I.D. TYPES OF RESEARCH PAPERS

     There are three general types of research papers written by middle and senior high school students: informational, analytical, and argumentative, sometimes called persuasive.
     In an informative paper, your purpose is to gather and summarize facts in order to inform your reader.  Subjects such as economics, science, and business especially lend themselves to informative papers (although other types may certainly be required).  For example, you may explain the steps in transplanting an organ or the history of the suffragette movement.
     Generally, however, senior high school students are expected to do more than just explain in a research paper.  They more often write analytical or persuasive papers.
     In an analytical paper, your purpose is to draw general conclusions from facts and basic evidence.  You must analyze information -- record the facts, comment on them, and come to conclusions about meaning, causes, consequences, and relationships.  The controlling idea for this analysis becomes your thesis statement.  For example, the analysis of the employment patterns of women between 1900 and 1988 could lead you to conclusions about the effects of economics on the social status of women.  After researching the adolescent years of Adolf Hitler, you might see a cause and effect relationship between those years and his political beliefs.  Most senior high school papers in social studies and English are expected to be analytical.
     In an argumentative paper, your purpose is to arrive at judgments about your topic based upon research findings.  You must examine both sides of a controversial topic and then express and support a reasoned judgment.  Be careful to avoid bias or rash generalizations; be persuasive, not emotional.  For example, you may argue for state supported day care centers or against gun control, but you must present factual information first and then take a position.