Teaching Resources

7 Keys to Research for Writing Success: A Conversation with Mary Jo Fresch and David L. Harrison (and a giveaway!)

 //  Jan 25, 2018

7 Keys to Research for Writing Success: A Conversation with Mary Jo Fresch and David L. Harrison (and a giveaway!)

Mary Jo Fresch and David L. Harrison are co-authors of 7 Keys to Research for Writing Success. They join edu@scholastic to share a conversation about their process for conceiving of and writing the book, as well as why it's so important for educators to understand how to talk about research.

GIVEAWAY!

We are giving five readers the chance to win a copy of 7 Keys to Research for Writing Success. To enter for a chance to win, leave a comment below telling us about the most successful research project you've done with students in your class. One entry per person. All entries must be submitted by 5:59 p.m. ET on February 9, 2018. U.S. residents, 18 and over, please. See the complete legal rules here.

We would like to share our writing journey with you for our latest Scholastic book, 7 Keys to Research for Writing Success. As a literacy expert and educator (Mary Jo) and children’s book author (David), we have collaborated for several years, and knew that we could grow this work into a resource that will help educators teach students how to get ready to write. And as writers, both of us know from lots of trial and error that in order to craft something powerful, you have to be prepared. It was in this idea of preparation that we saw an important opportunity. 

We had conversations about writing (and teaching writing) with many writers, editors and teachers, and decided that our book didn’t need to be about the writing process. There are excellent titles about the process but there is not much information about what writers need to do before they are ready to write. Preparing to write—doing the presearch and research about a subject—shapes what we say and how we say it when the time comes to do the writing. Presearch is what writers do to prepare for the real digging for information (research). It’s the time when we think about the task ahead, decide what we’ll need to know, and map out how we’ll go about the process. In other words, presearch is planning for research. When young writers learn to organize their thoughts and questions, as well as the knowledge they bring to a subject, they have a solid foundation on which to tell a compelling story or craft an iron-clad argument. 

We also knew that “doing research” is a skill that needs to be taught in a practical way. It’s not enough to say, “look at books,” or “enlist the librarian.” Students need guidance on how to do these things with purpose: to select a topic, ask the right questions, consult reliable resources (as author Dan Brown says, “Google is not a synonym for research”), take good notes, and prepare to write. When students have these skills, they become independent researchers, which is an important part of the writing process. 

We wrote 7 Keys to Research for Writing Success with help from experienced teachers who provided samples of their students’ work, and David dug into his own research notes for examples to share with students. He shared stories (all in the book!) about how important good research is to his writing. 

David offered this example in particular:

“A key element in a middle grade novel I was developing involved a scientist and his son driving across the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument to spend a summer researching. When I personally traveled from Missouri to Arizona to see for myself the place I was describing, I learned that driving across that desert was actually not allowed. With this knowledge, I had to adjust: my adventurers had to settle for staying at a campsite! (And I had to make sure that any further plot points reflected the change.)”

Sharing stories like this with students drives home the point that unless we prepare before we start, our writing may have holes or inconsistencies that we don’t even know about! Our writing won’t be true and our readers will be cheated.

The teachers we worked with appreciated the step-by-step, efficient way they could teach good research skills to their students. By presearching a proposed topic, students discover if their idea is too big or too narrow. This saves time later on and helps keep students from being overwhelmed (by too much information) or disappointed (by too little). By putting a laser focus on their topics, students could choose more specific key words, saving time in the search and yielding better results. From there students can get really engaged in their topic. Suddenly, they will realize that research is the same for them as it is for published authors. We believe that if you do the (pre)work, you will wow your reader with a piece full of interesting and relevant facts and details. 

We open the book with an anonymous quote that we will use to close this blog post: “The future belongs to the curious. The ones who are not afraid to try it, explore it, poke it, question it and turn it inside out.”

We wish happy research adventures to you and your students!

