Find a topic, form a plan

Before you do anything else you need to decide what you will write about in your term paper assignment. Your teacher may have given you a list of requirements; be sure to read these and get all your questions answered before you start working.

You also need to know what kind of term paper your teacher wants. Examples of common types of papers can be found at the A+ Research and Writing site maintained by the Internet Public Library (IPL).

Term papers typically fall into categories such as:

• Research paper
• Essay
• Argumentative or persuasive essay
• Compare and contrast
• Narrative essays

Next, examine the possible topics that you can write about. A great site for researching topics is Questia, the premier online research and paper-writing tool for students. One helpful text is Shortcuts for the Student Writer by Jay Silverman, Elaine Hughes, and Diana Roberts Wienbroer.

The authors suggest that, once you’ve found your topic, you make a list of main points that might be in your paper along with any details that come to mind. Then start grouping the ideas into categories. You can do this easily with a computer or by hand with index cards.

“Then make a new list with the related points grouped together. Decide which idea is most important and cross out ideas or details that do not relate to it. Arrange your points so that each will lead up to the next. Be sure each section of your essay has examples or facts to strengthen your ideas.”

Freewriting

Teachers don’t just want you to repeat what others have said; they want to know what you have to say. A helpful technique to get you started is called freewriting. Here’s how it works. You set yourself a goal of writing non-stop for 10 minutes jotting down:

• What you know about the topic
• What interests you about the topic
• What questions you have about the topic

The questions you have will help form the backbone of your term paper and will give you a focus for your research.

Allen Brizee described a freewriting process that he called “prewriting” in his June 8, 2011 post for the Purdue Online Writing Lab titled, “Introduction to Prewriting (Invention).” To help get your ideas flowing Brizee suggested, “Brainstorm. Gather as many good and bad ideas, suggestions, examples, sentences, false starts, etc. as you can. Perhaps some friends can join in. Jot down everything that comes to mind, including material you are sure you will throw out. Be ready to keep adding to the list at odd moments as ideas continue to come to mind.”

Writing the introduction

It’s easy to get writer’s block, especially if you try to write your paper from beginning to end. Oddly enough, it’s easier to write the introduction to your term paper at the end of the process at the same time you write your conclusion. The purpose of your introduction is to, well, introduce what you’re going to say in your paper. You can do that best after you have already written the body of the paper.

Writing the introduction and conclusion at the same time allows you to:

• Introduce your topic and tell your reader what they will learn by reading your paper
• Summarize and bring together all of your main points in your conclusion where you will echo the promises that you made in your introduction.

The Cambridge Rindge & Latin School (CRLS) Research Guide has several Tip Sheets with advice for writing papers. Regarding the introduction, the writers said, “Start with a couple of sentences that introduce your topic to your reader. You do not have to give too much detailed information; save that for the body of your paper. Make these sentences as interesting as you can. Through them, you can hook a reader and get them very interested in the line of thinking you are going to develop in your project.”

At this point you have your intro and conclusion along with a list of main points to expand on. Now that your juices are flowing, you can complete the body of your paper with style and confidence.

When students were asked who they turn to first for trustworthy academic advice, a whopping 61 percent said it was a professor. When asked who their college mentor is, 46 percent said it was also a professor. It looks like students put a lot of trust in their instructors, but do students take their advice on study and research?

When it comes to researching a term paper, the majority of instructors recommend spending 1-3 hours researching in the library and 4-6 hours of researching online. Surprisingly, students agree! However, when it comes to starting the term paper, it sounds like students and instructors aren’t quite on the same page. While 52 percent of instructors recommend starting the very day it’s assigned, 46 percent of students start a few weeks before the due date, 33 percent start one week before the due date and 5 percent don’t begin until the night before!

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<div align="center"><a title="College Study Habits Infographic" href="http://blog.questia.com/2012/08/college-study-habits-are-students-and-instructors-on-the-same-page/?utm_source=pr&utm_medium=pressrelease&utm_campaign=shrelaunch" target="_blank"><img src="http://blog.questia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Study-Habits-Infographic.png" alt="College Study Habits Infographic" width="500 border="0"/></a><br/>Via <a title="Q&A: Research paper tips from Questia" href="http://blog.questia.com/2012/08/college-study-habits-are-students-and-instructors-on-the-same-page/?utm_source=pr&utm_medium=pressrelease&utm_campaign=shrelaunch" target="_blank"> Q&A: Research paper tips from Questia</a></div> <p><br/>

Take a look at the finalists and visit Questia’s Facebook page to read why students nominated them and cast your vote on Monday. Your vote could make the difference!

