Knowing how to write a well-formed and impactful academic research paper is essential for scoring well in college. However, sometimes, students aren’t sure how to go about starting a research paper. Even if they have an excellent research idea and have done great work, not presenting the idea properly can significantly reduce its impact.
This happens because teachers and professors pay more attention to the research being done and don’t guide students enough on how to write or how to start research paper writing. So as a student, how do you start a research paper in a way that captures your audience’s attention and makes your work stand out?
We’ve listed down a few easy techniques on how to start your research paper! These tips will help you get over that writer’s block and present a brilliant research paper.
4 Easy Techniques To Start A Research Paper
1. Select The Title
Even if you know what you want to base your research on, choosing a title that resonates well is imperative. If you don’t word your topic correctly or use correct English, your whole research may go to waste. Once you’re done with your research, you should sit down and take some time formulating an appropriate topic for your paper. Even if you’ve been assigned a generic topic, try to reword it if possible, to make it more impactful and exciting.
If you’ve captured your audience’s attention with just your topic, then the rest of the paper will be a walk in the park. If you really can’t seem to think of a good title by yourself, you can search on various topic generating websites to find a custom title. However, before finally selecting your topic and starting research on it, you must first ensure there is adequate information available online and offline for you to be able to write a good research essay successfully.
If you feel like the topic is lacking information or you may not be able to write a good essay on it, don’t waste your time trying to figure out ways to make it work. Abandon the topic and look for a new one that is easy to work with and has plenty of relevant information available. If you feel entirely hopeless about your research paper, then there are numerous papers for sale as well. But why buy something that will add little meaning to your academic performance when you can write a brilliant research essay yourself.
2. Research, Read, And Record
You can’t expect your very first draft to be the one you submit. There’s a proper way to go about researching as well. If you’re doing desktop research, then take a notebook or open a blank page on your computer where you can write and take notes and create a preliminary research draft as you go on reading about your research topic. This is a crucial step for writing a well-researched paper and will ensure that you don’t miss out on any information.
If you’re working on your computer, you can save links to different sources and websites containing information about your topic on your research draft, as well. Write down all the publication information that you will need for citations (MLA) or for a bibliography (APA). Once you’re happy with the information you’ve gathered, you can move on to the next step. But don’t be hasty and start writing your essay before properly completing your research first.
Write down anything you feel is essential for your research so that you don’t forget about it later on. Whether you’re just starting or are only left with proofreading, this initial research draft will be incredibly important at every stage of writing the paper.
3. Form An Outline
An outline is the first official step to your research paper. It will help you understand how to structure your research in the most appropriate way so that it is concise, relevant, and impactful. There are certain rules that you should keep in mind when drafting your research paper’s outline, all of these are described in great detail in APA guidelines, but you can read a brief summary of them here.
- Division: ensure that all your information is aptly subdivided into smaller and easier to read parts. Writing long paragraphs on paragraphs will make your research difficult to read, and your audience will quickly lose interest. Ideally, every title in your research should have two or more subheadings that the information should be appropriately divided into.
- Coordination: all the items, titles, captions, and subheadings should carry equal importance and be well-coordinated to let the information flow naturally. If your headings don’t match and are abrupt, readers may be confused, defeating the entire purpose of your research paper.
- Subordination: This particular rule highlights the correlation and coordination between your headings and subheadings. The headings should be broadly highlighted and brief, while the subheadings can contain more detailed information.
- Parallelism: parallelism helps to create a natural flow in your research paper. For example, if one of your headlines starts with a noun, then the following headings and subheadings should also start with a noun.
4. Form A Good Thesis
A good thesis statement will have a significant impact on your readers and will set the tone for the rest of your research essay. A focused, well-constructed, brief, 3-5 point statement is all you need. However, it should be able to capture the essence of your entire research.
The thesis statement will impact the development and direction of your research paper. If you have trouble formulating your thesis statement, think about the main objectives of your research and try incorporating those into it. Take your time to ensure that your thesis statement is profound and impactful.
After you’ve written your thesis statement, write the rest of your paper according to APA guidelines using the information you have from your research, read, and write part.
Conclusion
Writing a well-constructed research essay is no easy task, and rushing to complete it without preplanning will end with an unstructured un-impactful paper. Use our guide and easy tips on how to start your research paper and complete it in a well-formed manner so that sub-par research papers will are history!