Developing a research project in the academic classroom is a great way to practice this process — it can be used in preparation to apply these skills in higher learning and future careers.  Noticing a problem, creating a research question, looking for sources from credible sources, and organizing that material through synthesis with your own stance all work together as you develop a research project.

• When developing a research project, it’s important to make sure you understand the assignment from the beginning.  Consider the purpose of the assignment, consider your perspective on the topic, find the verbs and action items, identify the deliverables, and make a plan.
• The steps to writing a research paper include prewriting (with strategies such as brainstorming, mind mapping, free writing, and outlining), researching, drafting, revising, and editing.
• The first draft doesn’t have to be flawless, the full length of the essay requirement (yet), or perfectly organized. The next draft(s) you write will include your original content and, now, the outside information and sources. The point of the last draft is to ensure all the corrections are in place, requirements are met, and your best foot is forward.
• When reaching out to the instructor on a research project, be sure your questions are specific and directed. Your questions can also be answered through peer review and feedback or by asking someone at the writing center or campus library.
• A Backward Design approach has you begin with the end goal of your paper, which means that you start by developing a clear sense of what you want your reader to know or realize by the end of your paper.
• Often, the audience of an essay isn’t a real group of actual readers; it’s a constructed or imagined audience based on a set of assumptions. This constructed audience is usually understood as typical, interested, educated readers.
• An effective argument will have a balance of ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos (think ethics) is an appeal to the character or credibility of the speaker or writer, pathos (think empathy) appeals to the emotions of the audience, and logos (think logic) uses a well-reasoned argument to appeal to your audience’s logical side.
• Academic writers build on what other academic writers have already written, cite all content or ideas that originated from another author, build arguments with evidence, write with authority, assume that others will disagree with their argument, and use discipline-specific phrasing and vocabulary.
• When writing a research paper, the main thing you need to worry about is that your scope isn’t too broad or too narrow.
• The goal of preliminary research is to refine and focus your research question, which should be interesting, relevant, nuanced, and clear.  This can be accomplished by skimming a variety of sources, listing subtopics that fall under your main topic, thinking of research questions for subtopics, considering the scope of research for each, and repeating these steps if the scope is still too large.