Introduction to research paper tips

1. Introduction
to a Research Paper
Start off with a hook! (However, you can’t use
the exact same types of hooks that you might
use in a narrative essay).
Include any key information you think your
reader will need to know in order to
understand your topic.
Finish with your thesis statement and a “road
map” of what your body paragraphs will be
about.

2. Hooks for Narrative Essay:
Start in the middle of the action
Start with something shocking
Start with something misleading
Withhold information to create mystery
Introduce a problem
Use vivid imagery and description
Start with something funny

3. Hooks for Narrative Essay:
Start in the middle of the action
Start with something shocking
Start with something misleading
Withhold information to create mystery
Introduce a problem
Use vivid imagery and description
Start with something funny
These are
NOT going
to work for a
research
paper!

4. Hooks for Research Paper:
Start with something shocking (possibly
startling statistics)
Introduce a problem (possibly a thought-
provoking question)
Use vivid imagery and description
Start with interesting background
information

5. Example Hooks
Paper Topic: underfunded public
schools in the United States.
Let’s look at some
example hooks for
this topic!

6. “Something Shocking”
Paper Topic: underfunded public schools in the
United States.
“If you are born and raised in the urban areas
of Detroit, Michigan, you can expect to attend
a public high school that employs armed hall
monitors and that requires you to walk through
a metal detector at every entrance. You can
also expect to see over 30% of the student
population not graduating each year.”

7. “Introduce a Problem”
Paper Topic: underfunded public schools in the
United States.
“Throughout its history, the United States has
been depicted as a “land of opportunity” and a
land of social mobility where, no matter how
poor you are born, you can work hard and
become successful. However, if you happen to
grow up in a community with poor,
underachieving public schools, do you really
have this opportunity?”

8. “Use Vivid Imagery”
Paper Topic: underfunded public schools in the
United States.
“The school bell rings, and the sound of a gunshot,
echoing from far down the block, is heard at nearly
the same time. Students shove and push their own
paths towards the building’s exit, preparing to avoid
the roughest streets as they walk home from school.
They have homework. They have reading to do and
projects to complete. They don’t worry about those
things, though, because they have much larger
problem to worry about today.”

9. “Use Background Info”
Paper Topic: underfunded public schools in the
United States.
“In the United States, public schools are largely
funded by local property taxes - taxes people pay
on their houses. Thus, when schools are located
near wealthy communities with big, expensive
homes, those schools are well-funded because
the property taxes being collected are high. When
schools are located in poor communities, there is
little income collected from property taxes, and
the schools suffer greatly.”

10. Thesis
Remember: your thesis is your main claim + a “road
map” of what your body paragraphs will be about.
Example thesis for this topic:
“The United States government should find a more
equitable way to fund public schools because
property tax funding causes inconsistency,
underfunded schools create inequality of
opportunity, and these issues result in the
perpetuation of racial class divisions.”
CLAIM
“ROADMAP”

11. Thesis
Remember: you can make your thesis two
sentences if there is too much information to fit into
one sentence.
Example thesis for this topic:
“The United States government should find a more
equitable way to fund public schools. This is
justified because property tax funding causes
inconsistency, underfunded schools create
inequality of opportunity, and these issues result in
the perpetuation of racial class divisions.”
CLAIM
“ROADMAP”