The Modified Research Paper

Part Two:The Research Question and the Introduction

Once you’ve chosen your topic,

You have to decide what you want to know, which means;

You have to write a RESEARCH QUESTION

The Research Question is

A single question about your topic Which will guide your research, helping

you decide what information to look for and

Which will ultimately organize your essay

Let’s look at some topics and possible research questions

Let’s say, you’re interested in becoming a respiratory therapist,

Think about what you want to know—

– What does it take to become a respiratory therapist?

– What kind of life does a respiratory therapist have?

– Would I be happy as a respiratory therapist?

You’ll need to make the question fairly broad.

Let’s do another. . .

Ouija Boards—– Do they really work?– How do they work?– Have they really been

doorways through which evil spirits have traveled?

– Where did they come from anyway?

Or how about. . .

The Beatles– Why were they so

influential?– How were they

influential?– How did they form?– What is their history?

In formulating the research question

Don’t ask a “yes or no” question; Make sure it’s a question whose answer

really interests you.

Then in writing the introduction,

Open with a lead-in, something that gets the reader’s attention;

Then tell me why you chose this topic; Then tell me what you knew about the

topic before you began writing; Then end with a statement of your

research question.

Here are a couple of sample intros

One that’s over a serious subject; One that’s over a sillier subject.