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Post Research Paper Eval

I've talked about this before in this blog, but recently I did a research paper for my English 312 class. And oh man, it was a doozy.
I've talked enough about the topic that I don't think I need to go over it again, but let me just share my experience about writing the paper.

Writing a research paper is a long and arduous process--especially if you're a perfectionist like I am. The most time consuming process of the whole paper is probably the research. This is a research paper after all, if you don't have all the necessary information to back up your argument, your paper is automatically weakened.
So here are my 3 tips for research:

1. Set a time frame: Don't dawdle on your research, but don't let it consume you either. Being able to set a strict time frame on your research will help you work effectively and efficiently when you actually sit down and start digging in. Doing research can be like watching a car accident, you don't want to actually see it, but once you have you can't seem to look away either.
Effectively combat this "deer-in-headlights" effect by outlining how many days and for how many hours you will do your research.

2. Find great sources: Don't use the Huffington Post for everything. It's not a reliable source. The best sources come from Library databases, real hard-cover books, and even personal interviews with professionals. Need help finding sources? Ask your librarian! Most colleges and universities have great librarians who can help you find all manner of articles and books on any given topic. Want to research Dr. Seuss? Ask a librarian.

3. Have fun! Remember that research is about learning, think of this as your own personal guided learning experience. You're learning and become expert in a topic that you are actually interested in (tip 4: pick a topic you're actually interested in). Just wait until someone asks you what you've been up to and you can tell them all about this awesome research paper you're doing and all the amazing things you've learned because of it. Way to be an adult!

Now go out there and have fun researching :)

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 31, 2017 at 2:54 PM

    I will attest to picking a topic that interests you. 10 pages is a lot, but I actually found myself enjoying the research and telling my friends about it.

    ReplyDelete

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