Clear Topic . Good Research

• Admission Essays
• Essays Term Papers
• Research Papers
• Book Reports
• Dissertations PhD Theses
• MBA Projects
• Term Projects
• Coursework Writing
• Speech Writing
• Poetry Writing
• Creative Writing
• Essay Editing
• Academic Researching
• FAQs
• ORDER

← Back to WRITING TUTORIAL

The thought of writing a research paper evokes feelings of dread and anxiety for many students. While most students are aware that writing is a skill which can be developed with practice and persistence, it might be fair to say that few regard the ability to research as a skill which they are similarly capable of developing.

The modern American educational system generally encourages students to focus on improving one's writing skills, paying little attention to the development of their research skills. That approach is mistaken; proper research is a prerequisite for impactful writing. One of the best ways the education system can help students improve their writing skills is by guiding them in improving their research skills.

To begin researching properly, students must be clear on what the topic of their paper is. By having a clear direction for their paper, students can effectively seek out the information which will enable them to reach that destination. Thesis statements and pre-formulated topics can be of immense help in this regard. Students who learn to make a habit out of pre-formulating thesis, arguments and topic points are clear on what their papers objectives are. This enables students to better seek out that information which will support their arguments, ignore irrelevant information and properly apply their research when writing.

Similarly, students must learn to formulate goals for their paper, as doing so will enable them to extract only the most relevant information from their research. It's not enough to research passively, only noting that information which appears interesting to the student. It's imperative that students keep their research goals in mind at all times, avoiding the temptation to delve into that information which is interesting to them, but not within the range of their papers topic. Websites that assist students get feedback on their papers (eg. EssayForum.com) can be of great help to those who struggle with research and writing.

When a student learns how to focus on the most pertinent information and apply it to their paper, they develop the skill of focus-based research. Those who learn how to keep their papers on-track avoid time consuming and unnecessary diversions or sidetracking their writing. Far too often great research is discarded in favor of interesting anecdotes and random facts, neither of which support the student's thesis, and risk weakening the paper or confusing the reader.

Students must also be aware of which types of original sources are appropriate for research papers. A general rule of thumb is that formal writing relies upon formal sources. These can include mainstream and particularly academic books, academic journals, interviews with subject experts, government and some non-governmental organization publications, newspapers and mainstream periodicals.

Lastly, students must learn to make a habit out of citing their sources. Unfortunately many students conduct excellent research and expound upon it beautifully, but fail to note their sources as they go. This can cause students to risk the very serious academic offense of plagiarism (refer to: customwritten.com/example-papers/preventing-essay-plagiarism). Not citing sources as relates to factual information, such as statistics, can mean a student has no way to prove that the research they've included is legitimate. Neglecting to properly cite sources and maintain a works cited page as a student continues their research and writing means that ultimately, students will unnecessarily spend a lot of time and energy trying to track back all their information to the original sources before their paper is ready to hand in.

When students are clear on which information they're looking for, as well as how this information will support their paper, they have a solid foundation for properly applying their research. Research which stays on target makes for papers which stay on target. Citing all sources is necessary to both avoid plagiarism as well as to back up one's facts, figures, statistics and arguments. These are all necessary components of a well-researched and well-written paper. Fortunately, they are also skills which students are capable of developing, with practice and persistence.

CustomPapers.com