowledge. Use quotations only when the information cannot be adequately paraphrased or
is best presented as a quotation.

6Write the rough draft according to the outline

Write the rough draft according to the outline. Document or cite information according to format in this
part of the process.

7Compile and format all works

Compile and format all work cited in the paper. Format the references page according to style guidelines
from a style manual or instructor specifications.

8.Reorganize material
Edit the rough draft and reorganize material as necessary. If some citations are taken out, remove them
from the references page and add as necessary. Some instructors allow the inclusion of sources not directly
cited in the essay under the title of "Related Works" or some other heading of the same meaning. Check with
the instructor before including sources not cited directly in the text.
Standard essay
The essay format decides the entire structure and organization of the ideas. A standard essay form
decides the title page, table of contents, main page and sub sections, introduction and conclusion and appendix.
The main parts (or sections) to an essay are the intro, body, and conclusion. In a standard short essay, five
paragraphs can provide the reader with enough information in a short amount of space.

Writing a Standard Essay

I. Introduction
A. Use a creative, interesting opening to catch the reader’s attention. You can use interesting facts, figures,
quotes, anecdotes, etc. (Keep it related to your thesis).
B. Provide brief background information of your paper’s topic (just enough for the reader to have a context for
your thesis / this also explains why your opening is relevant).
C. Provide a preview of the main points in your essay (briefly touch on the subject areas that you plan on
incorporating).
D. Establish your thesis. This affirms and concisely articulates the paper’s main idea/argument and topics that
you will be writing about.

II. Body Paragraphs

A. Provide a topic sentence for each paragraph. This states the main idea of the paragraph and transitions from
the paragraph before it. Topic sentences always connect back/expands on/argues for your thesis.
 Tip: If you cannot find some connection to your thesis within your topic sentence/paragraph, it’s probably
arbitrary information and better left out.

B. Use supporting details to defend or strengthen the topic sentence. Supporting details include primary or
secondary sources, facts, examples, and expert opinions. Ensure that every source is introduced and properly
cited with in-text citation and referenced on your reference page.

C. Add personal commentary on the sources. Elaborate on why you included your sources and what relevance
they have on your thesis.

D. Paragraphs must be at least 5 solid sentences. Avoid paragraphs longer than half a page.

E. Standard essays have at least 3 body paragraphs, but strong essays have more.

III.Conclusion
A. Restate your thesis, but reword slightly to avoid unnecessary repetition.
B. Briefly summarize your main points proving that your thesis has been proved. This ties everything together.
C. End strong. Articulate why this paper matters and relate it to the larger audience.
 Tip: This answers the “So what?” question. Why does your paper matter? What relevance does it have to the
audience?

Research-Based Argumentative Essay

The argumentative essay is a specific type of writing in which a student chooses a topic (often a
controversial topic), researches it extensively, and then uses the evidence gathered in their research process to
establish their opinion or position on the topic in an essay designed to persuade others to share that ..

How To Outline an Argumentative Essay in 4 Steps

1. Introductory paragraph. The first paragraph of your essay should outline the topic, provide background
information necessary to understand your argument, outline the evidence you will present and states your thesis.
2.The thesis statement. ...
3.Body paragraphs. ...
4.Conclusion.
 Essays are shorter and aim at presenting the writer's opinion with supporting arguments. Research
papers are more complex and require a deep study on the matter and presentation of other scientists' opinions as
well as the writer's conclusion.

There are main features to an essay and research paper, such as:
1. Both have a strict outline;
2. Both require research on the subject;
3. The prove students’ writing and analytical skills;
4. Both have particular lengths requirements;
5. Both types deal with citation format (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.);
6. Have citations and the bibliography.

At the same time, there is a distinct difference between these two types. An essay is smaller in amount
and requires less research; the second type deals more with analysis and data processing.

Essay VS Research Paper: 10 Points of Difference

Here is a comparative table on essay vs paper that underlines 10 main differences so that you can know
exactly what demands to apply to each type of assignment.
Essay Research Paper
1. It is shorter; usually 5 paragraphs (starting from the 1- 1. It is longer and takes at least 8 pages
page essay)
2. Any types of essays deal with the writer’s personal view 2. Presents other scientists’ perception of
on the issue, and the sources are generally used to support the subject as well as the opinion of the
this perspective. writer
3. Requires a deep analysis of the topic and
3. Doesn’t usually requires the deep research of the topic
proper research of various sources
4. The main goal is to provide deep
4. The main goal is to prove one’s writing abilities and
knowledge of the subject, analyze data and
capability to give an opinion
ability to make a conclusion based on that
5. Different types of essays may or may not require 5. Always requires familiarity with main
familiarity with main sources on the subject sources on the subject
6. Should be logically organized and
6. Deals with the reader’s perception as well
academically formulated
7. Presents the writer’s opinion 7. Presents research facts and perspectives
in particular order and provides the writer’s
conclusion
8. Types of an essay: persuasive essay, argumentative 8. There are several types of research paper:
essay, literature essay, narrative, academic, philosophical, argumentative, analytical, subject-based,
etc. cause and effect, etc.
9. Usually has 5 parts: introduction, the main body (3 9. Has more parts: title page, abstract
paragraphs) and conclusion. (summary). Introduction, literature review,
the main body (several sections as
methodology, discussion, results),
conclusion, acknowledgments, references.
10. A particular methodology should be
10. Doesn’t require a particular methodology
used in order to perform results
 An essay is an easier type of university assignment and generally used for a great variety of
subjects. A research paper requires a clear thesis statement and more time to conduct research and
analyze data. It is a more complex type of paper that can also be a form of a term paper in

What Is the Difference between Research Paper and Different Types of Papers?
There are several types of essay that can be an assignment in college. The basic requirement is not
only to provide opinion and strong argument but also follow the expectation of each particular type.

1. The argumentative essay requires investigating the topic and providing an argument. An argumentative
research paper also requires primary and secondary sources and much deeper research. Sometimes
research takes a lot of time and effort, so it is beneficial to use academic paper help.

2. An analytical research paper deals with several different perspectives of other scientists on the subject
matter and presents them equally. An analytical essay can deal with an analysis of one particular subject,
such as narrative structures in the novel, using the writer’s perspective.

3. The informative essay deals with the necessity to clarify and present information on the topic to a
reader. On the contrary to the research paper, it is shorter, the information is more generalized, and it
doesn’t require an innovative conclusion.

4. The persuasive essay has one main goal – to present the writing skills of the student and persuade a
reader on one’s perspective. It deals with rhetorical figures and techniques more than scientific facts. The
aim is to present information so that a reader will agree with you.

Generally, both types of assignment require different skills and complexity of research. Essays
are shorter and aim at presenting the writer’s opinion with supporting arguments. Research papers are
more complex and require a deep study on the matter and presentation of other scientists’ opinions as
well as the writer’s conclusion.

Breathe, Ponder then Answer!

1.Write an informative essay of any topic that interests you.