Using Math to Discover the Purpose of Research Papers

Okay folks, I have the link to my latest research paper at the end of this post if you wish to read it. Honestly, I think it's my best one. So my post is about research papers and their purpose in life. For the majority of college students and even the majority of students in my major, writing research papers is definitely not one's idea of a good time. In fact, most of us dread that paper and put it off until the last possible moment, then pull all-nighters to finish that very, very rough draft (and yes, I speak from experience).  But as I learned in my recent English class, writing a research paper takes much more thought, time, and effort than those usual few hours of feverish typing.  Writing a good research paper means asking the right questions and exploring them. It means developing a thesis that not only states something you wish to prove, but leaves room to explore the reasons behind your statement. It means hours of searching through articles to find that one quote to add the right punch to your paper. And it means revising, revising and more revising to get that last sentence to sound perfect.

But even with the right research, the proper amount of time and the dedication, many of us still think, "Why am I writing a research paper? I don't plan on writing these types of papers for a living, so what's the point?" I know we've all thought of this. Even an English major like me has had these thoughts. It's a logical line of reasoning. After all, we go to college in order to learn specific skills so that we can find a good job after graduating. If "writing a research paper" isn't one of those skills that is needed in one's job field, then what would be the point?


This reminded me of  the argument many high school students use to debate the purpose of math. They would say things such as, "I don't plan to have a job where I have to use the quadratic formula, so why do I have to learn it now?" Of course, then the teachers would bombard them with all the different jobs and careers that require some math, which probably still didn't convince many of them. For English majors especially, math is a subject considered relatively useless, but I would argue differently. I say that learning those formulas and different theorems in high school actually did help more than we may think. Yes, I am defending math, the girl who has struggled with and loathed math since she knew of its existence. Despite our  rocky relationship, I believe that math has helped me. However, I feel that it wasn't necessarily the specific skill of solving a formula that proved useful; it was the other skills that came along with learning and doing math. By learning and using math formulas, we learn how to solve problems that seem unsolvable and we learn how to memorize.  By  practicing and struggling through math, we learn to concentrate, focus and backtrack when we make a mistake. I'm sure that any employer would welcome these skills in a prospective employee. 


I believe that it's the same type of learning with research papers. While they aren't very fun to write for most of us, they do help us to learn skills that will likely be needed later on in life. By learning to formulate a strong thesis, we learn to think in different ways.  In researching, we learn how to use various resources of the library and how to differentiate between reliable and unreliable sources. By writing in the formal research style, we learn how to present our subject material in a professional and intelligent manner (i.e. no smiley faces or lols). And by learning the MLA, APA, or Chicago formats, we learn how to write papers in a style that many businesses use, preparing us for jobs that may require us to write a little. Let's be honest, no matter what type of job you go into, you will almost always have to do some writing. And these skills will no doubt come in handy in the future whether you plan on working for a corporation, studying medicine or becoming an entrepreneur.


So there's my opinion. Simply put, research papers are good.  Now I'll just have to remind myself of that fact the next time I'm up late developing my thesis and my research. But I agree that while they can be very frustrating, it's also surprisingly rewarding to see a decent research paper and think, "I wrote that." It gives me a sense of accomplishment and even ownership.  That's probably why I want to be an author so I can feel that all the time. Ha, just kidding. . . maybe. Anyway, don't give up on writing research papers! Until next time! And here's the link: 

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5uiRbUNh6bHQTctczR5bF9jZE0/edit