How to Approach a Research Paper

When approaching a research paper, you need to know what you are writing on. That is the first step in writing a research paper. Is it on a particular emperor of China or on the Black Plague? Do you want to write on Queen Elizabeth I or on the slave ships from Africa to the American colonies? Is the paper on a particular theme in "Moby Dick" or on the impact of Samuel Clemen's life on his writings? There are probably ten million things you could write on. What will it be?

Most of the time your instructor will tell you what to write on or give you a list. Other times they let you decide within the boundaries of the class you are in. You don't want to choose a topic on Abraham Lincoln if you are writing the research paper for a class in the history of China. These don't go together. If you are having trouble deciding on one, talk to your teacher, friends, or surf the web for ideas. I stress ideas here and not papers. You want this to be yours and yours alone.

Once you know what you are going to write on, you need to determine what angle you are going to approach it. If you are going to write on Abraham Lincoln, what are you going to write about? A research paper is a place where you argue a point or theory. What will it be on President Lincoln?

Are you going to discuss how his personal life impacted his decision to go to war?
Are you going to talk about the reasons behind the Emancipation Proclamation?
How about the impact of his son's death had on his decision making process?

There are so many things you can explore. The best way to help you decide on a topic is to just begin reading up on Abraham Lincoln. Never assume you know enough. There is always more to learn. There are new books published each year that could help you find the right angle. It might only take one sentence or a phrase that gets your mind thinking of something and giving you the urge to explore the subject. Don't fight it. Explore it. Go down that path and see where it leads you. You might be surprised.

When you start exploring one angle, you might find that it meets a dead end. It could be that there is not enough sources to help you. It could be that the subject has actually be explored too much. Maybe you find too much information. This means that you need to narrow your angle and fine tune it. If you have met with a dead end, switch gears. If you want to still stick with Lincoln, go back and begin reading about him again. Pull up some primary sources and read his own words or those of his contemporaries. Something might stick out and grab your attention. Watch a documentary. Don't limit yourself on resources. Let them help you find your angle.

Once you have the angle on your topic, you actually begin the research project. Even with an angle, never assume you know how the paper will turn out. During your research, you might discover new ideas or information that has you shifting your paper around and maybe even having you switch the stance of your angle.

Start by having a notebook or note cards handy along with a writing instrument. A pencil might not be a bad idea so you can erase easier.

Now, begin reading. You might be scanning books, articles, documentaries, letters, or lectures. You don't have to read every single word. That is, at first. Scan the table of contents. Scan the index. You are looking for areas of the source that actually address your specific angle. It might turn out that only one paragraph in the entire source addresses your topic. That's fine. That one paragraph might have a quote that you really need to help support your thesis (angle).

When you find the quote you want, write it down. I have read from many experts that you should always write the quote in your own words. I found that was more difficult for me. In some classes, my professors preferred direct quotes instead of indirect. At times I didn't know if I wanted to use the quote directly or put it in my own words until I was well into writing my paper. I personally recommend that you write the quote exactly how your source as it and put quotation marks (") around it. Note where you got it, too.

Never take notes and not make a note on where you got it. This can lead to plagiarism even if it is accidental. This is illegal and can ruin your educational plans and your career. Note the title, author, publisher, publishing location, year of publication, and the pages you got the information from. If you got it electronically, bookmark the site, too.

When you have all your research, look it over. Organize it. See if there are any holes that you need to fill with more research. I cannot tell you how many times I thought I had enough on a section of my paper and discovered that the sources I thought were going to be so good failed me. I would have to explore even more deeper to find what I was looking for. Never give up.

Don't put off your research to the last minute. Been there and done that. No good comes from it. Okay, there are exceptions. My husband is one of those and drives me nuts. But the truth is only about 1 out of 100,000 papers researched and written at the last minute get any decent grade. Are you really willing to take that chance?

Start researching a few weeks before the due date. This doesn't mean you have to write the paper then. Just do the research. Sometimes by doing that and then ignoring it for a couple of days your mind will free itself from stress and actually make it easier to pull it all together and come up with a great paper.

Remember that procrastination is the death nail for a research paper. Start early and let it age as fine wine does.