If you are tasked with writing a critical essay on domestic violence/sexual abuse in Indian reservations, you should follow these steps:
1) Starting Your Research and Taking Notes
When you start taking notes for research purposes, create a system for yourself. Start out by having two colors for note cards or for pens and set one color aside for major ideas and another color for supporting data. Through the course of your reading, you can write down your main claims on one color, and then place the supporting facts you find on separate cards of the opposite color. Then you can play around with the physical layout of the cards to see how many pieces of supporting data you have for each main claim, or in what order you want the claims to be.
Be sure to write down bibliographic information for anything you quote or paraphrase from your reading.
For example: if you have a card where you wrote down the results from a study, write the name of the study and the page number from when it came at the top of the card.
2) Organization
After you have completed your note taking, it is time to play around with the organization and presentation for your information.
Move the cards around to find out the order in which you want to present your information.
3) Outline
Write an outline wherein you ask yourself:
- What your topic is?
- Why is your topic significant?
- What material have you found that is relevant to the background of your topic?
- What is your thesis?
- What organization supports the thesis best?
4) Writing
With that done, you can start writing. Save the introduction for last. Start with the body. Write your essay around the main points you want to present, as written in your outline. The sources should not function as the foundation for your paper’s organization. That is the role for the topic and thesis. Integrate the sources into the academic discussion you want to present.
With that done, use the introduction to explain the topic, define any terms the reader might need, and reveal the organization of your essay so that the reader knows what to expect.
Then write your conclusion where you summarize the argument for your reader. This is where you avoid introducing new material or simply repeating the introduction. Instead remind the reader what claims you’ve made and what evidence you presented in support of those claims.
5) Revisions
Once you have your first draft it is time to make revisions. Check over the organization for your paper to ensure that the discussion is coherent and there is logical flow. Ensure that your paragraphs start with topical sentences and offer evidence supporting your claims. Make sure these claims refer back to your thesis as well. Check for transitions between paragraphs. Look over the sentence structure for proper punctuation, word choice, and spelling. And of course, make sure everything is properly cited in the text and in your bibliography.
This guide should help you write an essay on domestic violence/sexual abuse in Indian Reservations. You may also check our list of 20 specific topics on this matter backed by 1 sample essay and 10 facts that you may use to support your claims.