Chapter 6 – Input/Output (Finding Information)
Where No One Has Gone Before
The Library
When you have finally collected all your preliminary information, you can start obtaining the real stuff. The only really efficient way of doing this is by physically going the library. You may not want to, because you have a certain perception about what a library is, but in time you will start to appreciate this incredible storehouse of a wealth of knowledge. Think of it this way: If you have a question, the answer is probably hidden somewhere in the library. It’s a game of intellectual hide and seek.
Before you leave your house, though, check your own library. Perhaps you already have one of those books you need, or the particular magazine with the article in it, somewhere. Maybe one of your family members has it, or your friends. Drop your shielding for a while and ask around. This could save you from unnecessarily borrowing a book, or incurring photocopying charges.
Finally, gather up your notes, and head off to the first library on your list. You will probably have to visit a few libraries to get all the information you need, so just start off with the one you think will have the most information. When you arrive at the library, be sure you know how to go about finding your books and magazines. Check the call-numbers using the computerized catalog. If in doubt, ask a librarian. Then, go to the specific floor, or section, of the library, and take the book out. Know also that sometimes magazines are kept in the form of microfilm. Aside from giving you the goosebumps by reminding you of exciting espionage movies such as the James Bond films, microfilm is a valuable resource especially when you need to check out periodicals from many years ago. Next, take all those books and magazines to a table, and sit down to skim through them. Check whether or not you can actually use the material in them. (Chapter Eight will teach you how to scan a book properly.) Locate the specific pages that contain relevant information. Mark the pages with Post-It notes, or otherwise jot down the page numbers. Be sure to eliminate redundancy. Sometimes the same material is presented in several books or magazines. You only need one or two sources for it.
While you are doing all this, your research essay should start forming in your mind. You should be getting a picture of how it might look like, and what you might include in it. This is good. Exposure to the information in the books and magazines will give you a sense of the scope your essay can cover, and all the possible ways of arranging and presenting your information. Above all, the most important thing to note is that you should be getting an opinion of the topic. Even if your topic isn’t a controversial issue, you should have some kind of attitude towards it. This is excellent, for it gives your essay a direction, and the foundation for a thesis statement, or what your essay is trying to show or prove. All essays are trying to demonstrate a certain point, and all your research goes into supporting that point.
When you have finally finished with reading and identifying the information you need, take the books and magazines to the photocopier, and have a spending spree on xeroxing. It is far easier to flip through photocopy pages, than trying to manipulate an entire book. The exception to this is when a certain book contains so much material that it is better to borrow it, rather than photocopy all those pages. When photocopying, be sure to write down the exact title, author name, publisher, and year of publication of the book, onto your xeroxed pages. For microfilm, there are copier machines that reproduce the article you require, onto regular paper.
One additional point I wish to make concerning the use of a library, is that although the bulk of your material will probably come from books and possibly periodicals, you should also check out the other forms of media such as videocassettes, audio tapes. Although it may be difficult to “xerox” these forms of media, you can take notes while watching or listening to them. Write down the publication information for these sources as well.
The final thing you should do is put everything back in their places, or drop them into the “returns” box for reshelving. If you have any books you intend to borrow, go to the counter and take them out. Then head on home and take a break. Your reconnaissance mission has been successfully executed.
Mission: Consolidation
Organizing the Information You Now Have
After your break, it’s time to get back on track with the project. Take all the notes and photocopies you have and flip through them. Get an idea of all the various subtopics you have in that pile of paper in front of you, and write these subtopics down on a piece of paper. They form the “building blocks” of your essay.
You are finished with Phase One of the assignment: Preliminary Reconnaissance. This was the stage when you explored the various topics, in the library, and just now, to determine exactly what kind of information you have. Now it’s time for Phase Two: Target Acquisition.
