Writing A Winning Research Paper About American Literature

Everyone would like writing research papers if everything went smoothly. As soon as nothing goes as nicely as we would like it to go, a research paper can turn into a nightmare, especially if it’s a bulk project like a literary research. That’s why, if you want to minimize your troubles with the paper, give enough attention to essential tips on the very process of composition. They can help you a lot and remove unnecessary fuss, anxiety, frustration and other emotions that discourage students.

  1. Determine the area of the research and develop a working thesis.
  2. Start with defining edges of the area that you are going to explore. Make sure that you have understood the topic and that you are moving in the right direction. Eventually come to a working hypothesis that will help you bring together the piece of American literature you are exploring and the topic. Read the novel once again and give attention to the instruments that are used by the author to show you the main theme. It will help you find the connection between the idea of the novel and your topic. Finally, collect your own thoughts before you start reading reference literature and getting to know the opinion of other researchers.

  3. Collect the reference sources.
  4. Reference sources should be collected very thoroughly and attentively. Some of them will be used for quotes that will confirm your point of view. Others will be used as only a source of ideas; still you need to include all of them into the bibliography list that will be attached to your paper. Remember that they need to be reliable. American literature is an area that is studied through and through, so, you will always find something regarding a particular novel. Reliable sources of the reference information can be found in libraries and on the Internet.

  5. Do your research.
  6. Looking through the reference sources, take notes of their argumentation and the most interesting thoughts. Give attention to your own notes and compare the points of view. Think on how they go together or oppose each other. Remember to keep in mind the opposite opinion too, as it will help you defy contra arguments. When writing, check everything from the point of view of your readers. In case your readers are not able to find logics and sense in your words, you are moving in a completely wrong direction. In order to keep your points, make sure that everything you do is interesting for a reader who knows the subject much worse than you do.