Building Skills, Confidence as MS Students Write Their First Research Paper

by Alison O’Donnell

Middle School History Teacher

 

How do you introduce sixth graders to the process of writing a multi-paragraph, analytical research paper?

 

While the students in my sixth-grade geography class have learned in elementary school to write fictional stories, single-paragraph summaries and accounts of personal experiences, very few of of them have ever written a formal academic paper, one that presents a thesis supported by evidence and examples and includes citations to indicate the sources of their information.  

 

 

 It’s a daunting task for these 10- and 11-year-olds, but the experience of meeting this challenge equips them with the researching, thinking, and writing skills essential for their success in future courses at the Middle and Upper School. During process of creating this paper, they develop the self-reliance, independence and intellectual sophistication that will nourish their future learning in all academic areas. Perhaps most importantly, they thoroughly enjoy this adventure of exploration, discovery, and deeper understanding.

 

A Step-by-Step Process

 

          • Choosing

 

The United Nations has identified 17 sustainable goals for every nation in the world. These range from ending poverty and hunger to providing quality education and clean water, to achieving gender equality and economic justice. Because students are always more engaged when they’re able to choose topics that fascinate them, I ask each one to select a country and a sustainable goal they’re curious about and to investigate how successful that country has been at achieving that goal. For instance, a student might examine how Japan’s transportation systems affect the goal of reducing climate change, how Iceland’s fisheries impact the goal of protecting life below water, or how Switzerland’s isolationist policies influence the goal of international partnership.

 

         • Researching

 

Students begin by identifying, accessing, and evaluating sources of information. What resources are relevant, reliable, objective, clear and comprehensible for someone their age? These sources might include newspapers, books, documentaries, and podcasts, as well as the websites of governments, universities, non-governmental organizations, and the United Nations. Students learn how to use search words, skim sources for information without reading every word, take careful notes and keep track of their references. 

 

       • Organizing

 

Once the students have completed their research, they consolidate, organize, and prioritize the information they’ve gleaned to create key facts, examples, and ideas they want to include. Then, they craft an outline for their paper.

 

       • Writing

 

Before writing an introduction and thesis statement for their paper, students first write their body paragraphs. This way, they can construct the overall point they’ll eventually be making as they assemble, assess, and present their evidence. As they build each paragraph, I work with them individually to discuss their strategies and methods for presenting evidence and examples, their selection of quotations, and their decisions about where to insert citations and how to format them properly.

 

       • Asserting and Concluding

 

Once students have composed their body paragraphs and analyzed the evidence they’ve presented, they’re ready to write a thesis statement that evaluates their country’s success in achieving the sustainable goal under consideration. The final step is writing a conclusion that might either propose solutions to shortcomings they’ve identified, or compare the country they’ve selected to another country, or extend their thesis to a larger world issue.

 

Nurturing Self-Confidence

 

This deliberate, step-by-process not only builds students’ reading, researching, and writing skills, but also bolsters their self-esteem. They gain confidence in their ability to gather, evaluate, and analyze evidence, formulate their own ideas based on the information they’ve discovered, and present those ideas in a clear, authoritative, and persuasive format.