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10 life hacks to improve research paper writing skills

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Writing research papers isn’t easy. We know this fact firsthand. Essay writing is among the fields that perfectly respond to the improvement efforts, however. For this reason, the presented article is dedicated to ten tips that can improve your academic paper writing. Let’s go!

Tip 1. Read research papers written by scientists

A good idea is to try learning from professional sources. Take a look at the structures that various scholars use. Where do they add a literature review? How do they formulate the hypothesis and the methodology? What style do they use? Just take some highlighting tool (either physical or virtual) and underscore the key moments. In this way, you can start seeing many patterns. Your research paper writing skills will improve as a result. Learning from expert sources is a perfect idea.

Tip 2. Use traditional research paper structures

A good research paper typically contains rather rigid elements. Their structures tend to be, more or less, definite and classical. Generally, you should avoid doing something custom. Not being original in this case is a blessing. So what is a good structure for a research paper assignment? Here’s the list:

  1. Introduction with a clear thesis statement.
  2. Literature review (can be after the research questions/hypothesis description if you offer an overview of the literature as a method);
  3. Research question delineation (can be a part of the introduction);
  4. Description of the hypothesis (can be a part of the introduction);
  5. Methodology section (for instance, meta-analysis of the existing papers);
  6. Results of the research;
  7. Discussion of the results;
  8. Conclusion with thesis restatement, presentation of key preceding findings, and description of upcoming results.

All in all, the process in question appears to be rather simple in the current conditions.

Tip 3. Learn a simple thesis statement structure

Another fast way to improve your writing includes the concentration on thesis statements. Often, if your instructors are overloaded, this section is the only thing they would be reading (alongside with some fragments in the body and conclusions). So, how do you write a good thesis statement that would get you great reviews? The process is rather easy. Here’s the framework that would help you write a quality presentation of key ideas from scratch..

  1. Statement: provide the central claim of your paper. For example, “People like ice cream…”
  2. Because or any other synonym (since or as, for example);
  3. Explanation: justification for your claim. For instance, “it’s tasty and cheap.”

As a result, we get the following thesis statement: “People like ice cream because it’s tasty and cheap.” With this model, a thesis can be written within a minute or two by a good writer. All students have to do is find their key ideas regarding the texts.

Tip 4. Learn the proper paragraph structure

An important aspect to consider in any type of writing is the proper structure of the paragraphs. Here, several tips can be of assistance:

  1. Write a clear topic sentence. What is it? Generally, the idea is to create a sentence that would offer a general outline of the paragraph argument. You never put any citations in this part!
  2. Do not put one source after another. Use the Introduce, Cite, Explain approach. First, describe some study in one sentence. Then, offer your analysis of it. Only then transition to the next one.
  3. Put a concluding sentence that summarizes your key argument and transitions to another issue.

Tip 5. Write outlines of your research papers

A good idea is to also have a clear understanding of your key ideas before writing anything. Good essays from top writers always feature a very thorough approach to the overall content. Just write down the key ideas into the structure we’ve presented above. You can concentrate on providing topic sentences and conclusions combined with short references to the best academic works in between. After that, all that will be necessary is to fill in the ‘skeleton’ of your research paper with more detailed content.

Tip 6. Don’t hesitate to ask for help from others

Today, many companies on the college assistance market provide services aimed at student help. You can buy a cheap and, more importantly, personalized English research paper sample online easily. Becoming a customer of any company in the field is easy: all you have to do is fill in the relevant information about your order. In this regard, we can most definitely recommend something. A perfect website to consider is CustomWritings research paper writing service, a reliable academic paper helper for the most advanced students.

Tip 7. Use proofreading websites

Today, the educational market is full of programs that give you a chance to significantly reduce the number of errors in your writing. One of the most notable services is undoubtedly Grammarly, which provides basic error correction absolutely for free. LanguageTool is also a good option (especially if you have fragments in other languages). Just get your text into one of those frameworks and the paper will immediately get better.

Tip 8. Use anti-repetition software

In their writing and that of others, the author of the presented article has encountered countless problems with repetitiveness. Certain phrases, regrettably, tend to repeat from time to time. While this outcome is acceptable for some simple Internet articles, it can easily disrupt the general flow of a proper research paper. In this light, a good idea is to use a hidden gem of writing, Repetition Detector, which is available both online and offline. Two versions of the program exist today:

  1. Repetition Detector 1: a simple, free, and effective tool for finding repetitive phrases;
  2. Repetition Detector 2: a 7-dollar advanced version for demanding professional writers.

Generally, this service is a perfect lifehack that will make your writing much smoother.

Tip 9. Ask someone to read your paper

Once you have completed research, give it to someone close to you. Who?

  1. Family;
  2. Friends;
  3. Colleagues;
  4. Specialists in other fields.

Why? Because they are not experts. These people can see errors that you cannot perceive due to being limited to certain field-specific stereotypes.

Tip 10. Find citation guidelines on Purdue Owl and use Citation Machine

If you live in the USA, a great idea is to use the Purdue Owl resources to organize citations. This facility provides some of the most easily accessible guides out there. Once you have a good grasp of any outlined format, simply transition to the automatic citation creators, such as Citation Machine. They will do most of the work for you, and the knowledge of proper citation standards will help correct errors.

All in all, many ways exist to hack the research paper writing skills applied in college and university studies.

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About the author

Jike Eric

Jike Eric has completed his degree program in Chemical Engineering. Jike covers Business and Tech news on Insider Paper.







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