A research paper is an essay or academic paper in which the content is supported by data or other sources. In other words, instead of just sitting down and writing something from the top of your head, you research about what other people have said about the subject and you then formulate your own ideas and theories on the basis of existing data and knowledge.
In some ways, knowing how to write a research paper is similar to learning how to write any sort of paper. You will need to:
Your teacher is sure to be impressed with your research and writing skills if you follow the steps and do your research correctly.
Coming up with a topic is the first step, because until you know what you want to write about, it can be difficult to do research.
The topic you choose should be narrow enough that you can research or learn about it adequately, but not so narrow that you can't find anything to say.
You can pick a topic by brainstorming ideas, and then doing some preliminary research to make sure that information exists on the topic and that the scope of the topic is appropriate for your paper.
After you have come up with a topic or gotten a general idea of what you are going to write about, it is time to begin doing your research.
The next step to knowing how to write a research paper is to understand how to do research. Research occurs when you look up information about your topic. For example, if you are writing a paper on the Revolutionary War, you may want to read American history books that deal with the subject. You can then use information from those books to narrow your topic, say to a particular battle in the revolutionary war, and then find books (or sections of books) on that particular battle.
You can do research in a number of different ways. Using books is the traditional form, but even book research has become easier now that library card catalogs are all online. You can simply visit your local library and use the computer to see if they have any books on your topic. Find those books on the shelf and begin reading what the authors have to say about your subject.
Research has become even easier as a result of the Internet. You can type your topic into a search engine and likely get hundreds or even thousands or millions of results. Just remember that not everything on the Internet is reliable or true. If you are doing a research paper, you may want to stick to sites with a .org, .edu or .gov ending, since those tend to be more reliable. Regardless of which website you use, make sure you check the Internet source to ensure that they are reliable and that the facts are true.
Your research paper will have to include references, resources, and research. Therefore, you will be using citations in your paper. These can include:
As you do research, write relevant notes and keep track of where you got the information. Write down all possible information you may need about your source to cite it correctly, whether you are using APA or MLA format. You'll want to cite this source info in your paper.
The actual format for the research citation will change depending on which format (e.g. APA or MLA) you use. In general, most formats will require you to:
After you have done your research, continue writing your paper as you would any other.
Outline what you plan to say. In addition to helping you stay organized, creating an outline will also help to filter out any unnecessary information. Include notes to yourself in the outline about which research points you are going to use in each paragraph. Make sure:
Now you are ready to write from your outline. Create your citations.
Follow the appropriate format as instructed by your professor for the citations and works cited page as well as all pages in the research paper to ensure that your research paper is formatted correctly and well received.
When writing a research paper, it is absolutely necessary to cite your sources. To learn more about how to do that, visit our sister site Bibliography.com.
MLA Style
APA Style