Research
One of the things that have been emphasized in my education the most has been research. Do your research. Make sure that your research comes from credible sources. Your research must relate to your thesis statement.
The first time that I remember doing research was in the fourth grade when I had to research black jaguars for a science project. However, being that it was around 2006-2007, we didn't have internet at my house during this period, and my parents could not take me to the library—so, the majority of my research came from a CD version of the encyclopedia that my parents bought for us (my siblings and me) for this very purpose. I remember that my teacher was really impressed with my essay and I learned a lot about black jaguars and still remember some of it to this day—I think that is one thing that has not been emphasized enough in my education, to learn. It wasn't until my senior year of High School that I had a professor challenge what research actually meant and ask me to question the meaning of what I was collecting in terms other than what was obviously being presented.
Unfortunately, I know many who do not learn to approach research this way and find it boring. Looking at it from a more analytical perspective will benefit everyone, nonetheless here are some of the questions I like to think about in my research:
Make the topic of your research interesting:Sometimes, the topic simply not one of huge interest to you and there is no alternative. When I am in this position, I like to find at least one interesting fact or element related to the topic and figure out a way to appropriately incorporate it into all of the other, mundane points that I may have.
Use visuals:It is likely that if you, the author, do not find the topic interesting, it will come across that way to your audience. Finding visual media that gives you the same information that you would get from reading might make the information more exciting for you!
Create your own goal:Many times, we do research because someone else tells us that we need to be doing the research, which can almost make us defiant. The case becomes more so when we are assigned a topic of little interest. The best way to combat this is to create your own goals, outside of just completing an assignment, for your research. Say that the goal of the assignment is you get you to learn more about the Civil War. Perhaps your own goal could be to learn how its effects have affected the way you live every day.
Researching will not always be exciting and you may feel unmotivated to even begin but making it interesting, finding different modes of research, and setting personal goals have all been successful methods for me.