Directions: This is the first and perhaps most important step in conducting your research. Why - because you will be picking a topic that you will examine throughout the entire course of the semester. So be sure you carefully think about and address the following in a typewritten, grammatically correct format.

1. Select an interesting research topic that "jumps out" from the pages after you read through the California Social Science Standards at the grade level in which you are interested - either 7th grade world history, 8th grade U.S. history, 10th grade world history, 11th grade U.S. history, 12th grade American government, or 12th grade U.S. economics.
   • Describe your topic and why it is of particular interest to you.
   • What grade level and standard did you select?
2. Find at least TWO books that you will use to research this topic. These must be books that have differing approaches and/or views on your topic. This step will require a visit to the library and looking through the stacks for books on your topic and/or an internet search for books on your topic.
   • Provide a full citation - title, author, and publication date - for your first book and a brief (3-4 sentences) summary of what you expect to find from the book after reading the Introduction and concluding chapters.
   • Provide a full citation - title, author, and publication date - for your second book and a brief (3-4 sentences) summary of what you expect to find from the book after reading the Introduction and concluding chapters.
3. Based upon this preliminary research, pick a possible thesis that you might use to guide the remainder of your research.
   • Write your thesis.

To see an example of a completed Research Paper Worksheet, go to http://gorhistory.com/hist420/ResearchWorksheetExample.html