How to write a research paper
How to write a research paper
How to Write a Research Paper | A Beginner’s Guide
A research paper is a piece of academic writing that provides analysis, interpretation, and argument based on in-depth independent research.
Research papers are similar to academic essays, but they are usually longer and more detailed assignments, designed to assess not only your writing skills but also your skills in scholarly research. Writing a research paper requires you to demonstrate a strong knowledge of your topic, engage with a variety of sources, and make an original contribution to the debate.
This step-by-step guide takes you through the entire writing process, from understanding your assignment to proofreading your final draft.
Table of contents
Understand the assignment
Completing a research paper successfully means accomplishing the specific tasks set out for you. Before you start, make sure you thoroughly understanding the assignment task sheet:
Carefully consider your timeframe and word limit: be realistic, and plan enough time to research, write and edit.
Choose a research paper topic
There are many ways to generate an idea for a research paper, from brainstorming with pen and paper to talking it through with a fellow student or professor.
You can try free writing, which involves taking a broad topic and writing continuously for two or three minutes to identify absolutely anything relevant that could be interesting.
You can also gain inspiration from other research. The discussion or recommendations sections of research papers often include ideas for other specific topics that require further examination.
Once you have a broad subject area, narrow it down to choose a topic that interests you, m eets the criteria of your assignment, and i s possible to research. Aim for ideas that are both original and specific:
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7 Steps in Writing a Research Paper: Enjoy Your Student Life
Are you staring at the blank page on your screen and have no idea how to approach your challenging research paper? Research papers are complex and time-consuming assignments and what is really important they make up a large part of student’s grade in all classes. It’s not a secret that academic writing is hard but written communication skills are essential for your success in college, graduate school, and in your future career. That’s why you should work hard to master the art of paper writing.
If you are not sure where to start, read this article to learn about effective strategies that make this process as painless as possible.
How to Write an APA Research Paper
We’ll break down the writing process into easy steps to help you understand how to write a research paper fast no matter how long it must be.
Step 1. Choose a Topic
Sometimes college students are assigned with their research paper topics, but if you are fortunate enough to have such an option, choose your topic wisely. First of all, think about choosing a challenging topic you are interested in. Then, you won’t be bored when doing the research because you are sure to discover something new and you’ll enjoy the writing process. Don’t select subjects that are too technical or general.
If your topic is too broad, your research paper is unlikely to be successful because it will look like a general overview. You should narrow your topic down to a certain aspect, concept or idea and make it specific and manageable. For example, if your topic is “Global Warming”, you should narrow it to “Causes of Global Warming”, “Impact of Global Warming on Human Health” or something like that.
Step 2. Write a Working Thesis Statement
Prepare a working thesis before you actually organize your research because it will guide your investigation and will help you stay focused on your subject. Your thesis statement should be concise and reflect the type of paper you are writing. All research papers can be divided into 3 categories:
You have to devote enough of your precious time to creating a good strong thesis statement so that your project has a clear purpose. Your thesis should be debatable and narrow because your claims should be supported by evidence. If your claim is broad, you will need more evidence to convince your readers that you are right. Here is an example of a debatable thesis statement:
Climate change is the most pressing challenge facing the world today.
Step 3. Do Research on Your Topic
You should find enough secondary and primary credible sources on the subject of your paper, carefully read all of them, and find relevant evidence to support your thesis. At this stage, you should evaluate your sources, take notes, and start documenting your sources according to a citation style specified by your instructor (APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, etc.)
Make sure you use the latest edition of a specific style guide. You will use your notes about references later when writing your paper and building your bibliography. It’s crucial to cite all sources that you used for quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing to avoid plagiarism.
Step 4. Make a Good Outline
Your research has given you tons of great ideas. Now you have to organize them for your impressive presentation. Don’t skip this vital step because without it, your project will lack focus and you will need more time for revising your draft trying to make sense of your jumbled thoughts. That’s why you need an outline. You have to finalize your thesis and create a working outline that you plan to cover and that will serve you as a roadmap and keep you focused.
Think about key points that you’ll need to develop to support your thesis statement. You can use them as subheadings for the body of your paper. Look through your notes and organize the information under each sub-heading. Make sure you include only relevant information that fits under your sub-headings and directly supports your thesis.
You should resist the temptation to include any information that doesn’t fit into your outline no matter how interesting it is.
