Pre-Research
Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School Library
These sheets will help you organize your assignment (and yourself) to prepare for
researching. Feel free to print them out and mark them up.
“Action is the foundational key to all success.”
- Pablo Picasso
Step 1
Understand Your Assignment
What is the format: brochure, slideshow, essay, etc.?
What is the purpose: explanation, description, persuasive, etc.?
What are the details: length, audience, evaluation method, etc.?
What are the required resources and sources: newspapers, books, articles?
What is your timeline: outline, first draft, etc. due dates?
Step 2
Schedule and Track Your Time
Create a chart to figure out when you need things done.
Colour or decorate it to make it fun to look at (no one likes a boring calendar).
Give yourself small rewards (!) when you meet your self-imposed due dates.
Track your working habits by writing down when and how long you worked on your project.
Example schedule:
Planned Date
Monday
Jan 6th
Wed.
Jan 9th
Saturday
Jan 12th
Sunday
Jan 13th
Tuesday
Jan 15th
Wed.
Jan 16th
Thursday
Jan 17th
Friday
Jan 18th
Planned activity
Find
sources
Create
/gather
notes
Organize
project
Create
first draft
Edit and
correct
Have
friend
edit
Finalize
DUE
DATE
Jan 7
2hrs
Jan 9!
3 hrs
Jan 13
1 hrs
Jan 13!
2 hrs
Jan 14
1 hrs
Jan 16!
30 min
Jan 17!
30 min
DONE!
(yes!)
Date completed and
time spent working
You can change this schedule to reflect a longer or shorter time line; maybe your
assignment will be due in a month, or a weekend: plan according to your due dates!
February 2012
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Pre-Research
Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School Library
Step 3
Explore A Topic – Pre-Research
This step is important when you read through some general books, articles, or information about a
topic. It is to help you get a better understanding of what you might be interested in writing about,
presenting on, or discussing.
Brainstorm:
What do you know?
What do you want to find out?
Develop keywords:
What are important words about your topic?
What words are used most often when talking or reading about your topic?
Resources:
What kind of resources will be good for your topic?
Where will you find the best resources?
Record any information that is relevant to your topic that you think might be helpful to you during
research.
February 2012
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Pre-Research
Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School Library
Step 4
Develop Quality Questions about Your Topic
Start with the 5 W’s (and 1 H):
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?
Develop questions that allow you to think deeper about the topic. They should be more
descriptive than the 5 W’s.
Think about the people or persons involved. What is their background information,
their connection with each other, the event, or issue, and why are they important?
Think about the event or situation. What were the causes, the results, and could it be
avoided or duplicated?
Think about the history. What were the inspirations, the reservations, the hardships or
difficulties that lead to the result?
Further develop important questions that will help you understand your topic and assignment.
Use words like WILL, CAN, COULD, MIGHT, WOULD, SHOULD with your 5 W’s.
Developing quality questions allows you to focus and inform your research.
Being prepared before your start your assignment means you will be better prepared
during researching.
February 2012
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