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How to Write a Research Paper

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  • Introduction

    • If you're in school (whether it's high school, college, or graduate school), there is no way to avoid writing a paper once in a while. Whether it's a comprehensive analysis of James Joyce's novel Ulysses or a scientific paper detailing the links between Genetics and Microbiology, research papers are used by teachers and professors to test your reading, writing and comprehension skills - as well as your ability to follow strict rules of structure and citation. And while having a major research assignment hanging over your head can often drive you nuts, there are ways to break down the work into doable chunks. The steps in this guide will help you find ways to successfully manage your workload and develop strategies that will allow you to write the best research paper you can.

  • Step 1: Choosing a Topic

    • Choosing the right topic for your paper is an important decision. The right topic can make the difference between a passable paper and one that is interesting, compelling and persuasive. If your teacher assigned you a topic, then go ahead and move on to Step 2. If not — great! You get to pick something that interests you.
    1. Go over the assignment and make sure that you understand what the teacher wants. Things like the number of pages or the number and type of sources will impact what topic you choose.
    2. Here are some suggestions from the experts:
      • For a college paper, the California State University, Long Beach put together a List of Links by class subject to help students find ideas for their papers. On the same page, they've thoughtfully added links to guides from colleges across the country.
      • You can use the Cal State site no matter what your grade level, but the Internet Public Library maintains a site just for teens called A+ Research and Writing. Their advice about Choosing a Topic includes going over your notes, jotting down ideas during the day as they occur to you, and reviewing the books and resources at your library.
      • Time For Kids, a site maintained by Time Magazine, suggests writing three questions about your topic. Those three questions can form the first outline of your paper.
    3. Once you have a few ideas, talk to your instructor. He or she can help you sort through the different topics you've selected.
    4. The final step is to narrow your topic to something that can be covered in the right number of pages. Your instructor can help with this.

  • Step 2: Doing Research

    • Thorough and comprehensive research is the cornerstone of any good research paper. Besides providing you with information about what you are going to write about, it can also help you figure out what has been written previously about your topic and how that applies to the arguments that You are trying to make. Don't put this off! A little research done early can save you lots of headaches later on.

    1. For each resource you find--book, magazine article, website, etc--use a separate sheet of paper or card to take notes. Gallaudet University presents an Index Card Technique that may help you with this.
    2. Along with the index cards, keep a draft bibliography which lists information on your sources:
      • For Books: the author, title, name of publisher, city and date of publication.
      • For Magazines: the author and title of the article, the name of the magazine and its date, the city of publication, and the page numbers.
      • For Internet Sources: the URL, the name of the page, the author (if you can find it), the name of the company or group that maintains the page, and the date.
    3. Almost every school library has access to special databases you can't reach from home — things like Lexis-Nexis, ProQuest newspaper archives, and online journals. Ask your librarian what's available and how to use it.
    4. Online sources can be valuable, but make sure to choose wisely. Sites that are maintained by the government (.gov) or colleges and universities (.edu) are usually reliable and stable. Corporate sites might also have sound research documents, but stay away from blogs and Wikipedia. Here are some sources that can be goldmines of information:

  • Step 3: Writing (and Rewriting) the Paper

    • Now that you've done all of the background research for your paper, you are ready to start working on the hardest part - actually writing your paper. While a blank page (or screen) can be daunting at first, there are things that you can do to help make writing your paper easier and less painful.
    1. Outlining: Some students swear by this practice, others hate it. Try outlining your paper and see if the technique works for you. You can access a One-page Guide on Outlining put up by the Lakewood, Colorado Public Library for students of all ages.
    2. Whether or not you outline, you'll need to get all of your notes in logical order. This is where the index cards come in hand. Check back with the Gallaudet University page for advice.
    3. Purdue University maintains an Online Writing Lab for students in grades 7-12. Their Paragraph Page explains some of the basics about writing good paragraphs, such as using a separate paragraph for each idea, and transitioning between ideas.
    4. In college papers, you must build your paper to support a thesis statement. Dartmouth Writing Program offers help in that area.
    5. The most important parts of your paper are the Opening and the Conclusion. These are the paragraphs that your teacher will focus on. Be sure to make them as good and accurate as possible. When you've finished your paper, go back and re-read them again to make sure that they're perfect. Check these pages on Introductions and Conclusions at Purdue's college-level Online Writing Lab (OWL) for pointers.
    6. The MICE method is another way to help you construct good paragraphs. MICE is an acronym for:
        • (M)ain topic
        • (I)nformation and facts
        • (C)omparisons and contrasts
        • (E)xamples

