Homework Center – Writing Skills

How to Write a Research Paper

Establish Your Topic

1. Try to pick a topic that's fun and interesting. If your topic genuinely interests you, chances are you'll enjoy spending time working on it and it won't seem like a chore.
   
   
2. Finding a topic can be difficult. Give yourself plenty of time to read and think about what you'd like to do. Trying to answer questions you have about a particular subject may lead you to a good paper idea.
   
   
   • What subject(s) are you interested in?
   • What interests you most about a particular subject?
   • Is there anything you wonder about or are puzzled about with regard to that subject?
   
   
3. Once you have a topic, you will probably need to narrow it down to something more manageable. For example, say you are assigned to write a 10-page paper, and you decide to do it on Ancient Egypt. However, since Ancient Egypt is a big topic, and you only have a limited number of pages, you will have to focus on something more specific having to do with that topic.
   
   

   Too general:
   Ancient Egypt.

   Revised:
   The building of the pyramids of Ancient Egypt.

4. One method for coming up with a more specific focus is called brainstorming (or freewriting). Brainstorming is a useful way to let ideas you didn't know you had come to the surface.
   
   
   • Sit down with a pencil and paper, or at your computer, and write whatever comes into your head about your topic.
   • Keep writing for a short but specific amount of time, say 3–5 minutes. Don't stop to change what you've written or to correct spelling or grammar errors.
   • After a few minutes, read through what you've written. You will probably throw out most of it, but some of what you've written may give you an idea that can be developed.
   • Do some more brainstorming and see what else you can come up with.

Back: to the Beginning

Homework Center Home »

• Subjects:
  • Geography |
  • History |
  • Language Arts |
  • Mathematics |
  • Science |
  • Social Studies