Problem Solving and the Research Paper

Essays on the Teaching of English
Raymond Stopper
Based on His Book, Teaching English, How To….

Problem Solving and the Research Paper

The second method I use to help students learn how to solve problems is the research paper. I remember my own experience with research papers as being terrified of not citing sources correctly. Getting the “op. cit.’s” and “ibid.’s” correct seemed to be the most important part of the research paper to my college teachers. Never mind the quality of the thought or research.

I use Ken Macrorie’s idea of the “I-Search” paper. I insist that students begin their research with a question. What do they really want to know? Then they plan how they will do the research, the sources they will use, people as well as books, and, of course, the Internet. The answer to the question must be important to the student. In a sense, the question is a problem and the research is the way in which the students solve the problem

As for the citations, modern systems of citing—the MLA or Modern Language Association and the APA or The American Psychological Association—make the citation of sources almost easy. The big issues are making sure that students complete research that is worth doing, that students do cite sources, that they don't plagiarize and that they develop the report of their research in readable, well-organized prose, using information from their research to support their ideas.

I believe that questions are the keys to problem solving. Through discussing questions about what they do not understand in interpreting a literary work and through research that focuses on answering a question, I attempt to show students the value of posing good questions in order to solve problems.