Autobiographical Research Paper

An autobiographical research paper is a text that blends the writer’s own experience with scholarly research in order to present an idea, point, or argument about a particular topic. Autobiographical research papers are not common assignments outside of a student’s English composition course; however, they are a common form of writing that is frequently found in popular magazines and journals. Therefore, students may be more familiar with autobiographical research writing than they may think.

An autobiographical research paper is very different from a standard research paper that seeks to present a claim about a specific topic through the use of external sources. In an autobiographical research paper, the majority of the text deals with the writer’s own experience. Research is used only to support the author’s opinions or clarify his or her experience. For example, an autobiographical research paper may be about a student’s experience with discrimination. Because the research paper is an autobiographical research paper rather than a standard research paper, much of this paper will discuss events and experiences that happened directly to the student, and recount those events from the point of view of the student. In other words, the autobiographical research paper will use the first-person voice (“I” and “me”). This is another characteristic of autobiographical research papers that sets them apart from standard research papers: in most standard research paper writing, the use of the first-person voice is discouraged or even forbidden.

The research element of autobiographical research papers is used as support for the student’s claims and as validation for his or her recounted experiences. For instance, if the student were a Latina writing about discrimination against Latinos in the workplace, she would not only mention her personal experience, but indicate how her experience compares to other Latinos by pointing to research studies citing statistics of discrimination against Latinos in the workplace. In this way, the writer’s own experience becomes not only a personal expression of her individual life, but one instance among many illustrating a trend of discrimination.

The type of research used in autobiographical research papers will likely depend on the topic. For instance, in an autobiographical research paper about traveling in Tibet, a student would not incorporate statistical data, but scholarly studies that examine Tibetan cultural practices. Regardless of what type of research is included, however, it should be used to supplement the writer’s own personal experience—not speak for it.

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Autobiographical Research Paper

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