Let’s say you have to write an essay on the danger of polar bear extinction. Now there are dangers of polar bears becoming extinct, yes, but you know nothing about this. So ask yourself, where did the public probably first become aware of the polar bear extinction problem—probably National Geographic—a journal / magazine known for caring strongly about wildlife—and perhaps some high quality marine journals would be a good place to start.
You could read a couple of articles that go over the basic issues of why the polar bears are in danger are becoming extinct, what the threats are to them exactly – which is actually the threat of the melting polar ice caps making it so hard for them to get food that they will gradually die out from starvation – learning about the problem and basic proposed solutions to the problem. You could begin finding what you think are the best possible resources on this issue, gradually amassing around five to ten article, which you could then begin reading closely.
Or you could take another step which would be much more wise for a beginning writer. You could seek out the free help guaranteed you with your college tuition – the writing center and the school library. These resources are there to help you to understand exactly what writing a research paper or research essay is all about.
Librarians are Free tutors – and Saviors
First, a librarian can help you leap over all the “fluff” articles and to get straight to the absolute best, easiest to understand articles for a beginning writer like you. They will know the most respected types of sources for endangered animals, endangered marine life, and how to draw in the whole issue of global warming with high quality environmental sources that will offer not only opinions on the extent of this problem, and statistics which estimate exactly how long we, the earth, can keep progressing the way that we are, using the resources that we are, before the polar bears become extinct.
While you are there, ask the librarian about the best resources they know of on the web that can help students begin to understand how to cite, quote, and document all sources that they use in an essay correctly. Tell the librarian you would also like to find a good quality sample paper using the same documentation system that you are – so you will have to know whether your teacher is requiring you to use APA or MLA style.
Then, after you have collected some of the best articles you can , tuck all of these collected essays and, perhaps, books, into a large, expandable file folder and head over to the writing center, where you can get help beginning your essay all by yourself.
Model Essays on Similar Toipcs Can Help
The other option is to begin by looking up sample papers in, say, APA format, on the web on a similar topic, Perhaps you could do a web search for “animals endangered by global warming human practices.” You can use this as a model for not only structuring your essays but citing your sources properly as well.