With the right strategy, becoming a professional paper writer should be easy. There are basic steps used when researching about a topic, but then the steps can be rearranged if need be. Before you get into steps for research you need to understand what is needed of you. If you have been asked to write a 10,000 words essay, it means you need a wider research compared to writing a 500-word essay. Understand whether your own opinion is needed or if you need facts and even studies to support your article.
Step 1: Identify a Topic
Often the professor or teacher picks a topic for you, but sometimes you will be required to come up with a topic. This is an important step because it will determine how well you write the research.
What factors should one consider when choosing a topic?
- Have an idea of what you are thinking about before you write it down.
- With the basic idea choose a topic which is within the guidelines given in the paper. Some professors have clear guidelines on what and what not to write about. Avoid being penalized because of choosing the wrong topic.
- If possible, choose a topic of personal interest, because you will find it easier and enjoyable to write about.
- Always select topics that you are sure you can find other existing materials which have talked about the same. Find out if it is manageable information from where you can pick points from, if not think of broadening your topic.
- You need to produce original content as you write. Do not be surprised that these articles have been around for long and yet when people search they look for a unique content which has a twist from another.
- If you still do not have a topic hang on to the basic idea you want to write about and maybe by and by the topic will come up. If you have someone you can seek advice from please do so.
Step 2: Pose Relevant Questions about the Topic
Whether you have managed to get a topic or not it’s time to pose questions to help you come up with more accurate content for the article. For example, you want to write on cars, sample questions would be; what are the main parts of a car? Why is this model better than the other? By posing such questions you come up with the main keywords and concepts needed in your research and article.
Step 3: Search for Information
Do a preliminary search to check whether you will have enough materials to use in your article. Depending on the information available, you will find out that you might need to adjust the topic or the focus points of the topic. Also, think about the format of the information needed such as is it a book you are writing or is it a journal. Consider if the information needs to be recent or is it from old to new. For example, if you are writing about computers is it necessarily writing about how the world is slowly moving from desktop computers to using laptops or do you need to focus on a certain model of a laptop and its features.
Step 4: Narrow Your Research
Now that you have a direction of what exactly you want to write about it, time to locate specific material that you will use to write on the article. Do intensive keyword researches and find databases that meet your expectations.
Step 5: Evaluate the Sources
Check whether the materials you have located are credible, do they have an authority and do they have quality information. Especially if you are using the internet resources for your research check for their credibility. Whatever information you put out there it should be credible, reliable and truthful. Check if the information is given from facts or personal opinions.
Now that you have done a good research for your article. It’s time to organize the information and note it down, with these steps that make my essay geek to tackle all the time. Write a rough draft of your article organizing your ideas to create a flawless flow of information. Read through the draft, making changes where necessary, then put down the finalized article.