Prewriting – Your Topic and Research

By now, you should have a topic that interests you and has a direct effect on your life. It should also be a subject in which you can actively participate to affect positive change or raise awareness. Now that you have an idea of the sources of information available on your topic, it is time to gather the necessary information from those sources to lend support to your viewpoints. At the same time, you will compose a Works Cited page for your research paper.

For your persuasive research paper, you will write your opinion on your chosen topic, and the information you cite from your sources will back your opinion. The opinions of professionals or specialsts in the field related to your topic carry much weight, and you must give those sources credit for using their ideas and statements.

There is a wide diversity of sources from which to choose, including digital and web resources; print publications such as books; reference texts; periodicals; and multimedia like documentaries or interviews. You can even undertake your own primary research, such as conducting a survey or interview, if such evidence is pertinent to your topic. Not only is strong evidence essential to persuasively defending your argument, but a diversity of sources is also key to convincing your readers to back your claim. View this presentation for a brief overview of researching for a persuasive paper. Click on the player button to begin.

View a printable version of the interactivity.

 

Research and Sources Review

Now that you have explored researching a topic and organizing your source information, review your knowledge in this non-graded activity. Read each description of research terms and use the drop-down menu to select the term that matches the description. Click on the player button to get started.