When writing an outline, you should keep in mind a typical research paper structure that commonly includes:
But if your research paper is not long, its format may include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. In any case, you should follow specific guidelines provided by your instructor.
Step 5. Create the First Draft
This is the middle of the process. You have a clear direction and it’s time to create the first draft with a title, in-text citations, and a reference page.
The title is very important if you want to make a good impression on your readers because it’s the first thing that they see. It forms their view on what exactly they should expect in your paper. You should list the keywords that present the topic of your paper, methods you used, and results that you achieved. Now create a sentence that includes all the keywords that you have listed and delete the unnecessary words. After that, you need to link the remaining ones. Finally, you have to delete non-essential info and organize the remaining words in the logical order. You can also include the subtitle. Make sure that your title is concise.
Afterwards, you need to write an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. These are the main parts of your paper so let us provide you with some details on how to do it right.
How to Write an Introduction for a Research Paper
Start writing an intro. The introductory paragraph should begin with an attention grabber that may be:
★ a provocative question;
★ unusual facts, etc.
You are writing an academic paper but that doesn’t mean you have to be boring. Next, you need to provide the background information, explain your goals, and how you plan to approach your research paper topic. You should finish your introduction with your thesis statement or research question. This section of your paper is not long so you are sure to finish it fast.
How to Write Body Paragraphs
Your outline will help you to complete this part of your paper. But you shouldn’t think that you must strictly follow it. It may evolve and you are free to revise it and make changes. The key thing is to stay on your track and focus on your thesis. You should provide your points and support your main idea.
Start each body paragraph with a topic sentence and provide arguments and relevant evidence to support it. You should write as many body paragraphs as you have the key points.
How to Write a Conclusion for a Research Paper
Most research papers end with restarting their thesis statements. You can also do it but you shouldn’t repeat it word for word. Paraphrase it or summarize the key points of your paper. You may emphasize the significance of your findings as well. A good idea is to provide some recommendations based on the results of your investigation or suggest some directions for further research.
Your rough draft is ready. Wondering what to do next? Go on reading to find some tips on how to revise your research paper.
How to Make Your Paper Perfect
No one can write their first draft perfectly. So, if you want to make a good impression on your professor and earn a high grade, you should revise your draft to make sure that your project is on point. Be ready that you may need to revise your project more than once because it is really worth doing.
Step 6. Revise, Edit and Proofread
You have to make large-scale changes and check the logic, flow, transitions, make changes in the structure and order of your paragraphs. You should make sure that all your ideas are fully developed and all the claims are supported by credible evidence. You may need to add some section headings.
The next stage is editing. You have to check and eliminate filler words and phrases, improve word choice, and correct mistakes in punctuation and grammar if you find any. You should look for:
You will need to re-read your paper several times. A good strategy is to read your paper backwards. In this way, you will feel a little disoriented and will be able to catch more mistakes. You should start reading the last sentence, then check the second to the last one and continue doing it until you get to your first sentence.
You should ask your friends or family members to review your research paper and express their opinion about it. They should evaluate your argument, transitions, and the balance and look for any inconsistencies with usage, grammar or mechanics. Ask your friends to provide their feedback and make suggested changes if you think they make sense. Finally, you may print your paper and proofread it to eliminate minor mistakes or typos and ensure that your amazing research paper is flawless.
Step 7. Rely on Our Academic Custom Writing Service
You can use our easy guide to craft winning research papers fast, get better grades, and enjoy your life in college. Alternatively, you can address our specialists to write research paper for you. As a result, you’ll spend less time but get more pleasure from studying at university.
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Author: Patricia Jenkins
Patricia Jenkins is the senior writing advisor at FastEssay blog for international students that seek quick paper assistance. In her blog, Patricia shares useful tips on productivity, writing, research, references. Sometimes Patricia goes off topic by sharing her personal experience peppered with lively humor and healthy irony. View all posts by Patricia Jenkins
How to Write a Research Paper
What is a research paper? A research paper is a piece of academic writing based on its author’s original research on a particular topic and analysis together with interpretation of research findings. Writing a research paper can be a little intimidating at times. Students, especially those new to the rigors of academia, often feel anxious about the process especially that the paper often gets assigned a big chunk of the final grade by a conscientious professor.
