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I have had the chance of being an instructor for almost three decades, and involved in education for more than 3 decades. During those years I have taught younger students, teens, college prep and most recently post high school students. For me, it was a constant battle keeping educational activities fun, interactive and rewarding for each learner. As my lessons focused on older students, making the gradual change from young to older, I noticed a common concern that each generation of kids became overwhelmed by: how to write a research paper.

Initially, I thought nothing of the response I received when asking for nonfiction essays to be completed. At first, I simply defined the usual groaning as a student's dislike of my love for outside assignments. But, what I was dismissing and defining as being disgruntled, actually had much more significance; these students were sometimes downright panic stricken when they heard mention of a "research paper".

Worry about the something different, being buried in heavy tomes, and not having any idea how to brainstorm research paper ideas was frequent. college-age students envisioning a mountain to climb, because they didn't know how to write a research paper, rarely truly believed me that in life's big picture, completing a dissertation, even one that was ten to thirty pages long, was barely a grain of sand on a beach, compared to much more significant, life impacting decisions they'd eventually face as grownups. Those words fell on a non-responsive audience much of the time.

Unable to look towards the whole essence or the long view, their immediate reality was a looming time limit that could only be met by participating in something they weren't interested in, that conflicted with their social life or that made them uneasy facing the unknown: how to write a research paper, and do it right - not just to pass or fail, but earn the marks that institutions of higher learning, hold in high value.

When I first began teaching at the college level I planned to give a semester-long specification to write a research paper on a(n) topic of every individual's most passionate interest.

The dean of our department warned me that this would cause me many headaches. 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 tail spin.

Determined, I ignored his wise words and ventured into research paper purgatory. The first class of the semester I handed out the curriculum for the class. This included the title of the selected text, the dates of the tests and the requirement that everyone would write a research paper.

I explained that the quizzes as well as the participation in classroom discussions would be a majority of the semester grade and the research paper would be the other third. I handed out time lines and due dates for the essay. I wanted the topic they chose as well as a rough draft completed in the first fortnight and then various progress reports throughout the semester.

My agenda and execution of my set calendar dates "forced" things to be done in small increments, rather than the typical giant one, when many students, kids or adults, sit down at the last minute and try to accomplish weeks worth of work in one sitting. Unnecessary stress and anxiety in my way of thinking. And with the basics of how to effectively write a research paper tackled in small chunks throughout the class, semester or year depending on course and / or school, initial stress about even the most simple section, research paper ideas, seemed less and less a big deal .

Whether narrowing down a long series of passages formatted neat and succinctly summarizing research paper ideas, writing each necessary part, keeping each research paper properly formatted for an instructor who was known to be very picky about such particulars, or pacing themselves to guarantee term paper completion by the due date, when deconstructed into smaller parts, how to write a research paper woes slowly, but surely disappear. Stay tuned for the next article: Research Paper Ideas, the Easy Way.

Featuring several articles highlighting how to write a research paper minus the regular fears, Professor Ronald Smithers shares a realization he learned from his writing days. Next , Research Paper Ideas- The Easy Way, on the the student website students have taken advantage of and that gives free stuff to college students, and helps you find more money with government student loan consolidation.