How to Teach Writing a Research Paper
If you are teaching how to write a research paper, you need to start with instructing your students how to brainstorm ideas for the paper as well as how to take notes and keep track of references. When it comes time for students to write the research paper, they need to know how to incorporate their notes into their writing, how to organize the paper and how to cite their resources correctly. It is easiest to teach a research paper unit in steps while students are working on a paper and can do each step as you guide them.
Things You'll Need
- Graphic organizers such as word webs
- Note cards
- Books
- Pencil or pen
- Chart paper
- Markers
- Highlighters
- Research paper samples
Instructions
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Brainstorming and Note Taking
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Assign the overall topic for the research paper. Discuss with students how a good research paper has a focus. For example, picking a topic like Abraham Lincoln can fill up books. But for your students' purposes, they could narrow and focus the topic such as Abraham Lincoln's presidency or childhood. Show them how to use graphic organizers to narrow their topics (see Resources).
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2
Take students to the school library and show them how to find reliable sources in books, websites and magazines. Some students may want to get all their information from an encyclopedia. Talk with students about how encyclopedias can be one source for the report but they need to use other sources, too. Make sure to assign how many sources you want students to consult before they start writing.
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3
Show students how to cite their resources on index cards for note taking. You can use a piece of chart paper, turned horizontally, to instruct on this process. Use an actual source, such as a library book, and show students how to properly cite title, author, publisher and date. Discuss other sources and give them examples either on the chart paper or with a handout.
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Model taking notes from a resource, so students can see the process. Read a few sentences out loud and talk through how you would decide what to write down on your note card. Show students how to keep track of which source notes came from.
Organizing and Writing
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Instruct students to organize their note cards by subject matter. For example, if they are writing a research paper on endangered animals and their habitats, then they will have note cards about the animal's physical description, habitat, diet and why it's endangered. Students should organize their cards by these subjects with colored cards or by using highlighters, with different colors for each subject.
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Teach students to fill out an outline or other writing plan to organize their ideas for their research paper. Model how to create an outline from notes. On the outline, show them how to decide what information goes in the introductory paragraph, the body paragraphs and the conclusion paragraph.
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Show students how to take the ideas in the outline and the note cards and write a paragraph for their research paper. Remind students that they need to paraphrase the facts from their resources or quote them exactly with quotation marks. Discuss with students what should go in the introduction and conclusion paragraphs.
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Model for students how to create a bibliography page for the research paper. Use chart paper to create a sample page, which you can leave displayed in the room for students to use as a reference.
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Assign students peer buddies who can help them read through their work and check for any errors before students turn in their research papers.
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Tips & Warnings
After each step, allow students to practice the skill with their own research topic and paper.
Sometimes it is easier for students to write their body paragraphs first and then go back and write the introduction and conclusion paragraphs. You can instruct students on this strategy if it will help your students organize their thoughts.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit note card image by Richard Seeney from Fotolia.com
