It is a common misbelief that a research paper and a regular article are two sides of one coin. In fact, the difference is rather substantial. The present guide will reveal some essential peculiarities associated with the said activity.
A Guide on How to Write Research Papers
However, before to start learning how to write my research paper, let’s find out the essence of this work. The term denotes a textual document containing evidentiary material on an established topic. Such material may include versatile opinions, thoughts, facts, statements and other origins of data.
The writing process can be structured and divided into several steps. Some people narrow the set up to six steps while others expand it to 10 focal points. We decided to find the golden mean and introduce seven suggested stages to perform the mentioned task.
Step 1
Regardless of what you are going to write, the beginning is the same – you need to select or get a topic. Sometimes this option is not voluntarily but assigned by an academic advisor or another supervisor. Anyhow, this is the origin of all upcoming activities and efforts aimed at creating a decent work.
Step 2
As a rule, the topic corresponds to a thesis of your research work. Hence, your major task is to prove or disprove this thesis. To accomplish the task you will need the already mentioned evidentiary material. Therefore, the second step is dedicated to researching facts, ideas, opinions, and miscellaneous useful data.
Step 3
Based on the accumulated data, you can filter your background resources and opt for the most appropriate material. As a result, you need to narrow the general subject to an original statement you can prove. It is obligatory to show high involvement and accuracy at this step since you can reveal the insufficiency of material at certain points. Such defect is better to discover at an early stage of the work.
Step 4
In this step, an outline is created. In other words, you need to compose a structure in accordance with chosen data. A regular outline includes the introductory, main, and conclusive parts. The body text can be split into paragraphs to prove your thesis. The initial part is the introduction while the conclusion is the summarizing section of the paper.
Step 5
Since you have a skeleton, it is time to add stuffing. In this context, it means to write a rough draft of your work. In this step, you are able to adjust the researched material to your outline and reveal the possible gaps or inconsistencies.
Step 6
This stage of the creative process is boring but fundamental. It requires a decent attention to details and accuracy. You have to reread your draft and brush it out. Here you may need the advice of your friend, teacher, professional writer, etc. This process includes correcting versatile mistakes (grammar, spelling, and punctuation), formatting, elimination of mistypes, and other activities aimed at refining your work.
Step 7
The final step relates to making your paper free of plagiarism. It is not a secret that any creative work must be unique. On this account, it is highly advised to check the final text for the lack of imitation or resemblance to other publications. Fortunately, at your disposal, there are multiple services and tools to accomplish this task.
According to the present guide, making the research work seems a simple task. However, such apparent simplicity is rather delusive. This task requires significant efforts and serious engagement with the entire process. Perhaps, if you are filled with desire and motivation, this challenge won’t put you to a lot of trouble. 🙂
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