Today our guest was Dr. Sandra Doran. Dr. Doran has worked with parents and teachers for more than 25 years and enjoys conducting workshops through her business, www.TheTeacherTrack.com. She has taught on every level from pre-school through graduate school and holds a doctorate of education from Boston University. On both a personal and professional level she has had first-hand experience dealing with such issues as attention-deficit disorder, dyslexia, specific learning disabilities, emotional issues, and giftedness.

Some of the basic symptoms a person with ADD/ADHD might have would be:

• Consistantly inconsistent
• Difficulty paying attention to detail and tendency to make careless mistakes in school or other activities; producing work that is often messy and careless
• Easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli and frequently interrupting ongoing tasks to attend to trivial noises or events that are usually ignored by others
• Inability to sustain attention on tasks or activities
• Difficulty finishing schoolwork or paperwork or performing tasks that require concentration
• Frequent shifts from one uncompleted activity to another
• Procrastination
• Disorganized work habits
• Forgetfulness in daily activities (for example, missing appointments, forgetting to bring lunch)
• Failure to complete tasks such as homework or chores
• Frequent shifts in conversation, not listening to others, not keeping one’s mind on conversations, and not following details or rules of activities in social situations

Determine when these signs are exhibited during the course of the day, evening, or night. The ADHD child has these issues not only at school or at home, but also elsewhere such as extra-curricular activities or during neighborhood playtime. Forming a time frame at what age these symptoms began to show up alerts the parent to the possibilities that their child may indeed have ADHD. An ADHD child starts exhibiting many of these symptoms before the age of seven.

Dr. Doran says using the acronym AIH can be very helpful in diagnosing a child with ADHD.

• Attentional bias – We are not talking about the normal distractibility of a child, but instead, ADHD sufferers have an inability to focus on tasks, instructions, or activities.
• Impulsiveness – All children are impulsive to some degree or another, but when we are looking at an ADHD child, they are several degrees above their peers in impulvsive behavior. Their impulsiveness is constantly getting them into trouble and they do not have the ability to keep it in check.
• Hyperactivity – Hyperactive symptoms are different than inattention in that the child is always moving. They fidget and have a hard time sitting still.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health two to three percent of children have ADHD. This means that in a typical classroom at least one child is ADHD. The NIMH estimates that about 2 million children in the United States have ADHD.

A neurologist by the name of Dr. Fred Baughman estimated that 500,000 children were diagnosed with ADHD in 1985 and he estimates that there are now 5 to 7 million children with this diagnosis. Dr. Baughman’s main point seems to be that ADHD is misdiagnosed and overly medicated.

Russell Barkley, PhD, has done extensive research on ADHD and ADD. Here is the summary of some of his findings:

• Boys are most likely to be diagnosed ADHD.
• 75% of boys with ADD are also hyperactive while,
• 60% of girls with ADD are also hyperactive.
• 40% of children with ADHD have a parent with ADHD
• 50% of children with ADHD also have trouble sleeping
• Children with ADHD develop 30% slower than non ADHD children
• 65% of children with ADHD have discipline problems
• 25% of children with ADHD have a serious learning disability
• One half of ADHD children have poor listening comprehension
• Parents of a child with ADHD are three times as likely to divorce
• Teens with ADHD have four times as many car accidents and have seven times as many second accidents

 On the other hand, there are also positive traits associated with people who have ADHD:

Creativity – Children who have ADD/ADHD can be very creative and imaginative. The child who daydreams and has ten different thoughts at once can become a master problem-solver or an wonderful artist. They may be easily distracted but sometimes they notice what others don’t see.

Flexibility – Since they don’t consider a lot of options at once they are usually more open to different ideas.

High Energy – When children with ADD/ADHD are motivated, they strive to succeed and work and play hard.

Curious – Children with ADD/ADHD are not usually boring! They are interested in a lot of different things and their curiosity makes life very interesting.

Keep in mind, too, that many children with ADD/ADHD are intellectually or artistically gifted. We totally believe that every child has been given unique gifts to bless others. And affirming those gifts can be a protective factor against low self-worth. Make a point to focus on what is right about your child.

