HOW TO WRITE A RESEARCH ESSAY --- BY. MWL. JAPHET MASATU.

How to Write a Research Essay

Sample Research Papers

Edited by Ranjuse, Martyn P, Maluniu, Amazon111 and 23 others

The research essay is a common assignment in higher education. The concept of the research essay at first appears simple but it is really not simple at all.The research essay leads you into the works of others and asks you to compare their thoughts with your own. Writing a research paper involves going to source material and synthesizing what you learn from it with your own ideas.Research papers usually begin with a topic or problem that needs to be researched.Here are some easy steps of a research essay.

Edit Steps

1. 1
   Choose a topic. carefully in which you are personally interested.
2. 2
   Find the ideal topic. The ideal topic is one on which you already know something. Its all a matter of judgment.
3. 3
   Choose the format for writing the essay. Any essay must have at least three sections and they include the introduction, the main body and the conclusion. The introduction is very important and determines the success of your essay because it acts as the head of your essay. It is from the introduction that the reader will derive interest or dislike for reading your essay. In addition to this the introduction sets the basis for the rest of your essay and everything else that you write on your essay will be based on the topic that you have indicated on your introduction.
4. 4
   Construct the body of your essay. This should be done in a detailed manner as this forms the basis of your discussion. It is in this section that you will note down all the important points supporting your topic. However, noting them down is not good enough; you need to explain them in details that are clear and concise. Each point must be different from the other but relevant to the topic of discussion.
5. 5
   Submit the paper. Submit a one page essay which states the title of proposed essay,a description of what the essay is to be about and a short list of books the student might have consulted.mention any problems that might have encountered thus far.
6. 6
   Image your topic. Once you have the topic under control, now is the time to use the powers of your intelligence and "image" the topic. You must be able to see your topic in your mind--you must conceive before you can execute. What does the topic look like? Does it interest you? Will it interest anyone else? Can you see certain sections of the essay? Do you have a mental image?
7. 7
   Ask yourself as many questions as you can. Write them down if that helps. Conceptualize the topic as much as possible and the execution of the essay will be that much easier.
8. 8
   Set realistic goals. You also need to look at your topic realistically. If you know very little about your topic, your first task is obviously to learn more.
9. 9
   Focus. The body of the research essay should be your focus. It is generally broken down into various headings that deal with aspects of your topic. It is not easy to decide what headings should be in the body or in what order they should come. You must look at your topic and ask yourself, "What issues must I cover in order to answer my research question?" This may mean that you need a section to describe the controversy in depth, a section to answer the arguments of someone who does not agree with your position, and a section to make a strong case for your position being true.
10. 10
    Conclusion. Summarize your research when writing your conclusion paragraph.

EditSample Research Papers

Sample Scientific Research Paper

Sample Literary Research Paper

Sample Environmental Research Paper

Edit Tips

• Internet resources.
• Begin your research from library. The library is your best resource for finding out information about your proposed topic.
• Never attempt plagiarism. Doing so could not only fail the essay, but also have serious discipline consequences.
• Budget and limit your time.
• Try to locate books that match your topic exactly.

Edit Warnings

• Avoid improper use of sources and plagiarizing.
• Avoid a topic upon which 2000 books and journal articles may have already been written in the past ten years and also in which your instructor is expert or knows well.
• Neither general nor sufficiently narrow writing your research essay.
• Prevent inadequate bibliography.