Presenting facts about a topic . . .From Reading to Writing What would it be

like to live in a different place and in a different

time period? Nonfiction history writers and

writers of historical fiction such as “A Crown of

Wild Olive” help readers understand people and

societies of the past.

Research Report

Presenting facts about a topic . . .

Research Report

They investigate several sources to build

complete pictures of their subjects. Writing a

research report can help you become familiar

with sources of information and learn interesting

facts about a subject.

B a s i c s i n a B o x

RUBRIC STANDARDS FOR WRITING

A successful research report should• include a strong introduction and thesis

statement that clearly states the topic and the purpose

• use evidence from primary or secondary sources to develop and support ideas

• credit sources of information

• follow a logical pattern of organization, using transitions between ideas

• use information from multiple sources

• summarize ideas in the conclusion

• include a Works Cited list at the end of the report

Research Report at a Glance

Find a topic that really interests you by

listing historical events or people that you

want to know more about. Review the

nonfiction and historical fiction selections

in your book. Ask questions about the real

people or the cultures that are portrayed.

1 PrewritingWriting Your Research Report

Planning Your Research Report

1. Find a focus. Create a cluster diagram of all

of the ideas connected to your topic. If there

is a lot of information, choose one or two

cluster ideas to investigate.

Abe Lincoln

poor beginnings

Presidential Election

slavery Civil War

Planning Your Research Report

2. Make a research plan. Write down

questions that you want answered about

your topic. Which questions are related? Use

your questions to guide your research.

Planning Your Research Report

3. Identify your audience. Who will read your

report? How much background do you need

to include about your subject? What will

interest your readers most about your

subject?

Planning Your Research Report

4. Define your purpose. What do you want

your paper to accomplish? Try writing a

thesis statement, one sentence that states

what you want to emphasize in your report.

Use the questions that you have written

about your topic to guide your research.

Add other questions as you find facts that

move your investigation further along.

2 ResearchingWriting Your Research Report

There are two types of sources—primary

and secondary.

2 ResearchingWriting Your Research Report

Primary sources offer first-hand

information. They include letters, diaries,

journals and historical documents.

Secondary sources provide explanations or

comments on material from other sources.

Encyclopedias, newspapers, magazines and

other books are all examples.

Evaluate Your Sources

Make sure that your source is reliable—

accurate and up-to-date. Also, make sure

the author presents an objective view before

you begin to take notes. Check several

sources to see if the accounts agree. Ask

the following questions about sources found

on the Internet.

2 ResearchingWriting Your Research Report

What are the author’s viewpoints and

biases? Identify the author’s gender,

background, and political beliefs. How do

they influence the presentation?

What are the qualifications of the

author? Is the author from a respected

institution? Is he or she a professional or

an expert in is or her field?

2 ResearchingWriting Your Research Report

Make Source Cards

Using index cards, create a source card for

each source you will use in your Works

Cited list. List the publishing information in

the correct form for each source on a

separate index card. Then number the

source cards sequentially.

2 ResearchingWriting Your Research Report

Take Notes

Use index cards to record the information in

your sources. Write the main idea of the

note at the top of each card, along with the

number that you assigned the source on the

source card and the page number on which

you found the fact. Write just one piece of

information on each card. Paraphrase

(rewrite in your own words) the fact or idea.

2 ResearchingWriting Your Research Report

Organize Your Material

Before writing your rough draft, sort your

note cards into groups of similar main

ideas. Think about the order in which you

want to discuss those main ideas. You

might choose chronological, cause-and-

effect, comparison-and-contrast,

problem-solution, or some other method

of organizing.

2 ResearchingWriting Your Research Report

Create an outline or a cluster diagram to

help you decide on the order of the

sections of your report.

2 ResearchingWriting Your Research Report

Using your outline as a guide, begin to write

your first draft. In your introduction, start

with a question, a quotation, an anecdote,

or an intriguing fact. State the topic and

purpose of your report in one sentence.

This will become your thesis statement.

3 DraftingWriting Your Research Report

Write a separate body paragraph for

each of the main ideas in your outline.

Begin with a topic sentence and support it

with facts and details from your research.

For every fact or idea taken from a source,

write the author’s name and page number

in parentheses immediately following the

fact. Use the title of the source and page

number if there is no author.

3 DraftingWriting Your Research Report

Conclude by summarizing the importance

of your topic or giving your own

interpretation of what you have learned.

3 DraftingWriting Your Research Report

TARGET SKILL

PRESENTING IDEAS IN A LOGICAL

ORDER

Choose the order for your details that will

make your paper most effective.

4 RevisingWriting Your Research Report

TARGET SKILL

PRESENTING IDEAS IN A LOGICAL

ORDER

4 RevisingWriting Your Research Report

Chronological order shows the

relationship of time and events to each

other; spatial order shows the physical

location of places or things; and least to

most important orders the details from

weakest to strongest.

TARGET SKILL

CLAUSES AS FRAGMENTS

Joining a subordinate clause to a

complete sentence can eliminate a

sentence fragment. Make sure there are

no fragments in your final paper.

5 Editing and ProofreadingWriting Your Research Report

When you have finished revising and

editing your report, make a Works Cited

list and attach it to the end of your paper.

6 Making a Works Cited ListWriting Your Research Report