By Cathy Jackson

It sounds hard, doesn’t it? Managing and Maintaining are both big words. And they mean work. So is it work? According to Cathy Turner, Chairperson for the Christian Homeschool Alliance of Texas (CHAT), the answer to this question is a big, resounding YES. But it’s a rewarding job, as well.

Cathy Turner and her husband have five children – four of whom have graduated high school from home school. Their youngest child is in his final year of high school. They are in their 11^th consecutive year of homeschooling with a total of 14 years logged in!

What exactly is a Homeschool Alliance or Association? We asked Cathy that very question and the answer was really quite simple. A Homeschool Alliance is a group of people who want to homeschool their children and get together and organize themselves accordingly. It can be as simple as 2 families, or as in Cathy’s case, 55 or more families. CHAT has gotten large enough that they now have a Board of Directors and also simple rules of conduct and a dress code. They meet two Fridays per month to offer enrichment classes such as music and art, and also to go on field trips on a regular basis. Because of the number of students they have in their group, many of their field trips have been at a much lower cost because of the group rate.

Anyone can start a Homeschool Alliance. A great place to start would be www.hslda.com. That is the Homeschool Legal Defense Association. Another source that Cathy gave us was www.peah.com where you can find a wealth of educational materials, products and services designed specifically for your homeschool family, your children’s needs and your budget!

Cathy is also happy to answer any questions that someone might have for her. You can email her at chairman@c-h-a-t.org. For information about CHAT, send your email to info@c-h-a-t.org. To send announcements about events, products, or services of interest to the alliance members, you can email them at fyi@c-h-a-t.org or visit their website at www.c-h-a-t.org.

Deciding whether or not to homeschool your child is a big decision. Having a support group, socialization for your children and comraderie with other parents who are experiencing the journey right along with you can make it a big, rewarding decision.

Jesus said, Except you’re converted as a child, you won’t enter the kingdom (paraphrased Matt 18:3). Our understanding of the “heart” of a child is of eternal importance, so I invited Elizabeth Causey to help me with this recent radio show topic. 

Elizabeth Causey

Elizabeth was born outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but grew up in the South. Her family moved every two years because of her father’s job. In the fifth grade her family finally settled in Charlotte, NC. “Because of this experience, I had a sense of not really belonging anywhere,” states Elizabeth. The main constant in her life was the church. 

Is this a bad thing for a child? Moving every year or so? What do the children of the military do? When the choice is, being with your parents or being with your friends and extended family, the choice is obvious. “This World’s not my home I’m just a passing through, my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. . .” Children trustingly go where their parents want them to go, just as we should trust our Heavenly Father’s leading in our lives. 

Elizabeth and I agreed that the emotional needs of every child’s heart are for security, love, and approval, and the child of our adult heart longs for these same conditions. God, in His great wisdom, personified each of these conditions for us in His Son, Jesus Christ. We can rest in the Heavenly Father’s hands. 

Elizabeth’s husband is the founder and director of The National Christian Choir. Elizabeth wrote the book, The Heart of a Child, to accompany a CD produced by The National Christian Choir under the direction of Dr. C. Harry Causey, and with Special Guest, Steve Green. As I listened to this beautiful recording of children’s songs, I felt transposed to the heavenly realm. Doesn’t music do that to you? Isn’t it the language of the soul? I think I’ll do a little more singing and a little less crying today.

There isn’t one of us who wants harm to come to our children; we certainly don’t want the “she bears to get them.” What do we do when we see them heading on a self-destructive path? Kalyn’s Secret is a story about such an experience. As a pastor’s kid, Kalyn was active in church, a straight-A student, a seemingly perfect daughter. So how, at the age of 14, did she become involved with a man in her father’s church who was three times her age?

Kalyn says this unhealthy relationship started very innocently. His family and her family were good friends. The man would often compliment her on how nice she looked or how beautiful she sang. Lisa, the mother, didn’t realize that one in four girls is the victim of this type of crime and one in six boys. As a homeschooling mom she thought her children were protected. “Maybe I gave Kalyn too much credit to be able to handle things in a mature fashion.” She commented.

In the book Kalyn’s Secret, Lisa has written an Allegory called the Journey through Adolescence. In this allegory the parent and teen are traveling on a river, the parent has studied certain islands that they need to avoid like Depression, Drugs, Sexual Abuse, Rebellion, Violence, and Teen Pregnancy. Unfortunately, the parent doesn’t realize that the island of Love Addiction doesn’t wait for you to land on it, but can sneak on your boat while in the middle of the river.

