Take It From Me

I officially turned in my junior theme today, which was a relief to say the least. Having gone through this process, I am going to write my tips for surviving the junior theme, or any other research paper for that matter.

1. Get as much research as you can.

There's no such thing as too much research when it comes to writing an inquiry paper. I found that the more I read, the more comfortable I felt when writing my paper. This was because it helped me to actually feel like I knew what I was talking about, and not just trying to fill space.

2. If you are given time in the library, use it.

If I'm being honest, I was not 100% focused every single day in the library. We would have days when we spent the full 80 minute block period in the library and after about an hour, I would start to get distracted. I didn't realize until after these days were over just how much of a gift they were. You have your teacher, librarians, and classmates to bounce ideas off of so by all means, take advantage of it.

3.  Choose your topic very carefully.

If you're spending a month on a singe question, or prompt if that's what your assignment is, you are most definitely going to want to be really interested whatever your topic is. I understand that sometimes this is going to be assigned, but if it's not, then you should find something you are passionate about because it will only make your paper stronger in the long-run.

4. Do not put off your annotated bibliography.

The annotated bibliography may not be the most exciting or glamorous part of writing your paper, but it can become time consuming. If you struggle citing sources like me, then you are going to want to have time to ask your librarians or other experts all of your questions. Not to mention for a large paper you are going to have a lot of sources and if you have to write a short paragraph for each then you are going to have to be realistic in how much time this will actually take.

5. Breathe.

Try not to stress out too much. Yes, this is a big paper. Yes, you should work your hardest. But no, it is not worth making yourself crazy. It's just a research paper so don't give it the power t o ruin your life.