The Research Paper Timeline
Giving appropriate time to do your research is vital. Here is a recommended timeline from Hunt's "The Handy English Grammar Answer Book."
Week 1
Select a preliminary research topic.
Articulate starting questions.
Begin background research.
Schedule a time frame.
Begin to focus the topic.
Week 2
Build a working bibliography by using online library catalogs, databases, and the Internet.
Begin to locate library and Internet sources.
Week 3
Read, evaluate, and take notes on sources.
Print out or save to a file information from the Internet.
Write down complete bibliographical information and make note of URLs.
Week 4
Conduct any primary research.
Complete the reading, evaluation, and paraphrasing of sources.
Identify gaps in the research and find more sources if necessary.
Week 5
Begin preliminary writing by summarizing key information.
Brainstorm on the topic and direction for the paper's argument.
Write a few possible thesis statements.
Week 6
Write a working thesis statement.
Sketch an outline of the paper.
Find more sources as needed to support the thesis.
Week 7
Write a rough draft.
Keep careful track of sources through accurate citations, taking care to distinguish quotations and paraphrases.
Write a References or Works Cited list.
Week 8
Revise and edit the rough draft.
Spell-check and check sentence structure and usage for correctness.
Check documentation of sources and in-text citations.
Solicit peer review of the draft.
Revise according to any peer reviews or instructor comments.
