In all disciplines, research is conducted to answer questions that

someone wants answered. Consequently, when you as a student

receive a writing assignment involving research, you must first

identify the explicitly posed or the underlying question and then

conduct research to answer it. The more sharply focused the

question is, the more focused the response .~ill be. If the

assignment is fairly open and does not express a question, you

will need to identify a question that you would like to have

answered or that you think someone else would like to have

answered. As you go through your notes on classwork, readings,

and other sources, try to identify such a question. The answer to

this question will be your paper s thesis statement.

Some scientific research begins with a question, and some

begins with a tentative answer to a research question, which

researchers call a hypothesis. If you begin with a question, the

purpose of your research and subsequent paper will be to answer

the question. If you begin with a statement that is a tentative

answer to your question (a hypothesis in the sciences), the

purpose of your research and paper will be to prove or disprove

this statement.