Conducting research can require a lot of time, effort, and patience. However, for many writers, it also the most enjoyable part of the writing process because it offers the chance to explore a topic and learn things that you never knew before. As you answer one research question, you often stumble upon another avenue that interests you, and by exploring new angles of a topic, your knowledge of the world becomes more rich and your potential for teaching something fascinating and relevant to your reader increases.

In this topic, you gained important knowledge and skills for conducting research, such the different types of evidence to consider in support of your argument. You also explored the process of conducting research, beginning with where to locate relevant sources and the difference between primary and secondary sources. Among the most essential skills that you learned was how to determine the validity and accuracy of information that you encounter. Finally, you began to summarize, paraphrase, and directly quote information from sources while using an effective note-taking method to organize sources and their publication information.