This article provides a detailed guide on how to navigate the challenge of writing a reliable research paper. It talks about recommended steps to be followed and elements to be covered in the paper. It offers tips on selecting a good topic and gathering the right information which can set research up for success. Finally, this article provides some guidelines on citation as well as on how to use free online tools, which can help deliver a sharp and clear final copy. Start writing an A+ research paper now!
How to start a research paper?
Choose a research paper topic that interests and challenges you the most. Your attitude towards the topic may well determine amount of effort, enthusiasm you put into your research. Focus on a limited aspect, narrow it down from “Religion” to “World Religion” to “Buddhism.” Obtain teacher approval for your theme idea and thesis before making full-scale research. It will also help save time and effort.
If you are uncertain as to what is expected of you in completing assignment or project, re-read your assignment sheet carefully or ask your teacher. Select a subject you can manage. Avoid subjects that are too technical, learned, or specialized. Avoid themes that have only a very narrow range of source materials. Be responsible, devoted to paper you write – it is the main key to an excellent grade.
Finding the right topic and making paper stand out
It is essential for students to examine and write about a topic they like and know better. Students who are invested and involved in the subject pay attention to details in making sure that paper is as strong as it could be. Achieving this goal means addressing requirements of each paper section such as research questions, methods, analysis, and discussion, among others. Surf the internet to get inspired by various research paper topics.
One of the initial steps you should perform in making a paper stand out is doing a bit of initial exploring to see what is out there already, think about future outline, thesis or hypothesis. Ask what has already been done about this particular issue in the past. Are there pathways that have not yet been explored, which student should shed light on? Indeed, one can make paper stand out by ensuring that some new or novel insights are explored, no matter how small. This will make research paper not only publishable or presentable at academic venues, but it’ll also receive high grades from professor assessing it.
Narrowing your topic
After going through the necessary amount of information, data and literature available on your desired topic, it is time to narrow the research down. It’s not appropriate if chosen issue is very broad as there may be several important aspects within this very theme. It won’t be a good solution to cover them all in one research paper as it’ll turn out vague or generic.
Pursue the unique pathway that caught your interest, and that’ll occupy a niche as well as advance the value of the conversation regarding the subject. At this stage, you should explain the reasons why your research study is essential and describe in detail the significance of your research.
Find information
If you need books for your research in the Library, use the OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog).
CHECK OUT OTHER PRINT MATERIALS AVAILABLE IN THE LIBRARY:
CHECK OUT ONLINE RESOURCES, WEB-BASED INFORMATION SERVICES, OR SPECIAL RESOURCE MATERIALS IN AUDIO FORMAT:
Check out public and university libraries, businesses, government agencies, as well as contact knowledgeable people in your community. Read and evaluate, outline them. Bookmark your favorite Internet sites. Printout, photocopy or take notes of relevant information.
As you gather your resources, note down full bibliographical information (author, title, place of publication, publisher, date of publication, page numbers, URLs, creation or modification dates on Web pages, and your date of access) on your worksheet, printout, or enter the information on your laptop or desktop computer for later retrieval. If printing from the Internet, set up the browser to print the URL and date of access for every page. Remember that an article without bibliographical information is useless since you cannot cite it as a source.
Make your thesis statement
Most research papers normally require a thesis, even on the step of outline creation. If you are not sure, ask your teacher whether your paper requires it and what they expect to see in your research paper thesis statement. In short, a thesis is the main idea, a central point of your research paper. The arguments you provide in your paper should be based on this central idea, that is why it is so important. Do some critical thinking, write your thesis statement down in one sentence. Your research paper thesis statement is like a declaration of your belief. The main portion of your essay will consist of arguments for support and defend this belief.
A thesis statement should be provided early in your paper – in the introduction part, or in the second paragraph if your paper is longer. It is impossible to create a thesis statement immediately when you have just started fulfilling your assignment. Before you write a thesis statement together with outline, you should collect, organize and analyze materials and your ideas. You cannot make a finally formulated statement before you have completed your research paper. It’ll naturally change while you develop your ideas.
Stay away from generic, too fuzzy statements and arguments. Use a particular subject. The paper should present something new for audience, make it interesting and educative for your readers. Avoid citing other authors in this section. Present your own ideas in your own words instead of simply copying from other writers.
A THESIS STATEMENT SHOULD DO THE FOLLOWING:
Make sure your thesis is strong. If you have time and opportunity, show it to your instructor, receive some revision comments, work on improvement of weak points. Otherwise, you may estimate it yourself.
