ABSTRACT
In this chapter I will address the writing of a research report. While the writing of the research report can be viewed as a culmination of the research cycle, it can also be viewed more formatively. By that I mean that the very act of writing about research helps to clarify and systematize your thoughts about the research process. Indeed, the completion and writing-up of a research project often leads to more ideas for future research. That is, the act of verbalization, generally, and writing especially, have a way of making explicit what it is you are thinking about. In many ways it forces you to think about your thought processes. For example, talking about material, such as a list of groceries, helps you remember that material and also helps you to organize it (Olson, 1970). For this reason, many psychologists, such as Vygotsky (1962), Pavlov (1927), and Bruner (Bruner, Olver, and Greenfield, 1966) considered language to be an important instrument of advanced thinking. In this light, then, it is not surprising that writing is viewed as hard work. It is!
