How to Write the Perfect Research Papers (2021 Edition), what to write in a research paper.

What to write in a research paper

  • Familiarizing yourself with the subject
  • Being able to come up with some research questions and a hypothesis based on your preliminary research
  • There are some credible sources online.

If your instructor said it was alright to use Internet sources, then great! But if you have been asked to use academic, peer-reviewed sources only, you have to find those sources in an academic database or Google Scholar.

Also, this method can be helpful when you have several sources that treat the subject relatively superficially, allowing you to quickly skim them for the essential and most important data such as statistics or the results of original experimental research.

  • Write down the full bibliographic data of the source. If you can, write it down now in the proper citation format you were asked to use (MLA, APA, etc.). Take note of:
    • Author(s) name
    • Date
    • Title of article
    • Title of journal or book
    • Page numbers
  • Quote or paraphrase as you read, making sure to write down the page number.

How to Do Research

What to write in a research paper

Pagan, Margaret D. More Than a Slave: The Life of Katherine Ferguson. Moody: 2003.

When writing a research paper, it is not enough just to say that you read something on the Internet.

When her mother was sold, “Katy’s life seemed to hang like a millstone around her neck,” (29). The incident left an indelible memory, and Katy started to see the world in a new light. As Pagan describes, Katy Ferguson noticed how African-Americans were systematically deprived of life and liberty. Thus, after being separated from her mother in such a brutal way, Katy Ferguson became determined to terminate the horrific legacy of slavery in her own life. At first she petitioned her master, a Presbyterian minister Ferguson referred to as R.B., for freedom. Ferguson asked R.B. to grant her freedom if she promised to devote her life to the church, but R.B. refused.

What to write in a research paper

It is not a secret that most people judge a book by the cover, so if you want your research paper to be read from A to Z, it is important to write a powerful introduction in research paper.

First paragraphs of your research paper give the audience information on quality of chosen arguments, your personal style, as well as on validity of conclusions. If your introduction is weak and lacks structure, it may make the reader want to put your research paper aside.

If you want to learn how to write a research paper introduction , you should answer three general questions:

On contrary, a concise and properly structured introduction will surely make the readers notice your writing and analytical skills, and make them want to go on reading.

What is introduction in research paper?

What to write in a research paper

  • Background information on the topic

    However, huge amounts of information can make it difficult to fit into several paragraphs, so be careful and provide only the most important information.

    ‘Downloading books online without any fee is bad and you need to avoid it’. It is a very weak example of a thesis statement, which is not able to stir interest of the audience and prevents from continuing reading.

    What to write in a research paper

    It should include a general background narrowed down to a specific problem under study and explain why you conduct the study. The purpose is embodied in a research question and original main argument. The key idea in this section is to provide a reader with a proper road map and a clear vision of the topic that goes from a broad perspective to a narrow one.

    The above-mentioned parts are usually grouped into bigger sections – for example, methods, results, and discussion are referred to as the body of the completed paper.

    What you have written in your first Word document is not a real paper yet – it is just a first draft. Then, you would have to sit down, re-read it multiple times, edit typos and style and format it according to the style requested by the instructor. Remember that typos and formatting mistakes are unacceptable as they undermine even perfectly researched and structured papers. Follow these three steps to ensure effective polishing: read your paper aloud, ask someone else to read it to have a fresh perspective, and use spell check software.

    Analytical skills and the ability to logically expressing one’s thoughts in a formal manner are as crucial in academic writing as knowledge of the study area. Thankfully, there are many ways to optimize the process and finish task properly and on time:

    Main Types of Research Papers

    What to write in a research paper

    APSA: Students majoring in Political Science should know all details of this style.

    Connect with our top writers and receive a research paper crafted to your needs.

    A research essay is a large scientific work. The main goal of this project, regardless of the subject, is defining a particular issue and providing new ways to solve it that can be used to further investigate the problem. So, what is the accurate research paper definition? Unlike regular essays, such projects imply thinking out of the box. Here are the major features that distinguish research papers from other academic tasks.