Comments

comment5, vente chloroquine

comment5, vente chloroquine en ligne, 5615, vente chloroquine en ligne, 147917, commander chloroquine, ftweke,

comment1, chloroquine acheter

comment1, chloroquine acheter, 94635, achat chloroquine, 71021, avis chloroquine, 69143,

comment5, prix chloroquine,

comment5, prix chloroquine, gilds, chloroquine france, :-]]], commander chloroquine, vdp,

comment3, chloroquine en

comment3, chloroquine en ligne, =-OOO, pas cher chloroquine, 64449, generique chloroquine, >:[[,

comment2, synthroid en ligne,

comment2, synthroid en ligne, ucsrww, prix priligy, ehntz, avis cialis professional, 0601, acheter cialis soft france, kuly, acheter glucophage en ligne, %]], commander brand viagra, :-PPP, levitra professional en ligne, =-OOO, doxycycline france, 816, sildalis france, utq, avis amoxil, =(, avis kamagra effervescent, catnn, pas cher viagra professional, 158, female viagra france, 1178, acheter zyban, 8-O,

comment1, pas cher ventolin,

comment1, pas cher ventolin, 21353, acheter lovegra, 4263, viagra soft france, :PP, viagra super active en ligne, 8]]], acheter synthroid en ligne, >:-]], pas cher apcalis sx, mzts, prix cialis black, svjsqb, cenforce en ligne, >:)), avis orlistat, gpsugd, pas cher cialis professional, 764717, prix cialis soft, lnaipd, prix lioresal, 286, commander kamagra jelly, 028403, achat viagra professional, 2204,

comment1, acheter brand

comment1, acheter brand cialis france, >:-PP, acheter viagra soft france, 072393, cialis black en ligne, 8-((, commander propecia, vwuy, acheter lovegra en ligne, vlt, vente accutane, iucnnd, acheter viagra professional, jogc, pas cher cialis professional, 42309, avis cialis super active, 8-(, brand viagra france, 328, acheter viagra super active, bbzdup, ventolin en ligne, >:-PP, commander sildalis, 7977, acheter priligy, 773915,

comment2, vente estrace,

comment2, vente estrace, seobsw, prix levitra professional, znpavi, pas cher female viagra, :-DDD, prix kamagra, 366108, commander cenforce, jsv, commander viagra professional, 182, acheter kamagra jelly, lksa, commander stromectol, 180, avis cialis black, =)), pas cher cialis professional, 170, vente levitra, 2565, vente brand cialis, tlrwkh, acheter provigil france, :), acheter synthroid, :-((,

comment1, pas cher stromectol

comment1, pas cher stromectol, =-], acheter sildalis france, nixc, prix viagra professional, gvkxt, vente doxycycline, :PP, commander cenforce, 534662, acheter ventolin en ligne, 74929, acheter brand levitra en ligne, vmjl, avis accutane, ckreqk, achat cialis black, %-OOO, pas cher amoxil, :DDD, achat propecia, qeavls, provigil en ligne, 712, brand viagra en ligne, nzth, achat glucophage, bmmo,

comment4, pas cher zyban,

comment4, pas cher zyban, iufpg, achat stromectol, qzduhv, achat female viagra, 995577, acheter brand cialis, =), pas cher cialis super active, 173, prix kamagra, fxc, achat clomid, ncmkk, apcalis sx en ligne, qlpwuw, vente valtrex, =((, avis viagra soft, 8))), cialis soft france, 57298, achat augmentin, hdow, vente orlistat, 8[, acheter super kamagra en ligne, 099921,

comment2, pas cher viagra

comment2, pas cher viagra super active, 921, commander priligy, 5718, acheter zyban, oaf, avis valtrex, fuxi, achat baclofen, =OO, acheter ventolin en ligne, 31765, glucophage en ligne, 45853, vente amoxil, >:OO, vente orlistat, 430621, acheter kamagra effervescent, 127144, pas cher brand viagra, 82612, prix lioresal, 397931, achat zyvox, lmpzyc, apcalis sx en ligne, keplv,

comment1, acheter ventolin en

comment1, acheter ventolin en ligne, 494, achat lovegra, odv, commander viagra soft, 6586, acheter viagra super active france, =-OO, acheter synthroid france, bdd, acheter apcalis sx france, 8D, achat cialis black, 638317, avis cenforce, 25309, orlistat france, 66356, vente cialis professional, 499479, acheter cialis soft en ligne, rrvfa, avis lioresal, 72904, prix kamagra jelly, 833, vente viagra professional, iyrg,

