Welcome to college, the Land of Research Papers Galore. Are you scared? Perhaps you are nervous? I was. On the first day of class I collected all my syllabi and began looking at all the things I would need to do in order to make good grades at the end of the semester. I had several papers that I needed to write, but the biggest one was Ms. Beavers’ “History Versus Hollywood” term paper. If you have not yet met this paper, do not worry. You will soon because this class is needed to fill the General Education requirements. Most likely the biggest change from high school to college is responsibility. At high school we all had teachers or parents or somebody who was looking out for us constantly and making sure our work was done on time. At college you have to take care of your work on your own. Our professors will help us, but at the same time they expect us to take control of our lives and get our homework and projects turned in on time.
I still remember when I received my first research paper assignment. I was very nervous and I had no idea if I would be able to do a good job. Now, there are habits to form when you are doing a research paper, and this is why Ms. Beaver’s World Civilization class is so helpful for students who are freshly out of high school and trying on their new wings. When I looked at the assignment I stood there blankly staring at the sheet of paper and thinking, “Oh no…what do I do now?” Well, like anything else, a research paper seems huge. Stop thinking like that. Approach it the same way you do everything else: one step at a time. Ms. Beavers has the “History Versus Hollywood” paper conveniently broken up into sections so you have to turn in portions of work every so often. I took her order of operations and used it for my other papers and guess what! It works!
First: choose your movie and make sure it interests you. Preferably choose something that you are interested in, but not something that you know a lot about. Research projects typically take longer than normal assignments and you will do a better job if you remain interested in your subject. I had this problem this spring in fact. Two movies were particularly fascinating to me: “Master and Commander” and “The Last Samurai.” I finally chose “The Last Samurai” because I knew less about it, and when you are citing sources it is easier for you if you know exactly where you read something. Make sure though that the movie you choose is one that you can find historical data about. Sometimes it is harder to research an old movie as opposed to a new one.
Second: RESEARCH! Use the library database, browse the shelves, and if you need advice, ask the librarians. They will be only too happy to help you. I know this because I have asked them for help many times when I have been at a complete loss as to where to turn next. In order to find out quickly how hard it will be to gather material to research, go to the library database homepage. You can search the online catalog for books on your subject, or you can look under the “Electronic Resources” heading and click on “Subject Guides to the Web.” From there, click “History” and a whole list of historical links will appear. Scroll down the page and you will find a section of links under “Films and History.” This section was actually designed for the “History Versus Hollywood” assignment and this is a quick way to gather preliminary information.
Third: compile your bibliography. For me, this was the hardest part of the paper. I HATE making up a bibliography. However, do not procrastinate! If you do this now, not only do you get a quiz grade, but you also have a quick reference guide on how to cite your sources in the text of your paper. For me, a bibliography usually takes about two hours; however, this has always been something I struggle with. Hopefully with practice I can do this much faster. Make sure that you take the time to double check your bibliography and see that it is correct. Ms. Beavers pays close attention to your bibliography and your in-text citations.
Fourth: organize your research (reading) notes and write your outline. An outline is absolutely essential to this paper. Remember your goal: criticize your movie in the light of history and culture. Include a brief summary of the movie. The operative word here is “brief” because the body of your paper needs to be made up of critical historical analysis. Then, outline what you are going to talk about. Make a detailed list of accuracies and inaccuracies in the approximate order in which you will write about them in your paper. Remember, your outline is an aid, and it is not written in concrete. The outline is the road map of your paper telling you where you are going, but you are allowed to make detours. Ms. Beavers looks for detail in an outline. Be specific. Tell her exactly what is accurate and what is inaccurate. To use the modern word, “nitpick!”
Fifth: sit down and compose your rough draft. Make sure you have a strong thesis statement for your paper to hang on, but do not give away all your arguments. Depending on your style, you may not even want to state your conclusion about the movie until the end of your paper. Include a short synopsis of the movie and possibly movie characters depending on the angle of attack you are using. After your preliminary remarks are complete, dive into the body of your paper and discuss the movie critically. Do not say things like: “the clothing was accurate” or “the architectural style of this house was completely wrong for this time in history.” Details count. Cite as many sources as you reasonably can. “The eighteenth century hoopskirt was completely inaccurate for the ladies of the Bennet household in Victorian England.” (Smith 247) Your in-text citations should consist of the author’s last name and the page number of the book you found your information from. What do you need to cite? You need to cite anything that is not your own idea. Cite direct quotations and summaries of information. Remember, citations give your analysis of the movie authority. Also, what student does not watch the convenient word counter at the bottom of the Microsoft Word program to see when they have reached the limit? Those citations add to your word count!!! You will lose points for plagiarism (using information without giving credit where it is due), so take the time to double check your citations. Also, end your paper with a strong conclusion and possibly work in an attention grabbing quote from the movie you are analyzing.
Sixth: revise and edit your paper. After you have your rough draft complete, you can have fun making whatever major changes you need to and then edit your paper for small mistakes like grammar, verb tenses, and spelling. What I would advise is going to the ACE Center and going over your rough draft with a writing tutor. That can be a whole lot faster and more insightful than trying to find all the big errors by yourself. Also, a tutor is likely to catch problems that you will miss. And then you can always read your paper out loud and lead your roommate into believing that you are insane. I read my papers out loud on a regular basis because my ear catches mistakes that my eyes miss.
Seventh: turn in your paper on time!!! And now, relax and watch a movie or read your favorite book while Ms. Beavers grades your paper. The main thing is forcing yourself to work first and relax later. Pace yourself so that you do not get worn out. Procrastination can zap all the momentum out of your academic career very quickly, so put off procrastination! One of my favorite quotes is, “I would procrastinate, but I never seem to get around to it!”
While the World Civilizations classes are the only ones that actually set out these steps and give you due dates for completing all of them, this applies to other papers in other classes. I have taken what I learned with Ms Beavers and successfully applied it to my other classes in my academic career. Once you learn good habits, keep practicing them. And as always, eat the elephant one bite at a time. Do not look at the paper as a big challenge. Instead view it as many small challenges as you complete each step of the process. When you are finished with your paper and hold it in your hand, printed and stapled, the feeling of success is an amazing reward for all your time and effort.
