It’s very challenging and tedious to effectively write a research paper, especially for students. So, in order to write a research paper excellently, it’s very important for the researcher to stay motivated throughout the research paper writing process. There are simple things that must be done by researchers to change the dynamics of paper. Some research requires extensive research, which not everyone likes to do. However, this guide provides comprehensive knowledge, so the researchers can certainly save time by following certain things and ending up with an A+ research study.
What Is a Research Paper and How Does It Differ from Written Assignments?
Research Papers are usually similar to academic essays, but it has particular topics with supporting evidence, relevant material, and arguments on the basis of recent and past existing findings of research that are analyzed and discussed by the researcher to draw conclusions.
Research papers are lengthy and discuss the topics in more detail, which not only improves the individuals’ writing skills but also enhances scholarly research skills. Research papers require individuals to present exclusive knowledge regarding their specific topic, make an excellent contribution to the research, and engage in many sources to find supporting material.
What Do You Require Before Starting Writing?
Before starting the research paper writing journey, there is one thing that you need to know: they must go through the writing handbooks to create an A+ paper. Writing handbooks are small manuals that cover all the basic details about writing techniques and provide inclusive information regarding how to cite the supportive materials properly.
This step-by-step guide takes you to understand the entire writing A+ research paper process.
Tips for Writing an A+ Research Paper
You are halfway there if you have an idea in your mind or give a specific topic on which you have to write about. Having an idea and topic means you have the directions where you should put your efforts. Let’s take a look at some strategies and tips that can assist you in writing an A+ research paper!
1. Understand the Research Paper Requirements Comprehensively
The first step that you must take is to thoroughly understand the idea given to you in order to reduce confusion and misunderstandings. Before starting writing, you should make sure that you comprehensively grasp the requirements of the research assignment task sheet.
- Read it cautiously to identify if there is anything that seems confusing to you for clarifying it.
- Dissect the research assignment deadline, goals, formatting, submission method, and word count specifications.
- List all key points you have identified to cross-verify while writing the paper.
2. Plan Out Your Research Paper
The next step is to make a schedule for ending the research paper within a specific timeframe before the deadline. Plan all the related tasks to your research paper and ensure you have enough time to edit your paper if required.
3.Research and Choose Research Paper Topic
There are many sources to research and choose the topic for your research paper if you have no idea in your mind. You can try to research a broad topic to identify if there is any topic that can be interesting and appealing to you. You can also take an idea from existing research papers, articles, journals, and websites like Google Scholar. Once you get the broad range of topics, then narrow them down by choosing the topic that resonates with you and also matches the criteria for your research assignment, and is reliable for conducting research. Choose ideas or topics that are specific and realistic to conduct research, such as:
- “A research paper on following World War II chronology” would not be realistic and specific.
- “Analysis of Danish ccitizen’sexperience related to the German borders throughout World War II is a topic that would be realistic or specific enough to conduct research.
4. Instigate Preliminary Research:
Research the existing discussion that looks significant and noteworthy for conducting research on your chosen or given topic. Try to find out the gap or identify any issues on which you can put emphasis in a research paper. You can equip yourself for conducting preliminary research with a variety of sources to gather supportive information, including books, articles, journals, and websites such as Wikipedia, Google Scholar, etc., in order to ensure that you don’t overlook anything glaring.
You need to not only verify the chosen research topic but also look for reliable sources that can be contrary to your idea or perception.
- Identify if there is anything individuals look to oversight in your researched sources.
- Recognize if there are any preheated debates that you can address in your research paper discussion.
- What kind of uniqueness does your topic overwhelm?
- Are there any recent developments you have observed that have been made in existing research?
In this step, you can develop a potential research questions list that can guide you in making a hypothesis and thesis statement. In order to write research questions, try to use what, why, and how words at the end and the start of questions.
For Example:
- How is modern-day society currently influenced by ancient Greek history?
- What are the harmful effects of long-term smoking on youngsters?
5. Create a Research Paper Thesis Statement
Your central argument is referred to in your research paper thesis statement. It reveals the position and purpose of your research papers. If you begin with creating research questions, then this statement should be the answer to them. It must highlight what reasoning and evidence you will apply to support answers.
A thesis statement must be contentious, concise, precise, and coherent, which means it should summarize your developed arguments briefly in the form of one or two sentences. Make a claim that needs more evidence or inspection and develop logical points that are capable of relating to each research paper part.
You can revise and reassess your developed thesis statement because it serves as a guide during the research paper writing process. All sections of the paper must be devised to formulate and support this central claim.
For Example:
Suppose your research paper is based on a topic like ‘Impact of exercise on health and stress,” then your thesis statement shall be: Due to the high impact of exercise on neurology, it seems that individuals who regularly exercise report good health and lower levels of stress compared to those who do not exercise regularly.
6. Create an Outline
The outline for your research paper is vital to list down all the important topics, evidence, and arguments that you want to include. Divide the sections of the paper by using headings so you can get a rough idea of how your paper will look before starting to write about it.
An example of a Rough Outline Structure is given below:
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Background Information
- Research Objectives
- Literature Review
- Methodology
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion
7. Write the Initial Draft of Your Research Paper
Your first draft will be rough to take an idea that can be fixed later. At this stage, your priorities must be:
- Upholding forward momentum by thinking, write now, polish it later.
- Concentrate on clearly organizing and logical ordering of sentences, sections, and paragraphs, which will assist you in developing the second draft effectively.