    What to write in a research paper

    While it may seem challenging to come up with a good research paper topic as you try your best to narrow things down, the trick is to choose something that influences you because you know it well and can support your arguments with relevant evidence. The subject should be well-structured and relevant to your thesis statement. Always take time to research the list of sources to compose your topic sentences as well to make them relate to your thesis part. Here are the steps to consider:

    The most challenging part of choosing a competitive research paper topic is finding an aspect that poses some importance for your course and the subject per se. While it may seem that it is sufficient to make a general statement, your argumentation should include a clear research question. Consider asking yourself why you have chosen a particular topic and how your research will make it clearer or provide innovative solutions.

    It must be done at the same time as you choose your research paper topic because these two concepts must be interconnected. Your subject must reflect your main idea of the thesis statement. Make sure that you have the list of sources prepared in advance to incorporate relevant information in your body paragraphs. As always, they must be the supporting evidence for your thesis statement’s idea and the research purpose.

    • Compose Strong Thesis Statement.

    How to Choose a Good Research Paper Topic?

    • specific and concrete – investigation goals and (expected results) have to be clear and focused
    • original – investigating aspects/ entities/ relationships that have not been researched before
    • highly important/impactful for community/ society/ a professional field.
    • highly relevant for potential readers/ reviewers
    • trending – emerging disciplines/ topics spark more interest due to their novelty and yet unexplored potential

    If you are confused with a variety of interesting topics for writing a creative essay, it’s better to decide what interests you the most. Don’t stick to easy research paper topics just to complete the task fast. If you are allowed to freely choose what to write an essay about, use the opportunity to create something unique. Write down the list of your interests and break down every idea into small certain topics. When you have a list in front of your eyes, it will be easier to make up your mind and start considering a particular issue.

    Some say the most difficult part of writing a text – is to start. But topic selection even precedes this starting point. This activity takes off a lot of time, and sometimes imagination just doesn’t work in your favor. That’s where our list of best research paper topics will come in handy.

    What to write in a research paper

    Research always comes first. It might seem that the abstract should be the first thing you write, as it is the summary of your whole paper, though, there are many advantages to choosing this sequence of actions when starting to work on your paper:

    Finally, you get to present readers the results of your research. It is very important to be specific with your results. Using statistical evidence is much more impressive, as opposed to being vague and using abstract words. Instead of saying “a big portion of the ocean is polluted”, you can say something like “80% of the oceans are polluted with plastic”. This helps readers visualize the specific proportion of ocean which is contaminated and adds to the effect it makes on the audience. Some questions that should be answered in this section are: what are the results of your study in numbers and terms (be specific), did your results support your argument, and were the outcomes predicted or did they surprise you?

    Informative abstracts are more common than descriptive ones. It is a result of their larger content that relates to the subject specifically. It is also suggested to use different types of abstracts for papers depending on their size: informative abstracts for longer and more complicated ones, and descriptive abstracts for shorter and simpler research papers.

    • just summarizes the job, but some researchers consider it to be more of an outline

      Final Tips and Recommendations

      What to write in a research paper

      In the conclusion part of your abstract, you should focus on the argument you started off with and connect it to the results you received. It is crucial to give the reader a complete picture of what insights you've discovered in regards to the subject, but also whether you have found the solution for the problem you addressed. Explain, whether your research is sufficient to convince people to be more responsible in regards to their plastic consumption? Will it alter their behavior and their everyday habits? Your conclusion should tie it all together and not leave any uncertainties. After you’ve got all the structural details down, let’s move on to some helpful tips.

      • has a length that can vary, depending on the topic—but cannot be longer than 300 words

        Always use past tense in your paper. As you have already conducted the research, you should refer to it in the past tense. Make sure to use clear and concise sentences.
        Avoid using jargon. A research paper is a piece of academic writing that should not be subject to any slang. Try not to confuse the reader. If there is anything the reader might not understand, explain it. For example, any abbreviations need to be defined at least once.
        Leave out lengthy background information

        After you have explained the reasons behind your topic’s importance, your personal interest in the issue, and the problem discussed in your paper to your readers, it is time to showcase the methods you used to conduct all that great research. The description of the processes and methods you have used are as important as the research itself. It shows the readers the extent of your research and the professional approach you took regarding your subject. Describe where you looked for the information, what kind of sources they were, what type of research you did yourself. Did you do an experiment, a survey, an interview, a field study where you explored your local beach for traces of plastic pollution? A detailed description of the approach to your research is a great tool for showing your reader how academically capable you are of conducting serious scientific research. Your section that examines the approach you took for your research should include the details of your research, such as the specific studies and highlights from the most significant works you used.

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