How to Do a Research Paper

Sooner or later, everyone has to do a research paper—undoubtedly one of the most daunting homework projects teachers assign. The best way to tackle the research paper beast is to break it up into manageable tasks.

Task 1: Requirements

Verify that you know exactly what is expected of you. Review all the information you have about your assignment and make sure you can answer the following questions. If you don’t know the answer to a question, ask your teacher.

When is the paper due? Will you be expected to hand in preliminary work, such as your thesis statement or your outline? If so, when are they due?

Is there a requirement for length?

Which types of sources are you allowed to use in your research (library, Internet, personal interviews)? Are any required?

Task 2: Topic

Selecting a topic is one of your most important tasks. Your topic needs to be narrow enough to cover in a paper, but not so specific that you can’t find research sources. And most important—you have to be interested in it, or you won’t be motivated to work on your paper.

1. Choose a broad topic that interests you and that falls within your teacher’s guidelines.

Example: Your teacher assigned a research paper on a scientific subject; you select Genetics as your broad topic.

2. Do some digging to get a feel for your topic. Skim an encyclopedia article and read a few newspaper articles that relate to your topic. This will introduce you to the major areas of interest in your topic.

Example: After skimming the encyclopedia article on Genetics, you discover that this broad topic covers human, animal, and plant species, and that it’s also a cutting-edge scientific and medical discipline.

3. Narrow your focus. Start by applying the same principles you did before—pick an aspect of your broad topic that interests you and fits with your assignment guidelines.

Example: During your preliminary research you discovered that you are especially interested in cloning—more specifically, the techniques used in human cloning.

4. Put your topic to the research test. Do a quick Internet search and find out how much material the library has on your topic. Can you find several credible sources? If not, you’ll need to narrow your focus on another topic.

Task 3: Working thesis statement

Every research paper begins with a main point—a working thesis statement. Your job is to come up with a main point, then use the facts you turn up in your research to argue for or against it. Developing a good working thesis statement now will make your life much easier later.

A good thesis statement is:

Interesting to you and your audience.

An opinion about your topic. If your thesis statement is a fact instead of an opinion, there will be nothing to argue.

A complete sentence that summarizes your point.

1. Use what you learned in your preliminary research to select your main point—the position you intend to argue.

Example: You have already selected a topic—the techniques used in human cloning.

From your preliminary research, you’re pretty convinced that the techniques currently available aren’t advanced enough to produce a real, living human clone. That’s your main point.

2. Make your topic and your main point into a complete, opinion-based sentence. This becomes your working thesis statement.

Example: Put your your topic and main point together:

techniques used in human cloning/won’t produce a living human clone

Next, make it into a sentence:

The techniques used in human cloning won’t produce a real, living human clone.

3. Make sure your thesis sentence expresses your topic and your point accurately, and that it’s clearly based on opinion, not fact. If necessary, fine tune it.

Example: The techniques currently used in human cloning are unlikely to produce a real, living human clone.

4. To make sure your thesis is an opinion,