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The way to do research is to attack the facts at the point of greatest astonishment.
Celia Green, 1935 -
British philosopher

Writing series

Writing an essay:

summarizing research

You've completed your research.
Take a moment now to summarize and print to keep perspective as you write.


This printed summary can now provide you with a reference to keep you on track in your writing process: pre-writing, rough draft and revisions.  Another strategy is to develop the three ideas or themes with a five-paragraph essay as a start toward developing your writing assignment.

Text of the exercise:

  1. Briefly summarize your topic or research question, and audience you will write for.
  2. How has the topic narrowed or expanded?
  3. Identify your main source of information
  4. What is the most important concept or idea or argument you identified?
  5. What the second most important concept or idea or argument you identified?
  6. What the third most important concept or idea or argument you identified?
  7. What are three key vocabulary words you identified?
  8. What are two main points of view you identified?

Seven stages of writing assignments:

Index | Develop your topic (1) | Identify your audience (2) |
Research (3) | Research with notecards | Organizing research |
Prewrite (4) | Draft/write (5) | Revise (6) | Proofread (7)