There is not one specified manner or style for research paper writing. And there is a variety of presentation and writing styles in various educational spheres. However, most papers contain lots of parts in common. Let’s look at each of them below:
- Cover Page and Title. This part should contain the name of the author, his address, email, phone, and the date.
- This part is not mandatory in every education paper. As a rule, it contains 100-300 words and represents a general overview describing the main theme of the paper. The abstract never contains the cited works or footnotes, just the research questions, methodology, and core results. This part is the first read by the reader, so it should be really impressive thanks to its strong content, style, and appeal. It should be written with special care.
- Introduction/Statement of the Problem. This part contains the core research problem and thesis argument, i.e. what you are studying, what its importance is, and how original it is.
- Study Limitations. You should define from the very beginning what you are going to do and what you are not going to. The scope of your paper can be limited by the range of factors, such as time, gender, location, etc.
- Here you should state whether you use quantitative or qualitative research methods, whether you interviewed people or administered a questionnaire. You also have to mention how you collected data, whether you utilized archives or libraries.
- Review of Literature. You should let your readers know who else has written about your topic. Your research paper is to include a review or discussion of everything known about the subject and how that knowledge was acquired.
- Main Body/Argument. This part of the paper is the longest one. Here you should support your thesis and create the argument. Most of the analysis and citations are provided right here. In that part, you should focus on a rational thesis development, provide clear reasons and argumentation at all points. You should avoid meaningless deviations and provide an essential unity to show your education paper is really strong.
- That part should be informative and stimulating, should have a sense even when read separately from the rest of your paper.
- This part contains all the works cited and the sources you used for your writing.
- As a rule, there is more than one appendix in the education research papers. Every appendix contains materials to enlarge the understanding by the reader. However, this material doesn’t fit well into the main body of your paper. Appendices might include different charts, tables, interview questions, summaries, maps, lists of terms, pictures, schemes, historical documents copies, etc. The appendices usually follow the main body but before the bibliography section. As a rule, they are names as Appendix A, B, etc.
Choosing Research Paper Topic
With the research paper sections, everything seems to be clear. However, students often face the problem of the topic choice. This academic assignment is probably the most typical one, however, you should choose the topic really interested to you and which, hopefully, will help you in your future profession.
Check out the list of top 10 most popular research paper topics below:
- Is college education enough to get a good job?
- Should colleges offer special educational programs for older people?
- What is important – the level of knowledge or students’ performance?
- The importance of a final grade for a job search.
- Private university vs. a public university.
- The most successful education strategies with examples.
- Most popular challenges the freshmen usually face.
- Is the role of modern education overestimated?
- Problems and consequences of the relationships problems of parents and teenagers.
- How can colleges stimulate students to work harder?
Research Paper Writing Tips
As we have mentioned above, there is no clear research paper format. However, you should follow some simple tips in order to make your research paper successful and readable. No classes can teach you the core aspects of writing your research paper, and you have to be really careful when writing that task by yourself. The paper is to reflect your knowledge and ability to work with large information volumes.
Before you start, learn the following tips for avoiding some common mistakes in the process of writing:
- Choose the right topic for your research paper. Your main task is to be original, so you have to make sure that other students do not have the same topic. Do not hesitate to ask your professor for help if you don’t know what to write about. If you are really interested in the topic you choose, your paper will be really interesting.
- Don’t do your research the last moment, it requires much time. Your professor has to make sure you are able to collect and analyze information, what supposes you to spend much time browsing books and internet to gather the best examples, all the details, and good quotes to maintain your ideas.
- Keep the structure. You do not write a review or an essay, so the paper structure should be followed precisely. You can see the examples of the research papers online, which will help you to create the right structure.
- Use proper language. Yes, your academic task requires a specific approach, however, your language has to be vivid and grab the attention of your audience. Provide more examples and details, too.
Avoid the most common mistakes when writing your research paper. Try to follow the tips below:
- By no means copy the information online without checking it. You should use only credible, reliable, academic sources, such as books and scientific articles.
- Do not provide a sample research paper instead of original work.
- Use proper formatting and pay attention to all the requirements of your professor. He may ask you to use the MLA or APA format style. Do not neglect it.
Conclusion
During the process of writing their research paper, most students choose to use all the ways of making their assignment simpler and save their time. For that reason, they download the samples and follow its structure trying to copy the style of that sample. And sometimes, such samples really contribute a lot to the result and help the student create a great assignment without putting too many efforts and time. However, always make sure you download a sample from a reputable source. Always protect yourself from copying mistakes of other people!
So, a research paper is a pretty complicated academic task, based on some experiment, knowledge, and your ability to collect and analyze various data and information. It is really more difficult than just an essay. However, it is not as difficult as a dissertation or a term paper. Not every student appears to be ready to face that challenge, let’s call it like that. And lots of them start applying online in search of the solution. Some of them succeed, others fail.
However, your research writing can always be completed by professional writers within the toughest timeframes in case you are not sure about your time, skills, and knowledge. Of course, you can try to write it on your own, while it is not as huge; it takes just three to five pages. Remember that you should choose the proper topic if your professor didn’t give you one, create an outline, and follow the structure. Some of the research paper sections are mandatory and your paper has to contain them for sure. You have to include not only the study material to your paper but also some data you have gathered from the primary and secondary sources. Before writing your document, make sure to define the most relevant and credible information.
Make sure your format to include the title in the bottom, headings on each page in the upper corner, each page should be numbered. The text has to be Times New Roman 12pt., 1-inch margins, double-spaced, and black color of the font. The title and the headings have to be placed in the center. You can also download free MLA and APA guide on the Internet. It is recommended to have a great research paper page example to do everything properly and according to the rules.
Last but not least make sure to proofread your finished research paper! It is recommended to revise, proofread, and edit it once the draft is completed. In order to proofread it successfully, follow some tips below:
- Check an assessment of the word choice in your text.
- Find any grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes.
- Follow the word limit and remove paragraphs, sometimes entire pages to make it of the proper size and volume.
- Analyze your tone and writing style.
- Check the logical flow between your paragraphs and changes.
Of course, if you want your professor to be totally satisfied with each word of your research paper, you can send your paper to proofread to our experts who are always ready to help you with writing, editing, or proofreading your document, as well as with saving your time!