comment5, vente chloroquine

comment5, vente chloroquine en ligne, 3356, chloroquine vente, 872, pas cher chloroquine, 80984,

comment2, prix chloroquine,

comment2, prix chloroquine, 8-]], achat chloroquine, phpx, achat chloroquine, 2256,

comment1, achat chloroquine,

comment1, achat chloroquine, >:-OOO, vente chloroquine en ligne, 649617, chloroquine achat, ewden,

comment1, chloroquine vente,

comment1, chloroquine vente, 372, prix chloroquine, >:-OOO, achat chloroquine en ligne, :[[[,

comment6, avis chloroquine,

comment6, avis chloroquine, 4622, chloroquine en ligne, ynhdba, achat chloroquine en ligne, sivnp,

comment3, vente zyban, 68491

comment3, vente zyban, 68491, acheter stromectol, ywacew, pas cher female viagra, 9298, acheter brand cialis en ligne, hhha, commander cialis super active, 79337, avis kamagra, 115, acheter clomid en ligne, fka, apcalis sx en ligne, 326089, commander valtrex, :P, avis viagra soft, sdpbda, commander cialis soft, :-[[[, prix augmentin, 433, commander orlistat, nwg, pas cher super kamagra, ugpgti,

comment6, achat brand cialis,

comment6, achat brand cialis, 474, pas cher viagra soft, %-]]], avis cialis black, :-P, commander propecia, kwrfv, vente lovegra, 678, accutane france, blk, prix viagra professional, vzafn, vente cialis professional, evzc, prix cialis super active, 452, acheter brand viagra, 413021, commander viagra super active, >:-[[, ventolin france, pie, acheter sildalis, 6512, vente priligy, zgneb,

comment5, acheter synthroid

comment5, acheter synthroid en ligne, :-PP, acheter priligy france, iudid, commander cialis professional, fgrqfc, commander cialis soft, >:PP, commander glucophage, rgtvti, brand viagra france, dju, achat levitra professional, 01366, acheter doxycycline, >:-(, achat sildalis, =]], commander amoxil, 011020, pas cher kamagra effervescent, =-], achat viagra professional, 94513, prix female viagra, :PP, prix zyban, ylcrw,

comment5, acheter lasix,

comment5, acheter lasix, 877469, commander levitra professional, jyrfrd, augmentin en ligne, :((, acheter baclofen en ligne, wmjuec, commander brand levitra, 187, kamagra effervescent en ligne, %O, acheter zyban en ligne, ncil, avis amoxil, =((, priligy france, ate, avis prednisolone, 303, sildalis france, =-), pas cher cialis super active, 22765, acheter glucophage en ligne, 558, avis accutane, 812104,

comment6, commander baclofen,

comment6, commander baclofen, 8954, prix kamagra jelly, 042624, acheter glucophage france, ryhcx, acheter kamagra jelly france, 7545, commander female viagra, tnoptx, vente kamagra, 95606, commander levitra professional, %-)), achat prednisolone, 30264, super kamagra france, 3472, stromectol france, =]]], avis zyban, dgfl, prix augmentin, %-D, acheter baclofen, dqcfcc, prix lioresal, aoywq,

comment3, acheter clomid,

comment3, acheter clomid, 73267, prix orlistat, vvouuk, avis viagra super active, 8-D, acheter cenforce, 450233, achat viagra soft, cse, clomid france, cixx, avis augmentin, %((, acheter cialis soft en ligne, 1384, avis sildalis, 954897, prednisolone france, qbjyii, prix cialis super active, xkk, pas cher accutane, 242824, acheter super kamagra, =[, prix brand levitra, %-OOO,

comment4, achat synthroid, %

comment4, achat synthroid, %-P, acheter priligy en ligne, djtcla, acheter cialis professional france, 8]], acheter cialis soft france, waxlh, acheter glucophage, >:-O, pas cher brand viagra, zrrk, vente levitra professional, 158, acheter doxycycline en ligne, =-OOO, achat sildalis, digg, achat amoxil, 8-DDD, acheter kamagra effervescent, =P, viagra professional en ligne, 78285, commander female viagra, %OO, vente zyban, 8]],

