The Hardest Part Comes at the End

Let’s just come out and say it: research is hard. Writing is harder; but the most difficult part in writing research papers is verifying that your judgements are true. When it comes to writing research papers, the hardest part comes at the end. Often, it’s easy choosing a topic, posing a question, and constructing an argument, but in the end you need to be able to prove that your thesis is true and correct. To validate your argument in a research paper, you will need to include an introduction, thesis, claim, reason, evidence, and conclusion.

From Prompt to Thesis

Say, for example, you have been assigned to write a research paper on 19th-century society and technology. Your prompt is to identify a significant 19th-century invention and investigate its significance to society. You choose to research the role the role telegraph played in the expansion and standardization of the railroads. How will you go about formulating a thesis, backing it up with claims and reasons, and locating resources?

Say you have turned your research question into the following thesis, or working hypothesis:

”The telegraph played an important role in the expansion and standardization of the railroads.”

The thesis statement is just a provisional claim. Only by pursuing the research and following through with your argument will you then be able to discover whether or not it is true.

Research Phase

Now on to the research. Not to be redundant, but research is hard. Here’s a tip: when performing research, determine the legitimacy of your sources. You are a researcher, a skeptical, pragmatic problem-solver. Don’t take anything for granted. However, keeping an open mind helps in developing an argument. Legitimate sources include primary sources, or contemporary accounts (in this case, 19th century); and secondary sources, which are critical analyses and histories of telegraphy and railroad development written in the 20th and 21st centuries. For example, in an historical sketch of the electric telegraph (1852), Alexander Jones documents the parallel development of telegraphy and railroad networks in a 19th-century context. This is a primary source. In ”Technology and Ideology” (1983), historian of technology James Carey analyzes the significance of co-evolution of telegraphy and the railroad network. This is a secondary source.

Using Evidence to Construct Claims

This may sound counterintuitive, but the best way to begin writing and researching your essay is to begin at the end. First, identify evidence (the hard facts). Second, construct a claim based on the evidence. A claim backs up your central thesis with an argument. Third, backup your claim with logical reasoning; link your claim to your evidence with a reason. Your paragraph outline might look something like this:

Claim: The invention of the telegraph was an important precursor for the development of the railroad system.

Reason: Beginning in the 1840s, the telegraph network provided instant communication cross-country. The railroads relied upon that network to establish scheduling, signaling, and safety protocols.

Evidence: As historian of technology James Carey points out, ”With the telegraph and, of course, the railroads and improvements in other techniques of transport and communication, the volume and speed of transactions demanded a new form of organization of essentially impersonal relations – that is, relations not among known persons but among buyers and sellers whose only relation was mediated through an organization and a structure of management.”

Drawing Conclusions

Just as we worked backwards in constructing claims from evidence, you might consider writing your introduction after writing the conclusion. The conclusion is not a restated thesis; the conclusion sums up your argument based on your claims and evidence.

Conclusion: Railroad expansion would not have been possible without the prior invention of the telegraph.

Let’s backtrack.

Thesis: The telegraph played an important role in the expansion and standardization of the railroads.

Claim: The invention of the telegraph was an important precursor for the development of the railroad system.

Conclusion: Railroad expansion would not have been possible without the prior invention of the telegraph.

Lesson Summary

When writing a research paper, we begin with a prompt topic, research question, and thesis (working hypothesis). Then we work backward. In the research phase we identify evidence. Then we analyze the evidence in order to consider claims and reasons. Only then can we come to a conclusion as to the relevance of our claims. Work backwards; draw conclusions from claims based on evidence.