Research Papers for Social Studies

Tip #2 - How to turn a note into a

paragraph
OK! So youve got some notesnow what? Dont freak outhelp is on the way! See below for some tips
on how to turn your pieces of evidence into coherent paragraphs to build your paper:
Note

Peter the Great wanted to incorporate western European technology because it would help make his
military stronger. (World History, p. 446)

Topic Sentence
Starters
According to the evidence
I think that
Indeed
In fact
The evidence suggests that

Paragraph

Transition Words

In addition (to add)

Furthermore (to add)
While (to contradict)
Although (to contradict)
However (to contradict)

Introducing the Source

The text shows that

The text illustrates
According to the text
[Authors name] describes
This is supported by

Concluding Sentence
Starters
Therefore
So
Thus
To summarize
In conclusion

The evidence suggests that Peter the Great focused on the West in order to strengthen Russia.
While he was inspired by the time that he had spent in western Europe and wanted to turn Russia
into a more modern society, he also hoped to fortify Russia through those changes. According to
the text, Peter wanted to incorporate western European technology because it would help
make his military stronger. In addition, he boosted the number of standing military soldiers to
over 200,000 strong (World History, p. 446). Therefore, Peters true motivation can be clearly seen
by the steps that he took towards establishing a strong military presence in Russia.

Dont forget to include your indent at

the start of each new paragraph!

Social Studies Department The International High School at Lafayette 2015-2016