The Road to Stonewall

As I continue along the path of research paper season, I am now writing three different research papers. I have made significant strides in each paper, and everything is now falling into place. I will say that my paper on the Stonewall Riots will demand much more attention in the coming weeks, but I am content with where I am in my research. 

In terms of my secondary sources, I have access to a sizable amount of information and articles from other historians and sociologist. The articles I am using ask the same question I plan to answer which is "What made Stonewall different, and why did it happen at the Stonewall Inn rather than another place?" My secondary sources evaluate how there was a complex set of variables that came together to produce the explosion that was the Stonewall Riots. So far, I have concluded that the riots happened because the following variables came together: the beginning of the sexual revolution, Greenwich Village's history as a place for the rebellious, the advent of the World's Fair in New York in 1964 and the city's response to "clean up" New York's populace, widespread police corruption in working with the mafia and the police's prosecution of the law via "entrapment," the homophile movement's actions in the years preceding the riots, the volatile nature of gay homeless youth, the media's willingness to give the riots attention, and the rioters determination to memorialize the event. What made the riots different and historically heavy, was primarily because the rioters were so determined to remember the riots with pride-- something the LGBT community had rarely experienced prior to this event.

As far as my primary sources go, I am using newspaper articles that were published during the riots, legal documents targeting homosexuals during the time of the riots, letters written by the rioters and police, and interviews with the survivors of the riots. These definitely lead me to conclude the aforementioned rough thesis. 

What remains to be as thoroughly researched however, are the instances of LGBT resistance happening in other parts of the country at this time, but I will find my way to that information in the coming weeks. 

So far, I have my questions, and I have a solid yet incomplete answer. I have a direction, and I will continue on the road to a greater understanding of the Stonewall Riots.

The Road to Stonewall, for me, is the road to gratitude. I am sincerely in debt to the rioters.

Approaching a Thesis: Research Methods

In my experience of writing research-heavy papers, the general key is just that-- research. However, that can be misleading, for the real trouble I find is not doing research as much as it is organizing the researched material. 

In the beginning of my undergraduate career, I would formulate a thesis in my mind and seek out only information that would validate my thesis. I was very uncompromising, and then I would just read my sources and write as read....a truly horrible way to write a paper. It led to a lot of stress, and it severely limited my research scope to only those things that would support a thesis that I developed largely independent of my research. The method is quite backwards, really.

My bad paper writing life

I have learned from those mistakes, and now I believe I have a more sound method for research. Simply stated, I now approach my subject with as unbiased a mind as I can muster, and I organize nearly all of my research before I write. This helps me formulate a smooth, well-written thesis.

One thing I do to be sure I approach research with a good mindset, is to clear my mind of any attachment to any conclusion. I find that in order to truly engage the information I am researching, I must read the documents with an open mind. This allows me to accept the complexity of the issue which not only applies to history but also to other fields as well.

Once I have my sources, I begin reading them, and as I read them I write down quotes from them and record where each quote comes from. By the end of my research, I'll have a multitude of pages of quotes. Then I begin to re-read the quotes, and I sort them into topics in my head. This abstraction process is lengthy, but it pays off in the end. 

After I let all this information stew in my mind for a while, I am ready to begin building a detailed outline, and I let my research in tandem with my mind lead me to a rough thesis. The quote pages allow me to reflect on my research efficiently, and they aid me in coming to a solid thesis. 

I move past the previously mentioned rough thesis to chart the remainder of my paper. I organize each quote under its appropriate heading, and soon enough, I have an outline that is approximately half the size of however long the research paper is.

Though the aforementioned rough thesis will need revision as I proceed to write my paper, it serves me well in forming the remainder of my paper.

The important thing for me to remember in the process, is that I must take the information as it comes, and I must afford plenty of time to create a well-written research paper. Like cooking any good stew, a good research paper requires a lot of simmering time. In these moments, I must be content to let information simmer in my mind. For me, research comes very naturally if I afford it time. 

Let the research stew! That way, you can create a hearty paper full of all kinds of intellectual greatness!

Term Paper Season: Plagiarism

In the midst of term paper season, one of the important issues to contemplate is plagiarism. According to Miriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, plagiarism is "the act of using another person's words or ideas without giving credit to that person." At this point in my academic career, I do not conduct much of my own independent research on topics. For example, I do not solely examine historical documents and draw conclusions. Instead, I read both primary sources and many secondary sources-- writings of other historians. Most historians do this, and there is no shame in it.

Avoiding plagiarism is quite simple..........just cite the source you use. Citing someone else's work pays off in multiple ways. First, it is just nice to give someone credit for their work. After all, they probably put in a lot time and effort in their work; citing is a respectful way to acknowledge their hard work and dedication. Second, citing many sources and many perspectives indicates that you have contemplated the richness of your topic. If you have no citations or hardly any, it is easy to perceive your paper as one-sided. In a sense, it is oftentimes better to have cited many different writers and sources. Finally, citing is the right thing to do. To pass someone else's work off as your own is intellectual theft, and I personally believe that generally speaking, theft is wrong.

It may be tedious, but it is ultimately rewarding.

Plagiarism may be alluring to many, but in the end, you are just limiting your own intellectual development if you participate in plagiarism. Just cite your sources folks.