Based on the Readings and Your Own Independent Research, This Short Paper Will Be Used So You Can

A research paper is a slice of bookish writing that provides analysis, interpretation, and argument based on in-depth independent research.

Research papers are similar to academic essays, merely 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 inquiry newspaper 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 footstep-by-step guide takes you through the entire writing procedure, from understanding your consignment to proofreading your final typhoon.

1. Sympathize the assignment

Completing a enquiry paper successfully means accomplishing the specific tasks fix out for you. Before y'all kickoff, brand sure you thoroughly understanding the consignment task sheet:

• Read it carefully, looking for annihilation disruptive you lot might demand to analyze with your professor.
• Identify the assignment goal, borderline, length specifications, formatting, and submission method.
• Make a bulleted list of the central points, then go back and cross completed items off as y'all're writing.

Advisedly consider your timeframe and discussion limit: exist realistic, and plan enough time to research, write and edit.

2. Choose a research paper topic

There are many ways to generate an thought for a research paper, from brainstorming with pen and paper to talking it through with a swain 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 annihilation relevant that could be interesting.

You tin also proceeds inspiration from other inquiry. The discussion or recommendations sections of research papers frequently include ideas for other specific topics that require further examination.

Once you lot have a broad field of study area, narrow information technology downwardly to choose a topic that interests you, meets the criteria of your assignment, and isouthward possible to research. Aim for ideas that are both original and specific:

• A paper following the chronology of Earth War II would not be original or specific enough.
• A newspaper on the feel of Danish citizens living close to the German edge during World State of war Ii would exist specific and could exist original enough.

Receive feedback on language, construction and formatting

Professional person editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Grammer
• Fashion consistency

See an example

iii. Carry preliminary enquiry

Note whatsoever discussions that seem important to the topic, and try to discover an outcome that y'all can focus your newspaper around. Use a variety of sources, including journals, books and reliable websites, to ensure you do not miss anything glaring.

Do not only verify the ideas you accept in mind, just await for sources that contradict your signal of view.

• Is there anything people seem to overlook in the sources you research?
• Are in that location any heated debates yous can address?
• Do you accept a unique accept on your topic?
• Accept at that place been some recent developments that build on the extant inquiry?

In this phase, y'all might find it helpful to formulate some research questions to help guide you. To write research questions, try to terminate the following sentence: "I want to know how/what/why…"

iv. Develop a thesis argument

A thesis argument is a statement of your central statement — it establishes the purpose and position of your paper. If you started with a research question, the thesis statement should answer it. It should also show what evidence and reasoning you'll use to support that respond.

The thesis statement should be concise, contentious, and coherent. That means it should briefly summarize your statement in a sentence or two; make a claim that requires farther evidence or analysis; and brand a coherent point that relates to every role of the paper.

You lot will probably revise and refine the thesis statement as you do more inquiry, only it can serve every bit a guide throughout the writing process. Every paragraph should aim to support and develop this fundamental claim.

5. Create a research paper outline

A research paper outline is essentially a listing of the key topics, arguments and bear witness you want to include, divided into sections with headings so that you lot know roughly what the paper will look like earlier you start writing.

A structure outline tin assistance make the writing process much more than efficient, so it's worth dedicating some time to create one.

6. Write a start draft of the enquiry paper

Your first draft won't be perfect — you can smooth later. Your priorities at this stage are as follows:

• Maintaining forward momentum — write at present, perfect later.
• Paying attention to articulate organization and logical ordering of paragraphs and sentences, which will help when you come to the second draft.
• Expressing your ideas as clearly as possible, so you know what you lot were trying to say when you come back to the text.

You exercise not need to kickoff by writing the introduction. Begin where information technology feels most natural for y'all — some prefer to finish the about difficult sections first, while others choose to start with the easiest part. If y'all created an outline, apply information technology equally a map while y'all work.

Practice non delete large sections of text. If you lot brainstorm to dislike something you accept written or detect it doesn't quite fit, motion information technology to a different document, simply don't lose it completely — you never know if information technology might come up in useful later.

Paragraph structure

Paragraphs are the bones building blocks of research papers. Each one should focus on a single claim or idea that helps to plant the overall argument or purpose of the paper.

Here is an case of a well-structured paragraph. Hover over the sentences to learn more.

Example paragraph

George Orwell'due south 1946 essay "Politics and the English language Language" has had an enduring impact on thought about the human relationship between politics and language. This impact is especially obvious in calorie-free of the various critical review articles that have recently referenced the essay. For case, consider Mark Falcoff's 2009 commodity in The National Review Online, "The Perversion of Language; or, Orwell Revisited," in which he analyzes several mutual words ("activist," "ceremonious-rights leader," "variety," and more). Falcoff'due south close analysis of the ambiguity built into political language intentionally mirrors Orwell's own point-past-point analysis of the political language of his day. Even 63 years after its publication, Orwell'south essay is emulated by contemporary thinkers.

Citing sources

It's besides of import to keep track of citations at this stage to avoid accidental plagiarism. Each time you use a source, brand sure to take note of where the information came from.

