What have you always wanted to learn more about?
What areas of your major are most interesting to you?
What problems exist in your field of study that will need solutions in the future?
What do you find controversial? What do most people think incorrectly about?
What do you think people need to change to find more health or happiness?
What community, national or global issues do you care about?
Starting Your Research Paper
After choosing your topic, use this space to create a web, with your main topic in the middle and possible subtopics in the outer circles:
2. What do you already know about this topic? Briefly make a list of the things you already know about this topic:
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3. Make a list of all the questions you want to have answered about this topic. Sometimes you don’t know what questions you have about a topic until you have had a chance to research it. So over the next day or two you will need to come up with several questions you think you could answer about your subject in your paper. List them here:
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4. It is also important to start making a list of the books and Internet sites you visit that are useful. Start this list early as it will be important for your works cited page.
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5. Write your thesis. A sentence like this is not acceptable: “I am going to tell you about Ernest Hemingway and his life and stuff.” There is a certain formula to follow when creating your thesis statement:
General Topic + Limited Focus = Thesis Statement
For example, if my general topic was Ernest Hemingway and my limited topic is his involvement in WW1, then the thesis statement would be: “Ernest Hemingway’s involvement in WW1 shaped the way he would write and live for the rest of his life.” The rest of the paper would be spent only on the things that pertain to that focus. I would not discuss how living in Cuba affected his writing. So now it is your turn:
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After all of this information is collected it will be time to start your outline. What fun!
6. Creating a problem/solution outline
After narrowing your subject down, collecting some information, formulating some questions you would like to have answered and making a list of possible sources, it is time to organize your information into an outline. The important part of an outline is remembering that all of the information that you plan on including in your research paper must support your thesis statement.
Sources must be included in each section of the outline showing where you found the information you will be using.
Introduction (½-1 page)
Attention Getter (write this out) – could be a startling statistic/fact, an anecdote, quote, rhetorical question
Transition to thesis which explains connection between grabber and main ideas
Thesis statement-focus on emphasizing the solution to the problem in your thesis
Section 1 – Problem (1-2 pages)
Topic Sentence – Define problem (write out)
Describe
Examples
Who affected
Topic Sentence – Causes/history of the problem (write out)
Where/how it originated
Causes
Topic Sentence – Seriousness/Consequences (write out)
Negative effects
How serious
Consequences
Transition sentence to lead into the solution.
Section 2 – Solution (2-3 pages)
Topic Sentence – Solution
Overview of solution
Research to support
Topic Sentence – Implementation
Process of implementation
Possible problems-opposition
Drawbacks
Topic Sentence – Outcomes
Benefits
Compare to other solutions
Explicitly explore how it solves the problem
Conclusion (1/2-1 page)
Summary statement (write out)
Relate to the world today or future (write out)
Call to action/final thought (write out)
