We understand your worries. Research papers and essays are often a large portion of the grade for an entire class, therefore students tend to be afraid of failing them. But how to approach your writing right and lessen the stress level and a fear of failure? We created this guide to help you to make the whole process smoother. Follow our tips step by step to tackle your research essay with ease.
Choose the topic if you were not given one
If you are lucky enough to choose the topic of your research essay, do it attentively. Remember, you will have to spend a certain time writing your essay, that’s why you have to choose the topic you’re interested in. Otherwise, it will be hard for you to research it and reveal it in your writing. Also, keep in mind your topic should not be too general as you will not be able to analyze it deeply and your essay will look a lot like an overview.
Narrow it down and understand its focus
Once you understand what you are interested in and will be excited to explore, make it neat and clear. If it is some historical event, think of writing about its reasons and occasion or outcomes and impact on the development of the society but don’t write about the event in general. Don’t worry if you have trouble narrowing your topic down, as you always can turn to professional writing services for help in its formulation.
Research it and choose the references
If your topic is clear to you, you can start researching it. On this stage, you have to get back to your assignment instructions to check what kind of sources you can use and what is their quantity for fulfilling the task. Then feel free to visit your college library or city library and use the Internet to search for certain references for your paper. Read them and remember about taking notes once you find the thoughts you would like to discuss or argue in your future essay.
Make a thesis statement
As you know what your topic is and what authors have researched it earlier, you can form your thesis. As you already have notes and some quotations from the sources you have chosen for your essay, you know what you want to discuss in your writing and can state in a laconic thesis. Keep in mind that it should give an understanding of the type of essay you have prepared: argumentative, analytical, cause and effect, compare and contrast or expository research paper. A professional essay writing service also can help in writing your thesis statement and selecting sources for your essay.
Make an outline
The stage of creating an outline is no less important in writing a successful research essay than finding sources or writing a thesis. By the time you come here, you have a lot of thoughts to tell but to receive a high grade you should structure them properly. An outline aims to make your essay coherent and help in gradual development of your ideas.
Write body paragraphs
Now you have an outline in your hands, so don’t hesitate to start to write a body of your essay. Stick to what you have decided to write earlier and don’t forget to check with your thesis from time to time to make sure you are not deviating from it while writing.
Work on your introduction
Despite the piece of advice many online writing services give we advise you to write an introduction after your body paragraphs are ready so that you can open your writing in the most specific way that you can. It is easier than writing an introduction first and then proceeding with a body.
Sum your writing up
The only tip we give you regarding your conclusion is to remember that it should not repeat your introduction. Instead, wrap your essay up in such a way that the reader would not have more questions regarding your thesis.
Check your styling
Consulting an essay service will be a good decision at this stage. Standards of formatting change often in academic writing, so make sure you’ve done everything possible to use the up-to-date version of them.
Proofread and revise
Once you finished your writing, have a coffee or go for a walk with your friends to let yourself rest after the work you’ve done. When you get back to your essay, proofread without rush and correct any issues you don’t like. If you are in doubt whether or not to change a sentence, read it out loud. Does it sound awkward? No problem, just revise it. We hope that by now you are not as overwhelmed with your assignment as you were before reading our tips and hints. Let us know if you used any of them and feel free to share this post with your friends so they could enjoy their writing in the future.