Bit & Rudder

Homeschool Writing Made Easy

Research

Ep #15 Research Papers Part 3

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Ep #15 Research Papers Part 3

Today’s episode is the last of three parts in the Research Papers series. Be sure to listen to Part 1 and Part 2 first because they lay the groundwork for today’s discussion.

In this episode, I share with you

  • the essential prewriting step that makes writing the rough draft nearly effortless
  • how to craft effective introductions, conclusions, and body paragraphs
  • the importance of embedding research within the flow of your writing
  • one key mistake that students often make on their works cited page and how to correct it
  • plus a whole lot of examples from a model student paper so that you can “see” what I’m talking about

This is another meaty episode with a wealth of information. You probably will want to take notes, and you’ll also want to grab the free Research Paper Checklist to help you remember the steps and stay organized.

Links Mentioned

Research Paper Checklist
OWL (Online Writing Lab at Purdue)

Peer Editing Guide for Research Papers

Grading Rubric 

Example of How to Use the Grading Rubric

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Ep #14 Research Papers Part 2

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Ep #14 Research Papers Part 2

As promised, this week’s episode is Part 2 of how to teach a research paper.

I know as a homeschool parent, I was very concerned about making sure my own children were prepared for college writing. Being able to write a successful research paper was one crucial component, and I am sharing with you the steps I use in my classes year after year to make this process a whole lot easier. In Part 1, I talked about choosing a topic, developing a working thesis statement, and finding credible sources. You should listen to that episode first if you haven’t already.

In this week’s episode, I share with you

  • the best website for students to use for everything related to citations and documentation style
  • why many students may be guilty of plagiarism without even knowing it AND how to avoid plagiarism
  • how to know whether or not a source needs to be cited (and what it means to cite a source!)
  • several systems for notetaking and helping students keep their research notes organized

This is another meaty episode with a wealth of information. You probably will want to take notes, and you’ll also want to grab the free Research Paper Checklist to help you remember the steps and stay organized.

Click here to get the free Research Paper Checklist.

I will be wrapping up this topic next week as I teach you how to help students integrate their research to produce stellar research papers. Until then, have a marvelous week.

Links Mentioned

Research Paper Checklist
OWL (Online Writing Lab at Purdue)

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Ep #13 Research Papers Part 1

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Ep #13 Research Papers Part 1

As a homeschool parent teaching your high school student to write, what would you say is your top concern? If you said anything related to writing a research paper, then I have some good news for you. 

First, you are not alone: research writing makes the “Top Ten” list of concerns that homeschool parents have about writing (this is based on a list compiled by ChatGPT).

And second, this week’s episode was created with you in mind as I’m answering all your questions, or at least a lot of them, about how to teach a research paper. 

 In this episode, I discuss

·         Why learning to write a research paper is so important

·         How to choose a topic and construct a working thesis statement

·         Why you need credible sources and where to find them (NEWS FLASH: Wikipedia is NOT a credible source!)

 If you’re like, wait a second, I also need to know how to teach notetaking and citing sources, so where’s that information? No worries, I’ll be talking about those topics and so much more over the next two weeks. The topic of research papers was too BIG and IMPORTANT to cram into one episode (or even two!) 

 To go along with this three-part series, I have created a free resource for you that you might want to download ahead of time. It is a roadmap to the research process, and you can use it to jot down notes as well as your own ideas as you listen to this episode. 

 I won’t pretend that research writing is easy, but I can assure that following my step-by-step process will make it a lot less overwhelming. 

Links:

Research Paper Checklist

List of current events topics

“Five Must-Have Google Search Tips for Students”

Find It Virginia Explora Libraries Database

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