How to Write a Research Paper Step by Step

Published 02 Aug 2018

Don’t know where to start your future research paper even if you have prepared all the needed materials? The wisest decision is to use the experience of previous students. If the stack of documents on your table awakens fear before the coming deadline, it’s because of the absence of good organization. Chaos generates an endless amount of unnecessary actions which leads to failure. Writing a research paper as well as writing any academic assignment for college or high school requires a good deal of time, basic knowledge of text structure, and a Step-By-Step approach. How to write a research paper step by step? The answer to this question appeals to all students. Using the following 10-steps guide will make the writing process simple and systematic. Let’s start!

Step 1 – Topic Selection

Even if a course on Psychology interests you, the chosen topic in this domain may turn out to be sophisticated. Lack of information in the library and on the Web or strict requirements of professor may perplex the work. Take your time! Count how much time you will need for preparing the materials in the particular format, narrow the topic by reading general references about it. Inspiration is essential. The more interesting is the topic, the faster you will write the paper.

Step 2 – Taking Notes

Taking notes for the research paper is the second stage. Once you’ve compiled the needed sources, find the relevant information (definitions, ideas, statistics etc.) and make notes from them. Be brief. Use different colors for highlighting the proper paragraphs as CITING your sources is extremely significant. For organization purposes, write out the bibliographical information at the top of the page.

Step 3 – Writing a Thesis Statement

Thesis emerges at the confluence of FACT and OPINION. There exist special handbooks with a full list of requirements for developing a successful thesis statement where students can find more details. The argumentative thesis focuses on the main idea of your research paper. It makes a specific statement to the reader about what you will be trying to argue. Information and evidence for your thesis statement have to be from valid sources. A great thesis statement has to be:

  1. Not longer than a paragraph

  2. Focused

  3. Debatable

  4. Written in the third person

  5. Created by formula: Narrow Idea+Evidence+Position

Step 4 – Writing a Working Outline

Organizing thoughts by construction an outline is helpful for the further preparation. Creation of working outline gives the order to the previously prepared notetaking and make the writing process easier. Use the basic research paper structure formatted in the following way:

NB: The ideas should be ordered in a logical flow. As the body of a research paper contains several paragraphs make sure that they have almost the same volume of information. Every paragraph should have the main idea and a few supporting details in it.

Once you’ve prepared the proper outline, this guiding scheme will make the whole writing process productive and quick. The previous steps on how to write a research paper were preoperational, but the deeper research starts at the further stages. Are you ready to become a creator of your excellent research paper?

Step – 5 Writing a First Draft

Proceed to the writing the first draft? That is a good news as you are in the middle of the scientific process. At this stage, you’ve got the helpful notes and the working outline of the previous steps. Follow the same structure in the form of the intro, the body, and the conclusion.
Punctuation and spelling mistakes are not critical in this case, as you have to concentrate on the CONTENT of each paragraph of the body. Create an introduction which is able to capture the interest of potential readers. Expand the main ideas by providing with the necessary arguments in the paragraphs and use the information from the note cards to support the points you are making.

Step – 6 Editing the First Draft

Checking and revising the draft is essential as at this stage you have an opportunity to make the needed changes and correct all grammar and lexical mistakes. Useful Tip: revising the first draft of requires a lot of time and good concentration. Don’t try to start editing just after writing. Wait a short period and let your thoughts become clear and read at least once the entire text with a fresh eye. Pay particular attention to:

Step – 7 Composing a Final Draft

Have you edited your initial draft? The most crucial point before the submitting of your research paper is the writing of a final draft. Students have a tendency to make elementary mistakes at this stage. It is important to summon up all strength and concentrate on the typing a research paper which meets the requirements of the instructions. Make sure you have all elements of research paper starting from a cover page to a page listing the bibliographical info.

  1. INTRODUCTION, which introduces the subject and consists of:

    • Thesis Statement

    • Purpose of Research Paper

  2. BODY, which is the largest part of the paper and consists of several paragraphs:

    • Strong Argument

    • Stronger Argument

    • The Strongest Argument

  3. CONCLUSION with the Summary of Arguments

    1. The right structure of the paper;

    2. The content of every paper;

    3. Presence of logical transitions from one section to another;

    4. The grammatical and lexical correctness of the text;

    5. Formatting including citations and bibliography.

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