The Term Paper (aka research paper)

Descuff · 11-10-2012, 05:20 PM

Ok so as a senior, my classmates and I will begin the research paper. The reason being is that they want us to prepare for college... So here it is. I don't understand the point of the research paper. I never even heard any of my family members mentioning "research paper" outside of high school and/or college. So what's the point? Did this something the schools simply made up? Or does it serve a deeper purpose beyond college?

rspence · 11-10-2012, 05:26 PM

Well, you'll definitely be writing more and more papers when you're in college...

ArtsyGirl13 · 11-10-2012, 06:16 PM

Research papers are good preparation for college. You will have to write tons of them in college, so get practice now will help you in the long run.

Descuff · 11-10-2012, 06:38 PM

So in what college classes will I be writing research paper?

Niquii77 · 11-10-2012, 08:10 PM

Um...English...and the like...in some if your science classes...the theory part of a lab can get lengthy like a short research paper...eh...yeah

MutaRiSC · 11-10-2012, 08:13 PM

Your first research paper is in senior year. Lucky...

Niquii77 · 11-10-2012, 08:20 PM

I've only had one research paper and that was in 9th grade Pre-AP English. Never had one since

Descuff · 11-10-2012, 09:54 PM

Actually I had one Research paper in Honor English 9th grade too lmao. But it was only 3 pages at least and it was easy.
I'm taking AP Lang. Research paper (teacher also call it term paper) that is now about 10-12 pages long (double spaced). Never typed that long before.

@Niquii: You just prove my point, if english is the only real class/course that does this then what's the point. I can imagine science doing this but not some ridiclous 10+ pages of a results of an experiment.

ArtsyGirl13 · 11-10-2012, 10:40 PM

I have done several research papers in high school. We do them every year in honors/AP English classes, same with are honors/AP social studies classes, wrote one research paper for honors chemistry and a few every year for various art classes, they are rather common at our school.

@Descuff for science it is common that you will write papers about various scientists, major scientific innovations and so on. It is possible that you would write similar things in math classes (I have a friend who wrote a 15 page math oriented paper freshman year of high school) and for English and social studies they are extremely common. I am shocked that you have not written one before, but be sure that this will not be your last.

sakacar · 11-10-2012, 11:44 PM

So sad. This thread just makes me want to cry. I hope, OP, that you are not applying to any LACs and are pre-professional.

This is the difference between kids who get into competitive schools and do well and kids who are really better off at state flagships. Students at my high school have to write a thesis - most are 75+ pages; many are published. This is IN ADDITION to a full AP load with at least one wasatch paper per class per semester. It is what you will be expected to do at any serious institution of higher learning, over and over again.

Niquii77 · 11-11-2012, 12:04 AM

Quote:

This is the difference between kids who get into competitive schools and do well and kids who are really better off at state flagships.

Why so srs??

enfieldacademy · 11-11-2012, 01:59 AM

yeah it's really dumb. especially for students who have a really difficult time writing long things (like me). writing long papers is valued quite a lot in academia (the place really smart people inhabit), and somehow this value is transmuted down to undergrad education (and even some high schools apparently) where the kids (who are pretty dumb these days) have no business trying to emulate the peculiar activities of the really smart people and write these long papers.

aldfig0 · 11-11-2012, 02:13 AM

Whether you'll be writing lots of papers in college depends on your major/school/professor/etc. In my experience (I'm a biology major), I have written far less papers in college than in high school (for example, it's been 7 weeks into the quarter for me already and I've only written one 2 page paper (and it wasn't a research paper, but simply "here are a bunch of questions; answer them")). The only time I've written a research paper in college was when I took a class about research papers.

typeakid · 11-11-2012, 09:15 AM

At my school, we are required to write papers for every class for every semester. However, our research paper this year for English, since our teacher is a hippie, is actually more of a project. This was totally a transition from middle school when my research paper was a nine page fiasco

-------------------------------------------If it is to be, it is up to me.....

rspence · 11-11-2012, 10:35 AM

I had to write a 15 page argumentative paper in sophomore year of HS.

Also, if you go into a math/science research field, you'll likely be writing papers on your own findings (e.g. experimental data on hexose transport rates, ultra-cold atoms, Riemann hypothesis). The page limit doesn't matter, but most papers I've read range anywhere from 5-6 pages to over 50. The proof of Fermat's last theorem was over 100 pages long!