one common factor that we have noted in the resumes of students admitted to the ivy leagues and other top colleges is the prevalence of research work while still in high school in this article we explain how and why exposure to research helps students and the key steps in planning and writing high quality research papers there are three main reasons as to why research papers help students stand out a highquality research paper shows that you have the energy and the initiative to go beyond what is taught in the class and apply it to real life problems it shows that your interest in the subject extends beyond the questions provided at the end of the chapter secondly you learn the discipline of not rushing intuitively to the likely answer instead using a deliberate process in which you are guided by the data lastly in working with a skilled professor or mentor you learn how to organize your thoughts better ask the right questions and try to answer those questions in the best way possible subject to the constraints a good work product provides an insight into your mind thought process and way of workingthe following steps apply to high school students that want to learn more and differentiate themselves by conducting research and documenting it with a research paper decide your subject the first question a student needs to answer is what is your favorite subject do you like reading books and news related to that subject if for example your favorite subject is economics do you like to read the business newspaper about the budget or about interest rate changes are you able to relate what you have read in your textbooks with what you observe in the newspaperif your favorite subject is physics do you like to participate in science fairs or olympiads in your school or city do you enjoy reading books by eminent physicists do you like making science projects or designing models find the right mentor once you know your subject the next step is to find a strong mentor with experience in that field you can find good mentors from an industry background or from academia for conducting research it is advisable to have a mentor from academia as they are used to thinking broadly and spending time on framing the right question mentors with an industry background are generally better if you are trying to learn a specific activity or skill pertaining to their area literature review examine existing research papers in your subject a crucial step in research is to evaluate existing materials and recent developments in your subject you need to know a the important topics that researchers are working on and b what tools statistical methods and data collection techniques are used this is where a good mentor can share their own work and help you understand the recent developments in that field understand your constraints before you embark on a project you need to understand