YOU MUST CHECK:
A well-prepared thesis means well-shaped ideas. It increases credibility of paper and makes a good impression of its author. More helpful hints about Writing a Research Paper.
Make a research paper outline
A RESEARCH PAPER BASICALLY HAS THE FOLLOWING STRUCTURE:
A research paper outline might be formal or informal. An informal outline (working outline) is a tool helping authors put down and organize their ideas. It is subject to revision, addition and canceling, without paying much attention to form. It helps authors make their key points clear and arrange them.
Sometimes students are asked to submit formal outlines with their research papers. In a formal outline, numbers and letters are used to arrange topics and subtopics. The letters and numbers of the same kind should be placed directly under one another. The topics denoted by their headings and subheadings should be grouped in a logical order.
All points of a research paper outline must relate to the same major topic that you first mentioned in your capital Roman numeral.
Paper Title: An un-presidential rhetoric? A content analysis of Ex-President Obama’s tweets
Researcher recommends that this study be expanded by using other method to measure perception of presidential tweets such as a random survey of undecided voters
Purpose of an outline is to help you think through your topic carefully and organize it logically before you start writing. A good outline is the most important step in writing an excellent paper. Check your outline to ensure that points covered flow logically from one to the other. Include in your outline an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. You may create the first outline as a draft and edit it while writing a research paper.
Introduction — State your thesis and purpose of your research paper clearly. What is the chief reason you are writing the paper? State also how you plan to approach your issue. Is this a factual report, a book review, a comparison, or an analysis of a problem? Explain briefly the major points you’ll cover in your paper and why readers should be interested in your theme.
Body — This is where you present your arguments to support your thesis statement. This section is divided into many parts, that may vary, depending on your discipline, teachers’ requirements, etc. Usually, the body comprises a literature review, methodology, analysis, results, and discussion.
Conclusion — Restate or reword your thesis / research question. Summarize your arguments. Explain why you have come to this particular conclusion. Why your research is valuable and how acquired results can be used for future researches.
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Organize your notes
Organize materials you have gathered according to your outline. Critically analyze your research data. Using the best available sources, check for accuracy and verify that information is factual, up-to-date, and correct. Opposing views should also be noted if they help support your thesis. This is the most important stage in writing a research paper. Here you’ll analyze, synthesize, sort, and digest info you have gathered and hopefully learn something about your topic which is real purpose of doing a research paper in the first place. You must also effectively communicate your thoughts, ideas, insights, and research findings to others through written words as in a report, an essay, a research or term paper, or through spoken words as in an oral or multimedia presentation with audio-visual aids.
Do not include any information that is not relevant to your issue under discussion, and do not include information that you do not understand. Make sure information that you have noted is carefully recorded and in your own words, if possible. Plagiarism is definitely out of question. Document all ideas borrowed or quotes used very accurately. As you classify your notes, jot down detailed bibliographical information for each cited paragraph and have it ready to transfer to your Works Cited page.
Devise your own method to organize your materials. One method may be to mark with a different color ink or use a marker to identify sections in your outline, IA3b – meaning that the item “Accessing WWW” belongs in the following location of your outline:
Group your notes following the outline codes you have assigned to your notes, like, IA2, IA3, IA4, etc. This method will enable you to quickly put all your resources in the right place as you systematize your notes according to your outline.
Knowing what is out there – the literature review
Research act in itself is a cumulative process. This means that one is expected to contribute something to the body of knowledge. And because of this expectation, this is where literature review process becomes so helpful in narrowing down and also providing background information about the topic. Engaging in a literature review helps determine what’s already known about problem that you are interested in exploring. No doubt doing a comprehensive literature review will save you time down the road by having clarity about the specific research questions that you want to explore.
After conducting a thorough lit review, you now have at least a comprehensive background information and understanding of various contours and nuances of your topic. Many of thesis questions that you may have already been answered, and you should have an idea as to where the gaps in knowledge are and what needs to be done to advance inquiry process and therefore contribute to the body on the topic that you have chosen.
The research question(s)
Research questions and research method that you will use to find answers are important because there are specific criteria that might be satisfied for them to be valid. First, your research questions should be specific in scope and timeframe. In scientific research, for example, research questions lend themselves to being measurable using a wide variety of methodology, be they quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods.
