History class is useful in that it gives you the tools you need to become a better researcher and critical thinker. One of the most challenging assignments you will encounter in the history classes you take over these next several years will be your long term research papers. In order to succeed in such assignments, you will have to master your organization and time budgeting skills, your ability to write clearly and concisely with extensive and well documented support, and the patience to recognize which areas you should rework before handing your paper in. Big Apple Tutoring offers top private tutoring NYC services. Here’s our guide to making your next research paper for History class the best you’ve ever written.
Anticipate distractions and delays
In a perfect world, you could sit down and knock out a flawless ten to twenty page research paper full of primary sources in one night. But in reality, you’re far more likely to encounter roadblocks along the way. That’s why it’s wise to try and look ahead at what your schedule is. Think about when this paper is due and what responsibilities and commitments, both academic and social, you will have between now and the day you hand in your paper. This will allow you to be more effective in budgeting your time.
If you plan to work on your project every Wednesday after school, but end up having a basketball game or play rehearsal several Wednesdays between now and the due date, you’ll end up losing a lot of time that you thought you’d have to work on your project. But if you look ahead and see those roadblocks coming, you’ll be more effective in rescheduling ahead of time allowing you to maximize your productivity.
Read extensively before you write
One of the most frustrating, yet vital steps to writing an effective research paper is doing the actual research! All too often do students want to get to writing before they even know what it is they want to say. That means re-reading passages from your class critically and looking for questions you’d like to investigate further. Whatever questions you may have you should make sure someone else hasn’t already answered. Assuming you have several months to complete this project, you should devote at least a couple weeks to topic selection alone.
Take your time with the thesis statement
You should commit up to two weeks just to building your thesis statement and supporting topics. Outlines are key. This is not an arts project, which means you’ll earn no extra points for creativity. In other words, the actual writing should take a backseat. First and foremost, you need to plan what it is you actually want to say. Once you know precisely which points you’ll make and at which point in the paper you’ll make them, the writing should come easy.
Open yourself up to criticism
No first draft has ever been as good as the second. If you want to hand in a paper you can be proud of, you’ll have to recognize that no matter how good your first draft was, that you can always improve it by taking a second look.
For more tips on how to write the best history research paper possible, no matter your age or level, give Big Apple Tutoring a call at 212-479-0830 and ask us about our private tutoring NYC services.
