10 Steps to Writing a Research Paper

10 Steps to Writing a Research Paper Guidelines for Writing a Research Paper Research papers are common assignments in colleges and universities but many students feel at a loss when they have to complete this complicated written project, and some of them even might be wondering how to choose a topic or how to start writing a research paper. Of course, this assignment is time-consuming and requires hard work but any process can be easier if we divide it into several logical steps. In this article, we are going to outline the essential steps in writing a research paper that can help you learn to write an ‘A’ research paper someday if you have a positive attitude and a strong desire to achieve your goal. So here they are 10 steps to writing a research paper that you should follow in your writing. The first step in writing a research paper is choosing a good topic. Select a topic that interests and challenges you and you will enjoy doing research and writing about it. Make sure you can find enough credible sources on your subject. Avoid topics that are controversial or sensational, too technical or specialized. Narrow your topic, keeping in mind the length of your research paper, and focus on a limited aspect of your broad topic. State your thesis and describe the viewpoint that you are going to support in your paper. This step will help you choose relevant sources and limit your note taking. Form a preliminary bibliography. Evaluate potential sources of information, select articles, and books that are relevant to your topic and up-to-date and make a list of potential sources. Create a tentative outline that will help you organize your research and make your writing process logical. Your working outline should include an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Start taking notes related to the topics or subtopics on your tentative outline. Write notes in your own words or paraphrase the content. If you borrow any ideas or quotes, you should document them accurately to avoid plagiarism. Organize the notes you have taken according to your outline. Make the final outline for your research paper which is more complex because each topic in it should be divided into several subtopics. Write the first draft. Keep in mind that this rough draft will be revised later so there is no need to pay much attention to spelling or punctuation. Instead, you should care about the quality of content and organize your ideas according to your outline. Revise and edit your rough draft and outline. Reread your draft several times and check the content, the flow, and the logic. Check the facts and figures in your paper. Revise your outline if necessary and rearrange your ideas to follow your new outline. Eliminate vocabulary, spelling or grammar mistakes if there are any. Make sure all your citations are accurate and that you have no plagiarism in your research paper. Prepare the final draft of your research paper that should be typed and include a bibliography page. Sometimes. Your research paper might require a title page â€"it depends on the formatting style and your professor’s requirements. Proofread your research paper once more before submitting it. One of the key aspects of any research paper is to make a strong first impression on your reader so you should do your best to write a good introduction with a clear and concise thesis statement/hypothesis. Follow These Steps in Writing an Introduction to a Research Paper An introduction is the first paragraph of any research paper where you should capture the reader’s interest, give background information on the topic of the paper, summarize the main points of your paper, and state the thesis. The length of any introduction depends on the length of the project and its complexity, but usually, it should not exceed a page. The introduction should be concise and well-structured. Here are the key steps in writing an introduction to a research paper that will explain the importance of your paper and motivate your reader to read further. Give concise background information about your research problem Define the objectives of your research Explain the significance of your study Give a brief literature review on your topic State your research question and the hypothesis Define key terms and abbreviations Outline the structure of your research paper Writing a good research paper may be tricky as it is a long process that requires much time and effort and strong analytical and research skills. Lots of students consider this time-consuming task daunting and may face problems at any stage of the writing process, for example, when writing a research paper outline or writing a conclusion for a research paper. We hope that our research paper writing tips will help you overcome these difficulties, but, if for any reason, you cannot cope with writing a research paper on your own, you can always rely on the high professionalism of the experienced writers from our custom paper writing service. Just ask, and they will provide you with a well-written model research paper on your topic that will be perfect in content and style.