Anyone know how to write a research paper on Voltaire?

Question

I just want to know how his life influence his work. What made him write the books that exists today.

Answer 1

Well your research should include an online study - much has been written about him. In additon, an "old fashioned" trip to your local library should provide some wonderful resources.

Remeber, read, absorb, and gather fact and opinions - then use those resources to form your own thoughts prior to committing them to paper.

Answer 2

You would do a research paper on this topic very much as you would do one on any other topic that doesn't require field or lab research:

Start looking in libraries for relevant and available sources of information--mostly books and journal articles, but possibly other types as well. (Encyclopedia articles will give you a good overview of the topic, but don't use more than one or two.) DO NOT RELY ENTIRELY OR EVEN MAINLY ON ONLINE SOURCES! Make bibliography cards for them in MLA style. (Tip: mark those cards in some way so that they won't get mixed up with your note cards.)

Make a preliminary outline in which you plan what you're going to do in the paper. (Obviously it can't be very specific before you've taken any notes, but it will still help to have a rough overall plan, maybe some questions that you want to answer in your paper.)

Start reading the sources for which you've made bib. cards, and take notes on anything relevant. (To avoid having to read an entire book, read the index first and then look up any topic that seems related to your paper.) Put the source (usually the author's last name and the page number) on EACH CARD. If you find a source not in your bib. cards, make a bib. card for it before you start taking notes from it. If you know when you take a note what part of the paper you'll use it in, indicate that on the card. The upper right corner is the usual place for this notation, called a "slug."

When you've finished taking notes, organize the cards according to the part of the paper you'll use them for. (If you haven't put the source on each card, do it before you start organizing them this way! Otherwise you'll have a real mess on your hands!) Find a large, flat surface that won't be used for a while for anything else, and lay your cards out there. Weight each pile down while you work.

Once you have your information in the order in which you plan to use it in your paper, make another outline, more detailed than the first one. It should begin with the thesis statement, which should not be numbered, since it covers the entire outline. Even if your instructor doesn't require you to pass it in and put it in complete sentences, it's a good idea to do the latter. (If your instructor seems open to such requests, you could also ask him to look at our outline even if he hasn't asked for outlines to be passed in.) The more work you put into the job at this stage, the more you can coast later. On each card, scribble the number of the outline section, as specifically as possible, in which you plan to use it.

Now write the first draft, using the outline and the cards as the basis of the organization and details. If the outline is in complete sentences, just create a new file and edit it into paragraphs, adding and documenting* the information from the note cards. Use transitions of your own between quotations or paraphrases from the notes! Write your own topic sentence and concluding sentence for each paragraph.

If you haven't already written the introduction, go back and do it now. It should consist of a few sentences leading up to the thesis, which should be the LAST sentence of the introductory paragraph.

Now write the conclusion, which should be about the same length as the introduction and should pull everything together, reaffirm the thesis in different words, and basically let the reader know that you've done what you set out to do.

*You should document any piece of information that you found in your research and that isn't common knowledge in the field, even if you don't quote the actual words. Document ANY quotation, no matter how well known the substance of it is. To document, simply put the author's last name and the page number in parentheses at the end of the passage you're citing. Be sure you have a bib. card for every source that you cite!

I hope this isn't much more than you wanted to know!

Answer 3

Well, I would start by gathering information on him first. If it were me, I would go to the library and use valid Internet sites... ones that end with "edu" or "gov". Then I would record the information and make it into my paper. You know intro.. body...ect.. don't forget to edit your work when you are done and good luck. P.S. Don't plagiarize...

Answer 4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltaire

Answer 5

sorry