About two weeks ago my son, Joey, was assigned a research paper. He did not have a clue where to start. He said that in all his years at Analy High School no teacher taught him how to do a research paper. As much as I am reluctant to walk my students through all of the steps necessary for a good research paper, I am beginning one with my sophomores today. We have just finished reading Black Boy and I will let them choose topics that deal with civil rights or African American History. Today they will look at different kinds of references, touch on how to evaluate articles, and give them an overview of the process for the next two weeks.
It has made me think about writing a book on writing a research paper, something to do in my spare time. I visited a couple of book stores over the weekend and didn't find a satisfactory book. There are some good Internet sources such as http://www.aresearchguide.com/ and http://www.virtualsalt.com/. But book that gives a step by step process that would help a student like my son, would be the best.
Today I have put up a time line for the next two weeks. Today they will create a reference on an index card as a first step. The librarian will give them a little talk on different kinds of sources and they will come up with a tentative topic. On Thursday they must have their topic honed down, an extended bibliography by Monday, a typed outline by Tuesday, index cards filled out by Thursday and a first draft due the following Monday.
I'll keep you posted.
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