If your research question, for example, pertains to how individual voters view women candidates for president, perhaps the best method is by doing field interviews or by conducting a phone survey of these voters using a random sampling method. There are many ways that may help you derive answers to your questions. It is crucial, however, to be aware that each method has an inherent set of strengths and weaknesses.
Research methodology
There exist various research paper methods that you may use while preparing information for your paper. Check the most popular methods and decide which suits you better:
While it is suitable for convenience sake, findings from a focus group method, however, might not necessarily be generalizable to overall population, because participants were selected somewhat arbitrarily. A researcher can only make a valid conclusion or inference about their findings to the general population if everyone or every voter was given an equal chance to be chosen for the study in the form of random sampling.
A note about replication: In writing the methods section of your research paper, it is crucial to be as precise and detailed about the methodology as possible. Other researchers should replicate the method that you employed to see if they can come up with the same findings that you arrived with. Replication is a critical component in the process of validating results and strengthening body that we have accumulated on specific research topics.
How to Write a Research Paper Step by Step [2022 Upd.]
Only two words, but you already feel a chill down your spine. A research paper is no joke. It’s a super detailed piece of academic writing where you analyze a chosen issue in-depth. The main aim of such torture is to show how knowledgeable you are and that your opinion can be a valuable asset for the field.
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However, you should worry too much about it. The secret to a fabulous paper is to break it down into small tasks! Therefore, to successfully finish this task and stay sane, we only need to answer one question: What are the steps to writing a research paper? Continue reading this article by Custom-Writing.org experts, and soon you’ll get the answer!
Research papers can be kind of compared to essays since they both share a similar structure. However, the kind of paper we are talking about here is much longer and more detailed.
Moreover, unlike with essays that present your writing skills, the research paper is needed to check your scholarly abilities. It makes sense that you would also need to spend more time looking through various sources and picking only the most credible ones. You need more self-managing skills to finish this assignment on time and with no stressing. But you can find everything you need in this short guide, which explains every step from getting ready to proofreading and editing!
👣 How to Write a Research Paper Step by Step
| STEP #1 Read your assignment | The first step to writing a research paper is, of course, reading your assignment. Make sure you understand the formatting requirement, when the deadline is, and what you are asked to do. |
| STEP #2 Choose your topic | Now, you can concentrate on choosing your topic. There are many ways to come up with ideas, so it depends on what is more comfortable for you. |
| STEP #3 Do preliminary research | It’s time to take some time doing preliminary research. On this stage, you need to go through all the sources related to the subject. You can check out college research paper examples on the same topic for better understanding of the direction you should take your paper on, or to get additional resources. |
| STEP #4 Make a thesis statement | If there is any focal point of your research paper, this is it. Your thesis should be as coherent and logical as possible. |
| STEP #5 Outline your paper | Don’t skip writing an outline. Even though you usually see it as a total waste of time, the rest of the process gets much more efficient with it! |
| STEP #6 Make a draft | Write a draft of your research paper. The first version is never perfect, so you shouldn’t aim for it. Also, there is no need to start with the introduction; you can always choose any other part if it’s easier for you. |
| STEP #7 Revise & format it | After you finish all three parts of your paper, it’s time for the final touches. Revision and proofreading are essential parts of the writing process. They ensure that your work meets all the requirements and looks neat. |
You’ll find more details on how to write a research paper in the below sections and in another useful article from this blog.
🕵 Step 1. Choosing Your Research Paper Topic
The first step to writing a research paper is to choose a topic. It should be:
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| ✔️ | Unique | The problem you choose to investigate should be broad enough that you’ll find new theories and experiments recently published. |
| ✔️ | Interesting | The research paper you’re writing shouldn’t be boring. Instead, you need to find something engaging for you and your audience. |
| ✔️ | Relevant | Research writing should correlate with your subject. Moreover, the primary step to finding your topic—read materials on your subject. |
How to title a research paper according to your subject? Try rereading – you will find many exciting things in your notes to turn into a research paper title.
It’s also useful to read some works written by previous students. Ask your professor where you can find examples, and investigate their topics. It will inspire you to write a paper on an important issue.
🔎 Step 2. Doing Preliminary Research
How to start a research paper? By doing research, of course! In the beginning, you should determine where to find information. We have some tips on how to use the sources most effectively.
