How to Avoid the Research Writing Scream

Do you look at your course syllabus, see a research assignment, and cringe? Do you scream at the thought of finding a topic, doing research, citing sources, and writing a paper?

The Research Paper Scream!

If so, follow these 10 easy research steps and use your panic adrenalin to get it done.  Here’s how: 

1. Open your calendar and schedule the time you need to do all the steps below
2. Find a topic that interests you and do preliminary research to see if there is credible, academic research about the topic:

• Use Credo Database & Academic Search Premier (EBSCO Host) for an overview of your topic. Narrow your search down by selecting peer reviewed articles, full-text, and year span (last 5 years):

3. Use this organizational system to keep track of your research:

• Select “email” article in the database. Write an email subject heading: course title and several words of the article’s title, to find this research for now and future classes
• Check full-text article, make certain to check APA citation
• Keep track of all sources by keeping an ongoing APA References page from the start of your research, deleting references not used in the paper before submission 

4. Decide upon a topic and thesis that includes a topic, claim, and main ideas: 

5. Use your main ideas as areas to back up with research. Outlining and mind mapping will help you with this step:

Making an Outline

• When using the Credo mind map, take note of the names of the subheadings that pop-up and use them for further searching. Pull down the arrow next to “basic search” to find mind map:

6. Be flexible with your thesis and main ideas as you learn more about the topic, change accordingly, and use at least one reference for each main idea you discuss. Be certain to paraphrase, summarize, or directly quote the research to give credit to the researchers’ hard work and avoid plagiarism:

7. Draft your paper, rewrite, let it sit, read it out loud, make corrections, revise, use Grammarly, edit, and rewrite, understanding that the writing is a process that is hard for everyone:

8. Be certain to make APA easy by using an APA Template

9. Use the correct intext citation and References formatting:

APA In-Text Citations and References

10. Stop screaming. Ask your professor, librarian, classmate, or friend for help you. Go to the 
Traveling Writing Teacher or the  Purdue Online Writing Center. Finally, remember that research and writing require growth mindset and Nike resolution: Just Do It!

Watching Instructional Videos

“Of course, instructional videos will help me improve my learning,” you say. “Really, I ask?” I ask this because, until recently, I never watched instructional videos. I always thought, “I know how to do this.” However, that was not the case. I would spend hours trying to figure out how to do something that I could have learned in three minutes of watching a “How to” video. Stubborn: that’s what I am. Confess: You do this too!!!!!

Now I watch instructional videos. For example, as an online writing professor, I must figure out how to use the learning management system for teaching, BlackBoard (BB), just as do you! Typically, there are videos or written instructions on how to do anything in BB, on the course home page or in the Student Center.

Professors also send out announcements found in the BB course shell or by email, containing instructional and walk-through videos showing how to understand course technology and assignments. Instructional videos are also easily found by typing "how to" topics into YouTube such as "How to submit an assignment in BlackBoard” or "How to Enter an Online English Classroom." Putting a topic into Google is also another way to find a "how to" video. 

Guess what? Instructional videos are there for just what they state: To instruct you to do well in whatever you are trying to accomplish. Watch them. Learn from them. Do not waste time figuring out or avoiding learning something because you don't watch instructional videos. Not watching instructional videos wastes your precious time, and you and I both know that our time is limited.