I’ll figure it out when I have the time.”
“I’m not sure where to begin!”
“I really need to finish my research paper!”
Many people all over the world have expressed this common quandary. The good news is that a research paper can be written by anyone! People write research papers for three reasons:
1. To assist you in piecing together information from various sources and putting it together cohesively.
2. To assist you in improving your written and oral communication skills.
3. To assist you in determining how to locate information.
Your academic life can become disorganized, stressful, and chaotic if you do not know how to write correctly. By honing your writing abilities, you can confidently and quickly complete assignments and write correctly throughout your professional career. When you follow these basic steps, writing a research paper can be very simple:
1. Select or Brainstorm Your Topic: You may be given a topic to research, or you may have your own topic in mind. You might be forced to conduct your research with little guidance. You may be given only a page count, some sources, and a deadline. It is beneficial to start by brainstorming a topic. Writing down a few ideas can be very helpful and point you in the right direction.
2. Determine the Scope: After you’ve scoured the internet or library for more information on your topic, you must decide whether you need to broaden or narrow your focus.
3. Research: You should have a general idea of your topic and have scanned the subject area by this point. You have a topic for your research paper, but you need details to “flesh it out.” Begin by going through your resources and making notes on sections that may be relevant to your paper. Keep note of your sources! This usually entails noting the author’s name, the book’s title, paper, or website, the year of publication, the publishing house, the page numbers, and/or the date accessed.
4. Create an Outline for Your Paper: An outline is a well-organized plan for your paper. Create an outline by beginning with a broad introduction to the topic, then listing several sections that you have read about (or will read about) that are relevant to your topic. The general sections are the introduction, literature review, data collection, results, and discussion.Writing an outline will make you feel more confident about writing your research paper because you will have a sense of organization and direction once you have completed it.
5. Write the First Draft: After you have finished your research, write the first draught. By now, you’ll have many sources and pages of notes from each. You should have enough information to complete the entire paper. It is critical to “just start writing” and not get too caught up in the details at this stage.
6. Revision, Revision, Revision! Paper revision should take longer than writing the first draught. This is the time to fix any grammatical errors, spelling errors, run-on sentences, and so on, and to make the paper more readable. This is also the time to add or remove text as needed.
7. Proofread: This is the time for nitpicky editing to ensure there are no errors. Correct verb tenses, punctuation, grammar, spelling, word choice, and proper citation are all essential considerations. Other details include page numbers, adequate spacing, and correct margins.
You can stay focused on the goal of completing your research paper quickly and meticulously by breaking it down into small tasks!