comment6, chloroquine achat,

comment6, chloroquine achat, 8473, chloroquine vente, 785, acheter chloroquine france, mxjf,

comment5, achat chloroquine,

comment5, achat chloroquine, pygp, commander chloroquine, 88283, chloroquine france, 25501,

comment2, prix chloroquine,

comment2, prix chloroquine, 9832, achat chloroquine en ligne, 8175, vente chloroquine en ligne, 2343,

comment2, acheter chloroquine

comment2, acheter chloroquine en ligne, xnei, acheter chloroquine france, 4279, achat chloroquine, 88522,

comment3, achat synthroid,

comment3, achat synthroid, norggn, prix priligy, 8DD, achat cialis professional, ege, pas cher cialis soft, tabb, commander glucophage, :)), commander brand viagra, 8-PPP, vente levitra professional, uglaia, commander doxycycline, 642230, pas cher sildalis, :-(, acheter amoxil, geq, prix kamagra effervescent, hzsuf, acheter viagra professional en ligne, 8-]]], prix female viagra, kksyr, avis zyban, 698703,

comment5, acheter synthroid,

comment5, acheter synthroid, =))), acheter orlistat france, =[[, avis valtrex, xule, ventolin france, vaygdj, pas cher baclofen, rknn, avis provigil, %-O, commander levitra, 820460, pas cher lioresal, 152, commander aralen, kdqujy, acheter brand cialis, :OO, zyvox en ligne, hchovm, acheter lasix en ligne, =-))), acheter apcalis sx en ligne, xvjbhj, commander viagra soft, =-D,

comment6, commander lasix,

comment6, commander lasix, aynyxi, acheter propecia, 890, aralen en ligne, >:-PP, lovegra en ligne, 2268, acheter doxycycline france, 4903, vente chloroquine en ligne, 7504, prix chloroquine, gev, vente chloroquine, >:-))), chloroquine france, =(, generique chloroquine, 352, avis chloroquine, :-),

comment1, achat clomid, 1554

comment1, achat clomid, 1554, prix orlistat, 974, acheter viagra super active, =-DD, acheter cenforce en ligne, =-]], prix viagra soft, gykcjw, acheter clomid, :-[[[, commander augmentin, 65014, avis cialis soft, 748, commander sildalis, >:-], avis prednisolone, 0969, cialis super active france, %DD, acheter accutane, ojohkb, avis super kamagra, yyc, achat brand levitra, %[[,

comment2, prix lasix, yvqrq,

comment2, prix lasix, yvqrq, achat levitra professional, 29241, achat augmentin, 7473, commander baclofen, =-PP, prix brand levitra, 98690, kamagra effervescent en ligne, :OOO, zyban en ligne, 8]], acheter amoxil, %-DDD, priligy en ligne, 8-[[, pas cher prednisolone, 26558, vente sildalis, 89663, avis cialis super active, 1792, achat glucophage, =O, avis accutane, 02116,

comment5, prix synthroid,

comment5, prix synthroid, 245219, prix orlistat, 123, acheter valtrex, 8446, avis ventolin, zymw, prix baclofen, njkrrn, pas cher provigil, 914, avis levitra, 551352, commander lioresal, dxfqyv, acheter aralen, vxgzm, brand cialis en ligne, 814532, commander zyvox, 893, avis lasix, tat, apcalis sx france, mtkic, commander viagra soft, 674293,

comment2, commander brand

comment2, commander brand cialis, juyti, vente viagra soft, 836478, achat cialis black, eohkt, achat propecia, 195200, avis lovegra, 205276, vente accutane, :], achat viagra professional, >:-]], pas cher cialis professional, ojpr, pas cher cialis super active, %-))), acheter brand viagra, >:-], prix viagra super active, 8O, ventolin en ligne, 8-), sildalis en ligne, boadwu, priligy en ligne, >:],

comment4, vente synthroid, >

comment4, vente synthroid, >:]]], achat orlistat, 3935, vente valtrex, 516, acheter ventolin en ligne, msgrm, avis baclofen, >:D, provigil en ligne, %), pas cher levitra, 629994, prix lioresal, zonsx, aralen france, 9713, achat brand cialis, kvy, acheter zyvox, =(, acheter lasix en ligne, 921412, commander apcalis sx, =-))), viagra soft france, xwe,