1. Dr. Ashley Mears, Sociology at Boston University
2. Julia Corine-Barnes, Spanish at Berry College, Georgia
3. Dr. Jamie Ward, Communications at University of Michigan-Dearborn
4. Dr. Patrick McCauley, Religious Studies at Chestnut Hill College, Pennsylvania
5. Kenneth Cherry, Marketing at Central Michigan University
6. Jeannie Harmon, Child Development at Santa Rosa Junior College, California
7. Dr. Michael Anders, Music at University of Findlay, Ohio
8. Daniel L. Lemisch, Criminal Justice at Henry Ford Community College, Michigan
9. Dave Miller, Mathematics at Queens College, City University of New York
10. Mike Eddy, Film at Century College, Minnesota
11. Dr. Ralene Mitschler, Biology at McDaniel College, Maryland

Why should you vote? The professor with the most votes will win the title of MVP, and the best part—Questia, the online research tool for students, will create three $2,500 scholarships in the MVP’s name. Three scholarship opportunities for students, it doesn’t get much cooler than that!

College study habits

As we continued to receive nominations for sensational professors across the country, we also took the time to survey 1,000 students and instructors on everything from study and research habits to relationship building with faculty. We knew that professors were substantial influencers in students’ lives, but these results may surprise you!

When students were asked who they turn to first for trustworthy academic advice, a whopping 61 percent said it was a professor. When asked who their college mentor is, 46 percent said it was also a professor. It looks like students put a lot of trust in their instructors, but do students take their advice on study and research?

When it comes to researching a term paper, the majority of instructors recommend spending 1-3 hours researching in the library and 4-6 hours of researching online. Surprisingly, students agree! However, when it comes to starting the term paper, it sounds like students and instructors aren’t quite on the same page. While 52 percent of instructors recommend starting the very day its assigned, 46 percent of students start a few weeks before the due date, 33 percent start one week before the due date and 5 percent don’t begin until the night before!

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Via Q&A

Where to begin

Unless your teacher gives you a definite topic, the hardest part of your research project may be your choice of subject. Not to worry. You can review dozens of great history topics and the resources to develop them at Questia, the world’s largest online library.

Some History topics include:

• Holocaust films
• History of voting
• History of Education
• Historical Jesus

An example of one of the many history texts at Questia is A History of the Dollar by Arthur Nussbaum. Regarding the use of money in colonial America, Nussbaum said, “While money represents an outstanding factor in American history, it is a curious fact that at the beginning of the colonial period there was perhaps less money in circulation than in any other civilized community of the Western world. The small amounts which the settlers had brought with them from England were soon expended for English imports. Hence the settlers resorted to barter.”

Get the best of history

A gateway website is a central location on the web where you can begin a search and then branch off to other sites. One such site for history buffs is the Best of History Websites. Once you’re there, you can begin to narrow your search according to the period of history that interests you. The many categories include:

• Prehistory
• Ancient/Biblical history
• Medieval history
• American history

Within American History you can branch off into periods such as the Civil War and topics such as Women’s history. If you follow the topic of history in the 1800s you can explore the Civil War and the period after the war known as Reconstruction. You will learn about events of the day by reading documents and newspapers published at the time. One such publication, Harper’s Weekly, covered the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson.

“Harper’s Weekly portrayed in everyday detail to its readers of 1865-1869 the current events, issues and personalities that were central to Reconstruction and the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. Among the Harper’s Weekly materials on this Website are 27 political cartoons, as well as 47 news articles, briefs, and explanations of some of the 34 illustrations. There are also 90 editorials and an index.”

Your tax dollars at work

You can’t go wrong with the Library of Congress website. Its vast collections include videos, maps, sound recordings, manuscripts, documents and photos on topics ranging from American History to World History and Cultures. Among its many treasures are the Online Resources Guides, especially the guide to the Presidents of the United States.

Follow the links related to Abraham Lincoln and you’ll reach the section related to his famous Gettysburg Address where you can see an image of the handwritten speech and a photograph of the president as he gave his speech on November 19, 1863. Continue to explore the many links available and you’ll find all kinds of historical tidbits including this note about the Gettysburg Address: “Of the five known manuscript copies of the Gettysburg Address, the Library of Congress has two. President Lincoln gave one of these to each of his two private secretaries, John Nicolay and John Hay. The other three copies of the Address were written by Lincoln for charitable purposes well after November 19.”

Other resources for history term papers

The Vanderbilt Central Library hosts an entire page of Resources for History that includes Internet directories, libraries, archives, and selected papers related to U.S., Asian, European, African American, and Latin American history.

A Hypertext on American History from Colonial Period Until Modern Times is a work in progress where contributors add documents, essays and biographies related to American history. You’ll find the text of presidential speeches, treaties and other documents such as the Constitution of the Confederate States of America (1861).

Spartacus Educational allows you to plumb the depths of such topics as: slavery, Nazi Germany, The Roman World and famous crimes.

Maintained by Tufts University, the Perseus Digital Library contains collections including Greek and Roman, Arabic, Renaissance and Germanic materials.