I have had the privilege of being a teacher for almost three decades, and involved in teaching for more than 3 decades. During that time I have taught younger students, teens, preparatory academy and most recently at the college level. For me, it was a constant battle keeping educational activities fun, interactive and rewarding for each pupil. As my teaching focused on older learners, making the gradual change from young to older, I noticed a common concern that each age group of students became overwhelmed by: how to write a research paper.

Initially, I thought nothing of the answer I received when asking for such assignments to be completed. At first, I simply defined the usual groaning as a student's dislike of my love for take home work. But, what I was dismissing and defining as being disgruntled, actually had much more depth; these groaners were sometimes downright panic stricken when they heard the word "research paper".

Worry about the something different, being buried in volumes of pages, and not having any idea how to brainstorm research paper ideas was frequent. older teens envisioning a barrier to climb, because they were clueless about how to write a research paper, rarely truly believed me that in the wider scope of things, completing a dissertation, even one that was very lengthy, was barely a grain of sand on a beach, compared to much more significant, life impacting decisions they'd eventually face as full fledged adults. Those ideas fell on deaf ears usually.

Unable to look towards the larger arena or the long overall result, their immediate challenge was a looming turn-in date that could only be met by participating in something they weren't interested in, that conflicted with their extracurricular activities or that made them uneasy facing new challenges: how to write a research paper, and do it right - not just to pass or fail, but measure up to the criteria that institutions of higher learning, hold in high value.

When I first began teaching at the college level I planned to give a full term assignment to write a research paper on a(n) topic of that particular student's most passionate hobby.

The dean of our department warned me that this would cause me more trouble than it was worth. He said that even at a post high-school level, simply hearing that you have to write a research paper usually sent many students into a downward spiral.

Determined, I ignored his best intentions and ventured into research paper neverland. The first class of the course I handed out the outline for the course. This included the name of the text book we would be using, test dates and the expectation that everyone would write a research paper.

I explained that the quizzes as well as the participation in group-think would be a majority of the grade and the research paper would be the other 33%. In the same breath that possessing the skills they would would increase the likely hood to obtain scholarships. I handed out calendars and due dates for the essay. I wanted the focus they chose as well as a rough draft completed in the first fortnight and then various progress reports throughout the course.

My agenda and execution of my set schedule "forced" things to be done in small chunks, rather than the typical giant one, when many students, kids or adults, sit down at the last minute and try to accomplish a mammoth amount worth of work in one sitting. Unnecessary tension and anxiety in my mind. And with the basics of how to effectively write a research paper tackled in small manageable pieces throughout the class, semester or year depending on course and / or institution, initial stress about even the most simple section: research paper topics, seemed less and less a big deal.

Whether narrowing down a long series of clauses formatted neat and succinctly summarizing research paper ideas, writing each necessary element, keeping each research paper properly formatted for a teacher who was known to be a stickler about such details, or pacing themselves to guarantee paper completion by the designated time, when deconstructed into smaller parts, how to write a research paper concerns slowly, but surely go away. Look for the next article: Research Paper Ideas, the Easy Way - Your Road To Getting A Grant Or Scholarship.