7 Ways to Improve Your Research Paper

The task of writing a research paper can be formidable. Whether you're an academic novice, writing for the first time, or someone attempting to write a research paper about a challenging topic, odds are that you're going to want to make that piece the best it can possibly be. In this article, we look at seven sure ways to achieve higher quality in your writing of a research paper. Some students consider it reasonable to work with an Academized research paper writer during this process. Their services can provide personalized guidance on research methods, paper structure, and academic writing. They can help students develop strategies to tackle complex research topics efficiently.

Start with a Strong Thesis Statement

This magic sentence (or short paragraph) is also the foundation of a strong research paper: if your readers don’t know exactly where they are, they’ll never know when they’ve arrived, so a good thesis statement identifies the argument or point of your paper. It tells your readers where they are: here’s what you can expect to read about.

As a start, ask yourself what specific point you would like your research to make. Then you need a thesis that is neither too vague nor overly broad. Specifically, find something you can say pretty definitively about your topic and make a comment about that. Technically, the thesis must be debatable – meaning that you are stating something that someone might reasonably disagree with.

Even as you investigate and write, it might be that your thesis changes. That’s fine: it probably will, and as it does it will likely become stronger. Don’t be afraid to revise your thesis statement.

Conduct Thorough Research

The quality of your research paper will depend primarily on the number and depth of your sources. Collect as many resources as possible at this point. Some good options are scholarly journals, specialized websites, academic books and long-term primary sources, like recorded oral interviews or old newspaper articles. Tap into your university library's resources including online library catalogs and databases as well as academic search engines to find useful resources. Many students consult Academized reviews for recommendations on the most reliable academic writing services and search strategies for their specific field of study.

Take notes while you are doing your research and keep them clearly organized. This will help you not only to understand what you are reading, but also to keep the sources straight when it comes time to write and cite them properly. Be careful to note both evidence that supports your thesis and the opposing ideas of others; it is always a powerful move to deal with contradictory opinions in the conclusion of your paper. This carefully considered discussion of counterarguments will show that you know what you are writing about, thereby enhancing the force of your own argument.

You have a good chance of getting a better source if you put it that way than if you just give the assignment and hope they can find it. Also tell your students that not all sources are equal. If their assignment allows, encourage them to use only peer-reviewed academic journals and books– those copyrighted by an expert in the field of which that person has some well-deserved prestige and respect. If they have to use an article from the web, that’s fine. But they should tell you where it came from. Is there any information about the author or publisher? Are there citations that can also indicate its quality? What does the URL of the website indicate (.edu or .gov are generally far more acceptable domains than .com when you’re doing academic research on the web)?

Organize Your Ideas Effectively

A well-organized paper is easier to read and comprehend. Draft an outline to see how your paper can be broken up into appropriate chunks. Typically, the research paper consists of an introduction, several body paragraphs and a conclusion. The body of your paper should be organized into clear paragraphs. Each paragraph should deal with one related point of your argument.

Where you can, start your paragraphs with topic sentences that preview the main idea that follows – it makes it easier for your readers to track the direction your thought is taking, and the logical connections between each different point and your wider thesis. Make sure that the ideas in each paragraph lead logically on from those in the one preceding it, and use transition sentences in between different sections to make the ideas flow more smoothly.

When you have particularly long sections in your paper, you can bold the subheading to make this look a bit less intimidating to readers, and more fun to plunge into. It also helps your audience navigate your argument. Just make sure the subheading isn’t part of your paper itself, first of all, and secondly that your assignment or your instructor doesn’t say not to use them for your particular paper.

Write Clear and Concise Prose

The way your ideas are conveyed is almost as important as the ideas being expressed. Try to be clear and concise when writing. Don’t use words or sentence structures that are unnecessarily complex or confusing to your readers, and don’t throw in complex jargon. Instead, explain things in simple, direct words.

Watch your sentence length. Vary the length and shape of your sentences. There’s nothing wrong with using longer, more complicated sentences from time to time; they can be really effective. But try to balance these out with shorter, more direct statements. This will help to keep your writing interesting and make your claims more forceful.

