Are you staring at a blank page with
no idea how to approach
your challenging research paper.
We can help.
Today on episode 66
of The Homework Help Show we break
down the steps to writing
a research paper.
Hi guys and welcome back to
our channel.
My name is Cath Anne and this
is The Homework Help Show hosted
by Homework Help Global.
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Let's jump in.
Research papers are time consuming
projects and they take
up a bulk of your grade and many
courses.
Even though they are challenging.
It is important to learn writing
and research skills because
this will help you throughout your
undergraduate degree, your college
degree, your graduate
degree or master's program
and even into your career life.
That's why it's important to
master the skills of writing
and researching for a research
paper.
We are here to help.
Now let's talk about the steps
involved in writing a research
paper.
Step number one.
Choose a topic.
Now there are times that you will
be assigned with a topic
at the beginning of the course.
Perhaps the professor wants you to
focus on something specific.
However, when this isn't
the case you want to take some time
to consider a topic
that you are really interested
in. Think about your topic
and choose something that is
really interesting to you and
that you'll feel challenged by.
This way you won't get bored while
you're researching because you'll be
finding out all sorts of new
information and in turn
this will come through in
your research paper.
Don't select topics that are too
technical or too general.
This will be
evidently a little boring for you to
write.
If your topic is too broad
your paper will look like more of a
general overview as
opposed to a specific research
paper.
Narrow your topic down to
something very specific.
So for example if
your topic is climate change
you'll want to narrow that into
something more specific.
For example causes
of climate change or the
impact of climate change on human
health.
These are much more specific
and narrow topics.
Step number two write
a working thesis statement.
Prepare a working thesis statement
before you begin writing because
it will help you to guide the
writing and researching process.
Your thesis statement should be
concise and it should reflect
the type of research paper that you
are writing.
Research papers can be divided
into three different types.
First, the argumentative
essay in which you are trying
to argue your conclusion.
Second, the expository
essay where you are providing
information and third,
the analytical essay where
you are providing an analysis
of a certain topic.
Devote some time to writing
a really strong thesis statement.
This in turn will make your
paper a bit stronger.
This in turn will provide
you with the basis and the
foundation for an effective
research essay.
For more on how to write an
effective thesis statement check
out episode sixty one of The
Homework Help Show we give you some
tips on how to write a really strong
thesis statement.
We'll link it in the description box
below.
Here is an example of an effective
thesis statement.
Climate change is one of the most
pressing issues facing the world
today.
Step number three.
Do research on your topic.
You should find enough secondary
and primary credible sources
to include in the body of your
paper carefully read
all of them.
And find evidence to support
your thesis statement.
At this time you should be
documenting all of the research
that you come across and
making note of citations
that will eventually be included
in your references page.
At the end of your essay
doing this step now will save
you a lot of time in
the editing process because you will
already have your citations
figured out.
Make sure to document your citations
in APA, MLA,
Chicago, or Harvard format.
Whichever format your professor
is requesting.
And remember it is crucial
to cite all the sources
that you use whether you're
paraphrasing or using a direct
quotation.
This will help you to avoid
plagiarism which is super
important.
Step number four
make a good outline
when you complete your research.
You probably have some really
great ideas.
Make sure to begin by writing an
outline.
Don't skip this step.
Writing an outline will help your
writing to be more cohesive
and to flow.
Your outline will serve as a roadmap
for your writing.
Think about key points that you'll
need to support your
thesis statement.
These can serve as subheadings
go through all of the research
that you've done and put
some of the key words and
information under each subheading.
This will help you to organize your
essay.
You should resist the temptation
to include any information
that is not relevant to your
thesis statement even
if it is really interesting.
When developing your outline.
Keep in mind that a research essay
generally follows a specific
structure.
It usually has a title
an abstract, introduction,
body paragraphs that are comprised
of the methodology, findings,
discussion, and conclusion.
Perhaps you're not required to
write a very long research essay.
In this case you might use it.
In this case you might use a
different structure.
Perhaps you just use an
introduction, three body
paragraphs, and a conclusion.
And that's perfectly fine as well.
Just bear in mind to
make sure to follow the instructions
that your professor provides to you.
Step number five.
Create the first draft
so you have your thesis.
You have your outline and you've
done your research.
Now it's time to craft
the first draft of your essay.
Create a first draft including
all in text citations
and references.
Like I said this will give
you a lot of time to edit
and not worry about editing in
text citations.
At the end of your writing consider
the title a title
is often forgotten about by
students.
It is really important to have a
strong title because it will
allow your reader to know what to
expect from your research paper.
A good way to develop a strong
title is to list all
the keywords that you've come across
throughout your research.
Perhaps you include the topic of the
paper methods you use
and evidence that you've come
across.
Once you have all of these keywords
linked them together to form a
strong title create
a strong title which reflects the
body of your paper.
Step number six always
edit revise and proofread.
No matter how good a writer you are
you will never come away with
a perfect first draft.
It is necessary to edit
revise and proofread
always edit your first draft to make
sure that your essay is on
point.
It is possible that you might need
to revise your essay more than once.
Just to make sure that it is
perfect before you hand it in.
Have a friend or colleague
review your essay for logic
flow and structure.
Make sure to edit for
grammatical errors spelling errors
or typos.
You'll need to reread your essay
several times.
A good strategy is to read
your essay backwards because
you won't be as familiar with it.
This will help you to recognize
any errors in logic or writing
any grammatical errors or typos.
I highly recommend printing
out your paper and going
through with a highlighter and
a pen and making notes.
It is likely that you'll come across
more errors when you printed out
and a hard copy as opposed to
simply reading your essay on
the computer page.
And guys if you do need any help
with writing your essays make sure
to reach out to Homework Help
Global. We are more than
happy to help and all of our
information is linked and listed in
the description box below.
We offer a variety of services
from editing to proofreading
to ghostwriting if you need
it. OK guys that's
it for me this week.
I hope you enjoyed this video
and that it was a benefit to you.
Let me know if you have tried
any of the techniques in the
comments below.
Connect with us on social media;
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sure to check out our student
influencers podcast as well
as some of our other videos here on
YouTube. All of our information
is linked in listed in the
description box below.
And as I mentioned stay tuned
for some exciting
upcoming content.
Thank you guys so much for joining
me. Talk soon and take care.