  • Step 4: Formatting Your Paper

    • Almost done! The paper's written! In order too get the maximum credit for it, you will need to make sure that it is in the correct format. In general, your teacher or professor will let you know how they want you to format the paper. If they don't give you clear instructions on how they want it formatted, you can go ahead and follow some of these common rules:
    1. Title Page: All papers have a title page, with your name under the paper title. Your teacher will probably tell you what information (class name, date, etc.) to put on the title page. If not, look at this example Diana Hacker's website.
    2. General Rules: Papers are always double-spaced, with first-line indentions of about a half-inch. Use headers to insert page numbers.
    3. Always spell-check and proofread your work. In fact, if you can get someone else to proofread it, chances are they'll find boo-boos you missed.]
    4. Your teacher may tell you to use MLA or APA style for your paper. Here's where you can find the rules for those two styles:

  • Step 5: Citing Your Sources

    • One of the final (and most important) parts of your research paper is the method that you use to cite your sources. In order to avoid charges of Plagiarism (and to give credit to the sources that you used), all research papers are required to have some sort of citation system. This is a way to help your professor differentiate between your original ideas and those of the authors of the outside sources you've used. If your instructor doesn't give you clear instructions on how they want you to cite your sources, take a look at some of these general guidelines for how to use different citation styles:
    1. Footnotes appear at the end of the page, and Endnotes at the end of the paper. Otherwise, they're pretty much the same. Both are marked in the text by a superscript number that corresponds to the same number before the note itself. Your word processing program will have a footnote/endnote function. On Word, it's usually in the Insert Menu, under Reference.
      • As for when they're needed and how they should be formatted, the Purdue OWL pages on both MLA Notes and APA Notes can guide you.
    2. In-Text Citations refer to inserting the name of an author right into your paper when the author is quoted or mentioned. These Citations go inside of parenthesis, but different styles handle them differently. For more detailed information on the various citation styles that you might need to use, see Mahalo's guides to: How to Cite, How to Cite in APA Format, How to Cite in MLA Format, How to Cite in Chicago Manual of Style Format.
    3. The Bibliography is a list that appears at the end of your paper that details all your sources. Unless your teacher tells you differently, arrange all of your sources in alphabetical order according to the author's last name. ]Sources without authors are listed first, with a long line instead of the name.
    4. For each source on your Bibliography, you'll need all the publishing information. Usually, you'll list the author's name like this: Jones, Ann. Put a period after the name. Then the book title--period. Then the publisher--colon--city--comma--year--period.
    5. Little things like periods, commas, and order are important here. The Lakewood Public Library has a simplified Bibliography Page that uses MLA style. If your teacher specified a particular style for your paper, here's where to find the guidelines for a perfect Bibliography:

  • Conclusion

    • Writing an excellent research paper can be a difficult, time-consuming process. From the initial research to the final citations, research papers can require the use of many different academic skill sets and can involve a good deal of energy, thoughtfulness, and just plain hard work. But don't get discouraged. With the right attitude and information, you should have no problem constructing a research paper that is well-researched, well-written and thoroughly compelling. So stay focused, pay attention to what your professor wants, and try make sure that you clearly cite all of the sources that you used. If you do that, then you'll have yourself a great research paper!

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