1. Choosing a topic and forming a thesis question or statement

1.The first step of any project is determining a topic of which you want to study. In our case, I am going to let you choose any topic that you can prove happened between the ending of WW2 and your birthdate. In other words, you are looking for a topic that occurred between 1945 and 2001. However, if you have a topic that occurred just before 1945, or just after your birth, and you have a strong thesis, I will consider your suggestion.

2. Once you have a topic you must choose something to prove about it. A research paper is not about reporting random facts about a topic. A research paper is about arguing and proving a point. For example, if the topic that I am interested in is the Battle of Gettysburg, I would not just want to list facts and stories about the battle. I would need to prove something, like, Pickett's Charge was not the most important battle during the Gettysburg fight. Then I would need to prove that I am right.

3. Once you have chosen a thesis, now you must decide what points you want to use to prove that you are correct. In my example, I might feel that the Battle for Little Round Top had more impact, Culp's Hill was more strategic, and the uncoordinated nature of the attacks had far more affects. THEN, I need to find supporting evidence of my three "sub points" that prove my overall thesis.