HOW TO WRITE A RESEARCH PAPER

Understand the requirement: You need to understand in detail the requirements for the type of document that you are to produce: the areas of coverage, the structure and format, etc. This step is important in order to get a worthy outcome.
Choose a topic: Think of an area that fascinates you and that will be challenging. Try to choose a narrow topic. Why do people eat? is not too good a topic for a research paper? Because your research paper will be generalized with no exact results. So, it is advisable to narrow down your topic to a specific aspect.
Example: What feeding pattern is healthy for people in age range 50-70 years? Once you understand the direction of the paper, start researching the topic. Researching will further help you to gain clarity of direction and define your research question properly.
Write your thesis statement: The thesis is the crucial point of your research. Why is it important? Because all the arguments that will prove your idea should be based on this head point. The thesis is usually one sentence. It is placed at the beginning of your work. It is best to design this part after you check and analyze the materials you have found. Typically, you will formulate it in the end, once your paper is done because your ideas will develop and change in the writing process.

When you produce a thesis, be specific. Avoid general phrases and unclear ideas. It should reflect the primary sense of your research and its novelty, emphasize the key points. It is not the place for citations; you should express your own opinion.

Research your topic: It is the most significant part of your paper – doing research. There are no strict rules on how to carry out your research, and everyone will choose their approach to this process. However, there are several main aspects you should stick to, most importantly Skimming through materials and only working with reliable resource.
Organise your research: Is your head spinning around from the information and the sources you found? It means that it is time to organize. Making a list of books and articles, you will be using is a good idea.
Form a thesis: Once you’ve got your topic and you understand your task, all the details are settled, the materials are processed, analyzed and arranged, it is time to formulate the main idea of your work – thesis.
Make a good outline: If you think you don’t need an outline, you are wrong. It will help you manage the tons of materials you have studied and the ideas you came up with during writing.
Create your first draft: Indeed, you will begin writing your paper with a draft that will be changed in the writing process. First, you will need to formulate your title, choose and arrange citation and reference page.
A good Introduction: Your writing process will begin with composing an introductory part. It is another crucial part of the work since it has to grab your reader’s interest. To make it catchy, you can add a joke, a short story, interesting facts or statistics, etc.
How to write body paragraphs: When you write the body part, you should follow the outline and stick to your thesis. An overview can be modified in the process. You should begin each paragraph with the sentence related to your topic, that is, topic sentence. Proceed with presenting arguments and evidence that support your point.
Write good conclusion: The conclusion is the rewording of your thesis. But remember, that copying your thesis word for word is not acceptable. You can be making a general overview of the critical moments. You may mark your findings, and emphasize the practical significance, give advice on how to apply them and recommendations for further research.
How to make your paper perfect: Relax, this is just the first draft. It will need to be changed, added, and revised. It is important to collaborate for effective editing. Add a cover page, format appropriately with footnotes, page numbers, citations, etc. Add the bibliography.
Edit for content: You should begin with checking the content – if everything sounds good, if all the sentences are complete, all ideas are expressed clearly. You need to see whether the material coincides with the outlines if you have provided enough support for your thoughts.
Edit for grammar: Pay attention to grammar – having grammatical errors in your paper is not acceptable. Also, see if there are no lexical or morphological mistakes. If formatting is correct, let your writing be perfect in all aspects.
Checklist for editing: Using the two kinds of edits - developmental and line.

M3:S2 - Research Proposal vs Research Paper

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Research Writing

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