A research paper provides an answer to a particular issue and supports its points by utilizing academic sources and critical thinking. Research papers are an excellent opportunity to refine your research project, summarize the information you’ve gathered, and demonstrate the significance of your work to a wider group of scholars within your area of study. Carrying out proper academic research is usually a challenging task, but instead of asking a professional to do your research paper, you can learn the fundamentals yourself by following our guide.
Select your topic
Find your passion
Research papers are an opportunity to discover your interests and integrate ideas innovatively. Don’t pick a topic that just sounds interesting or carelessly adhere to what others offer you. Instead, choose a subject that you are genuinely passionate and curious about, a topic that you feel ready to study for hours and days and still be excited and enthusiastic.
Ask a challenging question
Consider a research paper as your exclusive opportunity to ask a really important question that hasn’t been addressed yet, and then work out ways to adequately answer it, making your global contribution.
Be as precise as possible
It is crucial to be realistic in your expectations of what you can achieve in a single paper in order to narrow the focus to a subject that you are able to tackle comprehensively. Treat your research paper with the intention of becoming a specialist in chosen subject. However, be cautious not to get lost in the excessive details, don’t overwhelm yourself – just narrow your focus to things that actually matter.
Engage with prewriting
Perform some preliminary research
At this point, you’ve already selected your subject, but it’s not time to write your research paper yet! There still are some necessary steps to take lasenorita.
First, conduct a literature review to discover what material is already published on your topic, thus clearly identifying your own niche within the corpus of extant research, and then develop your research question.
It’s highly advisable to briefly read through multiple articles to see if they’re pertinent to the focal points of your research instead of immediately rushing to read them from beginning to end.
Design a thesis statement
Thesis statement is a twin of your research question; it’s your concisely stated response to it which you’ll elaborate on throughout the rest of your essay.
It is quite a standard practice to tweak your thesis as you discover more information during your research! An initial thesis will aid you in determining a general structure of your paper’s argument. However, it is imperative to revise your thesis in the process since this newly acquired information will obviously alter your ideas and perspective or add subtle details to them.
Develop an outline
An outline is used to sketch out the layout of your work by loosely organizing your thoughts and ideas into subheadings and then, more precisely, into separate text sections.
The outline you initially create is only a starting point, a springboard – it will inevitably transform as you gain more clarity on your argument through ongoing writing and investigation. It may require numerous iterations of outlining, writing, then revising your outline, and then rewriting again in order to discover the most effective layout for your paper.
Start writing
Introduction
The introduction should lead the reader away from your general area of interest to the narrowed, specific topic that constitutes your paper’s focus. It typically consists of one or two paragraphs, culminating in your thesis statement, and provides readers with an understanding of the general argumentative framework of your paper. After reading the introduction, readers should be aware of what argument you plan to make and the types of evidence you’ll examine to back it up.
Topic sentences
Developing succinct topic sentences is an essential element of a proper research paper. In a way, a topic sentence acts as a thesis statement – but for an individual body paragraph. It must clearly express that paragraph’s main argument. Appropriate topic sentences can help you stay concentrated when writing your paragraphs. They will also ensure that the reader is able to easily understand the purpose of each paragraph within the overall structure of the paper roobytalk.
Transitions
The most well-written, sophisticated research papers don’t rely on using simple transitional words like “Furthermore” or “However” at the beginning of every new paragraph. Rather, every section naturally flows into the following one, and the relationship between paragraphs, particular statements, and ideas is always evident. Use specially-designed transitional phrases instead of generic ones to flow from one idea to the other, ensuring your essay is as coherent as it can be filmy4wep.
Conclusion
Your conclusion is capable of serving multiple purposes:
- Enphasizing your thesis and restating your arguments;
- Highlighting the greater importance of the research’s results and addressing the “so what” question;
- Indicating some extra issues related to your thesis or potential research opportunities.
Your conclusion can perform all three of these functions or only one, depending on what goals you think your work hasn’t yet accomplished.
Citing sources
Don’t let sources slip your attention – giving credit to them is paramount. There are a variety of citation styles (they are mostly called formats), the most famous and widely employed being APA, MLA, Harvard, and Chicago. You should find out what is the most common format for your particular field through internet research or by consulting an expert.
Now you know all the fundamentals of writing an academic research paper. If you still feel anxious and uncertain, remember that asking for outside help always remains an option nowadays, and reliable resources like studybounty.com are at your service. However, we encourage you to test your capabilities and at least try to do it yourself, following the provided guide. Good luck dydepune!
