Things You'll Need:
- Computer
- Internet
- Library access
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Step 1
Begin by getting a full understanding of what is required of you for this research paper. Most teachers will give you guidelines, for example they want you to do it in APA style or MLA style. They may go on to say that they want the paper double spaced, but single spaced between paragraph, etc. Just pay attentions to all directions given.
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Step 2
CHOOSE YOUR TOPIC. If need be, approve the topic with your teacher before going any further. Also, pick a topic that you are actually interested in learning about. It makes it much easier to research a topic your interested in.
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Step 3
DO YOUR ROUGH DRAFT OUTLINE: Doing an outline before writing your paper can make the writing of the paper easier and go much faster. Remember the first outline is only a rough draft because while you are doing research you may want to add more to the outline later.
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Step 4
DO RESEARCH: In most classes your teacher will require that you pull your information from all different types of sources, like the internet, journal articles, newspapers, books, interviews etc.
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Step 5
DO YOUR BIBLIOGRAPHY: The bibliography or work cited page can be one of the biggest time consuming aspects of your paper. Most people hate doing this part of the research paper. To make this part of it REALLY easy, do it as you research. This means set up your work cited or bibliography page and save it, whenever you find a resource that you know you are going to use in your paper, immediately format it and put it in your bibliography. Then when your paper is done, your bibliography page is done with all sources cited. (There is a webpage that is a great help for formating your resources for you. Its called www.citationmachine.net, i will place a link for it below)
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Step 6
FINAL OUTLINE: Once you're finished with your research, do a final draft of your outline including any new ideas you want to add to your paper.
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Step 7
WRITE THE PAPER: Once you're finished with your outline, begin writing your paper. Make sure that any quotes you put into your paper, or ideas you pull from your resources are cited. You don't want to Plagiarize.
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Step 8
When you're finished writing your paper, make sure that your print out a copy and go over it for errors. If you have time, go to your writing center or a friend to help you edit your paper. A second pair of eyes can make a difference.
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Step 9
THE FINISH: Make sure that everything that your teacher wants in the paper, is IN the paper. Make a check list is need be. As a final touch, put a nice cover over it to keep it together and make it look professional. Keep in mind, some teachers just want it stapled, nothing more. JUST FOLLOW DIRECTIONS.
