Term Paper Checklist: Composition Title: The idea behind the title of your

Term Paper Checklist: Composition

Title:

The idea behind the title of your paper is that the reader should know exactly what it is about: who, what, when, where, and why, basically. The “why” would be some sort of hint of what your thesis will be. Sometimes one of these makes the others obvious (implicit).

Example: In the title, a paper about Adolf Hitler does not need to state the historical time period [when], or country [where]. His name [who] implies when and where.

Example: If your paper is on the German wonder weapons of World War II; and the reason why such impractical and expensive weapons were built, your title might be:

Hitler’swho and where] Wonder Weaponswhat] in the Second World Warwhen and where]: The Triumph of Illusion over Pragmatismyour thesis]

The reader now easily and quickly knows all the key essential aspects of your paper before they have even read the paper.

Question: Does the paper’s title indicate who, what, when, where, how or why, and some aspect of the thesis? In so, point out each in the title: _______________________

Introduction:

In the introduction, it should be instantly clear to the reader what your paper is about, what you are claiming, and the main points you will be making.

a. Context: Your introduction should get directly to your topic, with only the shortest context necessary to understand what your topic is. There should be no long lead in.

For example, do not start a paper with, “The Second World War was the bloodiest war in history,” unless that is what your paper is about. Also, no doubt the reader already knows that. Therefore, saying this just wastes the reader’s time. If your paper is about the reasons why World War II is remembered as a war of super-advanced weaponry, write: “The Second World War was the first military conflict in which weapon development was associated with political ideology.”

Question: Beginning in the first sentence, does your paper get “right to the point?” Does the reader know immediately what the topic of your paper is? Read the first three sentences of your paper. Will the reader know exactly what your paper is about? State what your paper is about, according to the first several sentences:

______________________________

b. Thesis: A thesis goes next in the introduction. It should be centered on a claim of a causal connection. This means that your paper should be arguing that one thing led to or “caused” another. Another way of putting it is, one thing was a consequence of another.

Example: The title states: “German Wonder Weapons in the Second World War: The Triumph of Illusion over Pragmatism.” From this, it is obvious that you are claiming that: Giving more importance to illusions, and less to pragmatism, caused Hitler to waste resources in building wonder weapons. [I think the use of the words “triumph,” “pragmatism,” and “illusion,” suggests that the wonder weapons were a waste of resources.]

Question: In the introduction, does your paper make a causal connection (which is the foundation of your thesis)? Does it claim that one thing led to, or caused, another, or that one this was a consequence of another? State what the causal connection is in your paper: _______________________

Statement of thesis: Your introduction should state your thesis. Do not tell the reader what your paper will be about. Do not state your thesis question. State your thesis.

For example, do not write: “This paper will explain why Adolf Hitler poured billions of Reichsmarks into ‘wonder weapons.’” Do not write: “Why did Adolf Hitler pour billions of Reichsmarks into ‘wonder weapons.’” Write: Adolf Hitler poured billions of Reichsmarks into ‘wonder weapons’ because he thought ultra-advanced weaponry would prove the genius of the German people, and he was convinced that the psychological impact of weapons outweighed their physical impact.”

Question: Is your thesis clearly stated in the introduction? If so, what is it? _______

c. Logical order of main points (subtopics) of your paper:

There should always be a logical order in which you discuss the subtopics (the main points of your paper, and briefly listed in the introduction). In other words, why are you mentioning subtopic 1 before subtopic 2? What are you putting subtopic 3 after subtopic 2? This is important because it makes the paper clearer and easier to understand. You do not necessarily state in the paper what is the logical reason for ordering your subtopics in a particular order. In a way, the readers will know that in the back of their minds.

Example: “This is evident in his insistence on giving priority to the rocketry program, the King Tiger tank, and jet fighters, even while his financial advisors and munitions experts argued that these were not worth the time and money needed to develop and build them.”

Now it is clear that your paper will be focused on the rocketry program, the King Tiger tank, and jet fighters. It will also prove that these projects were more about fascination with advanced technology and Nazi ideology than simply winning the war by greater weapons production.

In this example, I put rocketry before the King Tiger tank, and that before rocketry, because it made sense in chronological order.

Chronology:

Logical reasons are often associated with chronology; in other words, why one thing happened before another thing, is usually because the first thing caused the second thing. If an event is the last event of your topic, there is a strong chance it goes best at the end of your paper, right before the conclusion.

