Research papers are easier to write than a basic essay. Do you find that a surprising statement to be made by an English professor? Well they are! Do you know why? Because you are not by yourself all alone out there trying to walk a tightrope, uncertain of all your own insights—instead you have the proof and opinions of all kinds or researchers and accomplished individuals in their field to back up all of your assertions.
I have several tricks to writing great research papers which will help you not only ace a paper but to get an A+ as well.
I don’t mean the night before. I mean at least two weeks before it is due. You will not have time to work on it every day if you are taking lots of classes and nobody wants to do the same thing every day anyway. You write much better when you have time to step away from the paper and let is “simmer” as I call it. Plus, if the writing really isn’t coming one day you know you can go watch TV and it won’t mean an F on the paper. It’s a way of assuring yourself “play days.”
Get an expandable folder and every single time you print off a journal article or research of any kind, take the time to go back to the citation and click PRINT—STAPLE this firmly to the document so you won’t be in a bad situation the night before it’s due if you cannot remember where you got the document.
Also, citations on journal articles list everything but ONE thing—they do not list the database of where you got the paper such as Ebscohost—make sure to note on the print out what your database is quickly—whether its Ebscohost, Lexus Nexis, etcetera.
One hallmark of a skilled research writer is that they know how to weave in their research like a true scholar. Try signal phrases such as “As Smith notes in his article ‘Legal Databases,’ when consulting any legal document one should . . . “ (proper citation). Smith adds that “quote” (proper citation).
That’s how the scholars do it.