How to Organize a Research Paper

A research paper, whether it's for a high-school class or a master's degree, often takes far more work than expected. Get organized and put yourself on a schedule to get it done, step by step.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Clarify the nature of the research paper. For instance, does your professor want you to analyze a problem or defend a position?
2. Define the steps of the project, setting deadlines for each step and noting other requirements, such as a preliminary outline or a rough draft. See 6 Meet Deadlines and 2 Set Priorities.
3. Make a list of topic headers or key words relating to your subject. As you conduct your research, assign each piece of information a key word. When you organize these topics later, they'll form a basis for your outline.
4. Use index cards for your notes or develop a computerized system. Check out software from Onfolio.com or Thomson ISI ResearchSoft (risinc.com), which helps you organize text. Document all sources.
5. Create an initial outline using the topic headers you've gathered. Review with your professor and make necessary adjustments.
6. Block out 30 minutes, an hour, three hours or whatever you need to work on the paper daily. Choose a strategy that works for you, maybe in terms of hours and minutes worked, or perhaps for problems solved or pages written.
7. Write a first draft of your paper and have it critiqued by someone with solid writing experience. Some professors are happy to review first drafts.
8. Find out the required format for your final product. Many professors are particular about what paper stock you use, how you set margins, and the footnotes and bibliography format.

Tips & Warnings

• Ask your professor whether you can read past papers that received good grades to get an idea of what he or she is looking for.
• Ask questions as you go. If you've gotten off topic, you want to find out about it while there's still time to change direction.
• See 9 Organize Your Thoughts.
• Plagiarism is a nasty word. If you find the same information in many sources, you don't have to attribute it. But if an idea comes from just one source, you need to credit it.