HOW TO WRITE A RESEARCH PAPER

1. HOW TO WRITE A RESEARCH PAPER This is your guide to writing an informational academic research paper. Information derived from http://explorable.com/

2. The Four Step Plan to Writing a Good Thesis Statement • Assertive: Your thesis statement must state exactly what you intend to prove with the paper. • Singular: The thesis statement, in most cases, should contain only one idea, keeping the paper focused. • Specificity: The thesis statement should be as specific as possible, whilst making your stance clear. One sentence is enough for shorter papers. • Position: It should be in the introduction, in most cases at the very end. • Read more: What is a Thesis Statement? - Stating the Aim of Your Paper(CLICK LINK FOR WEB PORTAL)

3. 1. Assertive • Tell the Reader What You Intend to Prove • Knowing what you are trying to achieve, and committing it to paper, can often be the difficult part, and writing the actual statement can be one of the most daunting aspects of the essay. You are trying to make sure that it informs the reader of exactly what you are proposing. • A thesis is not the subject of the paper but an interpretation or point of view. • For example, you may be writing a paper about the effects of adding omega-3 fatty acid supplements to the diet. That is the subject of the paper. • The thesis would set out what you believe, for example, you may decide to argue the case that you believe that Omega 3 fatty acids supplements are beneficial to health. You could equally argue that they have no effect, or that they are harmful. • Read more: What is a Thesis Statement? - Stating the Aim of Your Paper

4. 2. Singular • One Paper = One Concept – STAY ON COURSE • For most papers, you want to discuss one concept and elaborate upon that, otherwise the paper quickly loses direction, never answering a point and thoroughly confusing the reader. • For example, you may have decided to write a paper about gambling addiction. Trying to write a paper stating that both Pavlovian and Skinner's conditioning influence behavior is difficult. • It is better to pick one of the two types and base an essay around that. You could argue that operant conditioning is the major factor underlying the addiction, and set out to prove it. Pavlov would still crop up in the paper, but as part of the background. • Read more: What is a Thesis Statement? - Stating the Aim of Your Paper

5. 3. Specific • Drawing Things Together • Your thesis statement should draw together all of the background contained in your introduction and turn it into a single statement. It is not a short rerun of the introduction, but a position. • Read more: What is a Thesis Statement? - Stating the Aim of Your Paper

6. 4. Position • Where Does the Thesis Statement Belong? • A thesis statement should be in the introduction of the paper, taking up a sentence or so. It is generally in the first paragraph, although some writers prefer to discuss the background and build up to the thesis at the end of the introduction. • This is generally perfectly acceptable, although you should check with your supervisor. • Read more: What is a Thesis Statement? - Stating the Aim of Your Paper

7. The Thesis Statement – IS Changeable • In a research paper, it is a little easier to write the thesis statement, because you already know your hypothesis, and will be basing it around that. • For an essay, you will need to establish your aim, and the overall direction of the paper. Just because the thesis statement is the foundation of the experiment does not mean that you need to do it first. • It is usually best to do some background information and skim through the sources before trying to fashion a statement. This will become your 'working' thesis and, unlike a hypothesis, it can change and adapt as you write and modify the paper. • A thesis statement is not set in stone, and can be modified and refined as you develop the essay. As you uncover more information, you may change your view slightly. • In an argumentative essay, for example, where you have to try to rebut arguments, it is not unknown for the writer to convince themselves that the opposite is true, and completely change the thesis. This is not a problem, and is all part of the scientific process. • Once you have written your essay, and are ready to proof-read, it is important to check your work and ensure that it addresses the thesis. Every single paragraph should be related to this initial statement in some way, or it risks drifting off into irrelevance. • Read more: What is a Thesis Statement? - Stating the Aim of Your Paper

8. How to Write an Outline - A Few Tips • If you are using Word, or OpenOffice, make sure that the various levels of your outline (I, A, 1, a, i) correspond to the headings in the Word Processing program - Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, etc. This will make it much easier to create a table of contents based upon your outline, at a later date. • You will modify and adjust your outline as you go along, but make sure that you keep copies of older versions. You may find that you have taken the paper in a direction that you are not happy with, so can always go back. • Whilst MLA format is regarded as the best guide to how to write an outline, check things over with your supervisor as they may have their own preferred ideas about how to write an outline, and it is much easier to get it right from the start rather than have to change everything retrospectively. • Read more: How to Write an Outline - Writing a Research Paper

9. EXAMPLE OUTLINE • Topic: ShakespeareAdapted from AResearchGuide.com. • Introduction • Body • Early Life • Family • Father • Mother • Marriage • Life of Anne Hathaway • Reference in Shakespeare's Poems

10. Works • Plays • Tragedies • Hamlet • Romeo and Juliet • Comedies • The Tempest • Much Ado About Nothing • Histories • King John • Richard III • Henry VIII • Sonnets • Other Poems • His Later Years • Last Two Plays • Retired to Stratford • Death • Burial • Conclusion • Analytical Summary • Thesis Reworded • Concluding Statement • Read more: Research Paper Outline Examples - How to Organize your Paper

