University or college students are asked to produce a research paper at some point throughout their course on their quest to get a degree. While most students will embrace the challenge, there will be others that will dread it and will see a research paper as a daunting task.
These students will usually turn to research paper writing services for help. For those students that can’t afford to pay for writing services, this guide will look at everything a student needs to know to effectively write an amazing research paper.
- Know the paper inside out
Academic paper writing services say that while this might be one of the obvious things to do, many students seem to completely ignore it. A student needs to know what their tutor wants before they begin writing.
Skipping this stage and ignoring instructions can lead to a student getting a very poor grade. To be on the right track, a student has to make sure they read everything carefully and if there’s anything that needs clearing up, they shouldn’t be shy and ask either their tutor or get custom research paper writing from experts.
- A great topic is needed
Once a student knows what they are supposed to write about, it is time to pick a topic and this can be a daunting task if a student is confused. To make life easy, services say that a student has to produce content on a topic they are interested in and passionate about.
There is no point in wasting time on something that a student will struggle to write about. The guidelines provided by tutors should be used to help come up with a topic and while trying to figure out a topic for their paper, students can come across other interesting topics too.
- Conduct research on the topic
With a great topic figured out, the next step is of course to do some research on the topic. A student has to pick a method that feels quick to get the job done. The quickest way to research information is to use secondary sources of data like articles, books, websites, journals, and more.
The 3 things to keep in mind are skim, use reliable sources and avoid ignoring good quality information. When skimming through the internet, students are advised to use keywords related to their research to find what they are looking for quicker.
- Stay organized
The way that a paper is presented is very important because anything that looks messy in the eyes of tutors will end up coming back with a low mark. If a tutor has set out a paper format that students must follow, it has to be followed. If they ask for APA or MLA style writing, footnotes, references in text, bibliography at the end, etc. that’s what a student must do and not produce something they feel is right for them.
- Formulate the thesis
With a good understanding of what is required, a topic picked, the format is known and a research method all figured out, it is time to articulate the arguments. It doesn’t matter whether it is in favor of or against anything, a good research paper will have a thesis and this is a statement that is put forward by an author of a piece trying to prove or explain their point.
- Make the outline
Similarly to knowing the format of the paper, an outline needs to be created based on what is asked by the tutor. If a tutor requires certain guidelines to be met, they need to be put on the paper at all costs. It is all about structure and making sure that paragraphs flow properly in the introduction, main body, and conclusion.
- Begin writing
This is arguably one of the most important steps and during the writing process, a student should worry less about making sure that their paper is perfect. There is plenty of time to edit and make the work perfect; however, this stage is all about getting the ball rolling and putting ideas and any information found in black and white. Work that has been inspired by others needs to be referenced carefully otherwise a student might see their work flagged for plagiarism.
- Time to edit
With the paper written, now is not the time to celebrate because there is still some work to be done. The work that has been written needs to be edited and a student can either do it on their own or hire an essay writing service. When a student decides to do the editing, they can use a variety of software or websites like Grammarly. Any mistakes made will be picked up by this website allowing a student to correct any errors quickly.
- Check for plagiarism
Colleges and universities always require their students to produce original content all the time and not copy from elsewhere. When a student steals the work of others and repackages it as their own, this is called plagiarism which is a very serious thing to do and is punishable by anything from expelling to redoing the paper. There are programs like TurnItIn or even the premium version Grammarly that provide plagiarism reports so that students can see how original their work is.
- Scan the paper again and submit
Before handing the paper in, students are advised to re-read their research paper again before they submit it. This lets a student see how their paper flows and if everything is where it should be. If something feels out of place, changes can be made as long as there’s still time before the deadline.
It is important to always follow instructions before writing a research paper. When a student ignores the instructions provided and does what they feel rather than what was asked, they will ultimately fail the paper which puts the brakes on their academic progression. Any student that is stuck should always speak to their tutor for extra guidance. It is better to be safe than sorry or speaking to an online paper writing service does help too.