- Express ideas precisely so you can understand what you intend to say when you will come back to read your first draft.
It’s not compulsory to start writing from the introduction of a research paper. You can start writing from where you feel comfortable and easy. You can use outlines as a map while doing your work. Don’t forget to use correct grammar, good transitions, and effective A+ writing techniques.
Paragraph Structure:
Paragraphs act as building blocks of your paper because each paragraph emphasizes the main idea and single claim that supports formulating arguments. Paragraphs must be relevant, coherent, unified, and well-developed.
Citing Sources:
At this stage, to avoid unintentional plagiarism, it is vital to monitor and track citations continually. Make sure you have collected information from relevant and reliable sources. You can use tools like free APA or MLA citation generators to avoid mistakes and save your reference list in a timely.
Writing Process
Write Research Paper Abstract:
It provides a concise summary of your research paper, which allows the readers to capture the key aspects of your study quickly. This must consist of 150 to 200 words only. In this section, you have to write a clear research problem statement, research questions, used research methodology, major findings, and conclusion.
For Example
This study discovers that green spaces influence the quality of urban air and the quality of people’s health that are living in metropolitan areas. To measure air quality, surveys of five major cities were conducted. Our research recognizes a positive relationship between improved air quality and the existence of green spaces. These findings concentrate on the urban planning role in improving public health and the quality of the environment.
Writing Research Paper Introduction:
The introduction of the paper must address the three common questions, such as Why. What, and How?
- What? Must be specific for your topic, define fundamental concepts and terms, and provide brief background information.
- Why? This is the central yet most challenging part of writing an introduction. Support your answer with logical statements and supportive material.
- How? This part enables the reader to see what they can anticipate from the rest of the research paper; it provides a map of how the paper will be discussed and concisely highlights the essential aspects of the research paper in sequential order.
Write Research Objectives for the research paper:
These provide insights about the outcomes that you intend to attain at the end of your research. You can use more than one research objective. The main aim of developing objectives is to drive the research papers by analysis, data collection, findings, and conclusion.
Tips to write research objective:
- Identify the main focus of your research topic.
- Break down research focus into research objectives.
- Use the SMART objectives format to devise your research objectives.
- Research Objectives must be concise.
- A number of objectives must be limited to action verbs.
Write a Convincing Research Paper Body Text:
Most writers face difficulty in determining how to structure the information they offer in their research papers. Therefore. Creating a comprehensive outline for a paper is important, but it is only a guideline. You can be flexible while writing and assembling your research paper information.
One of the basic strategies to track your thesis statement’s excellence and accuracy of topic sentences is:
- Check topic sentences in contrast to your thesis statement.
- Check every sentence in contrast to the paragraphs’ topic sentences.
- For logical ordering and finding similarities, check topic sentences against each other.
Write Your Research Paper Findings:
This section provides information on outcomes or results that have been found by researchers after conducting an analysis of data and sources. Its primary purpose is to utilize the data which was gathered to answer research questions stated in the introduction.
Write Research Conclusion
Your conclusion must discuss a brief summary of all the points and must be good enough to tie up all the points together to leave a long-lasting impact on your readers. Your conclusion must offer insights into your arguments to readers. You must identify how your discussed points relate to your thesis statement. Your conclusion must provide the research paper with a sense of finality by offering compelling information that can be understandable for readers as to how you have addressed the gaps and issues you have discussed in your introduction.
You must avoid the following things to do in conclusion:
- You shouldn’t offer new arguments or discuss any new information related to the topic.
- You shouldn’t start to stock phrases that present you as finalizing your paper, such as ‘in conclusion .’Avoid using these kinds of phrases again and again.
- You shouldn’t take up space more than that of your conclusion required to end.
8. Polish Rough Draft
After the accomplishment of the first draft, you can assess it by reading it. This strategy will help you find the missing information and gaps in your research paper to be filled. Make corrections to fill the gaps and reorganize and restructure the paragraphs if required. Go back to your created outline to identify that your draft includes all the points of the task sheet. If there is any section is missing, add it according to the requirements and subtract the information that does not seem to be relevant.
9. Develop a Final Draft
Develop a final draft of your research paper and read it out at least 3 or four times to ensure that you have covered all the points brilliantly. Make adjustments and fix the final draft as you see it appropriate.
10. Get Feedback on Your Final Draft
Ask your friends and peers to review your final draft and provide honest feedback. Through collecting feedback, you can come to know about your writing skills and the position of your research paper. This strategy is best to assess and improve your research paper writing skills.
Conclusion:
Writing a research paper, though challenging, becomes manageable with proper guidance and dedication. This guide transforms the task into a systematic endeavor by emphasizing understanding research requirements, meticulous planning, and selecting an appropriate topic. Conducting preliminary research and crafting a precise thesis statement streamline the process.
Creating a detailed outline, writing a robust initial draft, and diligent revision ensure a well-structured and coherent final paper. Feedback from peers is invaluable, and utilizing resources like writing handbooks and citation tools enhances quality and credibility.
Experts like The Mentor and Ali Mentor, specializing in business finance tutoring on PrestoExperts, provide excellent support for students and academic researchers. PrestoExperts is a valuable website for online tutoring, offering access to a wide range of experts. These resources significantly boost confidence and proficiency in research paper writing. Staying motivated and methodical throughout the process leads to producing exemplary research papers that meet academic standards and contribute meaningfully to the field of study.
By following these steps, researchers can navigate the complexities of academic writing, achieve A+ grades, and make significant scholarly contributions.