Example: Hitler was first obsessed with a rocketry program, and ordered it set up early in the war; then he focused on tanks, and ordered a super-tank developed and built in the middle of the war. Finally, later in the war, he got interested in jet fighters.

In this case, the German army started development of rockets already, in World War I, long before Hitler was on the scene. They continued developing them. Once Hitler was in power, he was impressed with the progress, and ordered it to be accelerated. This also happened to be associated with how the war developed. Germany’s main enemy targets had always been their capital cities. These were always far away from Germany. Therefore, attacks by rockets made sense. When the war started, Germany took the war to the enemy, and attacked their capital cities. Then, as the war progressed, it turned out that it would be dominated by land battles, in which the one side tried to “ram through” the other side by tanks. Therefore, Hitler concentrated on super tank development. Finally, late in the war, the Allies were devastating German cities because Allied fighters were so advanced and so numerous. Therefore, Hitler ordered his munitions ministry to concentrate on developing jet fighters to defeat the enemy’s propellor planes.

Thematic Organization:

However, you should be aware that thematic organization is also common. Thematic organization is not related to chronology.

Example: In my course in World War I, for example, I discuss many things that are not related to any particular sequence of time, but are subjects that are the same straight through the time period of the class. Nevertheless, I try to put them in a logical order. For example, it might be:

The Life of a Soldier:

1. Duties of Trench Life

2. Food

3. Sleep

4. Dangers

5. Disease

6. Wounds

7. Psychological Issues

Why would I organize these topics in this way? It is less easy than chronological, but I still attempt to have as many reasons as possible. For one, “Trench life” is the broadest and most common: all soldiers had to do them, every day (basically). The other things seem to be more specific, and less common. I put food and sleep next, since they are also daily occurrences. With those three things, the reader would now the daily routine. Then I present dangers, which were less common, but the most serious thing the soldiers had to deal with. It is also another “catch all” term, because there were so many different kinds of dangers, and they were faced almost all the time. Obviously related to dangers is disease (both are harmful, or even deadly). Closely related to disease are wounds. And I put psychological issues last, because psychological issues would be derived from all of the other topics I put in the list. As I say, the order here is harder to determine. What about “Starvation”? Should that go after “Food,” or after “Wounds”? There is no one right answer here; there are many logical ways to arrange these.

Gradation:

There is one “rule” on thematic ordering, however: usually, the most general, widest, broadest, “big picture-ish” topic goes first, and then the more specific ones, maybe in order; or the most common, then less and less common; or most important, then less and less important.

Primary, Secondary, Tertiary Organization:

Sometimes it makes sense to combine organizational methods, one inside the other. For example, you might want to structure your paper thematically, but within each “theme,” you might want to put the information chronologically:

Example: Reasons for the End of the Corset

1. Feminists were against Corsets

a. 1848: Women’s Statement against corsets.

b. 1878: Creation of Anti-Corset Society.

c. 1918: Corset Burning Event in New York City.

2. Medical Field Against Corsets

a. Early 1800s: Early anecdotal evidence for dangers of corset: fainting.

b. 1868 Article on Illness and Corsets in The Lancet.

c. 1897 American Medical Association Statement Against Corsets.

3. Athletics and the Decline of Corsets

For both cultural and health reasons, women engage in more physical activities and sports by the End of the 1800s.

a. 1895: invention of the bicycle: quickly becomes a popular means of transportation: impossible to ride with a corset on.

b. 1901: First National Women’s Bicycle Race.

b. 1906: First Tennis Match between women: the sport becomes popular: can’t be done with a corset on.

c. 1908: First International Women’s Swimming Contest: same problem as above.

d. 1910: An American study is published that shows women now average one hour a day of exercise or sports.

Question: [You will need to first read through the paper to answer this, and as you do so, ask yourself: why did I discuss this subtopic before I discussed the next subtopic? What is the reasoning behind the order of the subtopics? _____________________

Title Connection to Introduction:

The introduction of your paper should explain your title. In other words, it should make perfect sense why you titled your paper as you did, after you have read the introduction. That means the who, what, when, where, thesis, etc. of the title are explained in the introduction.

Question: Match what in your title is connected to your introduction. Is each idea (who, what, etc.) explained in the introduction? _______________________

Historical background:

Here you might want to show the foundation of the main points of your paper. This is information that will help the reader understand how the main points of your paper came into being. It will also help prove your thesis. Sometimes a paper does not need a historical background paragraph. The historical background might be presented in each subtopic.

