Writing a research essay on a given topic is one of the most common home assignments at school, college, or university. If you want to submit a remarkable piece of writing, you should know about the primary writing stages. Follow easy steps presented below to compose a good piece of writing.
- The first step is to choose a cognitive and interesting topic. If you select the one you know much about, it will make the research procedure easier since you will know where and what to find.
- Proceed with research. Gather relevant materials to support your topic.
- Work on an outline.
- Create the first draft of your paper, no matter what research essay topics you explore.
- Revise your draft and work on the final version.
If you do not know how to write a research essay, you should always follow steps discussed above. Remember that teachers do not like when students go around the bush or present generalizations instead of discussing the subject matter as requested. If you do not want to get a poor grade or to be asked to revise your paper to get the passing score, please check our writing rules to succeed in academic writing.
The Focus of Your Essay
In many cases, professors assign the same topic to many students. However, if the choice of topic is up to you, you should choose something narrow enough to prove that your research essay has a clear focus. At the same time, your topic should be a little bit broad, which will give you a chance to find suitable materials during the research procedure. You have to find out what interests you the most because only enthusiasm can make you write a good paper. If you think that your topic is boring, you will never dedicate all your strengths to writing a compelling text. If you have already chosen your topic, go ahead and work on the sketch of your future paper.
For instance, research essays with such topics are deemed to failure “Immigration in the US” or “Religions in the US.” These are too broad topics and there won’t be any clear focus of what you want to explore as they encompass too many aspects. It is preferable to choose a topic “Immigrants from the Middle East in the beginning of 19th century.” It will give you higher chances to analyze the topic to the full and present only relevant ideas.
Always create a research essay outline before composing your paper. It will save much time during the writing process because you will never experience issues with the production of relevant ideas. The outline will guide you in the right directions and give a hint what ideas should be discussed in each paper part. Essay writing can be compared with retelling the story. However, if you have to submit a research essay, your task not only to summarize what you have found, but investigate and analyze the data. While doing the research, focus on credible sources (both printed and electronic ones).
Do not try to explore many issues and raise a couple of research questions in one essay. Irrespective of what research essay topics you explore, the key to success is clarity and coherence in writing. If the reader clearly sees your standpoint and comprehends major arguments, then you are on the right track. Providing too many examples will also confuse the reader, who might think that you are incapable of introducing your personal opinions.
Every essay should include the following components:
- Introduction
- Main body
- Conclusion.
