Home  |  Blog  |  Power Listings 2  |  Advertise  |  Advertise More

Articles


How To Write A Research Paper the Advantageous Skill To Getting Your Engineering Scholarship

by Christina Jenkens

Having had the privilege of being an instructor for almost thirty years, and involved in teaching for more than 3 decades. During those years I have taught elementary, teens, college prep and most recently at the college level. For me, it was a constant challenge keeping learning fun, interactive and rewarding for each pupil. As my classes focused on older kids, making the gradual change from young to older, I noticed a common concern that each generation of kids became overwhelmed by: how to write a research paper.

Initially, I thought nothing of the reaction I received when asking for research papers to be completed. At first, I simply defined the usual groaning as a student's distaste in my love for take home work. But, what I was dismissing and defining as being disgruntled, actually had much more substance below the surface; these students were sometimes downright overwhelmed when they heard of an assigned "research paper".

Worry about the something outside their comfort zone, being buried in dusty books, and not having any idea how to brainstorm research paper ideas was frequent. college-age students envisioning a brick wall to climb, because they didn't know how to write a research paper, rarely truly believed me that in life's big picture, completing a writing assignment, even one that was ten to thirty pages long, was barely a grain of sand on a beach, compared to much more significant, life impacting events they'd eventually face as mature adults. Those consolations fell on a non-responsive audience most of the time.

Unable to look towards the bigger picture or the long view, their immediate challenge was a looming turn-in date that could only be met by participating in an activity they weren't interested in, that conflicted with their extracurricular activities or that made them uneasy facing unexplored territory: how to write a research paper, and do it right - not just to pass or fail, but measure up to the criteria that institutions of higher learning, hold in high value.

When I first began teaching at the college level I planned to give a full term assignment to write a research paper on a(n) subject of that particular student's most passionate hobby.

The dean of our department warned me that this would cause me more trouble than it was worth. He said that even at a university level, simply hearing that you have to write a research paper usually sent many students into a counter-productive funk.

Determined, I ignored his wise words and ventured into research paper neverland. The first day of the course I handed out the curriculum for the class. This included the name of the text book we would be using, the dates of the tests and the expectation that everyone would write a research paper.

I explained that the reviews as well as the participation in classroom discussions would be two thirds of the semester grade and the research paper would be the other 33%. I also mentioned that possessing those skills seriously would increase the likely hood to get a grant or scholarship. I handed out calendars and deadlines for the dissertation. I wanted the focus they chose as well as a rough synopsis completed in the first two weeks and then various progress reports throughout the course.

My outline and execution of my set schedule "forced" the paper to be done in small steps, rather than the typical giant one, when many students, kids or adults, sit down at the last minute and try to accomplish a semester's worth of work in one all-nighter. Unnecessary stress and nervousness in my mind. And with the fundamentals of how to effectively write a research paper completed in small chunks throughout the class, semester or year depending on curriculum and / or institution, initial stress about even the most simple part: research paper topics, seemed less and less a big deal.

Whether narrowing down a long catalog of passages formatted neat and succinctly summarizing research paper ideas, writing each necessary component, keeping each research paper properly formatted for a teacher who was known to be very picky about such fine points, or pacing themselves to guarantee term paper completion by the due date, when deconstructed into smaller parts, how to write a research paper fears slowly, but surely disappear. Look for the next article: Research Paper Ideas, the Easy Way - Finding Subject Matter That Wins Scholarships.

Thanks to several articles in regards to how to write a research paper minus the often over-rated alarm, certified Ron Smithers provides one of several, a lesson he gleaned from his inspiring days, showing how to pocket available cold, hard cash, because of a college scholarship . Next , so you to can find a scholarship for college students, on the the schooling site students have taken advantage of and that hands over free stuff to college students, and helps you untap funds with a federal consolidation loan program.

Published September 2nd, 2007

Filed in Finance





Home || Resources || Blogs