In this example, there might be a historical background section that made these points: 1. That Hitler had long shown obsession with advanced technology, and interpreted it as a sign of German genius. 2. He also was convinced that the propaganda value of technology outweighed the actual physical impact of that technology.

Point 1: Hitler had always shown a fascination with advanced technology, and often told his associates that such advances were determined by racial intellectual ability. This is mentioned in Mein Kampf, at the 1934 Munich Car Show, and in his observations on the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. [Obviously, each of the three points in the last sentence would need one or two sentences to clarify and function as evidence.

Point 2: After his creation of Nazi symbols, Hitler became convinced that the propaganda value of objects were more powerful than the objects themselves. For example, the knives which accompanied SS uniforms were not actually intended to harm an enemy: they were intended to project a sense of power on the wearer of the uniform.

Notice you are discussing first one point, then the next point. You do not mix up discussion of these points

Question: Is there a historical background paragraph or paragraphs? ______

Question: If so, what are the points of the historical background discussed? ___________

Question: Is the information on each point clearly grouped together? Is there information on one point that is thrown into the discussion of the other point? ___________

Subtopics:

These are the main points mentioned in your introduction.

In the example, they are 1. Rocketry; 2. King Tiger tank; 3. Jets.

In your paper, discuss each subtopic in the same order they were first mentioned in the introduction. Make sure each has its own paragraph or set of paragraphs. Do not put information that belongs in one of the subtopics into a different subtopic.

Question: Read through the paper: Are the subtopics discussed in the paper in the same order as they were mentioned in the introduction? ________

Topic Sentences:

A topic sentence is the first one or two sentences of a paragraph, which states the main point of the paragraph. It is essentially the “thesis” of the paragraph. It makes perfectly clear what that paragraph is about. This idea is quite flexible: on occasion, the topic sentence might be in the middle, or at the end, of a paragraph. Or a paragraph might clearly be the continued discussion of the previous paragraph, but they were broken up because of a “shift” in the presentation of the topic.

Example: The fundamental fantasies that plagued the King Tiger tank at the height of the Russian campaign were even more pronounced in the development of jet fighters later in the war.

Example: Munitions and productions experts decided that Germany couldn’t afford to produce wonder weapons when it needed so many basic weapons.

Example: Even top military officials, such as Goering, began to voice their concerns about the wastefulness of wonder weapon development. However, they were unable to convince Hitler of this problem. At a staff conference in August 29, 1944, ……

Question: Does each paragraph have a topic sentence(s)? Write out, in summary form, what that topic sentence(s) says. __________________ Is it clearly the “thesis” of that paragraph? ______

Transitions between subtopics:

Often, there is a transition between the subtopics. This transition makes it clear to the reader that there is now a new subtopic. Usually, the logic of why one subtopic came before another is apparent here. Or it might be clearer if transition statements are placed in the second paragraph [the new subtopic]. Transitions can be single words, phases, or sentences that start the new subtopic, which will of course be in the first (or only) paragraph in that subtopic. Sometimes the transition is so clear that no additional words are needed.

Example: [Experts decided that Germany couldn’t afford to produce wonder weapns when it needed so many basic weapons.]

Even though a number of experts warned Hitler that Germany could no longer afford such an expensive weapon as the King Tiger tank, he refused to listen. He was under the illusion that even a few of these monstrous weapons could win the war. [now the discussion is on Hitler’s illusion about big, high-tech weapons.]

Example: Later, even top military officials, such as Goering, began to voice their concerns about the wastefulness of wonder weapon development. However, they were unable to convince Hitler of this problem.

Example: In addition, Germany’s lack of raw materials was making new projects more expensive.

Example: In conclusion, it is apparent that the development of Germany’s weapons program was not rational.

Question: Are there any transitional words, phrases, or sentences between the subtopics in your paper? If so, what are they? ___________

Subtopics–Evidence:

Generally, after the topic sentence, the rest of the paragraph is evidence or proof that the topic sentence is true. In other words, the rest of the paragraph explains or illustrates the topic sentence. This evidence is usually examples, statistics, paraphrased information [quotations, but I discourage quotations], or details that help explain the topic sentence.

