Do you want to learn how to write a research paper in record time? If you do, you have arrived at the right place. We know just how difficult research paper writing can be. We also know that most students don’t even understand what is required of them or why this type of writing assignment is important. If you’re used to writing just essays, this type of paper may seem impossible to write. Don’t worry too much though; our experienced writers and editors have put together a long article on research papers writing.
We will not only show you the steps to writing a research paper, we will also talk about the format, citations, references, and sources. We will also give you a sample outline that you can use right away. And, of course, our experts have put together a long list of tips, tricks and advice that will help you do a great job. Ready? Let’s get started!
What Is A Research Paper?
The truth is that no matter how good you are at writing academic papers, you won’t be able to learn how to write research papers without first knowing what they are and why they are so important. So, what is a research paper?
It is basically an expanded essay, which is good news for you. However, unlike in an essay (where you use what you know about the subject), in a research paper you need to analyze and discuss what experts have to say about the topic. You will need to use information from authoritative sources to support your arguments, or make an interpretation or evaluation.
Still wondering “what is research paper”? It is an essay where you provide an in-depth and concise interpretation, evaluation or analysis of the topic you have chosen. You can discuss opposing views as well. And remember that in most cases, this academic paper should not be written in a persuasive tone. You will be presenting data and information in an unbiased way.
Before we show you how to write a research essay, let’s give you a few pointers regarding the research paper format and structure:
- The typical APA research paper contains a title page, an abstract (sometimes), the introduction, the methods chapter, the results chapter, the discussion chapter, the conclusion chapter, and the reference page.
- Don’t know how to start a research paper? It’s easy. In the introduction, you need to talk a bit about the background of the problem, discuss the research questions and then present your thesis (what you aim to demonstrate).
- You can include a Figures and Tables chapter if necessary at the end of the paper.
- You can include an Appendix at the end of the paper.
- The font needs to be a standard font: Arial 11 pt. or Times New Roman 12 pt.
- You need to use double line spacing.
- All paragraphs will be indented by ½ inch.
- All 4 page margins need to be 1 inch wide.
Types Of Research Papers
Before we show you how to write research paper essays, we want to talk a bit about the various types of research papers. It’s important to understand that you can’t use the same approach on all research papers. Here are the main types of research papers that students can write:
- Analytical research papers: you gather data from multiple sources to answer the research question.
- Argumentative research papers: you research two opposing sides of an issue and support one of them.
- Definition research paper: you gather and provide information in a 100% objective manner.
- Experimental research papers: you conduct an experiment and thoroughly document the process and results.
- Survey research papers: you conduct a survey and thoroughly document the process and results.
- Cause and effect research papers: you analyze the causes and effects of a very specific event.
Outline For Research Papers
If you don’t know how to write a college research paper, we are here to help. The best way to make sure you do a great job is to look at an outline. Of course, we encourage you to create your own. However, if you’re pressed for time, you can simply use ours. Here is a great outline for a research essay:
- The research paper introduction (2 or 3 paragraphs long)
- Something of interest to the reader (a hook)
- The statement of the problem (why do you want to research this?)
- A bit of background information on the problem
- Your thesis and a transition to the next chapter
- Body section #1 (around 4 or 5 paragraphs)
- Why is the problem important?
- What happened and when?
- Why does the academic community need to be concerned?
- Who is affected by this problem?
- Examples of the problem
- Important facts to keep in mind
- Why is the problem important?
- Body section #2 (3 paragraphs should suffice here)
- The causes and effects of the problem
- Talk about the causes of the problem
- Discuss effect #1
- Discuss effect #2
- Why do we need to solve this problem?
- First repercussion of the problem
- Second repercussion of the problem
- Third repercussion of the problem
- The causes and effects of the problem
- Body section #3 (at least 3 paragraphs)
- Solutions to the problem
- Solutions that will solve the problem
- Solutions that will not work (and why)
- Opposing views
- Solutions to the problem
- The research paper conclusion (at most 2 paragraphs, 1 is advised)
- Restate the thesis with a bit of information from the introduction
- Emphasize how your findings support the thesis
This outline is just an example. Because there are so many types of research papers, we cannot provide you with a structure that would work in every case. If you want an example of a good research paper – an example that you can actually use – get in touch with us and tell us what you need.