comment4, prix chloroquine,

comment4, prix chloroquine, oiynm, acheter chloroquine, 54375, chloroquine achat, abvyl,

comment2, vente chloroquine

comment2, vente chloroquine en ligne, 7123, acheter chloroquine france, 3500, chloroquine france, %(,

comment5, chloroquine vente,

comment5, chloroquine vente, =-DDD, generique chloroquine, 588269, pas cher chloroquine, nyhfa,

comment2, chloroquine en

comment2, chloroquine en ligne, 01411, chloroquine france, :), vente chloroquine en ligne, hmcmh,

comment3, vente chloroquine

comment3, vente chloroquine en ligne, mmvmr, vente chloroquine, hqg, chloroquine acheter, >:-OOO,

comment2, achat zyvox,

comment2, achat zyvox, amhdcc, vente synthroid, xrrnkf, acheter lasix en ligne, eadpi, acheter levitra professional en ligne, 846010, acheter priligy france, 02532, prix aralen, fjck, vente kamagra effervescent, 216, acheter levitra, >:((, viagra super active france, 486, acheter estrace, >:-DD, prix lovegra, hlp, vente cialis professional, luxd, prednisolone france, 810, acheter lioresal france, 986516,

comment3, vente clomid, =DDD

comment3, vente clomid, =DDD, orlistat en ligne, flmj, prix viagra super active, izx, acheter cenforce en ligne, nog, avis viagra soft, >:(, avis clomid, =))), acheter augmentin, fobwzn, achat cialis soft, mxe, vente sildalis, kmomn, acheter prednisolone en ligne, ottf, acheter cialis super active, hwlcz, vente accutane, xueus, super kamagra en ligne, yuqwp, achat brand levitra, vin,

comment1, vente stromectol,

comment1, vente stromectol, 391, prix sildalis, 8-[[, achat viagra professional, 04251, avis doxycycline, 0941, avis cenforce, 0391, acheter ventolin en ligne, rvy, pas cher brand levitra, xtr, acheter accutane, >:-DD, cialis black france, kch, acheter amoxil france, 1110, vente propecia, jsj, pas cher provigil, 557, brand viagra en ligne, 02320, glucophage en ligne, 8-)),

comment1, kamagra

comment1, kamagra effervescent en ligne, >:P, acheter apcalis sx en ligne, utjg, cialis soft france, dmu, acheter aralen, pfhdb, prix provigil, 82951, commander lasix, 888, achat cenforce, %-[[, vente brand levitra, fwpotk, commander amoxil, alzo, acheter zyvox, dithm, acheter levitra france, 922663, vente estrace, 8[, vente doxycycline, :]], clomid en ligne, 58218,

comment2, acheter clomid,

comment2, acheter clomid, 889, orlistat france, =-[[, prix viagra super active, 052, acheter cenforce france, >:-[[, acheter viagra soft, 948, acheter clomid, :(, commander augmentin, 8-))), pas cher cialis soft, 20696, prix sildalis, 110137, vente prednisolone, %[, acheter cialis super active france, 204, prix accutane, 8-(, super kamagra france, >:-PP, acheter brand levitra en ligne, gnfnp,

comment5, vente viagra super

comment5, vente viagra super active, cmk, avis priligy, =-P, acheter zyban en ligne, %P, avis valtrex, >:-], avis baclofen, =-], pas cher ventolin, arkc, acheter glucophage, 8DD, commander amoxil, 721348, pas cher orlistat, yao, acheter kamagra effervescent en ligne, hmerpt, acheter brand viagra en ligne, 41678, avis lioresal, gjxk, acheter zyvox en ligne, dxs, apcalis sx france, 8-[,

comment1, achat stromectol,

comment1, achat stromectol, =P, commander sildalis, >:-PPP, avis viagra professional, jemggj, doxycycline france, azaw, avis cenforce, ylrpq, pas cher ventolin, 418781, achat brand levitra, :-[[[, avis accutane, ounpw, vente cialis black, 8-]]], amoxil en ligne, 48576, propecia en ligne, 396658, avis provigil, 778916, brand viagra france, >:-(((, glucophage en ligne, 8206,

Pages