Research Papers
Why do people write research papers?
Why do I need to learn to write a
research paper?
Research Papers
People write research papers to further
the study of a particular topic. For
example, in science, a scientist might
write a research paper on the effects of
feeding mice genetically engineered
corn. Someone studying the effects of
feeding humans genetically engineered
corn would most certainly be interested
in the research paper on mice.
Research Papers
Another example would be an English
professor researching and writing about how
Jonathan Swift was influenced by the political
climate in England during the 1700’s. This
professor would read historical papers,
political science papers, other literature
papers along with Swift’s writings to develop
a point in which he or she would prove in the
research paper. This paper would be of
interest to anyone studying Jonathan Swift.
Research Papers
Another reason people write research papers
is to help another person working in a field.
For example, many of your teachers read
research papers to find the best way to do
things. For example, a teacher might read
about how to help students develop better
listening skills, improve reading
comprehension, or feel better about going to
school.
Research Papers
At this point, you may be
thinking…Well, that is great for adults.
But I am just a kid. Why would I want
to concern myself with writing a
research paper? I don’t have anything
to contribute to a field of study! Plus, it
just all seems so confusing to me.
Research Papers
There are several reasons that students
benefit from writing research papers.
1. You will learn to avoid plagiarism. I
will expand on this more later, but if
you plagiarize in college, you can get
kicked out. The sooner you learn how
to write without plagiarizing, the better.
Research Papers
2. Writing research papers will help you learn
a lot about a topic. You will spend time
reading what other people think or have
discovered about whatever topic you are
studying. You will take this information and
put it in a paper. Not only will this help you
improve your comprehension of a topic, you
will be less likely to forget what you have
comprehended.
Research Papers
3. You will also improve your overall writing
skills. Because you will have to back your
point up with facts, you will especially
develop your persuasive writing ability.
Writing skills are becoming increasingly
recognized as important. You have to
demonstrate your writing ability on tests like
the ISAT (jr. high), Prairie State Exam (high
school), Writing Competency Test (college),
GRE (graduate school), MCAT (medical
school)…the list goes on and on!
Research Papers
4. If your paper is selected for the
internet, other students will be reading
your paper. Just like a scientist would
be interested in another scientist’s
research—other students will be
interested in your research!
Research Papers
5. Learning how to write a research paper
isn’t easy. But, it is better to have someone
teach it to you in a step-by-step process, than
have to figure it out for yourself. Most likely,
you will be writing research papers in high
school, and most certainly you will be writing
them in college. If you understand the basic
concepts now, that will be one less thing you
will have to worry about.
Research Papers
As if the other four reasons aren’t
reasons enough…
6. You want to get a good grade in
language arts!