Writing a paper may seem to be hard when you do not have a blueprint. However, once you get a hold of a guideline that will help you in figuring out what to do, the task becomes much more straightforward. Below is a detailed plan of research paper rules that can be of help to you when writing a research paper.
Rule 1: Find a suitable topic
You need to know the topic before you begin your research. Begin with a broad subject, then narrow it down to a specific niche. For instance, take a topic that is related to energy. Writing a paper on this idea will require you to subdivide the subject into numerous subtopics, and you could end up writing a whole book. However, if you narrow down to something like how to conserve energy at home, your paper will be more specific. In as much as you need to write a compelling research paper, ensure that you select a topic that has not been done too many times.
Rule 2: Outline your research paper
A research paper outline is useful in limiting the scope of work that you will engage in. Better yet, it helps you to plan your text chronologically. This way, your thoughts are well laid out, and the paper makes sense once complete. The cover page, abstract, introduction, body, references, and appendixes are the critical aspects to include in the outline. Depending on how lengthy your paper is, you may or may not need to write the appendixes.
Rule 3: Look for suitable information sources
Where you source your information from is crucial. The best place to find credible details on your discussion is from published books and journals written by other researchers like you. If possible, you can research on your own to get even more accurate information. If you must use online sources, choose those that are credible instead of tabloids. Online writing services like those of Copycrafter.net are experts in sourcing out for relevant information used in research papers.
Rule 4: Put your thoughts together
At this point, you have to collect all your ideas and write them as a draft. Take all the information you gathered and write them down page after page until you are done. Afterward, begin reading the paper to weed out the aspects that are not necessary. You have the chance to add more sources if you feel that the final paper is not as captivating as you would want it to be. Be concise and avoid waffling. Each person has a unique writing style so do not shy away from writing as you would normally. State your arguments and back them up using the relevant information. Explain each topic clearly and use referencing styles to accredit merit to the authors whose work you have used. Some of the citation forms to use include:
- APA
- MLA
- Chicago
- Oxford
- Havard
- Turabian, and
- IEEE, etc.
Citing your sources will avoid having you penalized for plagiarism. The kind of style you select is determined by the type of paper you are working on or the academic supervisor you are assigned. While going through the final draft, ensure that you include the citations of all the sources you have used.
Rule 5: Proofreading
When you proofread your work, you get another chance to reduce even more clutter. At this point, make corrections where necessary and ensure that the paper is free of any grammar errors. Ensure that you conclude the text well. All the essential ideas ought to be summed up in this little section. You have to be keen not to repeat the whole paper when writing a conclusion. The size of this part will significantly depend on the size of the complete document.
Final Word
The core aspect of writing a research paper is relevance. Ensure that your target audience relates to what you write. Once you know how to start a research paper, everything else will fall into place. Be sure to compile all the sources you used and write them on the final page or pages of the text. All the authors, the publishing houses, year of publication as well as the names of the books have to be included in this section. These should be written in chronological order in regards to the citation style you chose at the beginning. If you follow these research paper rules, your final paper will be spectacular. How to write an outline for a research paper
