Poemad.com is now a site dedicated not only to the poetry festival but also to other kinds of writing, namely research papers. After all, creating a great paper is also poetry in a way. You need to present one topic, disclosing it in a research paper introduction, a main part, and a conclusion. Like in a poem, you need to attract the reader’s attention and hold it until the end.
In addition, a research paper allows you to prove yourself as a researcher and realize your creative potential. You can offer original solutions to current scientific problems or even formulate your own. This is a chance to contribute to the development of the chosen direction and make a name for yourself in the scientific community.
Keep reading to learn how to start a research paper, what steps to take next, and how to format your text. We’ll provide formatting examples that will also be useful for those starting their work on the project. See how to write an introduction in research paper example, what information to include in the main body, and how to end your text strongly.
If you don’t want to pay for research paper help but want to write it yourself, use our tips.
How to Start a Research Paper Intro
The research paper introduction traditionally makes up a tenth of the total volume of the entire work and allows readers to understand what tasks the author sets when writing and what ways to solve them they see. It is no coincidence that the introduction is built according to certain rules, which is your overall vision of the work. That is why, having looked at it, an experienced teacher can tell how thoroughly the student approached the development of the topic.
The purpose of a research paper
The first thing to understand when research paper writing is that you are not able to cover everything at once. The broader the topic, the more mistakes and inaccuracies you will make in it, which means the overall quality and usefulness of your work will be lower. Therefore, the topic and purpose should be very specific, and one narrow task should be formulated in the introduction.
Research objectives
This point follows from the previous one. In the introduction, describe the steps that need to be taken to achieve the stated objectives in practice (“According to the research purposes, the following objectives have been set:…”). Approach this task as if you are trying to convince your interlocutor during a discussion that you are right, and step by step, build evidence for the presented thesis. In the end, the interlocutor should say, “Yes, all the evidence and examples given are logical. I agree with you.”
It should be noted that by reading the objectives, it is possible to tell whether the author can achieve the set goal or not. It is as if you understand that a person will never reach the top of Everest if they do not include the point of “warm clothes” in their action plan.
Research object
The object of scientific research is a part of psychological reality, within which the subject of research activity is located, and contains prerequisites for understanding the subject. The object is a broader area within which your interest is located – the subject.
Examples. Research object: Arctic ground squirrel. Research subject will be “Sound communication of the arctic ground squirrel.”
Degree of knowledge of the topic
It is a point in the research paper introduction in which you must demonstrate that you have studied a sufficient theoretical basis to start research activities not from scratch, trying to reinvent the wheel, but already have an appropriate degree of awareness of the topic. In this section, you should describe:
- Who are the most famous researchers on the topic? List the main works, the time of the research, their brief content, and important points for your work.
- Whether the topic has been well-researched or not.
- Which aspects of it have been studied theoretically and in practice sufficiently, and which have not?
- With the availability of new scientific knowledge, old studies have become irrelevant, questionable, and controversial.
- How has a scientific opinion on your issue developed over a certain period of time?
Research Paper Writing Steps
Step 1: Choose a topic
Why did you select a particular topic for writing a research paper? The most banal thing is that you are personally interested in it. This is not bad, although there are many other reasons, namely:
- The topic is very relevant – the latest phenomenon, or an old phenomenon that has received a new interpretation in the modern world.
- The topic is poorly studied.
- The topic describes a very specific question or problem that can be clearly and completely covered within the framework of the research paper.
Step 2: Collect materials
Study the literature on the chosen topic and make a list of the main sources. Don’t limit yourself to textbooks; look for articles in scientific journals. Assess the relevance of the information.
Step 3: Write the first draft
Start forming a rough draft of the work. Make a preliminary plan highlighting the key points. At this stage, don’t try to make the text perfect, write freely, record your thoughts.
Step 4: Polish your paper
As you prepare the draft, constantly refine the plan and structure the information. Check the scientific literature and make references to the sources. Don’t be afraid to change the initial concept of the paper if the materials you’ve studied push you in that direction.
Research Paper Format as Guarantee of Success
Here are five tips on how to format your masterpiece according to all the rules and not forget anything:
- Maintain the standard margins, fonts, intervals, and volume of work. This will give the paper a neat and professional look.
- Structure the work according to the required elements: a title page, a table of contents, an introduction, a main part, a conclusion, and a bibliography.
- Cite all borrowed sources of information, quotes, tables, and figures. Indicate the page numbers of sources from which the material was taken.
- Create the list of references and cited sources strictly according to the rules of the research paper format. Indicate the authors’ last names and initials, titles of works, publishers, and years of publication.
- Carefully check spelling and punctuation, and monitor the language and style of presentation of the material. A proper research paper format will create a good impression.
Example of the reference page format in MLA
Works Cited
Gordis, Daniel. Israel: A Full History of a Nation Reborn. HarperCollins, 2017. Accessed 27 September 2024.
Tishby, Noa. Israel: A Guide to the Most Mysterious Country on Earth. Free Press, 2022. Accessed 27 September 2024.
Example of the reference page format in APA
References
Gordis, D. (2017). Israel: A Full History of a Nation Reborn. HarperCollins.
Tishby, N. (2022). Israel: A Guide to the Most Mysterious Country on Earth. Free Press.
Example of the reference page format in Chicago
References
Gordis, Daniel. 2017. Israel: A Full History of a Nation Reborn. N.p.: HarperCollins.
Tishby, Noa. 2022. Israel: A Guide to the Most Mysterious Country on Earth. N.p.: Free Press.
Following these simple recommendations will help save a lot of time when writing a research paper. We hope you will have a strong project that will get a high grade.