Love Addiction consists of three main components: Romance, Relationship and Sexual Addiction. Love addiction is often perceived to be “less serious” than other addictions such as eating disorders or self-harm/mutilation, perhaps because it sounds “softer.”  In reality it is extremely painful and can be very dangerous to both the addict and the object of their affection.  Many suicides, murders, stalking, rapes and other crimes of passion have their roots in this addiction.  Our culture, as portrayed in the media, has traditionally glorified love addiction with the notion that we fall in love and live “happily ever after.” Teens and young adults are particularly vulnerable to this type of addiction because they don’t fully understand the groundwork that true relationships require.

Some of the causes for Love Addiction are: Lack of nurturing and attention when young, feeling isolated, detached from parents and family, hidden pain over emotional and/or sexual abuse, inner rage over lack of nurturing, and early abandonment. Encourage your teens to know about the background of their girl or boy friend and if any of these events have been part of their life, strongly caution them both of the danger of Love Addiction.  

Have them do a self-inventory by checking the following:

• Outer facade of “having it all together” to hide internal breakdown

• Mistake intensity for intimacy (drama driven relationships)
• Highly manipulative and controlling of others
• Sense of worthlessness without a relationship or partner
• Feelings that a relationship makes one whole, or more of a man or woman
• Escalating tolerance for high-risk behaviors
• Intense need to control self, others, circumstances
• Presence of other addictive or compulsive problems 
• Using others, sex and relationships to alter mood or relieve emotional pain
• Continual questioning of values and lifestyle
• Confusion of sexual attraction with love (“Love” at first sight)
• Tendency to trade sexual activity for “love” or attachment  
• Existence of a secret “double life”
• Refusal to acknowledge existence of problem
• Tendency to leave one relationship for another
• Inability to be without a relationship
• Attempts to replace lost relationships with a new one immediately  

Many of these symptoms are also elements of co-dependency and intimacy dysfunctions resulting from childhood abandonment, emotional and/or sexual abuse.  For this reason treatment and therapy for Love Addiction often includes trauma recovery work. 

It has been eight long years toward recovery for Kalyn. She went down the slippery slope of rebellion, cutting, not eating, and suicide. All of these were symptoms of a bigger problem, and as parents we must be determined not to “let the she bears get them!”

What is video gaming, and how did it start? It all started in 1949, when a young engineer named Ralph Baer was given an assignment to build a television set. He wasn’t supposed to build just any television set, but one that would be the absolute best of all televisions. This was not a problem for Baer, but he wanted to go beyond this assignment and incorporate some kind of game into the set. He didn’t know exactly what kind of game he had in mind, but it didn’t really matter because his managers thought the idea was crazy. It would take another 18 years for his idea to become a reality, and by that time there would be other people who’d have the same idea, like Willy Higinbotham, who designed an interactive tennis game played on an oscilloscope, and Steve Russell, who programmed a rudimentary space game on a DEC PDP-1 mainframe computer.

The history of video gaming is not just about companies such as Atari–an American company with a Japanese name, and the Japanese company Sega was started by an American. Or Sony, the company that invented all types of electronics, from transistor radios to video recorders, would release a video game console that would become its top-selling product of all time.  No, the history of video gaming is really a story of human nature. And in a world where video games are often cited as a source for teenage violence and addiction, it seems appropriate to discuss the pros and cons.

As guest co-host for this show, I took the side of “pro video games” while Dr. Gamblin took the side of being against video games. And for the most part, I truly do think that video games have their place in our very busy, technologically-filled lives. Our children will need to be very technologically aware as they make their way through life.

At age three, my daughter could install simple games on the computer. She played Reader Rabbit for Toddlers and learned her colors, shapes, simple math, amongst other things. And she also learned to use a keyboard correctly. By the time she was ready for kindergarten, she was quite advanced in reading and math and still greatly enjoyed her computer games. My younger daughter has taken the same path. And both girls still really enjoy the educational games that are out there.

