Research; Biography Project: Day 2

Essential Question: How do you take effective notes from which to write a biography? How do you represent someone effectively in your writing/article?


Writers spend a lot of time researching their subject matter. If we believe the adage that you should "write what you know" then it makes sense that if you don't know something, you will have to research it in order to write about it.


Students and weak writers tend to skip this step because it's, quite frankly, work. Like rehearsal, it's an important step in the artistic process, but often avoided because it's a rabbit hole--once you start you can spend your entire life investigating it! Here are a few helpful bits of advice for you as you attempt to research your topic for the biography project.


Read these tips. You will be asked to complete a "ticket out the door" dealing with what you learn here.


Tips About Taking Effective Notes During Research:


1. Know what kind of ideas you're looking for.

• Review the commonly known facts about your topic. You can use Wikipedia here, but be careful--this is just the first step in finding better sources.
• As you work (read and take notes) make a list of subtopics that you find. Try to find patterns, not just isolated information.
• Decide to narrow your research by knowing what you're looking for. The further you research and investigate, the clearer this should become. At first, it's all a sea of information--you'll have to swim through a lot of info before knowing what your ANGLE is.
• Choose a component or angle that interests you. Remember that you are researching to find out information that is not known by everybody, but the best articles/chapters/books, etc. reveal little known information about our topic.
• Separate facts and commonly agreed-upon details with theories and opinions on the subject. Consult enough sources to confirm the difference.
• See the instructions from last class--decide what you want to focus on for your "chapter"!

2. Don't write down everything!

• Your article/essay/chapter, etc. should be an expression of your own thinking--not a patchwork of borrowed ideas! As you research, incorporate evidence and supporting information/facts, etc. into your own words, thoughts, and understanding of the topic.
• Copy exact words/phrases/quotes only when the ideas are memorably phrased. If it interests you or surprises you--it might be a good quote to share with an audience.
• Compress your ideas into your own words. Do not make the mistake of copying and pasting. Use your own vocabulary and style--not the style of other writers. To compress ideas, try to paraphrase what you read. Try to do this for every source you consult.
• Little ideas should hang on bigger ideas. Create an outline if it helps keep you focused and organized.
• Annotate an article. Print it out, write on it, annotate--then write about it or paraphrase the article. Mostly, you want to use your OWN words to examine/present your topic to your audience.

3. Label and organize your notes

• Create an outline
• Use index cards
• Take notes
• Add "free writing" or comments about what you read. What do you think? Write about your reaction to the information!

4. Other things:

• Don't rely exclusively on the Internet! You might (gasp) have to use a library.
• Use search engines. Google is only one of many search engines. Each one will pull up different hits. Be specific when possible to search for keywords/phrases.
• Keep a record of what sites you visit and use for your research. You need to cite sources.
• Be aware of biases. Find sources on the internet that have a clear defined author; be aware of commercially sponsored media--what are they selling you? Use reputable sources.

When you have read and digested this advice, use your time in the lab to work on your research for the Biography Project. For details on the project, see our previous post. Use the handouts (given out last class) for notes, if you need graphic organizers for this task.


Get crackin'!


HOMEWORK: Complete your biography.