How to Easily Write a Research Paper
The assignment is to write a research paper. This may be intimidating yet, by breaking the task down into steps, it makes writing a research paper easy. The research paper should 'tell them what you are going to say, say it, and tell what was just said'.
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Instructions
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The general subject is provided and the specific topic is left to choose. Begin by writing down everything that you can think of that pertains to the subject. Look through the ideas and use the thesaurus to see if different words bring up more ideas. Use one of the ideas, or a combination of them, as the specific topic for the research paper.
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Do a quick scan through books at the school library or the Internet to see how much information you can find on the research paper topics you are interested in writing on. There may be a need to narrow the focus, if there is too much information, or broaden it if there is not enough information available. This quick step may also provide additional information to change the focus of the research paper. While going through this search make sure to bookmark the websites or make a list of the publications where the information was located.
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The topic and focus of the paper has been decided and the research needs to begin in earnest. Begin by going back to the information from the quick scan and begin taking notes. For each resource use a note card to write down the name of the publication or website, date, publishing house, the author, page number, and any 'quote' that you may use in the research paper. Use this card to add your thoughts that you will use as material for writing the research paper.
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Create a research paper outline. Use the note cards to organize the research. Put them in an order that makes sense to be able to:
• Write an introduction - what the topic is and a broad explanation of it. Describe what the paper will be about or 'tell them what you are going to say'.
• List 3 - 5 paragraph headings. This information has already been researched, referred to as the data collection part of the paper, and should be easily organized. This is the 'say it' part of the paper.
• Make a conclusion is the last part of the outline. Write down your thoughts about the information colleted, or reiterate the details of the information collected. This is the 'tell them what was just said' part of the paper. -
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Begin writing using the note cards and research paper outline drafted. This is the first draft so just start writing and get all the information into the paper. Be sure to include the resources by placing a 'superscript' number on the draft and using that same number on the note card where the resources have been written.
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This next step, revising the paper, will take longer than writing the first draft. Read the paper and begin cleaning up grammatical errors and misspelled words, ensure that the paper says what it was intended to say, add information that was collected but was not included in the first draft, and ensure that the resources are correctly numbered and are listed at the bottom of the page where they are located
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The final step is to proofread the entire paper checking for the correct tense, punctuation, and the spacing is what was assigned. (Some require space and a half and other request double spacing.) Do a final check to ensure all citations are included and correct. A list of resources may be required as the last page of the resource paper. Go through the note cards for the publication name, date of publication, publisher, author name, etc.
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Tips & Warnings
When there is an assignment to write a research paper, break it down into these steps to be organized and take the 'intimidation' out of the task. Knowing how to research and write these types of papers will assist in writing them faster, and with confidence, to make academic life much easier.
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