Writing a research paper can seem like a daunting task for many 5th grade students. With the right guidance and outline, they can write a thoughtful, well-organized paper. Here are the key elements to include in a 5th grade research paper outline to help students succeed:
Introduction
The introduction paragraph is where you’ll want to hook the reader and give them an overview of your topic. It should be about 4-5 sentences long. The first sentence is your attention grabber – something interesting to make the reader want to keep reading. The next few sentences provide some basic context and define your topic and main argument or thesis.
For example:
Did you know that bats are not really blind? Contrary to popular belief, bats can actually see. They just have very poor vision and rely more on echolocation to navigate and hunt at night. This paper will explore bats’ unique visual abilities and how they primarily use echolocation as their main sensory tool.
Topic Sentences for Body Paragraphs
The body of the paper is where you’ll delve deeper into the various aspects of your research topic. You’ll want to have 2-4 detailed body paragraphs, with each focused on a different key point or area of discussion.
Each body paragraph should start with a clear topic sentence that previews the main idea or argument that will be addressed. Some potential topic sentences for a paper on bats could include:
Despite their poor vision, bats do have eyes that allow basic sight similar to humans.
Bats use echolocation to mentally create images of their surroundings and hunt insects through high-frequency calls.
Different bat species vary in their use of vision and echolocation depending on their environment and dietary needs.
Supporting Details
Under each topic sentence, the student should plan to include 2-3 specific details, facts, examples, or quotes that provide support and evidence. These supporting details should be sourced from research materials like books, articles, or documentaries to back up each point.
For the topic sentence on bats’ vision, some potential supporting details could be:
Bats have the same eye structures as humans including corneas, pupils, lenses, and retinas.
While bats cannot see well in low light, their eyes do allow daylight vision to spot obstacles or landmarks when navigating.
Scientists have discovered that some bat species can distinguish basic shapes and colors with their vision.
Conclusion
The conclusion should wrap up the key discussion points in about 3-5 sentences. It does not introduce any new information but rather summarizes the main takeaways. Students can reiterate their thesis statement here and stress the importance of their research topic.
An example conclusion for a paper on bats could read:
While bats may have a reputation as being blind, they do in fact have some visual abilities that allow for basic sight. Echolocation is the primary sensory tool bats use for navigation, hunting prey, and interacting with their environment and other bats. Their intriguing use of echolocation remains fascinating for scientists to study and helps explain how bats are effective nighttime hunters despite their poor vision.
Bibliography
The last part of the outline is the bibliography or works cited page where students list in MLA style format all the research sources that were consulted for their paper. This allows readers to easily follow up on sources referenced in the body.
Potential entries could include:
Bats at Night. Mary Collins. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2015.
Brown, Leslie. “How Bats See the World.” Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Sept. 2017.
Luo, Joyce. “The Science of Bat Echolocation.” National Geographic Kids, 8 Nov. 2019.
By creating a thorough outline with these key elements, 5th grade students have a strong blueprint to follow as they conduct further research, take notes, and start writing their paper. With the outline to guide them, students can feel confident tackling the writing process one step at a time.