HOW TO WRITE A RESEARCH PAPER
PICKING A TOPIC
Sometimes you not only have to research a topic and write about it – you have to pick the topic in the first place. Here are few tips to keep in mind
- Start out by BRAINSTORMING. In other words, let your brain flow freely with ideas of ALL kinds and write them all down. Even if the idea seems doubtful, write it down anyway. You can be more picky later on.
- Focus on the subjects you like. If you’re already interested in something, like soccer or Abraham Lincoln or Sherlock Holmes, you’ll enjoy writing about it and probably do a better job.
How to get information or DOING RESEARCH
It is an important part of making your project. So you should care a lot about what you are going to speak about.
As it is generally known, there are a lot of sources of information
You should be ready to visit many places to get the information you need: libraries, scientific or quiz centers.
Working with your personal computer you can look through the Internet or some electronic books to find the suitable information for a project.
Making a QUIZ
The next part of your project is making a quiz. It is as important as all the other parts of your work. It makes your work brighter and the quiz proves that the topic you have chosen is close to the social interests.
To realize this point of your project you should choose a question or some of them which reveal your theme. Then you should decide which category of people you want to ask, if their age or profession matter. There are a lot of people you can ask They are your classmates, friends, relatives, neighbors, parents, teachers, o just some passers-by in the street.
You’d better ask more than 20 persons (people) to get the objective result. At the end you should make percentage results and draw a graph or a diagram.
It’s easier to do this with the help of computer.
There is another way of making a diagram. You can go to a special center or somewhere else where people’s job is making a quiz. There you can find such a graph already done, which includes the information got from different counties.
Decision of the problem
The following step of making a project is searching for your own decision of the problem, because each of us must try to find our own solution.
Imagine that you are making a project about ecology.
You can make:
- your own law. For example “Protect environment”
- the organization like “Greenpeace” with its own rules.
- a newspaper, which will call people to be careful with the Earth.
Well, I hope, that this will help you to solve the problem of your project.
WRITING IT DOWN
Now that you know how to pick your topic and research it, it’s time to organize your facts and write about them.
See which cards you still need and try to put them in the order you want to use. Develop a rough outline of your main ideas in the order in which they’ll appear.
Now you are ready for the first draft. It can be a rough draft that gets your ideas down while they’re fresh. You can worry about the exact wording, the spellings, and so forth later on.
Your paper should contain three main parts:
INTRODUCTION or the first paragraph, explains your topic and your point of view on it. It should draw readers into the paper and let them know what to expect.
BODY develops your ideas. Use specific facts, examples and details to make your points clear and convincing. Use separate paragraphs for each new idea and use words and phrases that link one paragraph to the next so your ideas flow smoothly.
CONCLUSION Summarize your main points in the final paragraph, or conclusion.
Put your first draft aside for a few days, then go back and re-read it. You’ll be able to make corrections more easily after seeing it with fresh eyes. After you’ve done making your revisions, read the paper slowly to check for misspellings and mistakes in grammar and punctuation.
PRESENTING THE PROJECT
The depiction of the main points should be bright and clear. It should be interesting to see and listen to the information, which you give depicting the facts you have found.
You’d better use illustrations and sound at the same time. That helps the audience to get interested and involved in the topic.
If you have a real possibility to use PC, you can try to present you project with the help of Power Point Program. Then you’d better include visual and sound effects to your presentation like movie fragments sound of bombing, crying, etc.
SHOWING YOUR SOURCES
- It is important in a paper to show what sources you used. This can be done with footnotes that go on the same page as the information itself and say where you got each key fact or quote.
- Whether you use footnotes or not, you may need to do a bibliography at the end. This is the list of all the sources you used to prepare the report.
GOOD LUCK, YOUNG RESEARCHERS!