You need to banish the redundant. Each sentence should advance your argument. If you find yourself repeating yourself, ask yourself why. Is repetition necessary? Maybe not. Maybe by saying it less wordily, your argument is stronger.

Use Active Voice and Strong Verbs

Probably the best way to add clarity and force to what you write is to use the active voice. Sentences in the active voice sound stronger and carry more impact. It is always better in clear writing to say ‘The researchers conducted the experiment’ than ‘The experiment was conducted by the researchers’.

Along with your active voice, consider your verbs. Strong, precise verbs make your writing better by making it clearer: Rather than reaching with prosaic verbs of ‘being’, ‘doing’, or ‘having’ for some vague synonym or weak default verb, such as the verb to be, find verbs with greater accuracy and force.

Here's a table comparing weak verb choices with stronger alternatives:

Using more precise and active language can significantly enhance the clarity and impact of your research paper.

Revise and Edit Thoroughly

Your initial effort at a research paper is just a first draft. In order to produce a quality final performance, you will need to revise and edit what you’ve written. So, after you complete your first draft, take a break.

When revising, maintain this high-level view. Does your paper support your thesis? Have you structured your arguments in a strong, logical order? Do your claims have enough support? Look for ways to improve your arguments and iron out the weak points.

Following, tackle the larger issues, such as: • grammar, spelling, punctuation and citations• sentence structure; varying your sentence complexity and ridding the piece of awkward sentences and excessive jargon• word choice and language; achieving a balance of elegant and formal language while retaining descriptive words• formatting, including footnotes and tablesOnce you’ve edited your sentences and polished your paper to its best ability, it’s time to attack the smaller leftover items on your checklist.

Ask someone else – a peer, a mentor, even someone you trust to catch your mistakes – to review your paper. Someone else’s perspective might notice issues that you missed. Does your university provide a writing center? Seek the services available to you. Perhaps your university has a ‘Writing Across the Curriculum’ requirement. Plan your schedule to take advantage of this early. It will help you build strong writing skills.

Cite Your Sources Properly

Proper citation is an essential practice in academic writing. Apart from acknowledging the original authors who originally had the ideas that you’re using, it also helps your readers find your references and check them for themselves. Failure to cite your sources accurately will result in allegations of plagiarism which may have dire consequences in the academic world.

Make sure you become familiar with the citation style you use; different citation styles require different methods, so make sure you use APA (American Psychological Association), MLA (Modern Language Association), or Chicago citations correctly. These styles differ in ‘parenthetical citation’ as well as how the reference list or bibliography is organized.

Citation management software such as the tools built into word processing programs or standalone applications like Zotero or Mendeley can be lifesavers in ensuring that you have tracked your sources and are able to create a bibliography in the correct citation style, but always check their output against your style guide to make sure they are doing it correctly.

Be sure you cite your quotes and statistics. If you paraphrase an idea or similar point, cite that too: the more the better. If you aren’t sure if something should be cited, then cite – you don’t want to come up short.

Conclusion

Be assured that becoming a good academic writer is a learned process and that it takes time and practice to get it right. If you’re writing your first few papers, don’t expect them to be perfect. But each paper – from the first to the last – is an opportunity to become more proficient and to develop your voice as a scholar and writer. Keep using your professors, writing centres and peer review groups to get your work better.

You will probably find that your use of these strategies feels more natural and easier as you put them to use on your research papers in the coming months. Your papers will improve, your arguments will become more convincing, your research will grow in complexity. You will carry these skills with you as you venture further into an academic career – and any professional career that values close research and clear writing.

Indeed, the purpose of a research paper, whatever its specific topic, is to make a contribution to a conversation going on in a discipline. So the more you learn to do research well and the more you learn to communicate effectively, the more accessible the world of deep and sophisticated thought will be to you. The more adept you become at asking questions and searching for answers in books and articles not the most common, as well as in those that are, the more confident you will be in exploring any area of human experience. Whether your research leads you to write about a historical development, a chemical principle, a literary work or any other topic, you will find that these are the skills you will need to create research papers that are well argued, informative, lively and academically sound.