Writing a research paper will be a regular thing if you are a college student. The sooner you get used to it, the better for you. Also, you need to do a great job in the process. It is quite easy to write a good research paper when you know the steps to follow.
An outline will help you lay down your ideas before you get started so that you don’t realize you have made serious mistakes when you are finished. Here is a detailed research paper template that will work for everyone, no matter what the paper is about.
The Basics Of A Research Paper Template
- The topic
- State your argument
- Define the audience
- Conduct your research
- Organize your references
The Topic
You can’t research something you haven’t defined. Thus, in writing a research paper, you need to have a topic. You can pick a topic on your own, or your professor can provide it. However, it has to cover your strengths rather than your weaknesses.
Pick a topic that is interesting to you so that you will be excited to work on it. If the subject doesn’t interest you, it will take a long time for you to be through. Also, it has to provoke readers. On the same note, make sure the topic is addressing a problem in the community that needs a solution.
State Your Argument
You have to pick a side when it comes to the research problem. You can argue for the research problem you have selected or against it. You should ask yourself why the issue is important to you or other people.
Consider the aim of the thesis statement. It should provoke a discussion that is meaningful enough to change the world. The argument should be enough for you to build a research paper from it. If it is not enough, your research paper might be one paragraph long, and no way can it be approved to be a research paper.
As soon as you list answers for the questions you had formulated when stating your argument, then you will be ready to come up with a good outline for your research paper.
Define The Audience
If it is work given by your professor, he or she will likely be the only one reading the paper. However, don’t just right with your professor in mind. You can never know who else will stumble upon the article. Write with your audience in mind. Consider whether your professor will be for or against your argument.
Also, defining your audience allows you to decide on the language you will use so that you can get to them. Do you need to stick with a formal speech or you can throw in informal phrases in the process. Also, the audience will guide you in picking a tone and style for the paper.
Conduct Your Research
You need to conduct proper and detailed research. Hence, it means contributing new information and facts to the already existing database of the topic in question. You may have to go out in the field to get raw or primary data or investigate the available resources to come up with sufficient evidence supporting your audience.
To start with, find general information that supports your thesis statement, then you can go deeper from there. It is essential to note the counter-arguments as well as the evidence supporting them. Thus, you will end up mastering the topic as well as comprehending the shortcomings of your thesis statement.
Organize Your References
At the end of your research paper, you need to cite all the reference materials you used. Also, you need to include them in the body of your research. You can’t be making up things as you go and pass them as evidence.
On the same note, don’t include reference material you haven’t used in the body of your research if you want to pass. Some referencing styles will even require you to cite the page number from where you picked the citation. It makes it easy for your professor to confirm that you went through the books, journals, or other publications you have cited in your research.
Also, make sure you have listed the reference materials to make them accessible for your professor to follow. Following this outline of a research paper template makes your work easier.
What is the format of a research paper?
The appropriate format of a research paper is that it should have the title at the top, headings on the upper corner of every page, 12pts Times New Roman, double spaced, and 1-inch margin from all sides.
What are the 5 parts of the research paper?
The customary parts of education research include the title page, introduction and the statement of the problem, limitations of the study, research methodology then finally the main body of your paper.
What are the steps to write a paper?
The following are steps on how to write a research paper template; choose a topic, conduct research and find issues related to the problem, develop a thesis statement then organize your thoughts, draft your outline and more information that backs up your points, write the introduction
finally, the body of the paper.
