The research paper is a popular assignment in high school and college classes, but few students will ever have to write in "research paper format" in the real world. The generic research paper assignment can lead to uninspired--and sometimes plagiarized--writing on the part of the student, which leads to hours of boredom for the instructors who have to grade the papers. Teachers can still teach students the research/analytical/writing skills needed to write a research paper by designing assignments that employ the same skills but are more interesting and relevant to the types of writing projects that students will encounter in their careers. For example, teachers could ask students to interview someone who is currently working in their field of interest. Teachers could also ask students to do a power point presentation or multimedia presentation (or some combination of the two), as these are types of communication that are valued in the business world that also require students to master the same skills they would be asked to learn in writing a research paper (effective research, analysis and synthesis of research sources, and writing skills).