In Phase Two, your mission is to identify (1) your thesis statement and (2) your supporting arguments. To obtain a thesis, think about what you want to prove in your paper. Summarize this in a sentence. That’s your thesis statement. For example, “The increased demand our society has put on information has generated a new industry of information specialists and services,” is a thesis statement. Even with my Corona Borealis example, I could state simply that “Corona Borealis is a constellation abundant not only with scientific research, but it is also rich in mythology and folklore.” If you really can’t think of an argument for a topic, remember that most topics are important. At least, important enough for you to be assigned the task of writing a paper on it! A worst-case thesis might be, “The invention of the shoe was a very important event,” but that sounds horribly dull, so try to rework it at least into, “The invention of personal footwear was an event that influenced the entire course of human history.”
When determining your thesis, just ask yourself what the material you have researched is trying to say. Usually, there is an overriding main point that they are all trying to prove. Sometimes, you will find information that is conflicting. This shows that your topic is a controversial one. Always pick the side of the issue that you have the most supporting arguments for – unless you are prepared to do further research in order to provide for the side that lacks sufficient arguments and supporting evidence (and this is quite often the proper route to take). The point of your paper is to prove your thesis. It would do no good if your arguments tend to favour the other side of your argument.
When you have your thesis statement, the rest is easy. Simply pick out the arguments and separate them into two sides: Yours, and the opposition’s. Take neutral data, and interpret it so that it favours your arguments. If your thesis was, “Mr. Peabody enjoyed that glass of water,” and the neutral fact was that the glass was half-filled with water, you can argue that Mr. Peabody drank the entire half of the glass! If you want to show that Mr. Peabody hated that glass of water, say that he left an entire half of the glass still filled! Have fun with manipulating data. Everyone’s doing it these days. Politicians, advertisers, your mother-in-law, you name it.
Next, create a priority list of your arguments. Put the most compelling argument as number one, followed by the next-most compelling, and so forth.
Now, your paper will follow this order: Introduction, second-most compelling argument, other arguments, most-compelling argument, conclusion. This is the strategic order of a termpaper. Most people put their most-compelling one first, and then the second-most compelling, etc. but this makes the paper drag on and arguments become less and less persuasive. The reverse causes the reader to consider all arguments before the last couple to be weak and might ignore them. The strategic order will ensure maximum impact with what you have.
The next thing you do is write your introduction and conclusion together. The introduction and conclusion are basically the same thing. Use an hourglass layout. That means, you start broad (“There are many factors involved in determining the direction of the human species,” blah, blah, blah) and go into a narrow focus onto your thesis (blah, blah, blah, “But one of, if not the most, important of these factors is that humans tend to perfer chocolate mousse cake over strawberry ice-cream.”) Remember to reverse this order in the conclusion by first summarizing a few of your most important points (“As we have seen, not only does the preference for chocolate mousse cake determine the shopping habits of people, but it also influences the frequency with which they wake up during the night in order to indulge themselves. This severely affects their work habits.”) and then leading onto the wider scope again (“Although we have examined just one reason why the entire economy, and indeed very future, of a nation can hinge upon the simple biology of a tastebud, there are a multitude of other factors deserving such attention. It is to the men and women of science, and the pastry shops, that we look to, in that their intelligence and wisdom shall guide humanity towards a brighter, and perhaps more hopeful, future.”) Finally, fill in the space between the introduction and the conclusion. Remember to use the strategic order. Each of your arguments will take up one paragraph. Begin the paragraph with a statement that summarizes that particular argument (“The human desire for confectionery cannot be restrained under usual circumstances, and can only be checked in the face of physical injury or death.”) and continue the paragraph by explaining why. You must also use a proper “link” from that first sentence onto the one above it (For our ongoing example, the first paragraph would begin with: “One of these reasons is that fact that the human desire for confectionery cannot be restrained…” and so forth) so that the “flow” of your essay is smooth and appealing. Style is very, very important.
When your paper is finished, look through it once, and see how you can make it better. Perhaps there are some points that sound too weak. Strengthen these either by reworking the material, or doing further research. Don’t expect to turn in a perfect paper the first time around. You have to tailor and customize it to have the best effect possible on the teacher. Think of termpapers as a nuclear missile. You create it, craft it deftly, and then send it to the teacher, nuking him or her (and thus ensuring that they give you a good grade!). If you don’t have enough firepower in your essay, you won’t “blow ‘em away” and won’t impress your teacher as much. Be sure the warhead works, before you launch it.
