Research Papers 1-2-3: Diagram>Outline>Publish

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Subject Areas: English/Language Arts, Social Studies and Science

Grade Level: 6 12 (ages 11-18)

Time: At least three 45-minute class periods; time outside of class as necessary

Lesson Objective:
Students will be better able to organize and write a research paper using a variety of sources.

Common Core State Standards1:

Writing Standards for Grades 6-12 in English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies,
Science, and Technical Subjects
Standard 5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing,
rewriting, or trying a new approach.
Standard 6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to
interact and collaborate with others.
Standard 7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused
questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
Standard 8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the
credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while
avoiding plagiarism.

Overview:
The ability to organize and use information from multiple sources, evaluate the information collected
and write research papers are challenging but important skills for students. Use the Research Paper
Organizer template in this folder as a tool to help make the process easier for your students.
Inspirations tools will enable students to more effectively organize, research and connect ideas, build
understanding, create knowledge and develop their research paper.

2011 Inspiration Software, Inc. You may use and modify this lesson plan for any non-commercial, instructional use.
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Preparation:
This lesson requires the Inspiration software application published by Inspiration Software, Inc.
30-day trials can be downloaded at <http://www.inspiration.com/Inspiration>.
Access to library resources and/or the Internet would also be helpful for student research.

Lesson:
1. Review the Research Paper Organizer template shown on the previous page with students.
Explain that having a system for organizing a research paper is essential and that this visual
organizer is one effective system for making the process easier.

2. Explain to students that they will choose a general topic to begin researching and record the
topic in the space provided. As they uncover good sources in print or online, they will record
the bibliographic information on a separate numbered symbol. If they have more than five
sources, students can add additional symbols. Encourage students to use a variety of sources,
including online databases.

3. If students need help preparing sources, there are many free citation resources available
online; they can search for citation maker to locate them. Students should also know that
they can hyperlink web resources to the organizer using the Hyperlink tool, or by simply
inserting URLs (web addresses) in the document. Ideally students should have access to a
complete style guide such as the one produced by the Modern Language Association (MLA).

4. As students delve deeper into the research process, they should formulate questions and
answers about the nature of their topic, with a goal of defining a working thesis statement.
Explain to them that a thesis statement is normally one sentence that states what one will
attempt to argue in the paper. Explain that it is called a working thesis statement because it
may change as students conduct their research.

5. Tell students that before taking notes, they should obtain feedback from you and their peers
on their topic and thesis statement.

6. Show students the Research Paper Organizer Example included in this folder so they see the
kind of finished diagram they will be creating.

2011 Inspiration Software, Inc. You may use and modify this lesson plan for any non-commercial, instructional use.
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Tell students that they can begin to take notes in the Notes section at the bottom of the document
even before they have written a thesis statement. Demonstrate the following system to the
students for taking and organizing notes:

a. Put each piece of information in a different symbol by first typing a descriptive heading.
b. Below it put the source # from the Sources section at the top of the Organizer and
page # if it is a book or paragraph # if it is a web site.
c. Use the Note tool to record information in their own words (paraphrase), or select
quotations if they significantly strengthen their thesis statement.
d. When students finish taking notes, they can move similar ideas together. Then they
can arrange them in order and link them.
e. If a topic has subtopics connected to it, students can use the Subtopic Quick Control
in the upper-right corner to show or hide the subtopics.
f. Students may go to Outline View to finish organizing their notes, adding details, and
start to draft their papers.

7. Tell students it is very important that you and their peers check their progress and provide
support as they undertake the multi-step process of writing a research paper. For example,
students should obtain feedback from you and their peers on their notes and outline before
writing their rough draft.

8. Tell students that after they have started their drafts and organized their work in
outline form, they can transfer their projects to a word processor using the
Transfer tool. This will allow them to complete the remaining steps in the writing
process (revising, editing and publishing).

9. Revising: Students may share rough drafts with you and their peers, with changes made after
each review. Students can review their notes and research in Inspiration and obtain feedback
from the teacher and their peers, as necessary. If any details do not support the thesis
statement, they should revise the thesis statement or remove the details if they are outside the
scope of the thesis.

10. Editing: After students are satisfied with the content and basic organization of their writing,
they can carefully improve its readability. For example, students should enhance the flow of
the work with improved transitions. Students can strengthen their arguments with persuasive
topic and clincher sentences at the beginning and end of their paragraphs that all support the
thesis statement. Spelling and grammar should be checked and corrected.

2011 Inspiration Software, Inc. You may use and modify this lesson plan for any non-commercial, instructional use.
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 11. Publishing: Students may have their edited work reviewed by you, their peers, and others
including parents or community members. Students can make final edits before submitting the
work for a grade and/or publishing it. For example, students could submit the work to the local
newspaper, include it in a book of student work that is shared with the community, post it on a
reading wall in the school, or publish it to a blog. Student motivation and fulfillment will improve
dramatically if their writing is shared with the world outside the classroom.

Adaptations / Extensions:
See The Writing Process Made Easier lesson plan for more details on how to use Inspiration
to help students master the writing process.

In addition to writing formal research papers, students can publish their work by making an
oral presentation to the class about their topic. They can use Inspirations Presentation
Manager to add key talking points and visuals to their content. Teaching the class will help
them to clarify and better remember the content. See the Creating Oral Presentations I and II
lesson plans for more information about this process.

After presenting, students can answer questions and facilitate a discussion about the topic.

Rather than complete an entire research paper, students could submit a completed diagram
which includes notes arranged in a web or a completed outline.

This lesson can be used in any content area that requires students to write research papers.

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Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School
Officers. All rights reserved. Learn more online at <http://www.corestandards.org>.

2011 Inspiration Software, Inc. You may use and modify this lesson plan for any non-commercial, instructional use.
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