英语论文网

e, by Sally Superwriter (unless she had direct influence on Joe Smith, her information is probably irrelevant)
Article in Widgets Monthly: How to Spot a Widget at 500m, by Alfredo Frinkenhuven
Notice how the value of the sources change when the focus changes:

Focus: Widget watching, what it is, how it has changed, who has contributed to it
Good sources:
Widget Watchers in History
Widget Watching in the Late 1800s
https://www.website.com/joesmith/widgetwatching.html
Great Widget Watchers of the 1950s
Prehistoric Widgets
Possible Sources:
Joe Smith: His Life and Times (only as it applies to widget watching)
Article in Widgets Monthly: Joe Smith, Portrait of a widget watcher (only as it applies to Widget Watching)
Jane Doe: A Widgetress' Life (only as it applies to widget watching)
Article in Widgets Monthly: How to Spot a Widget at 500m (depending on the content)
Bad Sources:
Joe Smith's Studies in Moose Physiology
Notice that because the topic broadened to cover all of widget watching, the number of good sources increased.

During your research, you may discover all kinds of interesting facts about related topics. In the example above, you might have learned that Jane Doe was desperately but secretly in love with Joe Smith. But unless that love directly affected the field of widget watching, the information is irrelevant to the second focus. It is only relevant to the first focus if it affected Joe Smith; so if he didn't know about it, it probably isn't relevant. You must stick to your focus in your writing, and avoid throwing in random factoids, regardless of how interesting they may seem. Otherwise, the essay becomes too long and disjointed. It can be frustrating to not use what seems to be a good bit of information, but unless you can work it into your focus well, you'll have to learn to set such things aside.

Of course, if a bit of interesting information fits the focus, by all means work it into the essay!

The Nitty-Gritty of Research
Now that you have your focus and have selected a good set of sources, it's time to read and make notes. I'd recommend using paper with a margin, for reasons that will become apparent in Part 3. For the rest of these tips and instructions, let's assume that our focus is the first example, "The life of Joe Smith (1856-1902) and how he contributed to the field of widget watching."

Some sources will only have selected paragraphs, pages, or chapters that fit the focus, so manage your time by reading the relevant information first. If your personal interest in the topic drives you to read more later, that's great, but getting your essay finished on time is important. With general books, such as Widget Watching in the Late 1800s, go through the chapter listing if there is one, and/or the index if there is one. Look for key items related to Joe Smith, such as his name or other elements. For example, Widget Watching of the Late 1800s has no chapter on Joe Smith, but it does list the following in the index:

New York Widget Watchers (and you know that Smith was from New York), pages 26-29, 49
Smith, Joe, pages 4, 26-29, 37, 49, 92-105
Widgetiscope (which you know Smith invented), pages 16, 93-94, 138
You should check each listed page for Joe Smith in case it has useful information, but you can make an educated guess that anything with multiple pages (26-29 and 92-105) will probably have m本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。