Hacking The Research Paper
Posted on May 19th, 2010 in Certification Map | No Comments »
Hey teachers–want to teach your students how to develop a well-researched paper in half the time (and pain)? I can help.
Research papers can be an unproductive mess for both students and teachers if not approached with the correct educational strategy. The following seven step method will provide an outline on how your students can approach and prepare for the writing of a research paper while learning and meeting the goals of the assignment.
1. Have your students find a topic they are interested in. The easiest way to make sure an assignment won’t be done well is to have them drag through a topic that either bores or repels them.
2. If you decide to give your students freedom with the research topic, approve the topics before the research and writing process begins. If you are unsure about any of the students’ topics, encourage them to make a case as to why their paper idea meets the learning goals of the assignment.
3. The first step in having your students hack their research paper is to have them review the Wikipedia entry for their subject. The Wikipedia entry, depending on its depth, can provide a basic outline regarding the organization of how a topic is generally perceived. It will provide key dates, figures, statistics and often even pictures. The key isn’t to encourage copying of the Wikipedia, but to help students keep the perceived organization of the topic in mind as they begin research.
4. After students receive an idea on how the general public organizes their thoughts around a topic, have your students develop a single thesis. The thesis will provide a skeleton for the paper that every sentence researched and written should argue.
5. Once students have developed a thesis, it’s time to have them begin collecting sources for the actual research portion of the paper. Using the “References” and “External Links” section of the Wikipedia page, students can easily identify a starting point. The goal here is to have the students identify one or two books that are generally considered “bibles” of a subject.
6. Now that the students have identified key books on their subject, I’d recommend them finding a large, public library, either at a university or in a major city, to take them out. Librarians may be able to point students in the direction of complimentary texts to use for their project, as well.
7. The single best tip I can provide, that was once passed on to me for expanding sources on a research paper, is to have students utilize the bibliographies of other texts. If “the bible” text your students found on their subject is considered the leading collection of thoughts, they can be sure that the citations used in it are equally valuable and reputable.
This is by no means a scientific method for teaching students how to research a paper. It’s simply a efficient method that allows students to learn how to research while targeting the most valuable sources to do so. Using the above method, your students will not only be happy with their theses, but the writing should reflect a thoroughly research subject.
