Research: The

BeginningMs. LeeDowntown Magnets High School2011

Choose a Topic

Make sure your topic is not too general. For example, the Industrial Revolution is too

broad a topic, and needs to be narrowed.

Choose the topics that interest you most. You’ll be researching this topic for about five weeks!

Create a Controlling Purpose

What is the purpose of your research?

1. Carefully read your research instructions and consider what you are being asked to do.

2. Write 1-2 sentences that tells what you want to accomplish with your topic.

3. Use key words like evaluate, synthesize, analyze, persuade.

Your Prompt

Write an essay in which you examine how capitalist industrialization has affected one aspect of our world, both historically and today.

How many parts are there to this prompt?

What do you have to do?

How can you turn the prompt into questions?

Controlling Purpose - Example

Write an essay in which you examine how capitalist industrialization has affected one aspect of our world, both historically and today.

Topic – Coal Mining’s Effect on Miners

How has capitalism affected the way we mine for coal?

How have these methods of mining affected miners?

Controlling Purpose - Example

Write an essay in which you examine how capitalist industrialization has affected one aspect of our world, both historically and today.

Topic – Coal Mining’s Effect on Workers

The purpose of my research paper is to analyze how capitalism has affected the methods used for mining coal and how these methods have affected the lives of miners throughout history.

Write your Controlling Purpose Statement

You may use this sentence starter:

The purpose of my research paper is to analyze how capitalism has affected ________ and how ________ has affected ________ throughout history.

Create Focus Questions

One topic can take ages to research, so you need to narrow your focus.

For example, one could spend years researching how the Industrial Revolution affected the environment. But you could narrow your research by focusing on how coal mining affected miners.

Create Focus Questions

You will research the cause and effect of two main subtopics: Capitalism’s effect on your topic Your topic’s effect on our lives

Brainstorm questions or specific areas of focus for both subtopics.

Include at least THREE focus questions for each subtopic.

Create Focus Questions

Capitalism’s Effect on Coal Mining What are the economic benefits of coal

mining? What methods of mining have been used

and why? Who has benefited from these methods?

Coal Mining’s Effect on Miners How has it affected miners’ health? How has it affected miners’ safety? How has it affected miners’ wealth?

Locate Sources

Secondary Sources – at least nine Introducing Capitalism World History textbook Internet Sources

history websites, encyclopedias (not Wikipedia!), educational institutions, newspapers, magazines, etc.

Primary Sources – at least one Interviews Autobiographies Memoirs

Begin Researching!

Evaluate which sources are most reliable and appropriate.

Create Works Cited Cards

Take notes using Note Cards. Label your Note Card with your focus aspects

or questions.