Create a quick timeline. The end of the timeline will be the date the research report is due. If your homeschooling parent allows you to complete the project at your own pace, consider setting four weeks as your goal of completion. Begin the timeline with a day to choose a specific topic if one was not assigned. For example, you could write a research report on Ancient Mayan masks or Ancient Mayan celebrations. Set another day or two to brainstorm. Divide the rest of the time up between performing the research and writing the actual report.
Begin brainstorming once your topic has been selected. You can use the bubble method for brainstorming or just write down your thoughts in a notebook. There is no need to worry about complete sentences when brainstorming. When brainstorming Ancient Mayan masks, you may come up with "Types of Ancient Mayan Masks," "How Ancient Mayan Masks are Made" and "Who Wore Ancient Mayan Masks." Ask your homeschooling parent for a few examples if you are having trouble finding the right direction to take.
Complete your research using books from the library, as well as reputable Internet sources. You will also want to check with your homeschooling parent to see if she has any required reading for this research paper. Keep track of the information you gather on notecards, and write down from which source you got the information. List all your sources in your notebook so that you can create a bibliography page.
Create an outline from your research. The outline should start with the introduction, continue with the body and end with the closing. Each paragraph within the body should be represented with a capital letter. Smaller points for each paragraph can be listed numerically. The outline will organize the information to make writing the research report much easier. Check your homeschooling English curriculum for example outlines.
Write the research report in a word processing program on the computer. You can do it by hand, but using a word processor will allow you to quickly make changes if you need to rearrange your information or fix a spelling or grammatical error. Don't worry about getting the research paper perfect just yet. The important thing is to get all of your information down on paper in the order in which it should be presented.
Proofread and revise your research report. Use the spell check and grammar check. Have a friend or your homeschooling parent look over the report to make any suggestions for improvement. Go back and implement the changes in your report.
Type up a title page and a bibliography page. Print these pages out, along with your research paper. Put the title page on the front and the bibliography page in the back. Again, your homeschooling English curriculum should have examples of these. Staple the pages together or place them in a notebook. Turn in to your homeschooling parent.