Mom’s crash course in writing a research paper
Posted on October 29, 2007 in I Need A Lint Roller for These Warm Fuzzies by DM
When you’re in 12th grade and you have to write a research paper, chances are you’ve progressed through the grades and learned all about finding sources, gleaning relevant quotes from sources, writing a bibliography, etc. But what do you do when you’re in 8th grade and you’re taking 12th grade government, and you have to write a research paper, and you’ve never learned the mechanics of it? In our family, you go to Professor Mom who will gladly spend a few hours giving you a crash course that includes helpful tips such as:
- How to get better results from a Google search (hint: quotation marks and “likely phrases”!)
- How to spot a credible source (Hmmm… Amnesty International position paper, or Mom’s snarky political blog?)
- Why NOT to rely on Wikipedia, even though it’s prominent in nearly every Google search
- How to get Mom back on track when she starts ranting (again) about media bias
- How to pick a relevant quote from your chosen source material
- How to “set up” a first reference in your text.
- How to write a bibliography.
- How to multi-task (”Start a pot roast while researching ‘human rights in Iraq’!”)
- When to say to Mom, “Okay thanks, I can take it from here.”
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