Research
Information
Step
1:
Choose your research topic.
A topic is the word or phrase that your paper will be about. This is a broad
theme.
Step:
2
Create a thesis to focus your paper on.
The thesis is a statement that tells the purpose of your paper.
For
example, if the topic of your paper is World War II, your thesis may read
“The
purpose of my paper is to describe the effects World War II had on America
during battle.”
Step
3:
Create a Working Outline.
A working outline is a set of question written out in outline form.
The
point of these questions is to give some direction on what to research.
For
Example:
I.
Pearl Harbor
A.
When did Pearl Harbor occur?
B.
Who was killed in Pearl Harbor?
C.
Who did this affect?
1.
How did it affect them?
II.
Concentration Camps
A.
What were they?
B.
Where were they located?
C.
Who was held in the different camps?
Step
4:
Begin
Research.
In this step, you begin to find the answers to the questions in the working
outline.
You
can use any type of source:
books, magazines, encyclopedias, databases, and the Internet.
You must write a bibliography card for every source you use.
Notes
go on note cards with the reference to the working outline on top.
Step
5:
Write the Final Outline
The
final outline is an outline that includes facts instead of questions.
The
facts come from the note cards and replace the questions that were in the
working outline.
Step
6:
Rough Draft
Use
your final outline to create sentences for the rough draft.
The final outline will have some of the organization you need for your
paper. After it is written, edit
your paper for any mistakes.
Step
7:
Final
Draft
The final draft is
the revised version of the rough draft.
It must include the bibliography.