Example: [Topic sentencesLater, even top military officials, such as Goering, began to voice their concerns about the wastefulness of wonder weapon development. However, they were unable to convince Hitler of this problem. [EvidenceOn March 23, 1943, Goering met with Albert Speer on the progress of the King Tiger Tank program. After going over the statistics, both agreed that program of one King Tiger tank was equal to the cost and labor needed to produce ten regular Mark-IV tanks. After lunch the next day, Goering presented this information to Hitler. The Fuehrer angerly insisted that it didn’t matter how many regular tanks equaled a Tiger Tank in production costs; what mattered was how many enemy soldiers would lose the will to fight once they saw a King Tiger tank roaring towards them. The enemy would be terrified by such a gigantic, powerful, and unstoppable weapon, he argued. This would reinforce the idea that it was impossible to win a war against an enemy capable of producing such astounding killing machines.

Conclusion:

The conclusion is often indicated with the phrase, “In conclusion”; or “In the end”; or “In the final analysis.” There are other ways to indicate the conclusion. The purpose of the conclusion is not to simply restate the thesis using words different from those of the introduction. Its purpose is to show the reader, now that the reader knows all the information presented, and use the key points the reader now fully knows and understands, to show that the author has proven the thesis.

Example: In conclusion, at each step in weapons development of Germany’s principle “wonder weapons,” Hitler countered the sober reality: that a clear, practical, and objective examination of the costs, labor, quantity, and effectiveness of weapons mattered much more than any fantasies about the psychological effects of these weapons. His obsessive belief in his own military brilliance was more important that pure number and statistics. He believed that wonder weapons, whatever their cost, would contribute to the enemy’s fear that a people so superior as the Germans were unstoppable. Fortunately, Hitler’s ideas about technology and racial intelligence, and the psychological fear produced by new weapons, were proven to be illusions. The Allies’ pragmatic mass construction of simple, inexpensive, and relatively unimpressive weapons overwhelmed the few “wonder weapons” the Germans could produce. This misdirection of resources, because of Hitler’s hubris, was critical for Allied victory.

Question: Does your conclusion “prove” your thesis? How and why? Does the reader now know enough information that you can re-present your thesis based on the subtopics, and it makes perfect sense? __________

“Testing” Your Paper:

1. There are several ways to know if you have written a well composed paper. For one, you should be able to read just the introduction, then each topic sentence, and have a good idea of what the paper is arguing, and what evidence it is presenting. Sometimes people do exactly that when they attempt to get the “idea” of a book without reading the whole thing.

Question: Can you read the introduction and the topic sentences in your paper, and know what the paper is claiming (your thesis) is? Do so here_______________.

2. Everything in your paper has one purpose: to prove the truth of the thesis. And the purpose of the title, and the introduction, should be pointed to explaining and proving the thesis. Any information that does not do that should not be in your paper. One way to check is to read each paragraph, or even each sentence, and say to yourself, “and therefore [your thesis]. Of course, what you get will not be “grammatically correct” or “well worded,” but it ought to make sense. If it doesn’t, then whatever you just “tested” ought to be deleted.

Question: Can your read each paragraph, then say, “and therefore, [your thesis], and it make sense? Do that here_______________.

Extraneous information:

Keep extraneous information out of your paper! Your goal is not to fill up ten pages; your goal is to present, and prove, a thesis. Information which does not directly accomplish this goal should not be in your paper. It makes the paper more confusing, the argument less clear, and it is simply annoying, because there is really no reason to be taking up the reader’s time by making him or her read information that is not supporting your thesis. Sometimes you might be on a subtopic in which you found really interesting information, but it doesn’t directly support your thesis. If you really want to let the reader know the information, you can put it in an “informational endnote.” What that is, is simply a citation in which you put the information, instead of a source note.

Question: For each paragraph, is all the information given, each sentence, each idea, each statement, useful for proving your thesis? If not, leave it out: _______________

Mislocated Information:

Besides the common problem of extraneous information is the problem of mislocated information. That is information that is helpful for proving your thesis, but it is simply in the wrong paragraph and/or subtopic. Each subtopic, and each paragraph, should center on one idea, one topic. Do not put information in a paragraph unless it supports the topic sentence. In other words, the topic sentence functions as a mini-thesis, and the paragraph is like a mini-paper. You can ask yourself, in each statement in a paragraph, “the statement, and therefore [the topic sentence].” If it does not logically make sense, then that information is misplaced, and ought to go somewhere else in your paper.

Make sure to check that there is no mislocated information.