A research topic is aimed to be a question rather than a statement. Research topics I’ve done in the past were merely a one-sided argument. They were statements given to me by my teachers, and I was told to find and analyze evidence supporting it. I was never told that college research papers will requires you to express your opinions on a two-sided issue. A researcher is supposed to provide evidence for their opinion and also provide sources for argument. This is what most high school teachers fail to emphasize to their seniors.
At least the teachers mentioned the importance of a thesis statement. A thesis is a sentence, at the end of the introduction paragraph, stating one’s standpoint on the issue being discussed. However, if the title of the project already states the researches opinion, it denotes the necessity of a thesis. Therefore confusing students about the format of college research papers.
A study was done of how prepared high school students are for college and entry-level jobs. They interviewed employers and college professors. The study results were that students are being properly prepared for life in college and beyond. Some teachers may put it on the students claiming that it’s the student’s responsibility to find this information out. A high school senior cannot know what’s going to be expected it they’ve never been prepared for it.
http://www.achieve.org/files/pollreport_0.pdf
I myself have only encountered one-sided research papers. Most of my teachers in high school assigned the topic we were to write about. Only one or two of them let the class choose a topic they wanted to write a paper about. Although I agree with you that teachers need to help prepare students for life after high school, I don’t think it’s entirely up to the teacher. Students should try and understand what college life will be like. They can easily talk to their parents about it or talk to people they know that are either in college, or have recently gone. I don’t think anyone is ever truly prepared for college. I know I wasn’t!
-Kelly
By: lilhurricane900 on October 16, 2009
at 8:22 pm
We’re lucky that this time instead of being given a topic to research on, we have the chance to choose our own. I think that our group will do well with the topc we choose. Teen suicide has a lot of information that comes along with it. I think it’s a good topic that should be discussed. Hopefully we can all work together at this with new thoughts and ideas. And help share our opinions and do well on this research project!
By: bushra91 on October 17, 2009
at 4:23 am
Sanum,
Your description of high school writing class is important information. I wonder how many students share that. Hopefully you can see a way to build on what you learned there to incorporate a more complex view.
Alyssa
By: abcolton on October 21, 2009
at 3:18 pm