If you are about to embark on writing an academic research paper, you will most certainly need to make an outline of it first. The more you can plan exactly what your paper is all about and what it should include, the more you’ll create a winning essay.
Here are the solutions to your academic writing problems:
Obviously a research paper is highly reliant on academic research- so once you’ve chosen your topic, you should research it as much as possible and make plenty of notes along the way. Once you have this task under your belt, and you’ve made sure you have all the tools you need to satisfactorily accomplish your essay, it’s time to sit down and work out the outline.
Writing an outline for your paper isn’t just about getting the structure right- this stage of planning should also include your thought process. You need to ask yourself what the purpose of the essay is and what you hope to achieve from it. When writing an outline, ask yourself questions like: why is the topic significant? Which of the background material is relevant? Which information do I include and where do I put it? How many chapters do I need, how long should they be, and what is the purpose of them?
The more questions you ask, the more solutions you’ll find. The more you can get to grips with knowing exactly what it’s all about and plan the paper in advance, the more smoothly the writing will be!
A research paper should include: the introduction, the body (chapters) and the conclusion.
It’s best to actually write the introduction last, as this way you will know exactly which key points you’ve raised in your essay and it will be easier to detail these in the opening.
Your introduction should introduce the broad topic at hand before narrowing it down to the specific problem/issue you are to discuss. Succinctly state your aims and objectives, what research you have included and what solutions and conclusions may be arrived at.
The chapters will contain all of your main content. Be sure to back up your points with plenty of sources!
The conclusion should restate the initial aims, restate the main points of the paper and summarize findings.
The more time you can spend planning your outline, the better. The more organized you are, the better your essay will be. Simple, right? So what are you waiting for? Get stuck in! Oh, and one last thing- good luck!