When it comes to research paper writing, most students believe that they can master this art overnight. Therefore, you may find beginners postponing their research paper tasks until the last minute. This assumption has made most students regardless if they are beginners to fail in these assignments. The truth of the matter is that students have to familiarize themselves with the 2024 guidelines of how to write an effective essay. You cannot master all of them at the same time. Instead, you have to keep practicing consistently on all guidelines to ensure that writing an effective paper comes more naturally. In this article, we will provide you with some familiarity with how you can write more effectively essay. It entails you do the following:
Narrowing Down Your Research Paper Topic
Most students with research assignments get frustrated when their instructor tells them their topics are too broad or general. In such cases, they are always advised to repeat this task. This time around, to narrow down their questions. However, when it comes to topic selection, students tend to struggle more than they know. It is because they do not know how to define their scope. It makes us wonder, how do you know that your topic is too general or broad? Well, most general themes tend to be limited to one or two words. For example, obese teenagers, kindergarten education, or smoking addiction. The truth of the matter is that you cannot discuss such topics thoroughly in an eight to ten-page research paper. It requires a student to narrow these topics down to more measurable and solvable research themes. For example, in the case of obese teenagers, we can narrow it down to the risk factors leading up to obesity in teenagers in location X.
Pick a Current Subject
When students are given the power of picking their research paper topic, hardly any of them give popular items priority. Instead, most of them now start thinking of what sounds interesting, what will impress their instructor, or what sounds fun. Although this may seem like an interesting approach, it may not yield the results that a student may want. For example, a student may be passionate about art and choose an art research topic. However, the item may not resonate well with the audience. The audience may be more interested in reading about current issues like health emerging trends, for instance, the coronavirus pandemic. Thus, as much as you are aware of not picking a general subject, ensure that you are also mindful of selecting current themes. However, whatever topic you choose, ensure that it aligns with the type of paper you are writing and its purpose.
Always Develop a Specific Thesis Statement
If you have already identified a topic and then narrowed it down, then you need to develop a working thesis. A thesis statement will help align your research as well as guide you on what source materials to use to gather information. In a nutshell, a thesis statement operates as a driving force in your research. The thesis statement development has challenged most students and researchers. Thus, it should not come as a surprise that they seek the services of research paper writing services like Acemyhomework when it comes to developing thesis statements. It can be challenging to create a thesis statement. However, with constant practice and guidance, an investigator will eventually know how to write a working thesis. After you establish the working thesis, then you can use it to determine the type of information you want in your task. All the information you collect has to support your thesis.
Create Your Research Paper Outline
One of the most useful guides when it comes to writing an effective research paper is the research paper outline. It may seem like an ordinary overview, but it does wonders in the writing process. It is a draft containing the topic, the research paper sections, the arguments to include in each section, and the evidence to support these arguments. The division of the arguments and evidence allows the researcher to use only the most significant points in their task. Similarly, the research outline makes the writing process much more efficient since the writer knows what goes where and how to compile the final paper.
Cite Your Work Thoroughly
Students need to realize that research papers are different papers from essays. Unlike essays, research papers widely utilize the ideas and works of other authors which have to be correctly cited. It means that such a task will entail numerous citations, especially in sections such as the literature review. However, a significant number of students have been known to overdo the citations when writing their literature review. Of course, it is crucial to include citations in your review of the literature. However, it should not be overflowing with citations to the point that they now become a bother or hindrance to comprehension.
If you find that your task is overflowing with citations, then try and narrow them down by using only the most critical sources in the review. You can also do away with information from less credible sources to help in reducing the citations you have used in your work. Similarly, avoid overcrowding your citations in one place. For example, “A significant link has been established between organism A and organism B in men [12-21], women [6-10], and children [13-15].” Citing too many sources at one point will confuse the reader and even you when it comes to the references. Thus, use enough citations and distribute them equally throughout your research paper.
The 2024 guidelines for writing an effective research paper have been developed to help researchers and students to write these tasks more naturally. The guidelines ask all writers to use enough citations, write them correctly, and distribute them equally throughout the document. The guidelines also emphasize on picking a current issue and narrowing it down, then developing a working thesis statement.
