Writing a research paper suppose a lot of work. You shouldn’t only display shocking clever ideas, you will also need to find out what experts think about this. In addition to all of the above torments, you’ll need to properly arrange your scientific work. Having finished this research paper, you’ll be surprised how much new you’ve learned in the process of work. The main thing is to start early as this paper can take much longer than you think.
How to organize research paper writing: A to-do list
The main thing is to organize the process of writing. If you make the steps below, you’ll increase the chances to achieve the desired goal. So, let’s get started!
- Select a topic. If the tutor hasn’t assigned the topic, try to come up with something original. Choosing something that interests you will make the process of writing your work more fun and less tedious. Try to choose the topic, which you can find additional material on.
- Choose a narrower research paper topic. Instead of writing about "Music", you can reduce the research paper topic to "Musical Instruments" or even "Clarinet History". Thus, it will be much easier for you to control the main topic of your research paper.
- Engage in research. The purpose of the research paper is the study of its main subject. Use the materials available in the library archive, database. Look for information on trustworthy sites, in encyclopedias, and other reference materials, in peer-reviewed scientific journals, etc. Find as many materials as possible on the subject of your work and make photocopies of them; you will need them later, moreover, it is much easier to view copies than to search again for a specific source of information.
- Re-read your materials. Depending on the amount of information you have, you won’t need to re-read all of it. Skim everything to highlight the main points or passages in each article, then thoroughly study the material you’ve selected. Bookmark the most important pages and write down the quotes you need. Emphasize or somehow highlight important places, passages, and any other information necessary for your work.
- Write an introduction. This is one of the most important parts of scientific paper. An introduction usually consists of a brief description of the nature of the paper or subject under study. Make sure that it accurately and correctly shows what you are trying to say. Keep in mind that you will need to confirm with your research all that you say.
- Start writing your research paper. Each paragraph should correspond to the introduction. Now is the time to take advantage of the information you spent so much time searching for. Use quotes to corroborate the facts and support the basic idea of your work. Always refer to credible sources only.
- Design and adjust your work. Check grammar, spelling, and syntax. Make sure that the work is built on smooth and logical transitions from one reflection to another, from one paragraph to another. You cannot jump sharply from one idea to another. Ask your teacher what format your work should have. Make sure that your work contains all the necessary elements, including the title page, content, introduction, main body, conclusion, list of references and applications. Before submitting your scientific paper for review, check it three more times.
7 tips that really work
- Stick to the topic of your work, so you will have more chances for a creative approach.
- Remember, your paper should be based only on trustworthy materials that will support your research paper topic and suggested arguments.
- To avoid making mistakes, read your paper out loud several times or let someone check it.
- You can also read your work not from the beginning, but from the end. Just read sentences in reverse to notice errors. Your eyes could get used to the words, so by reading your research paper from the end to the beginning you may spot still unnoticed errors.
- Adjust your written research paper to correct grammar and punctuation errors.
- Wikipedia can be a great source of information, but be careful. Make sure that the information you read makes sense for your research paper topic; sometimes, as with any wiki, pages can be intentionally corrupted by someone. Because of this, many teachers disapprove the use of this site. Check with your teacher to use Wikipedia as a source of information.
- Sometimes, it helps to divide the whole research paper into several parts; for example, in 5. Work separately on each part, not forgetting that the last sentence of one part should connect the next. Introduction and conclusion should reflect each other, but should not be the same.
Finding a good research paper topic isn’t a piece of cake
Think about what genuinely interests you. This should be a topic on which you are ready to spend hours, days, weeks, months only because you want to know the answer to a certain question or solve a problem. In other words, you can get involved in the topic. If you have several options, evaluate each of them according to several criteria:
- How relevant is the topic?
- Can you achieve positive results?
- Can your results serve as a further study?
- Can you explain the results of your research to a wide range of people?
