Part A: Ask Questions The first stage in designing your paper is to make a list of questions to guide you as you research the topic. Here are some sample questions to get you started:

What are the biotic and abiotic components of ocean ecosystems?
What types of resources do humans get from the ocean?
What types of human activities negatively affect ocean ecosystems?
Which activity would you like to focus on for this paper?
How does this activity negatively affect ocean ecosystems?
What are some of the solutions people have come up with to address this problem?
What are the benefits of these solutions? What are the drawbacks?
Is any one solution clearly the best overall solution, or is each solution effective for different problems?
How can ordinary citizens make a difference to this problem?
How can I communicate the problem to citizens and encourage them to take action?
Once you’ve decided on your focus for the research paper, write three additional questions that you have about your specific area of focus.