10 Step Overview
- katoghigian
- Jul 6, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: May 3, 2023
University undergrad and grad students do a lot of writing and writing can be hard. Writing research papers can be really hard. But it doesn’t have to be! Get help with these ten how-to steps to painlessly writing a paper.
Step 1: Understand the big picture.
Do you know how your research fits into the larger context of scientific discovery? Not sure? Here’s a brief overview of what research is, what the two types of research are, and why we do research.
Step 2: Know your purpose.
Have a very clear understanding of the purpose your research project and the kind of paper you will write. For undergrads, the exact wording of the assignment should go at the top of your draft or on a paper taped up where you see it while you work. For grad students, tape up your thesis statement. Find the path and make a plan.
Step 3: Build an effective outline.
Learn the mechanics of an effective outline by deconstructing a research paper and examining it at every level: the whole paper, each section, each paragraph, each sentence, each word. What is the purpose of each? How do they fit together to persuasively lead the reader from one idea to the next? What is the purpose, audience, style, and presentation of a research paper? Don't know how? Ask!
Step 4: Brainstorm.
Do a free-flow of ideas for your topic-scope-purpose or situation-problem-proposed solution, the kind of information you will need for each section (intro, method, results, discussion), and the type of structure you will use (classification, chronology, compare/contrast, etc.).
Step 5: Take great notes.
Review the literature for background information, general trends, and what is already known or has already been tried. Use substantiated sources for the information that you need. Don’t be tempted by rabbit holes. This is where lots of students get lost (because they can’t find what they need because they don’t know what they need) or drown (because they gather too much and try to read everything). Learn how to annotate and take great notes. Brush up on how to quote, summarize, and paraphrase. Always include the citation with every study, concept, or fact.
Step 6: Gather your data.
For primary research, set up your experiment or survey. For secondary research, collect and review previous studies. Write down each step for absolutely everything you do. (This will become your method section.)
Step 7: Condense your notes into relevant sections.
Here’s the step no one may have taught you before. Divide a piece of paper into four sections, label each (intro, method, results, and discussion), and physically copy each set of concepts, keywords, phrases, definitions, quotations, or facts—each with its citation—into the section in which it will appear in your paper.
Step 8: Create a simple outline for purpose, structure, and logical flow.
Use your condensed notes as a basis for your first outline, which will be composed entirely of words and phrases (absolutely no sentences) with citations for each idea so you can see the purpose, structure, and logical flow. Without this solid framework, the paper is just a word salad.
Step 9: Revise the outline for completeness, clarity, and accuracy.
Once your ideas are clear and logically organized, add more facts or information as needed so your ideas are persuasive. Check the verb tenses (it’s a lot easier to do it here and now), add transitions and hedging, look up technical phrasing (for example, in a corpus) and if English is not your first language, confirm article usage and your construction of any phrases and clauses. Clean up any spelling mistakes. Get your citations numbered correctly and check them against your refs.
Step 10: Write the first draft, wait a few days, and revise.
Your paper is almost finished and you haven’t even written one sentence yet! All of the ideas are already there and in the correct order. Now write sentences for each idea. If English is difficult, use simple sentences and make sure every sentence has a subject and verb. (You’d be surprised—even and especially first language English speakers try to create such complex sentences that they forget this.) Leave it for a day or two, revise, then check your formatting and confirm all in-text citations and references.
Don’t forget: Whenever you are trying to do something that is hard or complex, break it into smaller pieces. In doing something as big and complex as writing a research paper, taking it step by step helps you identify which step might be hard for you, and once you take that step, climbing to the top no longer seems quite so daunting.
