A research essay is a prevalent assignment, especially at the high school or college level. It is no different from a research paper, except for a few things. But the effort and time required to write both are the same. Hence most students prefer help from academic writing websites providing custom essay writing services. But if you are amongst the ones who like writing it all by yourself, then you are at the right place.
This article is a step-by-step guide to composing an exemplary research essay from scratch. If you can adhere to the following step, you will surely be able to write outstanding research essays every time you attempt to. So without wasting any more time, let us find out what these steps are –
Understand the Requirements of The Essay
To compose a flawless research essay, you must be clear about the assignment requirements as stated by your instructor. Your first step is reading the instructions and clearing any doubts regarding the assignment. To convey any information blended with your analysis and perspective, you must be clear about what you do you need to work on.
For example, you get a topic such as ‘Ford case study’ for your research essay, but the format of a research essay and a case study is different. In a situation like this, always seek help from your teacher or professors to understand how you should proceed and what you need to include in your assignment.
Pick a Topic Wisely
Usually, your school or university will provide you with a topic. In such cases, make sure that you are clear about it. If needed, you can ask your mentor as often as possible to ensure the given topic.
If you are lucky, you will get the chance to choose a topic as per your niche. Do not be desperate to impress your teacher or professor by working on a complicated topic, as you will most likely make more errors than usual in such cases. Always go for a simple yet interesting topic with enough scope for further study.
For this purpose, you can seek help from websites that help students with their swot and pestle analysis or other help. They will surely help you pick a topic by analysing the scope of its further study.
Locate Your Sources
Once you have selected your topic, the next step is locating the information sources. For this step, you will need to use your research skills to dig out relevant and credible sources to collect enough data for your essay.
The best way to locate credible sources is by going through the reference page of research studies on the same or relatively close topics. In addition, you may find such samples on any website providing customised academic help such as nursing essay writing services company law research essay writing help, etc.
Develop a Central Theme
This is a significant step while writing a research essay. The central theme of your essay is nothing but a thesis or a question around which your research will develop and conclude. It is like a guiding star of your work.
Based on your topic, develop a central question or thesis on which your research will be based. Your main aim of the study should be seeking the answers to the question or developing and establishing the essence of the thesis.
Create an Outline:
Before you start writing your essay, you should always make a rough outline of the same. Then, divide the collected data into subheaders and decide what to put where. If you are unsure about the format of the essay or if there is any specific format mentioned in the assignment’s requirement, ask your educator regarding the same.
Keep interesting data for your introduction, where you will introduce your topic and your central theme.
Divide the body into multiple paragraphs; each paragraph should have a sub-topic or individual claim. Collect enough graphical and numerical data to back the claims. This will not only help you to proceed with your essay systematically but also will make your essay concise and a well-structured, worth-reading essay.
- State your conclusions
The conclusion of your research essay is fundamental. It is not just an ending paragraph with a good ending note; it should be something more fulfilling. It is where all your claims will be summarised and blended with your opinion based on the analysis.
Do not introduce any new sub-topic in this part. Instead, try to draw an underline creatively. Your readers should feel moved and compelled to think about your writing even after the reading has ended. Such firm conviction should be there in your conclusion.
- Cite Your References
This is probably the shortest step yet one of the very crucial ones. You must collect information from various sources to fill your research essay with relevant and interesting data. It is of utmost necessity for you to cite the sources appropriately to avoid the risk of plagiarism.
Note the location and all the necessary details of each collected information source. Then, according to your university standard, add the references at the end of the paper. This will indicate your writing as an original, non-plagiarised and credible research essay.
Proofread Your Writing
Once your writing and compiling are over, it is time to proofread. No matter how good a writer you are, you will need proper proofreading to avoid minor mistakes. You can ask your academic help provider to proofread your write-up, or you can do it yourself by rechecking the information and re-reading the essay a few times.
You might or might not find any mistake in the bare eye, but to be sure, you can use the online grammar checking tools or any such tools. Make the necessary changes, and you are all set to submit your research essay.