Now other games have become popular to both children as the Wii and PlayStation have become part of our household. But just last night, both girls and both parents were upstairs trying to keep up to Dance Dance Revolution. There was a lot of laughter – straight out hilarity, actually, as both Mom and Dad fumbled around, trying desperately to just stay ON the mat while our 12-year-old danced circles around us. But we had FUN. We laughed together as a family and encouraged both girls as they giggled the night away. Was it educational? Probably not. But as a family, it was a bonding time. And I’m here to tell you, it’s GREAT exercise.

Obviously, video gaming is a personal decision – one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Choosing games wisely, guarding your time, etc. need to all be taken into consideration. Each parent needs to decide whether or not the games are a help or hinderance to their child and to their family. Addictions can and do happen. So while I’m all for video gaming, I’m also all for being aware of what is best for you and for your children.

What are your thoughts?

Reaching Your Star

We’d all like to have a million dollars in the bank, successful career, loving family, nice community, and maybe be a little famous? What is your “star” (goal)? What do you desire most from life? These are some important steps I use to reach my goals and as I listened to Jessica Burkhart’s story I saw wonderful examples of each step.

Jess and her Favorite Animal

1. Set a Goal

We often use the phrase “reach for the stars” when we are referring to striving toward a goal. When I think of someone reaching for the stars I think of Jessica Burkhart. By the age of ten, Jess had started her own business, “Jessie’s Tack Cleaning Service,” to pay for horseback riding lessons. Oh, how she loved horses! At that point in her life, she wanted to be a great equestrienne.

2. Learn How to Handle Disappointment and Rejection

Jess’s dream of becoming a equestrienne dissolved in the eighth grade, when she had a spinal fusion for severe scoliosis. During her recovery, she read dozens of teen magazines and thought Ooooh! I could do that! She learned how to write a query and sent dozens of queries to magazines only to be rejected over and over again.

3. Do What You Love to Do

But Jess continued to “reach for the stars.” She finally stopped writing about topics she thought editors wanted to read, and wrote about what she loved–volunteering with the Humane Society. And that was the first article to be accepted.

4. Think of Others

In 2001, a year after her spinal fusion, Jess started Str8 Spines for Shriners, a support group for kids and teens facing spinal surgery, at any Shiners Hospital. Jess, still disheartened by not being able to ride; kept writing about anything but horses. She hated being reminded of what she couldn’t do.

5. Get and Stay Focused

Jess’s family moved to Florida, and she focused on two things–education and writing. She began college at sixteen and had an Associate’s Degree from Lake City Community College in the fall of 2005. By this time she had over 100 pieces published in magazines such as Girls’ Life, Listen, and The Writer.

6. Take Risks

While attending Florida State University in November 2006, during her senior year, she signed up for the National Novel Writing Month. The challenge? Write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.

The idea for a horse novel hit and wouldn’t go away. Jess started to live vicariously through her horseback riding characters and fell in love with horses all over again.

On December 1, 2006, the first draft of Take the Reins was completed!

7. Use Every Available Resource

In January 2007, an agent stumbled upon Jess’ blog and asked to read her manuscript. Jess crossed her fingers and sent Take the Reins to NYC. She signed with the agent who sent Take the Reins to publishers that spring. Within 10 days, Jess had a four-book deal from Simon & Schuster’s Aladdin MIX. That four-book deal would later turn into a sixteen-book deal and Cantorwood Crest Academy.

8. Celebrate Your Successes

Jess graduated magna cum laude from Florida State University in April 2007, at the age of 20, with a BA in English. Now, at the age of 23, Jess is a full-time author of tween fiction. She has had six books released in 2009 and two scheduled for 2010. Jess relocated to NYC in April 2009 and loves it!

I hope Jess’s story has inspired you as it has me! Now, get going, the world will be impoverished if you don’t reach for your “star” and let your light shine!

“For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jer. 29:11 NIV

Norma Nashed was born in Palestine but was raised in Jordan. She experienced extreme poverty as a child because her father spent all the family’s income on alcohol. She believes this experience prepared her heart to be sensitive to the needs of others. Her motto is: “remain unstained by the world.”

Norma Nashed

How do you remain “unstained by the world?” And, what are the “stains” James is referring to in James 1:27? Is James talking about the opposites of the fruit of the Spirit—hate, grief, fear, anxiousness, meanness, disloyalty, harshness, and self-indulgence? I’m a pretty nice person but I still struggle with grief, fear, and anxiousness. Does this mean I’m being “stained” by the world?

