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The Five Commandments of Writing Research Papers

By : sj_overridex@yahoo.com


1. Identify a topic for Research Paper.
At the beginning of a course, you will probably not know enough about the major scholarly topics that are of most importance in the field, the topics that are most well-covered in the secondary literature or the topics that have already had the life beaten out of them by successive generations of writers. You should start by doing some general reading in the field. If nothing else, start with the Encyclopedia Britannica, a wonderful but sadly neglected resource. That will assist you identify a Research Paper Topic.

2. Clear research question for Research Paper.
A research question, at least in the social sciences, begins with the word why or how. Think of it as a puzzle: Why did a particular political or social event turn out as it did and not some other way? Why does a particular pattern exist in social life? Why does a specific aspect of politics work as it does? How has a social or political phenomenon changed from one period to another? The question can be general or particular. Why have some countries been more successful in the transition from Communism than others? Why did the Labour Party win the last British general election? How have conceptions of race changed in the US since the 1960s? How do different electoral systems affect the behavior of political parties? The point is that you should attempt to identify either: novel trends, developments or outcomes in social life that are not readily apparent (the how questions), or the causes of a particular event or general trend (the why questions).

3. Do Real research for Research Paper.
Real research? means something other than reading secondary sources in English or pulling information off the Internet. Real research means using primary sources. What counts as a primary source, though, depends on what kind of question you are trying to answer.

4. Make an argument in your Research Paper.
Unfortunately, many undergraduate research papers are really no more than glorified book reports. You know the drill: Check out ten books (in English) from the library, skim through three of them, note down a few facts or mark some pages, combine the information in your own words, and there you have it.
This will not do. Your paper must not only assemble evidence'facts about the world'but it must weave together these facts so that they form an argument that answers the research question. There are no once-and-for-all answers in any scholarly field, but there are better and worse arguments. The better ones have powerful evidence based on reliable sources, are ordered and logical in the presentation of evidence, and reach a clear and focused conclusion that answers the question posed at the beginning of the paper.

5. Write well in your Research Paper.
Writing well means presenting your argument and evidence in a clear, logical, and creative way. An fascinating argument cloaked in impenetrable prose is of no use to anyone. Sources must be accurately and adequately cited in footnotes, endnotes or in-text notes using a recognized citation style. The writing style must be formal and serious. Tables, graphs or other illustrations should be included if they support your overall thesis.

Conclusion
These are only a few guidelines on how to write research papers. You will no doubt develop your own styles, rules, and techniques for doing research, making arguments, and presenting the results of your work. But if you follow the commandments above, you will be well on your way to writing worthy research papers'and hopefully learn something about an necessary political or social topic along the way.


John Overridex, has been out there in the field of education for the past 15 years and has written paper for firms like research paper, term paper,College essay paper and Thesis Paperand other Term Paper Writing Service.
Author has been offering his service for writing the custom research paper and Custom term paper and Custom Thesis Paper.

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Keywords:

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