Title: Steps for writing an effective research paper
18 IMPORTANT STEPS FOR WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER
2WHY WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER DOES NOT COME
NATURALLY ?
- Involves excessive technical language usage
- Concise writing for a scientific audience is
required - A scholarly paper follows a standard form and
structure of the targeted Journal/Publication/Styl
e Guide - Different papers have different forms (Example- A
case study is presented in a form different from
a survey paper) - Follows a structure that remains the same even if
there is a change in the paper form (Structure of
a research paper comprises three core parts
introduction, body, and discussion) -
3IS RESEARCH PAPER ALL ABOUT STATING LONG LISTS OF
FACTS OR EXPLAINING THE TOPIC AT HAND?
4WHAT IS RESEARCH PAPER ALL ABOUT?
A research paper gives a perspective or makes an
argument that is important to the chosen area of
research, and summarizes the answers to your
research questions.
58 IMPORTANT STEPS OF WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER
Step 1 Choose a topic Step 2 Find
information Step 3 State your hypothesis
Step 4 Make a temporary outline
Step 5 Organize your thoughts
Step 6 Write down your first draft
Step 7 Revise your draft
Step 8 Type your final draft
6STEP 1 CHOOSE A TOPIC
Good Research Topic fulfils the FINER criteria
Feasible (answerable with a robust
method) Interesting Novel Ethical Relevant
7STEP 2 FIND INFORMATION
Look for information online as well as printed
materials to make articles more evidence-based.
Critically read and evaluate, and save the
source and the content of any relevant
information. Remember that an article without
bibliographical information is useless because
you cannot cite its source.
8STEP 3 STATE YOUR HYPOTHESIS
Try and write your thesis statement down in one
sentence because the main portion of your essay
will include arguments to support and defend this
belief.
9STEP 4 MAKE A TEMPORARY OUTLINE
An outline will help you to consider your whole
topic carefully and to organize it logically
before you start writing.
10STEP 5 ORGANIZE YOUR THOUGHTS
Effective communication of your thoughts, ideas,
insights, and research finding to others requires
you to organize, analyze, synthesize, and digest
the gathered information. Organize your ideas in
a linear, understandable format and include only
relevant information. Use your own words and
document all ideas borrowed or quoted to avoid
plagiarism.
11STEP 6 WRITE DOWN YOUR FIRST DRAFT
12STEP 7 REVISE YOUR DRAFT
CHECKLIST ONE 1. Is my thesis statement concise and clear? 2. Did I follow my outline? Did I miss anything? 3. Are my arguments presented in a logical sequence? 4. Are all sources properly cited to ensure that I am not plagiarizing? 5. Have I proved my thesis with strong supporting arguments? 6. Have I made my intentions and points clear in the essay?
13STEP 7 REVISE YOUR DRAFT
- CHECKLIST TWO
- Did I begin each paragraph with a proper topic
sentence? - 2. Have I supported my arguments with documented
proof or examples? - 3. Any run-on or unfinished sentences?
- 4. Any unnecessary or repetitious words?
- 5. Varying lengths of sentences?
- 6. Does one paragraph or idea flow smoothly into
the next? - 7. Any spelling or grammatical errors?
14STEP 7 REVISE YOUR DRAFT
8. Quotes accurate in source, spelling, and
punctuation? 9. Are all my citations accurate
and in the correct format? 10. Did I avoid using
contractions? Use "cannot" instead of "can't",
"do not" instead of "don't"? 11. Did I use third
person as much as possible? Avoid using phrases
such as "I think", "I guess", "I suppose 12.
Have I made my points clear and interesting but
remained objective? 13. Did I leave a sense of
completion for my reader(s) at the end of the
paper?
15STEP 8 TYPE YOUR FINAL DRAFT
- Manuscripts that are successfully submitted to a
journal for publication have three main
components - A fresh robust idea
- (2) Efficient execution of the work
- (3) Systematic presentation of the work
It is important to present your work in a
research paper format. TO KNOW WHAT A RESEARCH
PAPER FORMAT INCLUDES DOWNLOAD A FREE COPY OF THE
RESEARCH PAPER FORMAT
VISIT www.editingindia.com/researchpaperformat
16THANK YOU