by Kathleen Gilligan

Created on: December 04, 2007   Last Updated: January 01, 2008

Tips for making your research papers stand out:

Picture this: it's 10:00 at night and your teacher has been grading papers all day. He finally picks up yours. He might have read some really great ones, or he might have read consistently bad ones. He's tired of seeing the same old topics. Don't you want him to really read your paper, and give you a great grade? Here are a couple of tips for making your research papers stand out.

Don't pick a topic that is so terribly controversial. Like the debate topics here at Helium, when you choose a side, you need to argue it. If you pick a controversial topic, you run the risk of several things happening. One is that the teacher may be completely on the other side of the debate, in which case he starts out against you and is biased when reading your paper. This can lead to him taking points off for things he doesn't agree with. On the other hand, when writing about a controversial topic (such as abortion, gun rights, homosexuality etc) you run the chance of coming off too preachy. Instead of adding well thought out arguments to your paper, you begin to add too much of your personal thought. It's best to avoid the controversial topics.

Don't pick a topic that is the same as another student's. One time my teacher gave four books to choose from and told us to write a research paper on one of them. Out of a class of twenty four students, twenty two chose the same book. I was one of the other two who chose a different one. I got a great grade. If you choose a topic that more than one student is doing, when the teacher reads it, he will be comparing your paper to the other students' papers. Not only that, he'll be so tired of reading about the same topic that he'll probably not really want to read it and be in a bad mood. Because he's in a bad mood, he'll start marking off on things that he didn't mark off on earlier. You can avoid this entirely by choosing a topic that isn't like any topic your classmates pick.

Don't pick a topic that is common, pick one that is different and really will make your readers think. This goes along with what was mentioned above. My teacher just assigned a research paper and students picked topics like: "Television and Young Children" and "The Effects of Global Warming". My teacher was okay with those, but he really liked it when a student stepped out of the box and chose a topic that wasn't an issue today. That student picked "The Cause of Death for Alexander the Great." The point is that the teacher has seen tons of papers on global warming and young children watching television. He hasn't seen many to do with Alexander the Great. Which do you think he'd rather read?

As for the body of the paper itself, there are a few things you can do to make it stand out. One is to start your paper with a hook. Elementary school teachers try to teach their students about the hook, but it doesn't necessarily stick. Start your paper off in a creative and fun way. It needs to be something that will get the teacher's attention. Perhaps he's flipping through papers. What will make him stop and look at yours? Keep in mind that creative and fun doesn't mean off topic or vulgar. In your conclusion, don't write the words "in conclusion". Teachers see this time after time, and in no way does it impress them. Find a better way to sum up your argument and indicate that you are ending your paper.

Stick to these tips and your paper will really stand out amongst the many, many, many other papers your teacher will be reading! Good luck.

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