How encouraging to hear the story of Norma’s life. She was elected as one of the first two Jordanian girls to attend a private pilot course in Jordan. Norma navigated as a Christian woman in a Muslin society most of her life, eventually becoming the personal secretary to Ali Ghandour, organizer and later Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Jordanian Airlines.

Now Norma devotes her life to helping children all over the world. Most recently a Jewish gentleman has pledged to match donations up to $100,000. “It’s amazing how God has led a Jewish man to help an Arab woman!” She exclaims.

Yes, I think these hard economic times can be a tremendous blessing to people of faith. First, it strengthens our faith because we now experience God’s providence firsthand. And, second, we can follow God’s job description without the distraction of a “worldly” job.

So, how do you remain unstained by the world?

By Dr. Rose Gamblin

Norma Swanson

Norma Swanson joined Homeschool Companion in a rousing discussion about the U. S. Flag. Norma is the founder and president of Window to the World, Inc. She is a long time teacher and educator and has served as a confidential assistant to the Deputy Undersecretary of Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs at the U.S. Department of Education and also served as Assistant Director of Education for the U.S. Commission of the Bicentennial of the Constitution. She has authored several children’s books and is currently working on a book about the Constitution titled A Constitution is Born.

Did you know that in the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14? It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened that day by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777. Don’t tell me that June 14 goes by and you didn’t put out your flag or at least pause and look at someone else’s flag.

And for those of you who don’t know diddly-squat about the Second Continental Congress, here’s the scoop. The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that met; beginning on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774, also in Philadelphia. The Second Congress managed the Colonial War effort, and moved, incrementally, toward independence, adopting the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776. By raising armies, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and making formal treaties, the Congress acted as the de facto national government of what became the United States. But, somehow among all the important things we do to honor our soldiers and teach patriotism, we often overlook Flag Day because it was never made into a federal holiday.

What’s so special about the flag?

F-14

Dane (Norma’s son) lofted the F-14 above the clouds. Where was the carrier? He knew that he’d have to fly by instruments but even with instruments there were risks in finding the tiny speck—an aircraft carrier—somewhere below. The clouds engulfed him in an eerie silence as he started his descent. It was very disorienting to be flying with no visual reference. And then the clouds lifted and there he saw it, the American Flag flying high on his carrier, he’d make it home once more. And amid the screeching and roaring of the landing aircraft he thought for a moment, this is the sound of freedom. Later Norma had an opportunity to share this story with the late President Reagan, and received a nice letter thanking Dane and acknowledging the sounds of freedom.

USS Ronald Reagan

This story is a great metaphor for the meaning of the flag. It is special because it is the symbol of freedom!

By Cathy Jackson

Today I had so much fun being a guest co-host on the show, Restoring Culture through the Arts. What, exactly, does that mean?

Today we were honored to have Vivian Doublestein as a guest on our show. She is the founder and

Dr. Rose Gamblin and Guest Co-host Cathy Jackson

Executive director of The Master’s Academy of Fine Arts, based in Atlanta, GA. Vivian grew up surrounded by music. She said that as a child, she was what one might consider one of those kids who was constantly, “bouncing off the walls.” Her attention span was short, sitting still didn’t seem to be something that was possible. Being around a lot of people was sometimes overwhelming. Does any of this sound familiar? So often our children are diagnosed with ADD or ADHD and then medicated to calm them down. Are we medicating the creativity right out of them?

Ms. Doublestein decided to homeschool her three children and did so right through high school. She said that what she discovered during those years was that “Homeschooling is not necessarily about teaching the student, but instead, it’s about developing the character of the parents.” We should remember the acronym PLUG. Pray – pray for your children. Pray that you as the parent will know how to help your child develop their special traits and talents. Listen – It’s so hard sometimes, isn’t it? But do we really listen to our children? What are they trying to say. I think each child speaks a “different language” and it’s up to us as parents to learn their individual languages. Understand – That’s when “light dawns.” You listen to your child until you understand their language. That is when true communication between parent and child starts to happen. And then comes Guide – Guiding children, in my opinion, is never easy. But with prayer, listening and understanding, it becomes so much easier. Vivian pointed out that PLUG, spelled backwards, spells GULP. It works that way, doesn’t it? We try to guide first, then understand and listen and when it’s not working, we pray as a last resort.  So let’s plug into our children instead of having to gulp!

