How to Do a Project

Organizing Ideas

Try mind mapping. To brainstorm and organize ideas for your project, make a mind map to stimulate new thoughts. Use a plain piece of paper, poster board, or whiteboard for your mind map and write the goal of your project in the middle. Write down related topics, subtopics, and relevant concepts around the goal, and branch out from them to create and follow different tangents. For instance, if your goal is to “provide a comprehensive account of the history of the fur trade in North America”, subtopics and tangents could include “relations with Natives”, “history of European fashion”, and “the cultural significance of fur”.

Discuss things in a group. If you are doing a group project, brainstorming things together will allow each group member to feed off of the ideas of others and gain new insight. Schedule a brainstorming session in a quiet place with few distractions. If you are working on a project on your own, group discussion with friends or colleagues can help you gain a new perspective on the topic you’re covering. Remember to include everybody in any decision-making.

Plot out your research. Plan out the process of your research by using the gap filling brainstorming technique. To do this, identify where you are starting from in terms of your knowledge and resources (i.e. Point A), and identify where you want to go with your project (Point B). Make a list of all of the things missing between Point A and Point B and make a plan for filling in this gap. For instance, if Point A is starting a project about electric cars with limited knowledge on the topic, and Point B is completing a PowerPoint presentation about them, you can fill the gap by conducting research (online and in a library), outlining the history, technology, and possible future of electric cars, and procuring pictures and news articles about them.

Conducting Research

Make a project timeline. Completing a successful project requires a significant amount of time and work, which means evaluating your priorities and planning your course of action. Schedule specific research time and plan daily, weekly, or monthly targets for your progress (e.g. completing a detailed project outline by the first week). Keep track of your schedule with a smartphone app such as Schedule Planner, a free iPhone app that organizes your tasks and deadlines.

Use reliable sources. When looking up books, news articles, or websites, always look for the credentials of the author or creator of a text. Search for the name of the writer(s) to see if they have already been published, or cited in the work of others. Avoid anonymously-written text or any sensational writing that may be geared towards attracting readers rather than conveying facts.

Find up to date material. When researching a topic, check the date of publication of all of the reference materials that you use. Current information is always ideal, but it is imperative to find the most recent data in dynamic fields such as the sciences. Historical texts, on the other hand, would be an exception.

Producing Project Materials

Draft a thesis statement. Start with a simple question about the topic of your project and begin your research. Once you grow more familiar with the material, make a statement that you can argue for as a project goal. Ask yourself if the thesis statement needs to be researched, and make sure that it is only expressing one main idea.

Start writing early. Fight the inclination to save the writing step of your project until after your research is complete. Start writing notes from the beginning of the process to help you engage with the material you’re studying and to record ideas as they come to you. Writing in the early stage of research will also give you content to get feedback on from family, friends, group project co-members, or from a project supervisor.

Add flair to your project. Make your project stand out by adding dynamic elements to it. Wherever possible, add auditory, visual, or tactile components to the project material to make it more interesting and accessible. Different approaches to the project will add a new dimension to the topic covered. Add an auditory component like a taped interview or recorded radio broadcast to liven up the project. Add visual aids like charts, pictures, and maps to enhance the project. Add a tactile part to your project, like a short video.

Review the project rubric to make sure you’ve hit your requirements. Double check the rubric provided to you by your teacher and do a self-assessment of your project. Did you meet all the requirements you needed or are some areas still lacking? Make any adjustments or additions to your project if you need to.