Chapter 4 Envision

In Chapter 4 of Envision you learn how to define your research question and have an effective writing plan. To start the process you have to first ask questions and find a subject that interests you and brainstorm the topic. To pick your topic you should ask yourself what your interest are, if you can argue a side of that topic, can you find enough research on the topic, and if that sort of research appeals to you.

The next step is to do pre-writing, in other words writing that is done before the official draft of the paper, such as notes, lists, scribbles, drawings, or notes. During this you should explore your own knowledge about the topic and write a short summary of it.

Next you should narrow your topic. To start this process you should analyze the text closely and pick one question to ask about that topic. Next you want to try to make that topic more specific. After you do that you should find a number of specific things significant to that topic and use those to focus your topic.

When planning how to write your paper you can do three different methods to help. You can do freewriting, which is using a three-paragraph model to organize your ideas and think of any problems that could occur. Drafting a research hypothesis, when doing this you write out a paragraph of your argument with explanation of how you will argue your point and what your stand on the topic is. Last is drafting a research proposal, which is like writing a formal list. When doing this you have to ask yourself what background you already know about your topic, what method you will use to research the topic, what sources you will use to research your topic, identify your timeline and what deadlines you have set for the progress of your paper, and lastly the significance of your paper, such as what you will accomplish with your research.

Now all that has to be done is the actual writing of your paper. To help with organizing your thoughts and ideas throughout your paper use a research log to keep track of all your ideas. Also, a flow chart or web diagram can be very helpful.