The Research Paper assignment deals with achieving happiness while experiencing a difficult problem or situation. The first steps in doing your paper is to brainstorm what problems/situations you are interested in researching and doing some initial research to see what research is available on the topic. (a) Brainstorming. Spend time making a list of everything that comes to you about the topic. Do this without judgment or criticism. Do this with little stopping, and write down everything that comes to you. This may come in the form of ideas, reasons, events, images, etc. But as you go along with your brainstorming you will find your ideas become increasingly creative and original. This process is used in business for a reason, it works. (b) Do some initial research. With the internet, you can cover a lot of territory pretty rapidly. You can use your Lehman virtual library, Google, and Google scholar. By canvasing your territory, you can find the areas that are important to pursue. A good thesis statement needs to be narrow, debatable, and presents the equation: Subject + Opinion + Reasons A good thesis statement should be about 50 words long. It should provide enough information to establish clear guidelines for what you plan to do. Example: Finding happiness while experiencing an illness is not an easy task, but through practicing (a) (b) (c) and (d) an individual will not only develop a happier frame of mind, but actually contribute to the healing process