By Marley Malenfant/se news editor
When it comes to writing research papers, students should start by choosing topics they find interesting, said Vicki Sapp, associate professor of English on SE Campus.
Sapp talked about the difficulties of writing good research papers and speeches during the seminar titled Advanced Research last week.
Sapp told students they should write papers as if they wanted their work published.
She also said a research project starts with curiosity.
“Don’t write a paper that you wouldn’t write for yourself,” she said.
Sapp passed around the research thesis she wrote on feminism to get her master’s degree, which includes six chapters, to give students an example of how to write a research paper.
She used her work to talk about how to organize the paper and how it should be presented.
Sapp specifically pointed to such items as the cover page, the table of contents and the citation page.
Sapp also gave students advice on how to make the paper long enough. The focus should not be on how long the paper should be, but on how long it can be, she said.
“You need an introduction, middle and a conclusion,” she said.
Paper length is usually a concern of SE Campus student Patritzia Kolarova. She said she also worries about the substance of the papers she writes for her classes.
“My biggest thing is that whatever I’m writing is going to be good enough,” she said.
Sapp said that when looking for quotes online, students should make sure the information is written down on something other than a computer screen.
“Make hard copies of any tech support,” she said. “Use only what’s relevant when gathering quotes.”
Sapp also explained why research may seem like a difficult task.
“Everybody is scared of research because it’s so overwhelming,” she said.
SE student Pace West attended the seminar to help with the research he will have to do in the future.
“It gets you involved, and you want to learn something new,” he said. “I want to be part of anything that benefits me.”
