Steps to a Good Research Paper
Steps to a Good Research Paper
Steps to a Good Research Paper
Research comes from an old French word meaning "to seek out" or "to search again". It aims to further ones knowledge and understanding of a subject through undergoing an organized investigation and analysis. With this in mind, you seek to learn information about almost anything, to change and / or increase the information you already have, allowing you to interpret and deduce your knowledge and be able to communicate that to others.
A research paper is a result of seeking information about a topic from diverse sources, at the same time, a research paper should not only be the summary or restatement of the work of others, but should also bring out your personal feeling regarding the topic. It should be informative and objective that it works toward providing material about a topic by looking into different sources based on facts and later arriving to a new result.
As the writer, accomplishing a research paper allows you go into different angles of a subject that will broaden your knowledge, improve your perception, and maybe, unfold a new finding. It also encourages you to think, organize, and decide between inappropriate or informative data. The research paper is one of the many tools for the constant need to gain knowledge and a better perception of the world.
Steps in Writing a Research Paper
To develop a well written research paper depends on how you systematically follow the steps.
1. Choosing and Limiting a Topic
Consider a topic that interests you, but make sure that the topic to be selected should be intricate enough and complex enough to be researched from a variety of sources, at the same time, limited to be comprised in ten pages or so.
Some teachers assign a subject to make the topic manageable. Even if this will be the case, you still have to decide which specific idea to explore or approach.
After deciding on what topic you are going to write about, you are now ready to limit it to allow you to efficiently compose it in the boundaries of what is expected of you. Limiting a topic entails you to attempt a trial-and-error process that is open for change until you have searched for options. Experiment with your topic. Work at one thought and observe where it leads you. Confirm if it leads you to an argument or not. Keep into mind that limiting your topic should not narrow your discussion. Be guided that your topic is not too limited that reference materials will not be hard to find.
2. Compiling a working bibliography.
Once your topic has been approved, you are now ready to start working on your references. As you look for information on your topic, you would need to create a working bibliography. A working bibliography keeps track of sources you plan to use for your topic. Its purpose is to serve as a tool for finding and acquiring information and input for your topic, and provide all the facts that will be necessary for your final bibliography.
Do exploratory scanning and extensive reading on your topic. Your sources may include books on the subject, encyclopaedias, magazines, journals on the subject, newspapers, other prints of the matter, and the internet. Your working bibliography grows as your research moves forward a piece of information will lead to another, and it will also change frequently as your research progresses, as you add new titles and discard those that do not suffice the information that you need. Composing your final bibliography will be the result of all the compiled working bibliography which consists of the list of works cited which will be presented at the end of your paper. You will need to search more for styles in illustrating how to prepare bibliography cards.
3. Writing a thesis statement.
After having reviewed your information, you are now ready to have all your information transformed into an integrated piece. A thesis statement is a single statement that put into words both your topic and your point of view. Writing your thesis statement is like making a backbone for your research, making you aware of where you are directed to and to remain on the path of the subject as you write. It will later serve as your guide in making your outline, and also serve as a restraint to where your subject must revolve. It allows you to filter points which you think are significant information from those that are irrelevant for your research.
Two important factors you have to bear in mind in writing a thesis statement are to know the PURPOSE and the AUDIENCE. Know the purpose of your paper. Are you going to explain, describe, argue a point, or influence your reader to do something? Know your audience. Who will be your reader? Are they familiar with your subject? Are they people who should and would agree or disagree with you? These questions should be your guide in making your research's points and angles. If you will have difficulty writing your thesis statement, approach your teacher with the previous research you have done and present the information you have gathered. Your teacher will most likely be the person to help you make your appropriate thesis statement.
4. Develop a working outline.
The purpose of making a working outline is to categorize the material in your paper into coherent divisions. An outline is a sequenced list of the topics you covered in your paper. An outline prevents the writer to commit a structural error such as overstressing on one topic or then again provide insufficient details on another.
Making an outline should involve all the main points you would want to stress out on your paper. Like the working bibliography, your outline need not be perfect, for it will progress as you may discover you may have skipped some points and add them up, or later would want to make revisions. Nonetheless, the outline should be complete to serve as the spine for your research
There are three types of outlines. The topic outline words each entry as phrase, the subject, broken down into major subheadings. The second type of outline is the sentence outline which uses complete grammatical sentence for each entry, which allows the writer an overview of the paper. The type of outline which records the entry in a paragraph form is called the paragraph outline, usually used for long papers whose individual sections are summarized in whole paragraphs.
5. Note-taking
Note taking is done for you to follow the information you think is significant and that you may need later in writing your paper. It enables you to access what you have read earlier in the process of writing your paper.
