Writing Concept Papers

What is “concept”?
• Latin concipere “to take in, conceive, receive”
• an idea conceived in mind
• general idea about a thing or group of things, derived
from specific instances or occurrences
• a general notion or idea
What are concept papers?
• serves as a prelude to a full paper
• summaries of projects or issues that reflect the interests,
experience and expertise of the writer or organization
• an embodiment of your ideas on a certain topic or item
of interest
What are concept papers?
Concept papers generally serve the purpose of
providing in-depth discussion of a topic that the writer
has a strong position on, usually with the intent of
obtaining funding for that project from donors. A
concept paper could also discuss best practices,
philosophies and other related issues that the writer
believes action should be taken on in the near future.
Developing Concepts
Ways to develop concepts:
1. Definitions
2. Explanations
3. Explications
Developing Concepts: DEFINITIONS
• used to provide meaning of a particular word or terms
• may be formal, informal, extended
• essential as they serve as a frame of reference for
discussions
Developing Concepts: DEFINITIONS
Formal sentence definitions include the term, class
and distinguishing features. The term is the word to be
defined, class is the group where the term belong, and
distinguishing features are the qualities that make up a
term.
Example:
A bicycle is a mode of transport that has two wheels
and is powered through the pedaling effort of the rider.
Developing Concepts: DEFINITIONS
Informal definitions do not include distinguishing
features.
Example:
A chair is a piece of furniture.
Developing Concepts: DEFINITIONS
Extended definitions are essay length texts that use
different rhetorical patterns to show the meaning of a
particular term or concept. Usually, extended definitions
essays or concept papers do not just define but describe,
compare and contrast, show cause-effect relationships to
provide the reader holistic definition of a term.
Developing Concepts: DEFINITIONS
In order to clearly define your concept, remember the
following:
1. In formal definitions, avoid using the same term to be
defined (e.g. “A cellphone is a phone…”)
2. Observe the concept of mutual exclusivity. Make
sure that the feature of the term do not overlap with
other similar concepts of the same class (e.g. “A
skateboard is a mode of transport that has four
wheels.”)
Developing Concepts: EXPLANATION
A concept may be developed through explanation
by providing examples or situations.
The body of the essay is the main section of the
concept paper. In this part, you will elaborate on the
specific claims made in your thesis statement.
Developing Concepts: EXPLICATION
Explication employs a critical interpretation of a
concept. Referring to short passages from another
source, explication provides another perspective of a
concept.
An explication interprets another by examining the
concept/s presented. Through a critical analysis of points
raised in text, a richer explanation of the concept is
given to the readers. This may be done through
comparison and contrast, description, cause-effect and
other rhetorical modes.
Developing Concepts
The conclusion of the concept reemphasizes the
thesis statement, provides summary of the body of the
paper, and relates the importance of the concept in a
specific field or the world in general.
Concept Paper for Researches
All research projects need a concept paper: a short
summary that tells the reader what the project is, why it
is important, and how it will be carried out. Even if no
one else ever reads it, the concept paper helps a
researcher spot holes in her or his project that might
later prove fatal.
Concept Paper for Researches
Elements:
1. A title in the form of a question. This may be the last
part of the concept paper that you write, but it
should appear at the heading of the paper.
2. A clear description of the research topic, including a
summary of what is already known about that topic.
Concept Paper for Researches
Elements:
3. A one-sentence statement of the research question
that the project will seek to answer. The concept
paper should elaborate on how this question can be
answered—something that almost always takes
more than one sentence to accomplish.
4. A demonstration of why it is important to answer this
research question. What good comes of this answer?
Why is this project worth writing?
Concept Paper for Researches
Elements:
5. A description of how the researcher plans to answer the
research question. This includes:
a. a description of the data or evidence that the researcher
plans to gather or use;
b. a description of how the researcher will analyze these
data; and
c. a demonstration of how these data and this analytic
method will answer the research question.
Concept Paper for Researches
The point of a concept paper is to provide a clear
summary of the research project. It should enable a
casual reader to understand what the researcher is
investigating, why it is important, and how the
investigation will proceed.