Do you sometimes feel like teaching your child is like putting a square peg into a round hole? Do you then start pounding on that square peg to try to make it round and fit in the hole, or do you start changing the hole to fit the square peg? I know that from experience I sometimes feel like it would be so much easier to have a child that “fit the mold.” I have two children and still haven’t found a mold that they fit in to. One is very gregarious and outgoing, so it’s easier for her to fit in. The other one is quiet and introverted most of the time. She loves to be around people, but only for a little bit. Then you will notice that she’s off by herself. Someone inevitably will comment that she’s pulling away from her friends and isn’t happy. Or when you talk to her, she doesn’t hear you. She’s then labeled as “rude” and “inconsiderate.”  Now I know my daughter, and I hope that I have used the PLUG system with her. I try to explain to family and friends a little bit about her so that maybe they can understand just a little of why she is the way she is. I find her an absolute joy to be around. My gift from God. She knows that the sky is the limit with the endless possibilities of what she will do with her life.

So how about you? Do you have a gifted and talented child? Give me your thoughts and ideas.

             Do you remember that first time you connected a pencil to a piece of paper? Most of us probably tried sometime in our toddler years only to have the sharp object snatched from our tiny hands. Take a moment to reflect back and you may remember that first letter–often written upside down and backwards—usually an “I.” I had one niece that would write one direction if she started on the left side of the paper and then would write backward if she started writing on the right side of the paper. 

              There were a number of important lessons I learned in my recent conversation with Dr. Alayne Thorpe. She is a highly credentialed English and writing teacher. She serves as the Vice President of Education for Griggs University/International Academy. She has a Bachelors and Masters in English, and an earned Doctorate in Modern British Literature.  As a writing teacher for 30 years–in public high schools and colleges, she’s written the book, even designing a writing curriculum for the State of Maryland. Most recently she has guided the process of developing an entire online high school curriculum at Griggs International Academy. I had to ask, “With an online course, do students still need to know how to write?”

            “Yes, more than ever, students need to know how to write. Writing is a way of expressing one’s thoughts.”  She replied. Here are the main points from our conversation. 

Writing always needs to be connected to a purpose.

             Encourage your students to keep a journal. The purpose of a journal is to teach reflective and decision-making skills, and develop imaginative and personal expression. I’m sure you can think of other benefits of journaling.

 Writing is a highway.

             On that highway are many different vehicles—we call them modes and genres. They are descriptive, narrative, expository, persuasive, literary response, personal expression and imaginative. Help your students understand these different vehicles and show them how they may use more than one vehicle to reach their destination.

 Don’t confuse the writing mechanics with writing.

            Writing is intimately connected to thinking. In fact, writing helps me define my thinking and thinking helps me define my writing. Again I compare writing to a vehicle. This vehicle is helping me communicate my thinking to myself and others.

 What about the process of writing? Where does one begin?

             First, you just write down your thoughts, feelings, and ideas. I like to call it “splatting my brains on paper.”  Then you look at grammar. Often you write and re-write. Take, for example, John Milton’s Paradise Lost, he wrote 32 versions. And he probably still wasn’t fully satisfied with it. Good writing is like any work of art, you work, craft, and refine.

 What is the difference between journaling using a word processor or using paper and pen?

             Young children should first learn to write using a paper and pencil or pen. The connection between the paper and pencil actually helps learning to occur because of the kinesthetic and tactile aspects. As soon as children can learn to type, using the correct fingering, they can start journaling using a word processor. The word processor and paper and pen both are tools for conveying thoughts, feelings, and ideas.

A little bit about writing research.

             One of the most important aspects of a research paper is the thesis statement. Once you’ve crafted a good thesis statement you’ve completed about 75 percent of the work. A thesis statement contains the topic, the opinion, and the judgment statements about the topic.

A word of caution.

             Never use something as a source that you don’t understand. In other words, you need to defend why you would include that information in your paper. Know how to summarize. And don’t plagiarize.

 All this writing about writing has gotten me excited about completing some of the writing projects I have gathering dust on my shelves. Maybe you feel the same way.  Write With the End in Mind