Research-based report writing requires that students organize information and ideas. That’s a critical component of what Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay teaches! After using Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay, your students will easily be ready for these “Fifteen Steps to Fantastic Research Reports!” It’s the foundation for what you read here!
The fifteen steps fall into seven categories of action:
A. Deciding on and Giving the Assignment
B. Researching Main Ideas and Sub-Topics
C. Outlining and Organizing
D. Researching for Facts
E. Writing the Report
F. Proofreading and Editing
G. Sharing and Displaying
As we move forward, be sure to focus on both the categories of action and the fifteen steps. Let’s get started!
A. Deciding on and Giving the Assignment
Step 1: Spend time on your computer outlining and creating the assignment. You may want to include a basic rubric that details how you will grade the report and what is required and expected. Give detailed directions on how you want your students to cite their sources, along with how you will determine what is plagiarism. Be sure to precisely discuss what the report must cover, along with the formal style that you expect. Give each student a printed copy of this assignment.
B. Researching Main Ideas and Sub-Topics
Step 2: Have students find sources of information for their subject: e.g., library, internet, encyclopedias, books, magazines, journals, textbooks, etc.
Step 3: Students now quickly skim and scan their resources to get a quick overview of their entire subject. Students must attempt to learn the information as they research the material. Writing the report in their own words is difficult to do if they don’t understand the content. Teach your students how to avoid plagiarism while they are young. When students learn the material as they research, it helps them to write their reports in their own words.
Step 4: Have students use a separate sheet of paper for each of their sources. At the top of each sheet of paper, have students write the bibliography information for that one source.
Step 5: Students now skim and scan each source while writing down important big-picture main ideas and main sub-topics. These big picture main ideas and main sub-topics are the ideas that your students believe they could build a report around. As students skim and scan and search for big-picture ideas, they should place a strong focus on headings, chapter titles, and the table of contents. Have your students write these ideas down in their own words by paraphrasing.
C. Outlining and Organizing
Step 6: Have students look over their sheets of paper that have all their big picture main ideas and sub-topics. Have them decide which main ideas and sub-topics they want to build their report around. Urge your students to learn the material as they research.
Step 7: Students now outline their report in a perfect puzzle of main ideas and sub-topics. In other words, they create an outline of what they want their report to focus on and communicate. It’s okay if they decide they need to change some of their main ideas and sub-topics as they continue to research their subject and write. The real writing process is recursive.
D. Researching for Facts
Step 8: Now, students research and take notes. They can continue to use the same sheets of paper that they have their main ideas on, or they can use an index card for each main idea or sub-topic. If your students use an index card with the main ideas, they need to be sure to mark which source they got their information from. Students do not write their notes in complete sentences. Have students write their notes in “Frankenstein Writing.” (Nile River – 4185 miles long – longest river in world.) It sounds like Frankenstein, doesn’t it? Frankenstein writing is fast! It also helps guarantee that your students write their reports in their own words.
E. Writing the Report
Step 9: Students now follow their outlines and use their notes to write their reports. Students can return to researching if they need to, but they may not have any book open while they write the report. Make sure that your students understand how to give credit to their sources of information. Students must also understand how to write a proper introduction, body, and conclusion for their report. If your students have not mastered this, be sure to check out Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay on the homepage!
Step 10: Students create a bibliography that gives credit to all of their sources of information.
F. Proofreading and Editing
Step 11: For proofreading and editing, teachers should give their students a short cooling-off period so that they will be able to look over all of their hard work objectively and with fresh eyes. If students hold off for 1-3 days, they will do a much better job.
Step 12: Students proofread and edit their reports.
Step 13: You may want to have your students rewrite their final report on a beautiful, clean white sheet of paper. This activity is not always a great use of time, but it is inspiring and motivating for students to see a fantastic final copy of their reports on display.
G. Sharing and Displaying
Step 14: Share! Have your students read their entire report to at least one other person. Also, you may want to have an “Author’s Chair” session where students can read a part of their report to the entire class.
Step 15: Display! There are many ways to display reports. You can put them up on the bulletin board. You may want to place them in a binder to create a class book. You can also have your students create a cover for their reports, and you can build a classroom library! You may also want to show them off when it’s time for back to school night, parent conferences, or open house. Consider all of these ideas before you send them home.
Fantastic report! Great job!
Be sure to read How to Teach the Real Writing Process! You will get great ideas on how to bring this report-writing process to life at every stage of the writing process. And if your students still struggle with multi-paragraph writing, be sure to check out Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay on the homepage!
