Explain your research topic/get reader’s attention
• Start by writing a paragraph about the general research topic. Explain the basic issues of the research problem.
• Then, explain the importance of the research topic. Explain your own thinking. Explain why it is important to a subfield of geography. Explain its importance to society. Explain other reasons why it might be an important topic.
Step 2
Explain your research question
• In this step, you really narrow your focus from the general research issue to a very specific question.
• Your questions will have a study site specific focus • Your questions will focus on one tiny “angle” or “aspect” of the broader research
Step 3
Present your hypothesis
• In this step, you do not have to use fancy jargon about hypothesis testing • Just explain what it is that you think you will discover. realize you do not have to be correct in your hypothesis to earn an A. Faulty hypotheses 4, are just fine.
Step 4
Explain the organization of your paper
• In this step, you summarize what the reader will experience as they go through your paper • This is like reading a sign about upcoming exits on a freeway
• You are not writing a mystery novel, but you are explaining how you solved a mystery using a time-tested formula of organization.