Steps To Write A Research Paper
Now it’s time to show you how to write research paper essays quickly and how to organize your papers. Here are the basic steps to write a research paper the right way:
- Read the assignment and make sure you understand everything your professor expects to see in your paper.
- Choose a topic. Remember that it should not be too narrow or too broad. You should be able to write at least 2,000 words on it.
- Start doing the research. You will need to analyze data and information from several authoritative sources (this means NO Wikipedia).
- Organize your research and use it to create an outline for your paper. You have a sample outline above, so you can use it as a guideline.
- Write your thesis. Now that you have the data, you can easily form the thesis. It should be one to two sentences long and should convey to the reader the purpose of your research.
- Write each section of the outline. At this point, don’t be concerned about how you write. It’s important to add all the relevant information and discuss all of the best ideas. Yes, research writing isn’t that difficult! You can use the APA format (introduction, methods chapter, results chapter, discussion chapter, conclusion chapter, the references page), or use the outline presented above.
- Now it’s time to edit for content. This is the step where you need to polish each and every paragraph. Make sure your ideas are expressed clearly and that your tone is unbiased. Delete unnecessary information. Add transitions between paragraphs. Rephrase parts that are not clear enough. Add explanations where necessary. Define technical terms that have not been defined previously.
- Edit for grammar and punctuation. Want to learn how to do a research paper perfectly? Then it’s important to ensure that your work is 100% free of any typos, grammar errors and punctuation errors. Don’t rush this step or you will lose points for minor mistakes.
- Re-read your research paper and make adjustments here and there. Pay attention to style and tone. Do your best to be objective. Remember to discuss and refute the opposing arguments (if necessary).
This research paper how to write guide is intended to put you on the right track. Each research paper is different and each professor has different requirements. As such, if you need a customized guide, you can always get in touch with us and tell us more about your assignment.
Research Paper Example
Taking a look at research paper examples can help you greatly in understanding what you have to do. Take a look at this brief research paper sample to get a better picture:
The Cold War started in 1947 after World War II between the Western Bloc that contained the US and the Eastern Bloc that contained the Soviet Union and their allies. There was no physical fighting except in Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. This war had several economic, social, military and political impacts mainly on the US and the defunct USSR. This paper examines the economic effects of the war on the US.
The numerous military spending by the US in the cold war had far-reaching economic effects on the US. The rapid demobilization of the military in 1946 led to a US $10 billion military spending that was approximately was 4.3% GNP of the country (U.S. Council of Economic Advisors 287). Additional spending was required to implement the Truman Doctrine on the war, and the conflict over Turkey and Greece in1947 required further spending. Supplementary defense appropriation of more than $3 billion was approved by the congress in readiness for the Soviet war which was due to the effect of the second red scare. It was aimed at stopping communism from taking over Europe since Czechoslovakia had already been taken by communists by that time.
The US Bureau of the Census (1114) records that the congress approved defense appropriations for the fiscal year 1949 which was 20% higher than that of 1948. The American economy was adversely affected by the Korean and the Vietnam wars. First, due to financing of the military activities in these wars, the GDP of the US rose rapidly due to the spending. Due to much spending, investment and consumption were strained thus triggering the raising of taxes to finance the wars and support the anti-inflationary policy (Ohanian 24-25). The revenue act of 1951 saw an increase in taxation to cater mainly for the Korean War. There were, therefore, huge increments in prices of commodities at the onset of these wars. However, consumption and investment picked up at the end of the wars, albeit at a lower rate than before the war.
The threat of the Soviet invasion through North Korea persuaded the congress to further increase the defense budget. Between the years 1947-1950, the yearly military spending was below $60 billion, but after 1952, the annual military spending never fell below $143 billion. This implied that there was an increase of more than 200% in military spending (Huntington 35).
