The most exciting kind of education is also the most personal Nothing can【1】the joy of discovering for yourself something that is important to you. It may be an idea or a bit of information you【2】across accidentally—or a sudden【3】, fitting together pieces of information or working through a problem. Such personal【4】are the 'payoff' in education. A teacher may【5】you to learning and even encourage you in it—but no teacher can make the excitement or the joy happen. That's【6】to you. A research paper,【7】in a course and perhaps checked at various stages by an instructor,【8】you beyond classrooms, beyond the texts for classes and into a【9】where the joy of discovery and learning can come to you many times.【10】the research paper is an active and individual process, and ideal learning process. It provides a structure【11】which you can make exciting discoveries, of knowledge and of self, that are basic to education. But the research paper also gives you a chance to individualize a school assignment, to【12】a piece of work to your own interests and abilities, to show others【13】you can do. Writing a research paper is more than just a classroom exercise. It is an experience in【14】out, understanding and synthesizing, which forms the basis of many skills【15】to both academic and nonacademic tasks. It is, in the fullest sense, a discovering, an education. So, to produce a good research paper is both a useful and a thoroughly【16】experience! To some, the thought of having to write an assigned number of pages often more than ever produced【17】, is disconcerting. To others, the very idea oi having to work【18】is threatening. But there is no need to approach the research paper assignment with anxiety, and nobody should view the research paper as an obstacle to【19】. Instead, consider it a goal to【20】, a goal within reach if you use the help this book can give you. (1)