Guidelines to Write a Research Paper

January 17, 2022

Write & Organized By Rana Asif Shahzad

A Gentle Reminder before Writing a Research Paper:

· Your paper should focus on a main potential issue that interests you. You should limit your topic so that you can cover it in a paper of the assigned length. Organize and build the research paper around the points that are most important in your opinion. State your main ideas in your own words and use information from your sources to support them.
· You should incorporate ideas and facts from your sources by paraphrasing and summarizing. Write the ideas in your own style, using different words and sentence structures and leaving out unnecessary details that board the reader of paper.
· Use quotations when the author's words are especially well chosen or memorable. When you quote even a short phrase, copy the exact words, enclose them in quotation marks, and cite the name of the author or speaker.
· When you give facts, paraphrase and summarize ideas, or quote someone else's words, you must document your sources. As a rule, anything that is not common knowledge must be cited. The purpose of documentation is to give credit to the author and to allow your readers to look up your sources. Your paper is stronger because you can prove that the information came from reliable sources.

Simple & Easy Steps for Writing a Research Paper

Perhaps, the most difficult part of writing a research paper is just getting it started. Contained in this Article, you will find a list of important and simple steps that will aid you in the research paper/Thesis/Report writing process. You may develop your own steps or procedures as you progress in your writing career; these steps are just to help you start in this regard.

Step 1: Understand the Assigned Issue and Set a Schedule accordingly

One of the biggest problems students have when beginning a research paper is that they don’t understand the assignment. Make sure that if you have any questions you ask the mentors, other students, or come into the Writing Center. Some specific details you should know are:

· How long the paper has to be (pages, number of words, paragraphs etc.)
· The type of citation preferred by the professor/instructor (MLA, APA, CMS and CSE)
· Number and types of sources that are allowed (websites, books, articles, links, blogs etc.)
· Whether specific aspects of the paper have different due dates or is it due in full on a specific date.
· Other formatting details (footnotes, subtitles, heading, double-spacing, line spacing & font style, size)
· Set a schedule according to the due dates and how long it will take you to complete each task.(Day-by-day, week-by-week, interval by interval)

Step 2: Finding / Selecting a Topic and design Questions

Once you have figured out what the assignment is about, it is time to choose a specific topic or question to research. Some things to consider when choosing a topic:

· Is this topic appropriate? – You may want to have the professor/instructor approve it.
· Narrow the focus of your paper. (Try to make it as specific as possible)
· Choose a topic that not only interests you, but will also be interesting to the reader.
· You may want to choose a question that your paper will answer. That way, when you are researching, you are looking for something specific.

· The answer that you find to this question may ultimately become your thesis statement.

Example: Topic – Workforce Pay equality at worksite.

Question- Do women still get paid less than men do for completing the same amount of work?

Conclusion - Women get paid less than men in certain jobs.

Step 3: Starting Research work

After you have decided the direction you want to take for the paper writing, it will now be time to begin researching the topic.

NOTE: Just because you have chosen a topic and question does not mean you have to stick with that one for the rest of the paper! After you have started researching, you may find information that makes you want to change your focus. It is fine if you change your question, but make sure your paper answers the new question and not the old one. Some things to keep in mind when researching:

· Make sure you use a wide variety of sources (Internet, books, journals, video, interviews, References, websites etc.)
· Allow yourself enough time to research. This will be the most intensive part of the paper, allow at least two to three hours per researching session in this whole scenario.
· Keep records and copies of all of the information you obtain or gathered. Get all of the bibliographical information while you are researching so you do not have to go back. Make sure you also make note of where you found the information in case you have to retrieve/ use it later.

Such information includes:

· Title of the article or book
· Date it was published or copy written
· Author(s) and publishing company
· Pages used

Step 4: Construct an Outline for your Research Work

Once you have collected all of the research, it may be helpful to organize your thoughts with an outline. To construct an outline, you must group your notes together and match information that fits together. An outline should be formatted in this manner:

I. Introduction (Thesis Statement)

II. Main heading/idea of paragraph - 1

a. Supporting detail 1

b. Supporting detail 2

c. Supporting detail 3

III. Main heading/idea of paragraph - 2

a. Supporting detail 1

b. Supporting detail 2

c. Supporting detail 3

V. Conclusion

Try to ensure that each paragraph contains approximately the same amount of information. Depending upon how organized your outline is, you should be able to write your paper directly from the information in your outline listed earlier.

Step 5: Write a First Draft covering your research work

When you have organized your research material, the next step will be to writing the first draft. Keep in mind that you will write multiple drafts, so do not put excessive pressure on the first one. Some things to keep in mind when writing a First draft:

Try to write with your own voice. Don’t just spit out researched information. Add your own conclusions and thoughts.
Remember to cite your sources when you use them in research work, even in a draft.
Try to keep your information as organized in a simple way as possible. That will help the reader understand what you are trying to say.
Once you have written a draft, proofread it! Have a peer respond to it or bring it to the Writing

Step 6: Write or Prepare a Final Draft of your Research Work

After you have revised your initial or first drafts, you should compose a final draft of research work. This draft should have very few errors, have a clear organization, and be formatted correctly. Before you hand in your paper, you should make sure you have the following elements:

· A cover page stating the course/assignment information, the title of your paper, and researcher name.
· The final, revised, copy of your paper with any formatting necessary (Footnotes, page numbers, citations, paragraphs, charts and graphical help etc.).
· A works cited page listing the bibliographical information for each of your source used during research work.