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When you are assigned a research project, your teacher expects you to explore a topic that you never have before or expand your knowledge on a subject. If you view this as the opportunity that it is, you can make your experience a lot better. Instead of seeing your project as intimidation, follow this guide to break it up into manageable steps.

Choose a Topic

The topic for your project will greatly influence how enthusiastic you are about writing it. Choose a subject that interests you and then pick your topic accordingly. Before you finalize your topic, find some basic information. This will give you an idea of how much information is available so you can broaden or narrow your topic to fit within the project guidelines. .

Find Credible Information

If you are looking for information on the Internet, you must be cautionary of inaccurate or otherwise unreliable information. The most credible websites typically have a web address ending in an extension like .gov (government), .edu (educational), or .org (organization). You could also head to a brick-and-mortar library to research.

Write a Thesis Statement

Once you have compiled all the information from your sources, you should have an idea of what you will be writing about. A thesis statement is typically one sentence, though it may be two for lengthier project. It will give the reader information on what will be covered in the paper and your purpose for writing about it. You may find it helpful to write your thesis statement across your outline and the top of your rough draft, so you can refer to it periodically and keep yourself on track.

Create a Solid Outline

When students are in a hurry, they may be tempted to skip over the outline to save time. This backfires, since it will be harder to write your rough draft (and take more time) without the outline. To create an outline, write at least one main topic for each paragraph. This should relate back to your main topic. Then, write a few to several supporting details that fall under the main topic of each paragraph. Now, take your outline and put specific details in it from your notes. Adding this extra step will allow you to write the first draft almost completely from the outline.

Write Your Project Draft

The good news is that if you have your outline with all your notes in place, writing the first draft is a breeze. Your entire paper is already in order, as well as the information that will be put in each section. You just have to turn it into sentences.


Like you should never skip the outlining stage, you should never skip proofreading your work. Regardless of how great you think the first draft is, nobody is perfect. There is a possibility that you made errors or that one point seems to be out of place. Read through twice, focusing on ideas and organization the first time and then on spelling, grammar, and sentence flow the second time.

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