Welcome to the second episode in "Research Without Fears." This episode treats the topic 'approaching your research paper.' I'm spending a whole episode on how to do your research paper in terms of attitude because in my extensive experience starting right is really the key to success, not only for a research paper, but for a relationship, or for a job or whatever. If you start well, it's quite likely that things will go well. If you don't start so well, it's really hard to recover and that's really true in the research paper process where there is very little time for procrastination or getting things wrong, and where errors at the beginning kind of build up to be more and more important as you go through the process. So let's start right. In this video I'm going to suggest that there are seven steps to doing the whole thing successfully. So if you're outlining, you might want to get ready for seven steps. But we're going to divide them chronologically, this is going to be chronological, into before you get the assignment, once you get the assignment, and then as you're working on your paper. So the first step happens well before you get the assignment, and and that could be right now, and that's to think about your attitude. Sometimes students have had very widely different experiences with doing research papers. They've had high expectations or they've had teachers who had low expectations, or they just don't like the different expectations that they get in my class. It's all to help you learn and help you adjust to some different ways of doing things. And then in your next class you can use whatever methods you like. But hopefully you'll come into this research paper with a really positive attitude that you're going to learn something and you're gonna do some new things, but maybe they'll really help you. And many students have told me they end up adopting some of the methods that I suggested. So check your attitude. Before you get the assignment, also think about you know,why you're here and think about being open to learning and trying new things Because openness is really a big part of being young I would say, being in college, and learning through your life whatever age you are.

And finally another thing to think about is embracing new skills and new ways of doing things. You may actually find that you like something new better than what you used to do the old way. Secondly let's talk about what happens when you actually get the assignment. It's very important that you make sure that you understand the assignment really well. Sometimes I go too fast. Sometimes you just space out for part of it, or there's just something that you've never encountered before. So ask questions in class the day that you get the assignment or anytime after that to be sure that you really understand everything. It's especially important if you miss any class because I often talk about the research project at the beginning or in the middle class and if you come in late or if you've been absent, it's very critical to make sure that you know everything that has been said, because a lot can be developed right there in class. And also look through all the paperwork that I give you, because I give you a packet, to be sure that all your questions were answered. And really keep that packet close. Don't let that packet get away. The third step is to make sure that the topic you want to research is approved by me. I'm usually pretty open and I want you to do something that interests you, but once in a while we run into a topic that I don't think is a great idea, either because somebody in the past has tried it and it's been difficult or because it just doesn't really fit what I'm trying to get you to do. So make sure that I've okayed the topic before you invest a lot of time and energy into that research. The fourth step, now we're getting to after you receive the assignment, is a really important step and it involves getting and using a calendar.

So procure a calendar. Fill-in every deadline due date. Those are all on the assignment sheet usually. And then work backward from each date to build in enough time to do the research and whatever kind of writing or listing or preparation is going to be required on that due date. You want to schedule time also to meet with me during my office hours. Or if you can't make my office hours, we can talk about alternative times. And you also probably want to get help from the Writing Center which is really great on teaching students MLA style and all the other skills that you need for research. The fifth step for doing a great job approaching your assignment well is to keep your material organized. I can't tell you how many times I've had students do a good job on the research but then present it in a very disorganized way. So the best way to keep that from happening is to prevent it by being well organized from the start. So that, in my class, probably means investing in notecards, making sure that you have your outline front-and-center all the time that you're working on your paper, so that you can keep referring to it, knowing at all times what sources on your works cited list you're using and which ones need to be taken off. So keeping things organized is really important. The sixth step to having a successful research paper and approaching it well, is to choose a topic that you love. I'm really not here to torture you. I would really like you to do something that you enjoy and that you get some personal meaning and personal satisfaction from doing. So if you can choose a topic that you connect to in some way and of course that's going to be different in different classes for different assignments, I'm all in favor of that and I will work with you to help you find that perfect topic. The seventh step is to look at the model that I provide. In just about every class I have good past work by students that gives you a sense of what a great paper looks like and how a student used evidence, how a student use the work cited in how a student organized and wrote the paper so that it really was successful.

So take advantage of that. Take a little time and go online to look at those because they're really there to help you do better.