7 Steps in Writing a Research Paper: Enjoy Your Student

Life
Are you staring at the blank page on your screen and have no
idea how to approach your challenging research paper? Research
papers are complex and time-consuming assignments and what
is really important they make up a large part of student’s grade
in all classes. It’s not a secret that academic writing is hard but
written communication skills are essential for your success in
college, graduate school, and in your future career. That’s why
you should work hard to master the art of paper writing.
If you are not sure where to start, read this article to learn about
effective strategies that make this process as painless as
possible.
How to Write an APA Research Paper
We’ll break down the writing process into easy steps to help you
understand how to write a research paper fast no matter how
long it must be.

Step 1. Choose a Topic

Sometimes college students are assigned with their research
paper topics, but if you are fortunate enough to have such an
option, choose your topic wisely. First of all, think about
choosing a challenging topic you are interested in. Then, you
won’t be bored when doing the research because you are sure to
discover something new and you’ll enjoy the writing process.
Don’t select subjects that are too technical or general.
If your topic is too broad, your research paper is unlikely to be
successful because it will look like a general overview. You
should narrow your topic down to a certain aspect, concept or
idea and make it specific and manageable. For example, if your
topic is “Global Warming”, you should narrow it to “Causes of
Global Warming”, “Impact of Global Warming on Human
Health” or something like that.

Step 2. Write a Working Thesis Statement

Prepare a working thesis before you actually organize your

research because it will guide your investigation and will help
you stay focused on your subject. Your thesis statement should
be concise and reflect the type of paper you are writing. All
research papers can be divided into 3 categories:
 argumentative or persuasive if you are arguing the
conclusion;
  expository when you explain information;
 analytical when you present your analysis of certain
information.
You have to devote enough of your precious time to creating a
good strong thesis statement so that your project has a clear
purpose. Your thesis should be debatable and narrow because
your claims should be supported by evidence. If your claim is
broad, you will need more evidence to convince your readers
that you are right. Here is an example of a debatable thesis
statement:
Climate change is the most pressing challenge facing the
world today.

Step 3. Do Research on Your Topic

You should find enough secondary and primary credible sources
on the subject of your paper, carefully read all of them, and find
relevant evidence to support your thesis. At this stage, you
should evaluate your sources, take notes, and start documenting
your sources according to a citation style specified by your
instructor (APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, etc.)
Make sure you use the latest edition of a specific style guide.
You will use your notes about references later when writing
your paper and building your bibliography. It’s crucial to cite all
sources that you used for quoting, paraphrasing, and
summarizing to avoid plagiarism.
Step 4. Make a Good Outline
Your research has given you tons of great ideas. Now you have
to organize them for your impressive presentation. Don’t skip
this vital step because without it, your project will lack focus
and you will need more time for revising your draft trying to
make sense of your jumbled thoughts. That’s why you need an
outline. You have to finalize your thesis and create a working
outline that you plan to cover and that will serve you as a
roadmap and keep you focused.
Think about key points that you’ll need to develop to support
your thesis statement. You can use them as subheadings for the
body of your paper. Look through your notes and organize the
information under each sub-heading. Make sure you include
only relevant information that fits under your sub-headings and
directly supports your thesis.
You should resist the temptation to include any information that
doesn’t fit into your outline no matter how interesting it is.
When writing an outline, you should keep in mind a typical
research paper structure that commonly includes:
 a title page;
 an abstract;
 an introduction;
 a methodology section;
 findings/results;
 discussion;
 conclusion.
But if your research paper is not long, its format may include an
introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. In any case,
you should follow specific guidelines provided by your
instructor.

Step 5. Create the First Draft

This is the middle of the process. You have a clear direction and
it’s time to create the first draft with a title, in-text citations, and
a reference page.
The title is very important if you want to make a good
impression on your readers because it’s the first thing that they
see. It forms their view on what exactly they should expect in
your paper. You should list the keywords that present the topic
of your paper, methods you used, and results that you achieved.
Now create a sentence that includes all the keywords that you
have listed and delete the unnecessary words. After that, you
need to link the remaining ones. Finally, you have to delete non-
essential info and organize the remaining words in the logical
order. You can also include the subtitle. Make sure that your
title is concise.
Afterwards, you need to write an introduction, body paragraphs,
and a conclusion. These are the main parts of your paper so let
us provide you with some details on how to do it right.
How to Write an Introduction for a Research Paper
Start writing an intro. The introductory paragraph should begin
with an attention grabber that may be:
 ★ a provocative question;
 ★ statistics;
 ★ an anecdote;
 ★ unusual facts, etc.
You are writing an academic paper but that doesn’t mean you
have to be boring. Next, you need to provide the background
information, explain your goals, and how you plan to approach
your research paper topic. You should finish your introduction
with your thesis statement or research question. This section of
your paper is not long so you are sure to finish it fast.
How to Write Body Paragraphs
Your outline will help you to complete this part of your paper.
But you shouldn’t think that you must strictly follow it. It may
evolve and you are free to revise it and make changes. The key
thing is to stay on your track and focus on your thesis. You
should provide your points and support your main idea.
Start each body paragraph with a topic sentence and provide
arguments and relevant evidence to support it. You should write
as many body paragraphs as you have the key points.
How to Write a Conclusion for a Research Paper
Most research papers end with restarting their thesis statements.
You can also do it but you shouldn’t repeat it word for word.
Paraphrase it or summarize the key points of your paper. You
may emphasize the significance of your findings as well. A good
idea is to provide some recommendations based on the results of
your investigation or suggest some directions for further
research.
Your rough draft is ready. Wondering what to do next? Go on
reading to find some tips on how to revise your research paper.
How to Make Your Paper Perfect
No one can write their first draft perfectly. So, if you want to
make a good impression on your professor and earn a high
grade, you should revise your draft to make sure that your
project is on point. Be ready that you may need to revise your
project more than once because it is really worth doing.
Step 6. Revise, Edit and Proofread

You have to make large-scale changes and check the logic, flow,
transitions, make changes in the structure and order of your
paragraphs. You should make sure that all your ideas are fully
developed and all the claims are supported by credible evidence.
You may need to add some section headings.
The next stage is editing. You have to check and eliminate filler
words and phrases, improve word choice, and correct mistakes
in punctuation and grammar if you find any. You should look
for:
 incomplete sentences;
 dangling modifiers;
 easily confused words (such as to, too, and two);
 spelling mistakes;
 apostrophes for possessives and plurals;
 quotation rules obeyed;
 comma use;
  eliminate contractions.
You will need to re-read your paper several times. A good
strategy is to read your paper backwards. In this way, you will
feel a little disoriented and will be able to catch more mistakes.
You should start reading the last sentence, then check the second
to the last one and continue doing it until you get to your first
sentence.
You should ask your friends or family members to review your
research paper and express their opinion about it. They should
evaluate your argument, transitions, and the balance and look for
any inconsistencies with usage, grammar or mechanics. Ask
your friends to provide their feedback and make suggested
changes if you think they make sense. Finally, you may print
your paper and proofread it to eliminate minor mistakes or typos
and ensure that your amazing research paper is flawless.

Step 7. Rely on Our Academic Custom Writing Service

You can use our easy guide to craft winning research papers
fast, get better grades, and enjoy your life in college.
Alternatively, you can address our specialists to write research
paper for you. As a result, you’ll spend less time but get more
pleasure from studying at university.