Writing Tip #19: Planning and Writing a Research Paper

Plan your paper before you research the topic, write the paper, and revise it. Proceeding logically through the research paper process will enable you to focus sharply on your topic and to write a clear, concise, and meaningful paper. If you omit any of the following strategies, your paper may look and act like a descriptive list of ideas and information rather than a well organized essay aimed to persuade your audience, your readers, that your analysis of the researched material is reasonable. Study the following steps; follow them.

    1. Make a list of topics.
    2. Choose possible topics that interest you. Seek topics that have several angles of approach, and ones on which there is a body of research information. Once you are familiar with the topics and related material, choose the topic you wish to pursue.
    3. Formulate research questions: what is the question you wish to answer? what are the basic arguments regarding your topic? what are the basic research materials? from what or whose perspectives do the materials approach the topic? what questions about the topic are unanswered? what supports your ideas?
    4. Create a research strategy: make a timetable; develop a preliminary outline; refine the scope of your topic–narrow it to fit the parameters of your assignment and your preliminary answers to your research question(s); list possible and probable sources of information, including personal interviews with experts in the topic; prioritize your research, i.e., consider which sources to consider first, second, etc.
    5. Compile a working bibliography: make a list of sources and record relevant information.
    6. Begin reading your research materials. Try to vary your sources: books, journals, newspapers, lectures, World Wide Web, personal interviews, etc.
    7. Widen or narrow your topic in order to make the best use of the available sources to answer your research question(s).
    8. After considering your sources and thinking about the opinions and evidence expressed in them, sort out the reasoning and evidence. Ask yourself whether the information logically supports the claims given in the research materials. Formulate your thesis, i.e., a statement of your reasoned conclusion, the answer to your research question(s) .
    9. List the categories of evidence that support your thesis.
    10. Prepare a formal outline that includes sections covering the standard parts of a research paper:

Introduction (beginning, thesis statement, introduce the line of reasoning
and categories of evidence to support your thesis);

literature review (tell what's in the related materials; show how other writers have answered your research question or related questions; present all sides fairly);

discussion (demonstrate that your thesis is based on valid reasoning and supported by your evidence);

conclusion (bring the paper to closure; may summarize, reiterate the thesis, indicate other research that needs doing, tell the reader how to think or act according to the thesis and supporting evidence).

    1. Write the paper. Be sure to cite sources appropriately; use Modern Language Association (MLA) or American Psychological Association (APA) format for in-text, endnote, footnote, and bibliographic referencing. Design illustrations: graphs, drawings, tables, etc. Include them in your text according to MLA or APA format. Document the sources appropriately.
        1. Focus on the whole paper. Consider the needs of your reader. How do the parts fit together? How does the evidence fit the paper? Do you support your thesis adequately and appropriately? Outline the paper as it is written; compare that outline to your pre-writing formal outline. Read your paper aloud and listen to what you've written. Revise and rewrite as needed.
        2. Focus on parts of the paper. Check paragraphs; make sure you have a good topic sentence and good details to support it as well as to support your thesis. Check sentences and word choices. Check verb tense for consistency. Check nouns and pronouns; make sure plural nouns connect to plural pronouns, singular nouns to singular pronouns. And make sure your pronouns clearly relate to nouns; a sentence that says "This is important" may mean little to your reader if the antecedent to "this" is not clear. Use appropriate connectors and transitions, e.g., moreover, in addition to, despite, to the contrary, thus, etc. Check your punctuation for accuracy; consult a writing handbook if you are not sure about punctuation. Check your spelling, margins, and other "mechanics"; be sure the surface of your paper is as accurate and clear as the content. Check each citation to ensure accuracy. Correct, revise, add, and rewrite as needed.
        3. Focus on the whole paper. (See #1 above.) Put the paper aside for a day or two. Then reread the paper and ask yourself whether or not it's ready to submit. Do you believe what you've written? Is your thesis a strong, assertive claim? Do you offer substantive support for your thesis. At the conclusion, do you know you've finished? Are the references clearly and appropriately documented? Are the illustrations clear, properly documented, and related to the text; do they appropriately support your thesis and your evidence? Have you written the best paper you possibly can on the topic?
    1. Make final revisions.
    2. Recheck your spelling, punctuation, and other surface "mechanics"; correct as needed. See proofreading.
    1. Prepare your final copy. Prepare your cover page, complete and check your headings and subheadings, text, illustrations, citations, and bibliography. Cover and bind if required.
    2. Submit your paper.