Reading and research are separate activities that must be translated into comprehensible writing if that effort is to build knowledge (or allow you to complete the course and graduate)! For example, i...Reading and research are separate activities that must be translated into comprehensible writing if that effort is to build knowledge (or allow you to complete the course and graduate)! For example, if you’ve asked good questions, thought carefully about what your sources can and cannot tell you, and narrowed your focus sufficiently, you will find the entire process of writing a paper based upon historical research less daunting.