8 IMPORTANT

STEPS FOR
WRITING A
RESEARCH PAPER

WHY WRITING A RESEARCH

PAPER DOES NOT COME
NATURALLY ?

Involves excessive technical language usage

Concise writing for a scientific audience is required

A scholarly paper follows a standard form and structure

of the targeted Journal/Publication/Style Guide

Different papers have different forms (Example- A case

study is presented in a form different from a survey
paper)

Follows a structure that remains the same even if there

is a change in the paper form (Structure of a research
paper comprises three core parts: introduction, body,
and discussion)

IS RESEARCH PAPER ALL ABOUT STATING LONG

LISTS OF FACTS OR EXPLAINING THE TOPIC AT
HAND?

WHAT IS RESEARCH PAPER

ALL ABOUT?

A research paper gives a perspective or makes an

argument that is important to the chosen area of
research, and summarizes the answers to your
research questions.

8 IMPORTANT STEPS OF
WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER
Step 1: Choose a topic
Step 2: Find information
Step 3: State your hypothesis
Step 4: Make a temporary outline
Step 5: Organize your thoughts
Step 6: Write down your first draft
Step 7: Revise your draft
Step 8: Type your final draft

STEP 1: CHOOSE A TOPIC

Good Research Topic fulfils the FINER criteria
Feasible (answerable with a robust method)
Interesting
Novel
Ethical
Relevant

STEP 2: FIND INFORMATION

Look for information online as well as printed
materials to make articles more evidencebased.
Critically read and evaluate, and save the
source and the content of any relevant
information.
Remember that an article without
bibliographical information is useless because
you cannot cite its source.

STEP 3: STATE YOUR

HYPOTHESIS
Try and write your thesis statement down in
one sentence because the main portion of your
essay will include arguments to support and
defend this belief.

STEP 4: MAKE A TEMPORARY

OUTLINE
An outline will help you to consider your whole
topic carefully and to organize it logically before
you start writing.

STEP 5: ORGANIZE YOUR

THOUGHTS
Effective communication of your thoughts,
ideas, insights, and research finding to others
requires you to organize, analyze, synthesize,
and digest the gathered information.
Organize your ideas in a linear, understandable
format and include only relevant information.
Use your own words and document all ideas
borrowed or quoted to avoid plagiarism.

STEP 6: WRITE DOWN YOUR

FIRST DRAFT

STEP 7: REVISE YOUR DRAFT

CHECKLIST ONE:
1. Is my thesis statement concise and clear?
2. Did I follow my outline? Did I miss anything?
3. Are my arguments presented in a logical
sequence?
4. Are all sources properly cited to ensure that
I am not plagiarizing?
5. Have I proved my thesis with strong
supporting arguments?
6. Have I made my intentions and points clear

STEP 7: REVISE YOUR DRAFT

CHECKLIST TWO:
1. Did I begin each paragraph with a proper topic
sentence?
2. Have I supported my arguments with
documented proof or examples?
3. Any run-on or unfinished sentences?
4. Any unnecessary or repetitious words?
5. Varying lengths of sentences?
6. Does one paragraph or idea flow smoothly into
the next?
7. Any spelling or grammatical errors?

STEP 7: REVISE YOUR DRAFT

8. Quotes accurate in source, spelling, and
punctuation?
9. Are all my citations accurate and in the correct
format?
10. Did I avoid using contractions? Use "cannot"
instead of "can't", "do not" instead of "don't"?
11. Did I use third person as much as possible? Avoid
using phrases such as "I think", "I guess", "I suppose
12. Have I made my points clear and interesting but
remained objective?
13. Did I leave a sense of completion for my reader(s)
at the end of the paper?

STEP 8: TYPE YOUR FINAL

DRAFT
Manuscripts that are successfully submitted to a journal
for publication have three main components:
(1) A fresh robust idea
(2) Efficient execution of the work
(3) Systematic presentation of the work
It is important to present your work in a research paper
format.
TO KNOW WHAT A RESEARCH PAPER FORMAT
INCLUDES DOWNLOAD A FREE COPY OF THE
RESEARCH PAPER FORMAT
VISIT www.editingindia.com/researchpaperformat

THANK YOU