Research papers are commonly assigned in both high school and college classes. In this post, we discuss how to write a research paper from start to finish. We break down the assignment’s main components and offer strategies for completing it successfully and on time.
What is a research paper?
Similarly to an argumentative essay, a research paper makes an argument about a topic and backs up that claim with evidence. However, a research paper also attempts to say something new about a subject and supports its argument through original research and perspectives.
Research papers are generally longer than other types of academic essays and contain additional components, like a literature review. They require you to demonstrate both strong writing skills and satisfactory research skills. As a result, your instructor may break down a research paper project into multiple sections.
Research paper components
A typical research paper will contain several components that can be written together or separately. These include an introduction, thesis statement, signposts, literature review, body (evidence and analysis), and conclusion.
If you’ve conducted original research for your paper, and depending on your subject, your paper may also include methods, results, and discussion sections. Below, we discuss the various components of a research paper in more depth.
Introduction
An introduction provides readers with an overview of your topic and any background information that they need to know in order to understand the context. It generally concludes with an explicit statement of your position on the topic, which is known as your thesis statement.
Depending on the type of research paper that you’re writing, you may also include a brief state-of-the-field in your introduction. You might also put that in a separate section, called a “literature review.”
The thesis statement
At the end of the introduction, you’ll include your thesis statement, a direct statement of the main argument of your paper. This should preferably take the the form of "I argue that..." or "This paper argues that..." or a similar phrase. Although it’s called a thesis statement, your thesis can be more than one sentence.
Literature review
A literature review summarizes, and analyzes, relevant scholarly research on your topic. In particular, a literature review identifies gaps in the current research that your argument will address. It can be part of the introduction (as a state-of-the-field) or in its own section.
Signposts
At some point before you move into the body of your paper, you should include a brief outline or "signposts" of what the rest of the paper will cover. These are also known as “forecasting statements.” You may want to use language like, “in what follows,” or “in the rest of the paper,” to signal that you are describing what you’ll do in the remainder of the paper.
Signposts are important because they help readers understand what you are trying to accomplish in your paper. They also provide you with some built-in accountability: when you finish writing, you can look back at your signposts and determine if you’ve done what you’ve said you were going to do in your introduction.
Evidence and analysis
Also known as the body of a research paper, the evidence and analysis section includes your original research and perspectives. This is where you work on actually proving your thesis statement by presenting research and analyzing it.
If you are doing scientific or social scientific research, this part of your paper may also discuss your methods and the results of any original research that you undertook for the project. To understand what sections the body of your research paper needs to include, you should consult the assignment guidelines or ask your instructor.
Conclusion
Finally, your research paper conclusion synthesizes the main claims of your paper. While you shouldn’t introduce new information in your conclusion, you can provide recommendations for further research or point to the broader implications of the evidence and analysis that you presented in your paper.
Steps for writing a research paper
Because of its multiple components, it’s best to break down a research paper assignment into a series of steps.
1. Read the assignment guidelines carefully
Before you can start working on your research paper, you need to be sure that you fully understand the assignment and how you will be graded. Read (and re-read) the assignment guidelines carefully; highlight, or make notes, on aspects that are important.
If you don’t understand something, ask your instructor for clarification as soon as possible.
2. Make a plan for research, writing, and revising
To successfully complete a research paper, you need to plan out enough time for research, writing, and revision. Set aside time for each step of the process—including the planning stage!
You should also schedule some flexibility into your plan, in case your topic doesn’t work out.
3. Choose a research topic
If your instructor allows you to choose your own topic, you’ll want to do that sooner, rather than later. Use your class notes, or your own interests, to generate topic ideas.
Then, narrow down possibilities based on each topic’s feasibility: is it a topic that you can manage in the allotted time? Is it an appropriate topic for the length of the paper? Is the topic actually arguable?
4. Conduct preliminary research
To help you finalize your topic, conduct some preliminary research. Do some initial searches in an academic database, or Google Scholar, using keywords related to your subject. When you find a relevant peer-reviewed source, scan its bibliography and associated keywords to help you locate additional sources.
Consider scheduling a research consultation with a librarian to help you find some preliminary sources.
5. Develop a thesis statement
Once you’ve conducted some preliminary research and determined the feasibility of your topic, it’s time to develop your thesis statement. Your thesis statement should directly state the main argument of your paper.
A good thesis should be concise and arguable. A sentence like, “I argue that the sky is blue,” is not actually arguable, so it could not serve as a thesis statement.
6. Create an outline
A research paper outline helps you organize your main points. Use your outline to stay on track or to collect pieces of evidence that you plan to use in your research paper draft.
7. Read through your sources
It’s easy to continue collecting sources that you’d like to use in your paper, but at some point you’ll need to stop doing research and actually read through the scholarly sources that you’ve found.
