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Hello, this is Grace Global Research Consulting GIRE!
Does the phrase "writing a paper" sound too difficult? In the Korean curriculum, we spend a lot of time teaching students how to acquire information, but very little time teaching them how to process information, creatively reorganize information, and generate new information. As a result, Korean students and parents feel awkward, afraid, and unfamiliar with the idea of having their students write academic writing, such as papers, on their own. Many students find it difficult and overwhelming to even write a thesis statement or a logical paper.

However, GIRE would like to tell you that academic research writing, or thesis writing, is not only a skill that everyone must train in advance to conduct research and study at a prestigious university but is also something that Korean high school students can do.

[Rather than taking it to a new level, the thesis is also an extension of your studies.]

If you think about it, writing a thesis is not a new field, it is just another way of learning. All learning requires trial and error, careful data collection, and thoughtful observation. Writing a thesis is actually no more special than general subject research because it just adds a little boldness to try something new.

Many high school students in the United States visit university labs just to study or read the latest papers and scientific journals for in-depth study. This kind of ‘studying’ naturally stimulates students’ curiosity, and the extension of this curiosity and sincere effort naturally leads to writing papers. Korean students only encounter these academic texts through Korean non-literary texts. Still, many high school students around the world search for and interpret academic texts or papers that seem to come from non-literary literature on their own to study additional fields of interest.

In other words, academic writing is not a new level, but a level that can be reached naturally if you have ‘truly studied’. Accordingly, many overseas high schools, including American high schools and Trinitas, often present students with a thesis project as a graduation requirement. 

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Why High School Seniors Should Write and Defend a Thesis - Trinitas [LINK]

[Turning a class presentation project into a thesis]

While it's rare for a class to lead to a thesis, it's increasingly common in Korea to require student research "presentations" as a performance assessment. The thesis is a step forward in this practice. We believe that presentations prepare students for what an audience will expect to hear and rebut when they present their research and that they learn to think for themselves and boldly argue their positions. This whole process of presentation and debate, when written down and polished, makes for a great paper at the high school level.

Therefore, if you're thinking of a presentation rather than a paper, I think it's something that parents and students in Korea will be familiar with. That's because many students don't have experience writing papers at the high school level, but they do have experience giving presentations. Anyone who has experience researching, organizing an outline, and researching or creating examples for a great presentation can write a quality paper.

[Dissertations don't start at zero.]

A high school paper might be a research paper that summarizes the results of a new experiment. Still, an argumentative essay, an analytical paper, or an extension of a process essay can also evolve into a research paper. This means that 100% of your paper doesn't have to be something you've written anew. Rather, most papers organize prior research, cite prior research, and use prior research as evidence for at least half of the paper. Thus, if you've done accurate and careful research, adding 10-20% new perspectives or analysis to it is enough to make a great research paper at the high school level.

[Writing a thesis is hard, but anyone can do it.]

Writing a thesis requires much more intensive research than high school students have ever done before. Reading more than 1,000 pages to research a paper topic, finding and annotating the right sources, and synthesizing all the information to create an argument requires a high level of skill. However, the results of writing a paper will bring you more than the effort and resources spent in the process.

Therefore, although writing a thesis is not easy, GIRE would like to convey to Korean parents and students who are concerned that anyone can complete a high-quality thesis if they receive proper training. If you find it difficult to do these exercises on your own, get systematic help from GIRE. GIRE is a high school research institute that helps students conduct thesis-level research on their research topics while receiving direct guidance from professors working at the world's best universities.

At Grace Global Research Consulting (GIRE), you can participate in the Research & Education Internship program where you can receive direct consulting from professors at prestigious American universities, including the Ivy League.