Exercise 23: An Analysis of the 
Research Paper Draft

(Return to the Unit 4 Table of Contents)

Instructions:
E-mail the analysis to me at gagrimes@dcccd.edu.

Name ______________________________
Course and Section __________________________

An Exercise in the Analysis of Your Research Paper

After finalizing the first draft of your paper, it is important to be able to step back from it and to be able to recognize the plan of the paper as a whole. Such analysis helps you to identify the main ideas and their organization in the paper. The analysis of the plan for the paper is the first step in the editing and revision stages of the writing process. To complete this exercise, first number the paragraphs of your paper and then complete the following steps:

1) Underline the thesis/position/judgment which controls the development of your paper. It should be one sentence, and you should be able to find it. Copy it in the space below:

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2) Underline each topic sentence of your paper, and copy each in the space below and on the next page:

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3. Reconstruct a phrase outline of the paper by reducing each sentence above to just the key concepts and list them below in the same order:

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Submission of Assignments
In addition to regular mail delivery, distance-learning students may e-mail papers as MS Word attached files to Dr. Grimes at ggrimes@dcccd.edu.
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Submission Assignments through Regular Mail
Mail papers to:
Dr. Geoffrey Grimes
Department of English
Mountain View College
4849 West Ilinois Avenue
Dallas, TX 75211
Please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope for returning your graded work.

Submitting Essays as E-Mail Attachments
It is absolutely essential to the security of your work that you follow exactly these guidelines:

1) Heading on Assignments/Email Message Texts
Place a heading on the first page of your essay in the upper left-hand corner.  Place the same information in each email message window.  The text must include the following information:

First Name-MIddle Initial-Last Name
DCCCD Student ID Number
Course-Course Number-Section Number
Month-Date-Year
Name of Assignment

Example:

John R. Pointer
ID 5555555
English 2326: 9543
February 20, 2001
Exercise 3

2) File Name
Save your file exactly according to this model:

JPointer-Ex3

3) Sending Me E-mail Messages
You must include your name and identify your message type in the subject line of each e-mail you send me.  For security reasons, if you fail to do so, I will delete your message without responding.

In the subject line, include your name and exercise number just as you saved your file above.
Example:

JPointer-Ex3

If you are sending me a message that needs immediate attention, then include one of the following formats in the subject line:

JPointer-Question
JPointer-Comment
JPointer-Urgent

Responding to Your E-mails
I always respond to your messages.  However, I always open "Question," "Comment," and "Urgent"  messages first and respond to them usually on the day I receive them. 

I will respond to your assignment messages within a day or two to let you know that I have received your work and files and whether or not I can open them.  To grade them, I open assignment messages in the order in which I received them.

Length of Time Required to Grade Your Work
It usually takes me from one to two weeks to grade essay-length papers and to return them.  Shorter papers I can grade much quicker.  I will return them as e-mail attachments to my response messages.
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This page was last modified on July 9, 2005,
and is maintained by Dr. Geoffrey A. Grimes.
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