SELECT A RESEARCH TOPIC

• Write about something that is important to you and allow plenty of time to think about it.
• Familiarize yourself on the issue through newspaper articles, books, the internet and talking with others.
• Document all the resources and include them in your bibliography.
• Be creative in how you write about the topic.

DRAFT AN OUTLINE

• Organize your thoughts and think about the flow of the paper.
• Back up your position or arguments through concrete examples.

FIRST DRAFT

• Have a teacher, librarian, friend or parent review your first draft.
• Have them pay special attention to the organization of the paper, the supporting details and elements that don’t make sense to them.
• Update your bibliography.

EDIT

• Have a teacher, librarian, classmate or parent review your paper for mechanics (grammar, spelling, punctuation).

FINAL DRAFT

• Read the paper out loud.
• Make sure that the paper explains the topic and gives concrete examples of how it is pertinent to you and your community.

FINISHED PRODUCT

·         Relax! Know that you have done your best on your research paper and it is ready to submit.