Understanding the Assignment
Having worked with her research topic since almost the beginning of the term, Naomi was ready to start drafting her actual research paper. Though she read the assignment description at the start of the research process and several times throughout the Topic Proposal and Annotated Bibliography assignments to make sure she was on the right track, Naomi decided to take the time to study the Research Paper assignment sheet carefully before she started the drafting process.
The Research Paper Assignment
Purpose
The Research Paper is the culmination of the research project you have been working on since early in the semester. Your paper should be an argumentative, thesis-driven essay that attempts to persuade the reader of your point of view by using carefully researched, presented, and logically utilized content. This is not an “informative” research paper where you list a system of facts, like a book report.
Audience
A reasonable, general, informed academic audience with a general understanding of the paper’s discipline or field.
Objectives
- To write an informed, thoughtful, organized, and original argument.
- To find, analyze, and synthesize appropriate and varied research into an argumentative essay.
- To articulate and develop an original claim.
- To demonstrate an understanding and adequate use of logic and rhetorical choices.
Process and Research
Write a 1500-1750 word essay based on your original Topic Proposal and using at least 6 of sources you analyzed in the Annotated Bibliography. You should plan to compose at least two drafts: a first draft, for peer review and instructor conference, and a final draft, for submission.
In addition to the scholarly sources you included in your Annotated Bibliography, you may cite reference texts (like encyclopedias and dictionaries), credible non-academic web sources (like major newspapers and government websites), professional sources (like white papers and industry reports), and any primary research you have conducted on your own (like surveys, interviews, and observations). Always use the most relevant sources for your topic.
Format
The final draft must be 1500-1750 words (about 6-7 double spaced pages, not including title page, abstract, references, and appendices). Document format, references, and citations should conform to the APA 7th edition style guide.
Choosing a Structure
Before Naomi started writing, she had to decide exactly what kind of research paper this was going to be. She knew that most research projects fall into two basic categories: exploratory and argumentative. Review the basic questions that drive the organization for each type:
| Exploratory | Argumentative |
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Putting Words to the Page
Naomi was pretty confident that her research paper was exploratory, and that her argument would become more clear to her as she went along. However, she still hadn’t actually written anything for her draft. Was this writer’s block? She had put a lot of time and effort into this research project and she knew she had already written a lot, so why was it so hard to get started?
Naomi decided to step back and read through everything she had written so far for her research project. Since she had been working with her research topic since almost the beginning of the semester, she knew that she had already written a ton about her topic. One of the most effective ways to get started drafting the research paper is to chart out what’s already done and what needs to be done. Naomi decided to try to map the work she has already done to the different parts of the planning outline. She knew it probably wasn’t a good idea to cut and paste whole parts of her previous assignments together to draft the research paper. However, there’s no reason to start from scratch. Some of the previous work could be reworked and repurposed into new content for the research paper.
After rereading the Topic Proposal and the Annotated Bibliography, Naomi saw that she had some strong introductory pieces. By pulling elements from the previous two assignments, she could produce a draft of the introduction, though she also knew that she’d have to revise it later.
Naomi’s draft introduction
Studies show that a family’s behavior towards meals can lead to benefits including a series of characteristics like decreased chances of obesity and disordered eating, increased consumption of more nutritious foods, and positive impacts on both the child’s overall well being and the overall happiness of the family. Researchers examined seventeen different studies which they grouped into three different categories including obesity, disordered eating, and food consumption and eating patterns among the children. From their studies, they found that children who have three or more family meals per week have 35% decreased chance of disordered eating, are 12% less likely to be overweight, and have a 24% increased healthier eating habits versus children who are in families that have less than three family meals per week (Hammons, A. J., & Fiese, B. H. (2011). Based on these results, Hammons and Fiese (2011) stated that more health professionals have been encouraged to support and advocate for families to eat more meals together, as it will promote beneficial eating habits, not only for the children, but for the family as a whole.
Keep up the Momentum
Naomi knew she would have to return to her introduction later on to revise it, but she set it aside and decided to get started writing the body of the research paper. She still felt a bit of anxiety about what to do next, so she reviewed two drafting strategies she learned about in class: fast drafting and connect-the-dots drafting.[1]
| Fast Drafting | Connect-the-Dots Drafting |
To do fast drafting, you first need to set up the conditions that will create ideal focus. The following are easy steps many writers follow:
During this time, you should turn off your phone and social media, let the dog outside, and ensure that it’s time for children to be asleep or at school. This needs to be quiet, concentrated time. You need to let go of your worries about good and bad ideas. There will be time to rethink, rephrase, and rework during the revision process. |
To write this kind of draft, follow these steps:
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Naomi is a pretty organized person (someone once told her she was “left-brained”). So, the linear process of connect-the-dots drafting made the most sense to her, and it also seemed to be the best fit for the type of project she was working on.
Connecting the Dots
From her main sources, Naomi found a number of quotes that seemed to speak to her research question. (“Is there a correlation between shared family meals and healthy eating choices in children?”)
From Peters, Dollman, Petkov, and Parletta (2012):
In our models, over-reactive parenting and restrictive feeding practices were associated with lower fruit/vegetable consumption, and authoritative parenting and dining together as a family were associated with higher fruit/vegetable consumption; however, parental GNK [general nutrition knowledge] was not a significant predictor or mediator. Over-reactive parenting and lax parenting were associated with higher non-core food consumption as well as with number of hours of television viewed by the child, takeaway food consumption and child’s age. (p. 1983)
(Naomi’s thoughts: I’m not sure I fully understand this quote, but it speaks to the question of knowledge about nutrition, which is something I’m curious about. Maybe if I write about it I’ll be able to figure out how it fits into my argument)
From Daniels (2019):
Clinical experience indicates that parents, in an attempt to just get a few more mouthfuls of food into their toddler, can resort to quite bizarre feeding practices that are a source of stress and distress for both parent and child. (p.40)
(Naomi’s thoughts: This is what got me interested in this question to begin with: it’s so hard to feed small children! Is it worth it?)
From Glanz et al. (2021):
Greater frequency of sharing meals together as a family is associated with favorable dietary patterns in children and adolescents. (p. 15)
(Naomi’s thoughts: This seems to back up what other studies are saying, but this essay seems to have a lot more reservations. I’ll have to take a closer look and see how it fits into my argument.)
For each of these quotes, Naomi applied the SEE pattern: Statement, Example, Explanation. For example, with the Daniels quote, Naomi added an introductory sentence which introduced the quote (the Statement part of the SEE pattern), then the quote (the Example), then an explanation of why this quote was important for her argument (Explanation).
Another cause of concern and conflict within the family was picky eating. According to Daniels (2019), this stems from food refusal, or when the child doesn’t eat as much as their mother, or whoever is feeding them, thinks they should. Daniels (2019) also notes that, “Clinical experience indicates that parents, in an attempt to just get a few more mouthfuls of food into their toddler, can resort to quite bizarre feeding practices that are a source of stress and distress for both parent and child”. This emotional stress would likely lead to fewer incidents of shared meals for families with fussy eaters.
After repeating this process for each of her chosen quotations, she found that she had a good chunk of text already written. Between the draft introduction and the SEE paragraphs, she felt she was off to a good start. She would have liked to work more on the first draft, but other things came up. She’d have to hand it in as is for peer review.
The First Draft
Read Naomi’s first draft.
Candela Citations
- Process Narrative: First Draft. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution
