Scope of the program

Overall structure

• In an 8-week one-on-one tutoring course, the overall structure is to learn to write a research paper based on Saketha’s topic of interest – happiness in psychology research
• Her research question was: why does seeking happiness often make us unhappy?
• The mentor and Saketha met weekly and the mentor guided her to write her research paper step-by-step: Idea generation, hypothesis formulation, gathering research articles and summarizing them, writing an abstract and outline, writing the first draft with 3 major points, and revising the paper until she had an excellent final draft.

Learning objectives

• To formulate a testable hypothesis select relevant research articles from a wide range of academic journals available
• Read these very detailed research articles
• Summarize the findings from articles in her own words
• Write an abstract in APA format
• Organize her ideas in an outline with 3 major points integrate the research findings into a cohesive paper
• Draw accurate conclusions based on the research findings

What challenges did she face?

• New to reading research articles, Saketha found it challenging to make sense of the relevant findings and filter out all the irrelevant details from these articles.

How did our program help her?

• Saketha learnt to formulate research questions and hypothesis, both of which are important skills for writing a research paper.
• Her writing and ability to understand and organize the research findings steadily improved as the course progressed.

Student Testimonial

“In an eight-week program led by my mentor, I learned how to write a research paper on a subject of my interest: can seeking happiness make you unhappy. With her assistance, I identified my three main points, created an outline, and worked on it until I had my final draft. I learned how to formulate a hypothesis, how to pick and summarize research papers with reference to my hypothesis, and how to conclude my research findings. I had a fantastic time working with my mentor and gained a great deal of knowledge from her. It was a whole new experience for me, since it was the first time I had written a research paper.“

Saketha Gambhir

Matched mentor:

The mentor is an associate professor of psychology at Barnard College of Columbia University. She developed the mirror-based meditation called “a revelation” in the New York Times. Her research on motivation, perception, and cognition has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Mental Health.

Recommendation letter

Based on your knowledge of this student, would you recommend this student to selective universities? Why or why not?

“Yes, I believe Saketha has the personal and intellectual capacities to be very successful in a wide range of endeavors this would definitely include distinctive academic success at a top university or college.”

Mentor from Barnard College of Columbia University

Excerpts of student’s work

Saketha completed a research paper on “Can seeking happiness make you unhappy?”