A lot of uni students find writing a research paper to be a daunting task. After all, it’s not as easy as it sounds, is it? You need to be able to carry out research, collect and analyse data, and finally, you need to be able to put all of that into a coherent paper that makes sense to a potential employer or scholarship reviewer. But it’s worth it in the end, as long as you’re aware of how difficult and time-consuming writing a research paper can be. Here are some of the key things you can learn from doing so:
How To Structure A Paper
When you’re writing your research paper, you’ll encounter a lot of writers’ block. Even if you’ve done a lot of research, even if you’ve collected a lot of data, even if you’ve had a lot of experience in your field, it’s not always going to make writing the paper any easier. And, to be honest, a lot of times it can make it more difficult. The good news is that you can learn a lot from structuring a paper, and having a clear idea of how to structure a paper will dramatically improve your writing experience. Here are some of the key things you can do:
Choose A Topic That You’re Interested In
The first thing you need to do is to choose a topic that you’re genuinely interested in. Although it’s great to do research that may be useful in the future, you also need to ensure that you’re not just doing so because it’s easy to find information on the subject and you want to pad your uni grades. Choosing a topic that you’re genuinely interested in will make your research much more interesting to read and, ultimately, much easier to complete. For instance, if you’re passionate about fashion, you may want to write your paper on the topic of clothing. Alternatively, you could look at trends in food or travel or entertainment and see how they’ve changed over time. Inevitably, there are going to be lots of papers out there on the topics you choose – it’s what makes it such a popular choice for students – but, at least, you’ll be writing about something you care about.
Make Sure That You’ve Searched For The Right Keywords
Before you begin writing your paper, you’ll need to do a bit of research into the right keywords. What are these keywords, you may ask? Well, in order to make sure your paper gets found by the right people, you need to enter a couple of key words into the search bar at the top of your screen. After all, the people who are searching for content on your topic already know what it is, so it’s probably only going to benefit you if they find you.
Once you’ve done this, take a look at the results. You’ll see a list of papers, blogs, and whatever else is available online that are related to your topic. You can either go with the most popular keywords or find niche ones that you think are appropriate for your paper. Whatever you do, make sure that you don’t just use any words. Instead, use words that are common yet unusual. For example, if you’re writing about fashion, use words like “avant-garde” or “trend-setter” rather than just “fashion”. To put it simply, be creative and use words that are going to make your paper stand out.
Use Quality Sources
The quality of the source you use will depend on the quality of your work. For instance, if you’re writing your paper for an undergraduate course, you may want to use sources that are a little more accessible. Alternatively, if you’re in your final year, you may want to use more prestigious sources or at least sources that are more difficult to access. The choice is entirely up to you. What’s important is that you use quality sources and make sure that you don’t just copy and paste information from the internet without doing some original research first.
Format Your Paper Correctly
When you’re writing your research paper, you’ve got a lot on your plate. Not only do you need to make sure that you’ve got the structure and language correct, but you also need to format your paper correctly. What does this mean, exactly? Well, there’s a lot of jargon and buzzwords in academia, but, essentially, you need to format your paper to make it easier for the reader. You want the reader to be able to easily understand what’s going on, and with jargon and complex language, this can sometimes be difficult. To make matters worse, if your paper is too long, you may run the risk of losing the reader.
So, to make sure that your reader understands everything, you need to be concise yet comprehensive. For example, if you’re writing about fashion, you may want to split your paper into three separate parts. The first part could be about the history of fashion, the second part could be about the trends, and the last part could be about the future of fashion. By breaking your paper into three distinct parts, you make sure that your reader does not get distracted by any irrelevant information throughout the whole paper. Plus, it’s always easier for the reader to follow the logic of a clear argument in a short piece than in a long one.
Don’t Be Foolish
Last but not least, we have the matter of being foolish. As we’ve established, choosing a topic that you’re genuinely interested in will make your research much more interesting to read. But even more importantly, it will make you a lot less likely to make a fool of yourself. So, be careful, be smart, and make sure that you do everything you can to ensure that you make the right choices. In a nutshell, writing a research paper is not as easy as it sounds, but it’s definitely worth it.