Help with one of those long daunting research papers.

[HSmom25andRN]

Does anyone have any good advice for teaching how to go about writing one? Or can you suggest a good resource for this? My daughter writies well. We just need some guidance. Thanks

[Photo Ninja]

I broke it down for my dc in a way they understood. They could easily write a 5 paragraph style essay. I explained that a research paper is just a few essays all put together, with each 'mini' essay portion of the research paper being one of the main points of the paper, and a major intro and conclusion for the entire paper. Does that make sense? It worked for my dc. They understood a structure from that explanation.

[Karenciavo]

I'm still debating about signing up my oldest for a class on research papers via Memoria Press Academy or taking their suggestion and doing it myself. They suggest using Research Papers for Dummies. Another choice, Stobaugh's Skills for Rhetoric (Christian), devotes approx. 1/3 of the text toward step by step instruction on writing research papers.

 

ETA: SWB has a series of articles on writing research papers, Part 1.

Edited September 2, 2010 by Karenciavo

[swimmermom3]

I'm still debating about signing up my oldest for a class on research papers via Memoria Press Academy or taking their suggestion and doing it myself. They suggest using Research Papers for Dummies. Another choice, Stobaugh's Skills for Rhetoric (Christian), devotes approx. 1/3 of the text toward step by step instruction on writing research papers.

 

ETA: SWB has a series of articles on writing research papers, Part 1.

 

Karen, do you go through the process most of us were taught utilizing note cards, outlines, and rough drafts? The reason I ask is that Michael Clay Thompson wrote in the back of Essay Voyage that he does not ask students to follow that process which I believe he calls "demoralizing." He also mentioned the fact that in college there are so many papers to write that there isn't time for that kind of staging. I think the idea is the same as SWB's with regards to more shorter papers to finesse one's skills.

 

This completely makes sense to me; however, what are people really doing? OP, is that the kind of process you are hoping to teach?

[Yolanda in Mass]

I like Susan's book as it breaks down the process in digestible pieces. There's a day-by-day schedule which also helps tremendously. Might be what you're looking for.

 

Yolanda

[Hunter's Moon]

I just wrote my first official research paper in 10th grade.

 

My English teacher gave us two months. Your daughter shouldn't need that long but at least a month since it is her first.

 

He broke it up and gave us a sort-of schedule.

 

First, we must come up with a topic.

Second, our thesis. Now my paper was trying to prove what I believed. Not an opinion but something I could back up with hard, cold facts.

Third, our outline was due. It was in this format: http://www.iworkcommunity.com/system/files/download/26/outline-0.jpg

Fourth, our draft.

And fifth, our final paper.

[Karenciavo]

Karen, do you go through the process most of us were taught utilizing note cards, outlines, and rough drafts? The reason I ask is that Michael Clay Thompson wrote in the back of Essay Voyage that he does not ask students to follow that process which I believe he calls "demoralizing." He also mentioned the fact that in college there are so many papers to write that there isn't time for that kind of staging. I think the idea is the same as SWB's with regards to more shorter papers to finesse one's skills.

 

This completely makes sense to me; however, what are people really doing? OP, is that the kind of process you are hoping to teach?

 

I don't know how I'm doing it yet Lisa, I'm kind of behind the 8 ball with this because my oldest son had so many writing heavy courses for his first three years of HS. We are just getting to cover an official research paper now, although he's written many research papers that required citations (mostly APA, only one MLA.) I wasn't the teacher for any of those assignments so I really haven't fleshed it out yet. He's starting the year with a literary analysis paper using Writing Aids, then we'll do a research paper (how, I don't know yet) and then a Classical Comparison Paper (Writing Aids).

[Guest]

The outline-draft-revise model is just one model out of several. It's a tool that may or may not fit your child's writing process.

 

I was one of those kids who wrote every paper the night before it was due, and wrote the outline after I was finished -- no revising as this was in the days of typewriters and it took too long to redo a page or pages. If a kid does a lot of mental mulling, or has a very logical thinking style anyway, he or she may not need to go through the rather tedious process of making index card notes and outlining.

 

More visual learners might do better with graphic organizers that are not linear like a standard outline.

 

Some others might learn what they think and what they want to do with their paper by writing multiple drafts that range from fairly aimless and horrible (this is what mine now are like) and gradually refining purpose and support.

 

None of these methods are any better or worse than the others. People use different approaches for different writing tasks, and generally the longer the paper, the more the need for written notes and organizers of some kind; but this does not have to be the note card/outline/draft procedure.

 

Ideally kids will have a fairly long pre-writing period of reading, discussing with you, taking notes in whatever way they prefer. Over the course of this you might be able to see how well they are able to put their ideas into verbal form in discussion with you, or how much they seem to get verbally confused and tangled up. This will be a clue as to whether they need help with some kind of written organizing -- but again, it doesn't have to be linear, on note-cards, or anything. Inspiration software can give you an idea of other, more visual forms; or google and mess around on the internet under something like "graphic organizers for writing" and see what you get. Or better still, let your student do this, and see what he or she thinks of the kinds of models that pop up.

[HSmom25andRN]

I'm checking all of these options out!

[Kareni]

A couple of past threads with more suggestions:

 

Please list your favorite resources for teaching how to write an MLA research paper

 

Research Paper Writing ?

 

Regards,

Kareni

[BlsdMama]

He's starting the year with a literary analysis paper using Writing Aids

 

Can I add in there that Writing Aids has information on how to do research papers as well and if you already own it, it would be a good resource for you.