SPEAKER 1: When I start a paper, I think about, what's the main point of it. What do I want to say? What do I want them to remember after they finish it?

And then after I do that, I do the research and say, OK. Compare, cross-reference different articles, and books, and stuff like that. And then that's when it depends on where I am, because sometimes I'll do an outline, and other times I just write the first draft and get it all out there so I don't forget anything or I can add or take away stuff later.

SPEAKER 2: Well, if you're doing a research paper, always find something you can get excited about even if it's just a little thing because it makes your paper better.

SPEAKER 3: I was going to say that. Definitely put something in there that is more interesting because teachers have to read a lot of papers. It's not fun. It gets boring eventually. If they're interested in your read, you get a better grade.

SPEAKER 1: And try not to regurgitate exactly what you see in the book or what they tell you because then, oh, they're just memorizing and putting it down on paper. If you rephrase it in their own words, state some of your own opinions, then they'll say, OK. They have an understanding of this. They're actually taking the time to rephrase it and explore the topic.

SPEAKER 2: You have to know your audience when you write a paper. You don't just want to write a paper thinking, well, maybe it could go to these people and these people because we don't have a focused audience. You going all over the place.

And it's good to be really focused on whatever you're doing, science, math, or anything. Be focused and know what you're going at, what you're going after. And I think it's just a good thing to have, like if you have a friend, or your mom who's willing to check your paper, always have someone go over your paper, because a lot of times when I'm reading, if I read out loud, I'll skip over grammatical mistakes, just correct it in my mind. And I know that happens a whole lot. So it's good to have another set of eyes on your paper.

[MUSIC PLAYING]