The idea of writing research paper comes up and anxiety in the writers peaks. They can only imagine painstakingly hard work and long hours to spare to write down a perfect paper. There is an exception of people who get excited to write it down with passion while others are intimated by the very idea and end up hiring a competent dissertation writing service UK to get their paper written in a perfect manner. If you dig deep in the idea of writing a research paper, you will realise that it’s not entirely bad, in fact your experience will be contradictory with the preconceived notions you have in your mind about research writing.
Let’s move forward with having a clear-cut idea about what a research paper is. A research paper is a kind of academic writing which is written by the writers about their own research focusing a particular topic. It involves comprehensive analysis and evaluation followed by the interpretation as per the empirical evidence. In a research paper, statistical analysis is used and the foundation of a research is laid on preexisting researches.
Below is the general step-by-step guideline that will assist you in writing a top-notch research paper. We have simplified it down to the 9 steps to get you going.
Step 1 – Having a Clear Understanding of the Assignment
Many of the people usually jump onto the writing process without understanding the requirements of the paper in terms of format. So, the first and the foremost step should be to know how long your research paper should be; if the particular writing style has to be followed; how the citation style should be; whether you should include a cover page and abstract in your research paper or not. Once you understand what kind of style is expected for writing your research paper, you will be fully prepared for it.
Step 2 – Select a Captivating Topic for Your Research
Now that you are aware of what is expected of you, it is time for selecting an appealing topic. We recommend you to go for the topic that sparks your interest so that you will be passionate about working on it. The topic you select should have enough data already available to make the writing experience easy for you. Your topic should be focused and make sure you narrow it down from general to specific as it will save you a lot of time and resources. Avoid the topics that are too critical and requires specialized skills. Make sure you stay dedicated to the topic as it will definitely earn you an A+.
Step 3 – Gather Initial Information about the Research Topic
With topic at hand, it’s about time you start researching. In order to prepare a thesis statement, it is mandatory for you to carry out a rudimentary research to know what researches are available for your topic and you will have a clearer understanding about your topic. You can gather information by various sources. Rush to the library or log on to the internet and you’ll find a plethora of information regarding the topic. If you decide to use the internet search engines, then you will find many legit sources like academic papers and scientific journals. Some search engines are specifically designed for scientific research purposes, like Google Scholar. We recommend you to compile a list of potential sources and save your time.
Step 4 – Formulate a Thesis Statement
Thesis statement is a central idea of your research paper and all the arguments revolve around this idea. This statement solely mirrors your beliefs and it introduces your topic to the readers. It is written in the initial paragraph of the introduction part. The thesis statement must be original and specific to the writer, and other researchers are not cited in this section. If you are having difficulty in writing a thesis statement then you can start by phrasing your topic as a question and then answer it.
Step 5 – Find Supporting Researches
This is the point to carry out the actual research. You have to go through the information you had gathered and narrow it down to the most relevant aspects that can be included in your write-up. You should assure that you take on the information and researches that are directly relevant to the topic. Don’t forget to write down the page numbers as it will later help you with citations.
Step 6 – Create an Outline
Creating a research outline is an important part of research write-up, as it is systematically and formally structured and it ensures that all the sections have been addressed. First, make a list of headings that need to be covered. In a research outline, topics and subtopics are categorised by numbers and letters and they are placed under relevant headings. All the related ideas are also listed together to maintain the flow of the paper. If you have a lot of information to share, a pro tip is to break your outline in paragraphs to stay organised.
Step 7 – The First Draft
Like every other write-up, the research write-up is divided in 3 parts; introduction, body and conclusion. Writing an introduction might be an intimidating task but if you formulated your arguments along the hypothesis, you are good to go. The body, on the other hand contains sub-headings and for that, you need to swiftly follow the outline. For conclusion, you need to summarise your hypothesis, findings and evaluation without involving a lot of information.
Step 8 – Citations
Citations are an important part of research as it gives your paper greater scientific exposure. There is more than one method for citing your sources. It may seem difficult to many but once you get the hang of it, you will enjoy doing it.
Step 9 – Edit and Proofread
In the end, you should go through the write-up for adding and subtracting relevant and irrelevant material, respectively. It is recommended to read it twice; first for the content and the second time for grammatical errors.
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