Even though the Korean War ended around 1953, the US was left with the unending superpower rivalry and confrontation that kept it in a continuous military preparedness. This invited heavy investment into military activities. The US started laying emphasis on massive nuclear long-range bombers and intercontinental ballistic weapons that raised the military spending by 11% between the years 1960-1962. There was, however, a slight decrease in the next three years though it shot up again in 1965. The preparation for the Vietnam War led to further increase in military spending that reached its peak in 1968. However, the experiences of the Vietnam War led to declining in spending, especially after 1973 when the Paris Peace Agreement dictated the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam.
The end of the Cold-War left America as a world superpower, thereby prompting it to continue investing in the military through creation of modern arsenal and involvement in foreign military interventions. America took the role of military intervention under the UN peacekeeping mission in many warring countries. In the early 2009, more than 50,000 U.S troops were still in Afghanistan. The US has effectively used its military interventions in countries such as Pakistan, Yemen, Libya and Somalia among many others. The US also took upon itself to stop countries such as Iran from manufacturing, or obtaining nuclear weapons. There is a global presence of the US forces all over the world, including oceans, seas, and the air. This global role makes the US continue pumping more finance in the military and peace keeping missions around the world.
The relationship between the US and the Middle East began during Truman administration. The stationing of the US military in Iran during WW II to protect the Iranian Oil marked the onset of the Middle East conflict. The Stalin troops were forced out of Iran by pressure from the US, and this enabled the US to control the oil-rich country. The presence of the US in the Middle East has raised concerns and even elicited questions on the intentions of the military interventions offered by the country.
Finally, it can be concluded that the economy of the US was greatly impacted by the Cold war. These effects are still being felt to because of the role that US obtained at the end of the war.
Tips, Tricks And Advice
Let’s face it: writing a research paper is not as difficult as you once thought. All you needed was the right information, an outline and a step-by-step guide. Finally, before you might decide to pay for dissertation, make sure you read these concluding tips. To make sure you get a top grade, here are some very nice tips, tricks and advice:
- Use only primary and secondary sources to support your thesis. Primary sources are the closest to the origin of the information (diaries, letters, photographs, videos, speeches, poems, and so on). Secondary sources are interpretations or analyses of the primary sources (journal articles, newspaper pieces, some books, biographies, textbooks, and so on).
- Follow every guideline for the academic writing style you are using to write the research paper. Every style (APA, MLA, Chicago, and Turabian) has a style book that you can read online. You can get penalized for not formatting your citations and references correctly.
- Conduct thorough research. This means analyzing data and information from multiple primary and secondary sources. Also, don’t avoid analyzing opposing points of view, especially if they should be mentioned in your paper.
- A good research paper is one that is well-researched, as well as well-written. Make sure you organize your writing in a logical manner and avoid using technical terms that you have not defined previously. Also, keep your writing concise and unbiased. After all, you are a researcher who analyzes data and presents your findings to the scientific community.
- The best way to learn how to write the perfect research paper is to practice. Write a couple of them and ask your professor for his opinions. You will be amazed by how much you can improve your writing after you receive feedback from an academic.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Check out these questions to make things even more clear for your research paper writing journey:
Q: OK, but how long should a research paper be?
A: The recommended length should be provided in the assignment. However, a short research paper is around 2,000 words long, while a typical research paper can exceed 5,000 words.
Q: Can you show me what does a research paper look like?
A: Our staff can send you a sample college research paper, of course. All you have to do is get in touch with us and request a sample.
Q: Do I need to include every citation in the references section?
A: Yes, you need to include all the works you have cited in your references section. This also applies to all the content you have quoted from other sources.
Q: Where can I find quality primary sources?
A: There are many places where you can find primary sources, the most important being journals, archives, museums, government offices, newspaper articles, books, libraries, etc.
Q: Can I use tertiary sources in my research paper?
A: Even though you could use them, we recommend you to refrain from doing it. Generally speaking, tertiary sources (like Wikipedia) are unreliable.
Q: How should I format the references?
A: The references should be formatted according to the guidelines set forth in the stylebook (APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, etc.)