How to Write a Research Paper

Series Summary

Good writing is an important skill that can be used in a variety of media. Whether it's writing a meeting agenda, a toast or a magazine article, the ability to effectively communicate to a large audience stems from knowledge and execution of proper writing techniques. With such knowledge comes an understanding of the distinct differences in writing styles between creative writing, journalism, technical writing and informal writing. In this free video series on writing, an experienced playwright explains how to write a variety of text. Get information on how to write a research paper, how to write a horror story and how to write a book about your mother. Find out how to be a poet and how to format the table of contents for a magazine. Using the advice in the free video series from and experienced writer can help improve writing skills.

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Laura Turner and today I'm going to talk to you about writing a research paper. Today I'm going to give you five points for writing a research paper that are going to help you. And these are probably the best five points that I can come up with on organizing your paper. First of all, decide on a topic. The topic should not be too broad or too narrow. Number two, what is the length of the paper? Tailor your points to this link and of course tailor your topic to the link. Number three, gather research on line and in the library. Don't just limit yourself to one place, you know branch out and figure out what research has already been done on this topic that you can draw from. Number four, separate research in to categories. Whenever you're taking down your notes it's very important for you to compile them so you can use them later, so that you don't have to take all the books back with you to the library or go try to find them again. So really make sure that you compile your research as you are getting it. And finally, number five, draw a firm conclusion in your research paper. Because you are doing research so therefore you're really trying to figure out an answer to a problem or an answer to a question that you have by looking at other people's opinions. So decide on your topic, pick your topic according to the links, gather research on line or in the library, separate research in to categories and draw a firm conclusion. And once you've done all those things, you'll have a research paper."