What is the most difficult part of a research paper? It is quite a disputable question for a lot of students. For some of them, the most difficult part is the introduction, while for others it is the research process itself. Many students say that the hardest part is to start doing something at all.
But practice shows that the most difficult parts of any research paper are those which seem to be very easy at the very beginning. Which one exactly? Let’s find out. In case our article won’t be enough, you can always get help from Edubirdie which is a professional writing service for students.
How to Handle a Research Paper
The main goal of a research paper is to communicate the research, which has been done by a student. You have to realize that writing is a part of a research paper too. Don’t consider it to be a table of data gathered during a research. Writing a paper is an integral part of the research. So, don’t divide those two processes.
Since you have already started a project, what kind of problems can you face next?
- What to do if you don’t know what to begin with? A lot of students get stuck at the very beginning of the writing process. They simply can’t find a perfect word to start with. What can we recommend? Don’t look for that perfect word. Just start writing. Your paper won’t be perfect immediately. Even professional authors rewrite what they have written for a couple of times before they find that perfect word or idea. You have to do this as well. Have you ever heard about brainstorming? Generate your ideas without evaluating how interesting or boring they are. You have just to write at least something to understand which direction exactly to move in with your paper;
- Don’t use the Internet immediately. The bad idea is to start with someone else’s ideas, which you’ve found online or in the books. Think on your own what you want your paper to accomplish. Write down your personal opinion on the problem you’re going to write about and only then look at what other scientists have written about it too. Have a clear focus what you’re going to prove with your future research;
- Library over the Internet. Even if you think that the Internet has the access to a higher number of useful sources than any library in the world, choose the library over Google. In case you can’t find a proper book in the library, check the online option. Why don’t we recommend going to Wikipedia first? If you want your paper to be a unique and authentic work, which absolutely deserves A+, you have to check the library first;
- Don’t focus on the books only. Take any kind of source, which may help you with a paper – a scientific article, journal, official document, statistics, etc. Additionally, you can interview the experts in the field, which you’re writing in. It will be a small bonus for your paper;
- Collect the figures. A research paper is not only about the words. Collect latest figures and make up a table from them to insert it in your writing and make it look like a real research. Keep in mind, you have to check the figures very carefully, trying to find only the latest information;
- Plagiarism. The ability to cite sources correctly will help you to avoid the problem of plagiarism. Many students face plagiarism only because they don’t know how to insert citations in their work correctly. So, always read the requirements to your paper in advance.
That’s all for a college research paper. Of course, there are a lot of minor problems students face when writing a paper, but the ones we’ve discussed above are one of the most popular issues among the students of all ages and disciplines. Remember that writing a research paper is how you develop the idea in the first place. So, find that main idea of your paper and work on it during the whole writing process.