Y'all can use our free citation generators to automatically create citations and save your reference list as you go.

APA Commendation Generator MLA Commendation Generator

7. Write the introduction

The research paper introduction should accost three questions: What, why, and how? After finishing the introduction, the reader should know what the paper is about, why it is worth reading, and how y'all'll build your arguments.

What? Exist specific about the topic of the newspaper, introduce the background, and define key terms or concepts.

Why? This is the near important, but too the nearly difficult, part of the introduction. Attempt to provide brief answers to the post-obit questions: What new material or insight are you offering? What of import problems does your essay aid ascertain or answer?

How? To let the reader know what to look from the rest of the newspaper, the introduction should include a "map" of what volition be discussed, briefly presenting the key elements of the paper in chronological order.

8. Write a compelling body of text

The major struggle faced by most writers is how to organize the information presented in the newspaper, which is one reason an outline is and then useful. Nonetheless, call back that the outline is only a guide and, when writing, y'all can be flexible with the order in which the information and arguments are presented.

One fashion to stay on track is to apply your thesis statement and topic sentences. Check:

• topic sentences against the thesis statement;
• topic sentences against each other, for similarities and logical ordering;
• and each sentence against the topic sentence of that paragraph.

Be aware of paragraphs that seem to cover the aforementioned things. If ii paragraphs hash out something similar, they must approach that topic in unlike ways. Aim to create smooth transitions between sentences, paragraphs, and sections.

9. Write the decision

The research paper conclusion is designed to help your reader out of the paper'south argument, giving them a sense of finality.

Trace the form of the newspaper, emphasizing how information technology all comes together to prove your thesis statement. Requite the paper a sense of finality by making sure the reader understands how you've settled the issues raised in the introduction.

Y'all might as well discuss the more full general consequences of the statement, outline what the paper offers to future students of the topic, and suggest any questions the paper's statement raises but cannot or does not try to answer.

You should not:

• Offering new arguments or essential information
• Take up any more than space than necessary
• Brainstorm with stock phrases that signal y'all are ending the paper (east.g. "In conclusion")

10. The second draft

In that location are four main considerations when it comes to the second draft.

1. Bank check how your vision of the newspaper lines upward with the commencement typhoon and, more chiefly, that your paper still answers the assignment.
2. Identify any assumptions that might crave (more substantial) justification, keeping your reader's perspective foremost in mind. Remove these points if you cannot substantiate them farther.
3. Exist open up to rearranging your ideas. Check whether any sections feel out of place and whether your ideas could exist better organized.
4. If you find that old ideas do not fit also as you anticipated, yous should cut them out or condense them. You might also find that new and well-suited ideas occurred to you during the writing of the kickoff typhoon — now is the time to make them role of the paper.

xi. The revision process

The goal during the revision and proofreading procedure is to ensure you accept completed all the necessary tasks and that the paper is as well-articulated as possible.

Global concerns

• Confirm that your paper completes every chore specified in your assignment sheet.
• Cheque for logical organisation and flow of paragraphs.
• Check paragraphs against the introduction and thesis argument.

Fine-grained details

Check the content of each paragraph, making sure that:

• each judgement helps support the topic sentence.
• no unnecessary or irrelevant data is present.
• all technical terms your audition might not know are identified.

Side by side, call up about sentence structure, grammatical errors and formatting. Bank check that y'all accept correctly used transition words and phrases to show the connections between your ideas. Look for typos, cutting unnecessary words and check for consistency in aspects such as heading formatting and spellings.

Finally, you need to make sure your newspaper is correctly formatted according to the rules of the citation style you are using. For example, you might need to include an MLA heading or create an APA title page.

Scribbr's professional editors can assistance with the revision process with our award-winning Proofreading & Editing, Clarity Check and Structure Bank check services.

Notice our paper editing service

Research paper checklist

• I accept followed all instructions in the assignment canvas.

• My introduction presents my topic in an engaging way and provides necessary background information.

• My introduction presents a clear, focused research trouble and/or thesis argument.

• My newspaper is logically organized using paragraphs and (if relevant) section headings.

• Each paragraph is clearly focused on one central idea, expressed in a clear topic sentence.

• Each paragraph is relevant to my inquiry problem or thesis statement.

• I have used appropriate transitions to clarify the connections between sections, paragraphs, and sentences.

• My conclusion provides a concise reply to the enquiry question or emphasizes how the thesis has been supported.

• My conclusion shows how my research has contributed to knowledge or agreement of my topic.

• My conclusion does non present any new points or data essential to my argument.

• I accept provided an in-text citation every time I refer to ideas or information from a source.

• I take included a reference list at the end of my newspaper, consistently formatted co-ordinate to a specific citation style.

• I have thoroughly revised my paper and addressed whatever feedback from my professor or supervisor.

• I take followed all formatting guidelines (page numbers, headers, spacing, etc.).

Free lecture slides

You can use, download, and modify these lecture slides to teach students about how to write a research paper.

Open Google SlidesDownload PowerPoint

maloneyhisibut.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.scribbr.com/category/research-paper/