There are three major techniques used in recording information: paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting. Paraphrasing is a method that entails translation. As the word denotes, this method of taking notes is to paraphrase the detail by restating the information stated by others, putting them in your own words. It is proper to always give credit to the author in your paper. Paraphrasing intends to prove that you have familiarized yourself and integrated the material that you are already able to rephrase it; and that you have merged both your original input and the source material in your won writing. Summarizing on the other hand is the method by condensing the important details of the data you wish to record. Condensing may be as reducing a chapter into a page, a page to a paragraph or a paragraph to a sentence; maintaining the important points of the original. The third method of note-taking is quoting. It requires writing down the exact quotation, usually done when you locate information that has been written expressively, or contain word for word information, and will use it as it is. As always, give credit to the original piece.
6. Making the rough draft.
At this time your note cards and outline should be complete to start writing your rough draft. As mentioned earlier, the rough draft is still open for revisions and may later be altered because you may have decided to go on a different direction on your paper, which may involve you to restart at earlier parts of the paper.
As you prepare to write, work with your outline and note cards. Sorting out and arranging your note cards until they are organized are part of the process of preparing to write. Break down the thesis in an orderly list of the topics. Prepare all the materials that you need in writing to prevent disruption when you have already started. Draw margins on all the papers that you will need. Write in a place where you are comfortable to write, and where you can leave your papers and notes arranged. Make a time table when you can accomplish certain parts of your paper.
Starting to write your introduction entails you to write in such a manner that will draw your readers' attention by informing them what you want to convey about your subject before beginning to look into deeper angles of the topic.
Writing the body of your paper will allow you to present what you have uncovered while doing your research, describing the methods that you have utilized, also presenting your results. This part of the paper will put forward the facts that will support you thesis statement.
Acknowledging all your sources is one vital part of your paper. Documenting borrowed ideas, be it in the form of paraphrasing, summarizing, or quoting, or any form of detail done by another needs to be credited. Applying the use of footnotes as a way of documenting your sources at the end of your paper will be termed as the Bibliography, Works Cited, References, and References Cited.
7. Revising your rough draft.
At this stage, your rough draft has been completed, but this does not mean that you are done with your paper. It is still necessary for you to revise your original paper to come out with a more expressive and a detailed presentation of your research. Revising will allow you to make every correction possible to your paper and expand your first draft. Examine if you have maintained your goal in the introduction to provide the information clearly and still able to catch the reader' attention, carried on with the body of your paper having the reader still hooked and interested, and if you have ended your paper in a way that the reader is convinced and content with the material that you have presented.
Organize the paragraphs in your paper that it unifies your topic; make sure that your paragraphs revolve around your topic sentence arranged in a manner that it evolves. Delete parts which do not give much support to your topic sentence. Sort and organize your paper in the cut-and-paste approach.
Expressing yourself is one way to make your paper interesting. This is called style. Your paper may be full of facts and details but it may cause the reader to be bored. Here are some ways to bring out style on your paper: use descriptive words, mix short and long sentences, have details be brought to life by descriptions or comparisons, vary your sentence structures, avoid slang lines, have the quotations work in a natural manner, and many more. Your paper may be an intelligently written, keep into mind to present it in a smart way.
Do not disregard the basics of good writing such as the spelling, punctuation, grammar, and capitalization. Review your paper to correct any small mistake to avoid spoiling your work.
8. Writing your final paper and bibliography.
The final draft of your paper has finally been accomplished; preparing the list of the sources you have used will be the next stage. Your working bibliography will now be transformed into the final bibliography; this will be easy if you have been keen and careful in copying your sources accurately. It is a list of the works cited or list of sources you have referred to, which will be written on a separate page at the end of your paper. All the information you need are already in your working bibliography but will differ in style form. Alphabetically arrange items according to the last names of the authors. For anonymous articles, use the first important word in the title.
Check in your library the detailed guideline in writing a bibliography.
9. Prepare a title page and table of contents.
A title page is not needed unless you include an outline at the beginning of the paper. When using a title page, the following are to be included in the page: the title of the paper, your name, your teacher's name, and the date on which the paper is due. Capitalize the first word, the last word, and all important words in your title. The second page will contain your table of contents. It should include the main topic, important subtopic and the pages of your paper. Number all the pages, except the title page (if you have one) with Arabic numerals. Use the small Roman numeral for the outline starting with ii (the title page is counted as i but is unmarked).
Before submitting your paper, make sure to have double-checked and included the following: title page, the table of contents, all pages were numbered correctly, footnotes are provided for the sources, the bibliography is available, a second copy is available for back-up.
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