Reviewing and getting responses to a draft of a research project

Page contents:

  • Review of a draft of your research project

  • Outline for analysis of a draft

Because a research project involves a complex mix of your thoughts and materials from outside sources, it calls for an especially careful review.

Review of a draft of your research project

Take a break after drafting so that when you reread the draft, you can bring a fresh eye to the task. When you do return to the draft, read it straight through without stopping. Then read the draft again slowly, reconsidering your purpose, audience, stance, thesis, and support.

If you notice a problem but are unsure how to solve it, write down your concerns so that you can ask readers if they notice the same problem and have ideas about solving it. Then ask friends and classmates to read and respond to your draft, and get a response from your instructor if possible. If you are unsure about whether to include a particular point, how to use a certain quotation, or where to add more examples, ask your reviewers specifically what they think you should do. You should also ask them to identify any parts of your draft that confuse them. Even if you are writing to a target audience with more expertise in the topic than your peer reviewers, you should carefully consider revising the parts they identify as confusing: you may be making too many assumptions about what concepts need to be explained

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Outline for analysis of a draft

You might find that outlining your draft helps you analyze it at this point. An outline will reveal the bare bones of your argument and help you see what may be missing or out of place. Here is the formal outline that David Craig prepared after drafting his research project on messaging language.

Thesis statement: Messaging is not damaging to students’ ability to write and may even be a beneficial force in the development of youth literacy.

  1. Youth literacy and messaging language—overview

    1. Assumptions about decline in literacy

    2. Conflicting views of messaging shortcuts

    3. Definition of messaging shortcuts

  2. Two background issues

    1. Current state of literacy

      1. Decline in SAT scores

      2. Decline in writing ability

    2. Prevalence of messaging

      1. Statistics indicating widespread usage

      2. Instant messagers and texters using new vocabulary

  3. My field research to verify existence of messaging language

    1. Explanation of how research was done

    2. Results of research

      1. Four types of messaging language: phonetic replacements, acronyms, abbreviations, inanities

      2. Frequency of messaging language use

      3. Conclusions about vocabulary

  4. Critiques of messaging language

  5. Support for messaging language from scholars

    1. Crystal’s explanation of metalinguistics and wordplay

    2. Human ability to write in many styles, messaging style being only one alternative

    3. Messaging helping students shift from language to language

  6. Other possible causes of decline in youth literacy

  7. Conclusion—messaging language is not a threat to literacy

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