Scope and Focus of Good Writing

The Lesson Activities will help you meet these educational goals:

21st Century Skills—You will use critical thinking and problem solving skills and communicate effectively.

Directions

Pleasesave this document before you begin working on the assignment. Type your answers directly in the document. ______

Self-CheckedActivities

Read the instructions for the following activities and type in your responses. These self-checked activities have no sample answers, as they depend on your personal experience. Keep in mind that you will benefit most by answering questions thoroughly and honestly.

Furthermore, the tasks in this activity will contribute to the research paper you will submit at the end of the course.

  1. Understanding the Scope of the Assignment

Think about how you’ll plan your time so that you can devote the appropriate time to each stage of writing the research paper.

  1. Describe your plan for organizing your time for the research paper. You can refer to a time management tool as a guide.

Type your response here:

  1. As you progress through the lesson, begin the process of writing a research paper by first brainstorming some possible ideas. Brainstorm using a variety of methods: list, cluster, outline, free writing, etc. Identify which method you will use.

Type your response here:

  1. To generate possible topics, you may want to consider these questions:
  • What personal experiences have you enjoyed during your high school years?
  • What news stories or current events are you drawn to investigate further?
  • Would you be interested in learning more about a topic that has been covered in one of your classes?
  • Is there a hot topic of interest in the field that you are considering entering after high school?

These questions are merely a starting point, so don’t limit yourself to them. Brainstorm a list of ideas for possible topics. Your ideas can be as broad or as narrow as you want—you will refine your choice in the following activities.

Type your response here:

  1. Determining Your Topic

Think about the ideas and topics you have listed. As you review your list, you may notice that some of your ideas seem like good research topics, while others are less likely to make the cut. That’s OK, because the next step is to focus on one topic that you think will have the potential for a good research paper. Use the following questions to narrow your list of ideas.

  1. Which topics interest you the most?

Type your response here:

  1. What is the purpose of your writing? Are there topics listed that may not fit the purpose of this research paper?

Type your response here:

  1. Which topics do you have some prior experience with?

Type your response here:

  1. In the space below, list two or three promising topics. Why do you think the topicsare promising?

Type your response here:

  1. What is your topic?

Type your response here:

  1. Determining Your Thesis

Think carefully about your topic and create a cohesive thesis statement to reflect the work that you have accomplished.

Type your thesis statement here:

  1. Does your thesis statement cover the entire main idea? Explain your response.

Type your response here:

  1. Does it show the reader that you have thought through your topic? Explain your response.

Type your response here:

For the tasks below, locate a paper you have previously written,or choose an article online or from a newspaper.

  1. What was the thesis statement? If it doesn’t have one, write a thesis statement for that paper.

Type your response here:

  1. Does the thesis statement explain “why” and “how”?

Type your response here:

  1. Creating a Working Outline

When writing your outline, is one idea similar to or different from another? Is one a cause of another? An effect? An example? Is one idea the solution to another? Use these questions to help you think through your ideas and come up with a logical plan. This plan then becomes your outline. Insert your working outline here.

Type your response here:

  1. Follow-Up

What obstacles or questions did you encounter while working through these activities and developing your research paper? What outcomes resulted from this lesson that you felt were positive? Provide a response in paragraph form on each topic below.

Type your response here:

Note:Your work in these activities is important. It will serve as a basis for the course as you strive to improve your study habits. Keep your responses to these activities on hand so that you can reflect on them as you progress through the course. You may also need to refer to your responses as part of activities that you will submit to your teacher. Take some time to review your answers to ensure that they are complete.

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