Write Your Argumentative Research Report Right (Now!)

: The next thing you need to complete under Step One is to create a schedule for writing your report. Think back to our analogy of taking a vacation. If you want to be at your destination by a certain date, you plan backwards from that date to determine when you need to leave in order to get to there in a timely fashion. For example, if you live in Wisconsin, you wouldn't simply wake up one morning and say, "Oh yeah, I want to be in California today and I'm going by car." That simply doesn't make for a relaxing vacation. It also doesn't work to wake up one morning and realize that your report is due the next day. Ideally, you will begin work on your research report assignment a minimum of 4 weeks before it's due . . . 6 weeks works even better!

Whatever your timeline might be, use it to construct working mini-deadlines for your task. For example, if your report is due in 4 weeks, your schedule may look something like this:

Week One: Have your topic chosen (and make sure it fits the assignment requirements.) Note: this article focuses on writing an Argumentative research report, but there are several different types of reports that instructors may require. Please see "Other Reports Available" at the end of this article.)

Week Two: Complete your research. (Details for this can de found in Step Two: Complete the Research.)

Week Three: Write the first draft. (Details for this can de found in Step Three: Write the Report.)