Writing assignments are among the hardest for students. Creating a good term paper, essay, or research paper requires a lot of time, patience, and practical skills. However, many students are unwilling to spend hours struggling with their assignments and making an alternative move to reach out for professional writers’ assistance. This is a smart move, but you need to be sure you can rely on a writing service. When choosing such a service, pay attention to their website, reviews, benefits, and guarantees and go through the FAQ section to get to know the service better. One example of a trustworthy service where you can find skilled research paper writers, https://essayshark.com/, offers excellent writing assistance for affordable prices, and the reviews about them speak for themselves. And for those who will bear their assignments alone, we have prepared this short guide on how to write a research paper.
- What is a research paper?
Let us start by defining what we are going to discuss below. A research paper is a common assignment that students in high school, college, and university get on various disciplines, from psychology to economics. Technically, a research paper is almost similar to an essay in its structure. But the content must reflect the result of the student’s study and show his or her in-depth understanding of the investigated topic.
- Start with the instructions
For a research paper, it is vital to follow the assignment requirements and to include only the relevant data. Before you proceed with the research itself, make sure you understand your assignment goals and formatting. Read the instructions properly and get familiar with the methods and specifications of your future research. If you have questions about your task, you need to contact your supervisor regarding them. We recommend creating a list with brief vital points to consider when writing your paper. And last but not least – assume the time frames and set a strict deadline.
- Formulate a working topic
When it comes to a research paper topic, you need to decide what you need to know and why in the particular field. Depending on your aims and discipline, you will be able to develop a persuasive topic. For example, read other researches conducted in this area and pay attention to which questions trigger you the most. Suppose you have doubts on your future topic when discussing with a professor. A working tip on writing a good topic is to narrow down the wider topic and concentrate your attention on one question or phenomenon. There is also a working technique called freewriting, where you write any thought on future research and formulate what’s most interesting for you.
- Provide research
Take a wide range of sources to compile a working investigation. We recommend to use books, magazines, blogs and podcasts, relevant websites, interviews, scientific researches on the topic, etc.
One of the basic tips to make your research effective is to look for contradicting points of view that differ from your own. You will be able to highlight your thoughts with opposing statements and bring arguments to prove your own statements.
- Create an outline and a brief draft
While you provide research, you are supposed to imagine your paper’s highlights. The outline must reflect these highlights. Make sure to include three main sections: an introduction, main body, and conclusion. For a research paper, it is vital to add to the outline brief drafts on each section. In the end, you will have a structure for the document and also a first raw draft that you will develop and finalize on the next step of writing. When outlining, include brief sections to define the paragraphs and organize your thoughts. The paragraphs must contain headings to make reading easier for your audience.
- Polish the first draft and compile the information
It is time to create the full research paper. Start with the introduction. In an introduction, you need to give brief answers to three hypothetical questions: What? Why? How? This means that your readership will need an explanation on why you decided to investigate a particular subject, why it is relevant, and what methods you will use for the research.
The main body is the vital section of your paper. If you previously created a detailed outline with defined sections and paragraphs, it is time to supplement them with strong evidence and arguments. Do not forget to include an opposing opinion to explain your vision.
When writing a conclusion, provide the main points of your research briefly. Make sure your conclusion does not present any new data on the research paper topic.
- Revise your research paper two times
Your main goal is to go through your writings several times and take the time to proofread. Be your own editor and take a critical look at your research paper. If needed, ask your friends or roommates to help you out in proofreading. And remember the main rule – never skip the editing stage to avoid regrets.
