In this module, you'll learn more about finding sources, because that's a really important part of doing a research paper. You'll also learn about taking notes while you do your research, to make your job easier. And finally, you'll learn about creating a thesis statement and an outline for your research paper.

In this course, because not all of you are studying in a university right now, and may not have access to library databases, I'm going to allow you to use the news sources for your academic research. Because we're learning about academic research, I do wanna show you a little bit about the library databases, even though all of you won't be able to access them right now. From this short passage, you might decide that this article, even though it mentions free college education, doesn't really have anything to do with your research question.

But for your research paper it's especially important to do some kind of outline and plan your essay well before you start writing. This can be done with a very informal outline like the one shown here, where you just write your thesis statement down and then you list the main point that you're going to make in the body paragraphs. It's just a good example for you to follow to make sure your body paragraphs are well developed, as they should be in an academic essay.

If the Northern States had not won the American Civil War, slavery would have continued in the US for another 50 years. Pregnant women who are addicted to drugs must be admitted to hospitals to receive treatment so that their babies are not born dependent. Prison sentences for violent criminals should not provide the opportunity for early parole because of good behavior.