As you read, take notes, make highlights, and keep track of any quotes that you’d like to integrate into your research paper. You can also paraphrase research that you’d like to incorporate into your evidence directly in your outline.
8. Write your first draft
There is no right or wrong way to complete a first draft—the important thing is to start writing. Most writers begin by composing the introduction, but you can also start with the body of your paper. Some writers find it easier to write the central sections first, then build out the introduction and conclusion based on the evidence and analysis.
If you’re required to complete a first draft as part of a research paper assignment, you may only need to write a certain number of pages. However, it’s often in your best interest to get as much written as possible. This saves you time later and allows you to benefit from more extensive revision.
9. Revise your first draft
At this point in your research and writing process, you may want to do some revising. To begin with, it’s important to understand the differences between revising and proofreading. When you proofread, you read over your paper for surface-level errors like typos. Revision includes substantive changes to your paper’s structure, argumentation, and organization.
10. Work on a second draft
After you’ve revised your first draft, you can start on your second draft. Even if your instructor does not require you to complete multiple drafts, you should plan to work on at least two drafts. This will help you submit a stronger paper.
In your second draft, you’ll want to focus on meeting the word or page limit, but also on expanding your argument, evidence, and conclusions.
11. Revise and proofread your paper
Once you’ve completed your draft, you’ll want to revise and proofread your paper. Again, revision and proofreading are not the same.
At this point, you should ensure that you’ve fully argued what you set out to prove in your paper. You should make sure that all of your claims are backed up by sufficient evidence and that your paper is organized in a way that allows a reader to follow your argument.
12. Check your citations
Before you can turn your paper in, you’ll definitely want to make sure that your citations are correct and that your bibliography or works cited page follows the guidelines for the citation style that you’re required to use.
You should also look out for any places in your paper where you need to include an in-text or parenthetical citation for borrowed material. Doing so helps you avoid plagiarism.
BibGuru’s citation generator allows you to create accurate citations and bibliographies with just one click. You can cite sources in MLA, APA, or any other citation style. Use BibGuru to efficiently create citations for your research paper.
Tips for writing a research paper
Plan enough time for research, writing, and revision
Be sure that you plan adequate time for research (choosing a topic, finding sources, and reading scholarly sources), writing (composing each component of the research paper), and revision.
Even if you’re not required to write multiple drafts or participate in revision workshops, you should still plan time to complete a second draft and revise your paper.
Meet with a librarian
Consider meeting with a librarian to help with narrowing or broadening a topic, finding sources, and creating citations.
In college and university libraries, librarians often specialize in certain subjects. Depending on your topic, you can schedule a research consultation with a specialist who can help you navigate resources on your specific topic.
Try to cite while you write
Many writers wait until the last minute to create citations and bibliographies. Doing so is time consuming and often confusing. Instead, try to create citations as you go—this will save you time and ensure that you’re citing all of the borrowed material that you’re using in your research paper.
The easiest way to cite while you write is to use BibGuru’s citation generator browser extension for Chrome or Edge. The extension automatically cites online sources and adds them to a bibliography in your preferred citation style.
Be clear, concise, concrete, and correct in your writing
An academic paper does not need to be wordy or filled with jargon. Instead, strive to be clear, concise, concrete, and correct as you write your research paper. Avoid unnecessary words and try to include only one main idea per sentence.
Use solid transition words
Quality transitions help readers follow along as you make your argument and present your evidence and analysis. Use transition words to clearly signal when you are making a new point, agreeing or disagreeing with previous insights, or expanding upon a claim.
Frequently Asked Questions about how to write a research paper
🐜 How do you begin to write a research paper?
Before you begin your research paper, be sure that you fully understand the assignment directions. Next, you might consider creating an outline for your paper. When it comes to writing, it’s best to just dive right in!
🦇 What are the steps of writing a research paper?
You can break down a research paper assignment into these steps:
1. Read the assignment guidelines carefully
2. Make a plan for research, writing, and revising
3. Choose a research topic
4. Conduct preliminary research
5. Develop a thesis statement
6. Create an outline
7. Read through your sources
8. Write your first draft
9. Revise your first draft
10. Work on a second draft
11. Revise and proofread your paper
12. Check your citations
🌈 What are the parts of a research paper?
A typical research paper will contain several components that can be written together or separately. These include an introduction, thesis statement, signposts (or forecasting statements), literature review, body (evidence and analysis), and conclusion.
🥙 How many pages should a research paper be?
The length of your research paper will depend on the assignment’s guidelines, the level of the course, and the subject of your research.
💝 What is a research paper?
Similarly to an argumentative essay, a research paper makes an argument about a topic and backs up that claim with evidence. However, a research paper also attempts to say something new about a subject and supports the argument through original research and perspectives.