11. GENERAL OUTLINE FORMAT • The main ideas take roman numerals. Sub-points under each main idea take capital letters and are indented. Sub-points under the capital letters, if any, take italic numbers and are further indented. INTRODUCTION THESIS PARAGRAPH INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION •         I.  MAIN IDEA #1               A. Subsidiary idea or supporting idea to I               B. Subsidiary idea or supporting idea to I                   1. Subsidiary idea to B                   2. Subsidiary idea to B                       a) Subsidiary idea to 2                       b) Subsidiary idea to 2 •         II.  MAIN IDEA #2               A. Subsidiary or supporting idea to II               B. Subsidiary idea to II               C. Subsidiary idea to II •         III.  MAIN IDEA #3 • It is up to the writer to decide on how many main ideas and supporting ideas adequately describe the subject.  However, if there is a I in the outline, there has to be a II; if there is an A, there has to be a B; if there is a 1, there has to be a 2, and so forth. • CONCLUSION • Informative Summary to restate why you gathered the given information • Thesis Reworded - Paraphrase yourself • Concluding Statement – General overall idea of the research

12. YOUR INTRODUCTIONin 4 parts – FIRST the Background • Like in any good Hollywood movie, the first task of the introduction is to set the scene, giving your paper a context and seeing how it fits in with previous research in the field. • Whilst not the only way, this section, comprising the first paragraphs of your introduction, can be based around a historical narrative, from the very first research in the field to the current day. • In many fields, this could make up an entire essay in itself, so you have to stick to relevant information. • Read more: How to Write an Introduction - Introducing the Research Paper

13. Importance • This leads into the rationale behind the research, revealing whether it is building upon previous research, looking at something that everybody else has overlooked, or improving upon a previous research project that delivered unclear results. • This section can then flow into how you are going to fill the gap, laying out your objectives and methodology. You are trying to predict what impact your research will have if everything works as it should, and you ultimately reject the null hypothesis.

14. Limitations • The introduction is the place to highlight any weaknesses in the experiment from the start. • For example, an ideal experiment should have perfectly randomized samples, but there are many good reasons why this is not always possible. As long as you warn the reader about this, so that they are aware of the shortcomings, then they can easily judge the validity of the research. • This is much better than making them wait until you point it out in the discussion.

15. Assumptions • You should also point out any assumptions that you make about conditions during the research. You should set out your basic principles before embarking upon the research –that it will be built around some assumptions. • For example, if you were performing educational research, you may assume that all students at the same school are from a very similar socio-economic background, with randomization smoothing out any variables.

16. TIPS for your Introduction • There are a few tips that can help you write a strong introduction, arousing interest and encouraging the reader to read the rest of your work. • Keep it Short A long and rambling introduction will soon put people off and lose you marks. Stick closely to your outline for the paper, and structure your introduction in a similar way. • Define the Problem The entire introduction should logically end at the research question and thesis statement or hypothesis. The reader, by the end of the introduction, should know exactly what you are trying to achieve with the paper. In addition, your conclusion and discussion will refer back to the introduction, and this is easier if you have a clearly defined problem. • Organization As you write the paper, you may find that it goes in a slightly different direction than planned. In this case, go with the flow, but make sure that you adjust the introduction accordingly. Some people work entirely from an outline and then write the introduction as the last part of the process. This is fine if it works for you.

17. THE BODY : Using the Discussion Section to Expand Knowledge • You should always put your findings into the context of the previous research that you found during research. • Finally, after saying all of this, you can make a statement about whether the experiment has contributed to knowledge in the field, or not. • Unless you made so many errors that the results are completely unreliable, you will; certainly have learned something. Try not to be too broad in your generalizations to the wider ideas. Be Specific in the topics you discovered during research and convey this INFORMATION to the reader so that they can learn as well. • Once writing the discussion section is complete, you can move onto the next stage, wrapping up the paper with a focused conclusion.

18. What Has Your Research Shown? • This is a very quick synopsis of the results and discussion. • Writing a conclusion involves summing up the paper and giving a very brief description of the results, although you should not go into too much detail about this. • Anybody reading the conclusion has read the entire paper, so the conclusion merely acts as an aid to memory.

19. How Has It Added to What is Known About the Subject? • This is where you tie it in to the body of research highlighted in the introduction; during the course of your research • You should then point out the importance of the study and point out how it relates to the topic. • You can also point out how your findings can be used by readers, pointing out the benefits. Even if you did not manage to reject the null, there is always a reason for this, and something has been learned.

20. Has Your Research Left Some Unanswered Questions? • Do your findings open up any suggestions for future research? • For a shorter paper, this is not always essential, but you can highlight any possible areas of interest and give some ideas for those following.