Writing a Research Paper

We have all written a research paper at some time during our educational lives, and we all know that it can be intimidating, confusing and frustrating at the same time. There is no one-way of writing a research paper, but it does require one thing…Research and a lot of it. But what about after the research? How do you begin writing the thesis or the research paper? Here are some helpful guidelines on writing a research paper:

• Title Page – the title page is the first thing that your subject teacher is going to look at. The title page should be informative and must include the full name and address of the researcher along with the date on which the paper is submitted.
• Abstract – the abstract is a summary of your research; it just gives the gist of the whole research paper in less than 200 words. The reason an abstract is written is so that the reader has an understanding of the study, the approach, method, results and conclusion. The abstract should be written after the completion of the research paper, because how else are you going to mention the results and conclusion? The abstract should be one concise paragraph and must be in past tense.
• Introduction – this is the part where you are introducing your subject and your research method. Some people write an introduction as if they were defending their reason for doing it, which works well enough. It shouldn’t be more than two typed, double-spaced pages. Write the introduction in past tense, also make sure it follows a logical though process and is organized.
• Material and Methods – this is the main focus of your research paper, and there are not specifics on how much you can write in this section. But remember that a research paper looks much more effective when it is crisp. Under your material and methods you can subdivide into as many subsections as you find necessary. This section is the simplest to write but do not be confused with why you are writing this. Keep with the theme of your research objectives, but do not give a verbatim report. This part of the research is best written in third person passive voice, this is because writing it in first person becomes deceptive as it concentrates on the researcher rather than the conclusive results. Remember that while you are being descriptive here, you are not writing an instructive manual. Do not include explanations here and do not give irrelevant data.
• Results – this can be the most difficult part of the research paper, writing the results of your research and findings. The easiest thing to do here is to be short and snappy and use figures and tables when appropriate. Use past tense here and be logical. Refer to figures used clearly.
• Discussion - this section provides an explanation to the results and conclusions. Don’t try to be brief here as this could confuse the reader because this is the real place to give all your explanations. Do not give apparent reasons for your results, this is quite self-explanatory. Instead give explanations that are not so apparent. And remember to refer to any individuals in the research in past tense this includes you as well.