How to Write a Research Paper Outline A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Write a Research Paper Outline: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide Writing a research paper outline is a rather challenging but usual part of student’s life. Every student has to spend a lot of time in order to create a successful well thought out research paper. A research paper has to reflect your position on the topic and persuade the readers in its accuracy and truthfulness. A research paper outline is a helpful point-by-point plan, which makes your research paper writing easier. However, before proceeding to an outline you will have to take some pre-writing steps. They will be helpful in composing the best quality outline and, as a result, a great academic work. Before writing an research paper outline: Select an appropriate topic. Selecting a topic is a crucial factor for a successful research paper. Whether you select a topic yourself or not, it should work to your strengths and not weaknesses. An appropriate topic should be interesting to you and appeal to or provoke readers. As to choosing the best essay topics  for your research paper, we have professional writers, who offer personalized help or even  essay writing service  if you need it. State your argument. After selecting a topic, take some time to figure out what kind of argument you want to support. You need to understand why it is important to you and why it might be important to others. Ask yourself – what is the aim of my thesis statement? Can it provoke a meaningful discussion that might change the world? How can I build a research paper on this argument? As soon as you have answers for these questions, you are almost ready to create a good outline for a successful research paper. Define the audience. Of course, most of the time only your professor will read a research paper you have created. However, you need to understand readers of your paper. Will the professor support your argument or will he have a counterargument? When defining your audience, you will comprehend what type of language is better to use: will the use of jargon be appropriate or is it better to stick with formal language? The overall style and tone of your research paper depend on the audience it is aimed at. Conduct a research. There is no research paper without proper and thorough research. You will have to investigate a lot of resources in order to find effective evidence to support your argument. Firstly, you will have to find general information to support your thesis statement, then you will have to dig deeper. You will have to be aware of any counter arguments and evidence supporting them. This way you will master the topic and comprehend the pitfalls of your thesis statement better. Organize references. References are the evidence of each of your arguments and the research you have conducted. You should prioritize them according to the importance and relevance to your thesis statement. Writing a good research paper outline When you are finished with pre-writing activities, created a good research paper topic, you are more than ready to make an effective research paper outline. An outline is a basement of your research paper from which you build up the whole paper. Each outline consists of three main parts the Introduction, the Body, and the Conclusion. For a successful and high-quality research paper, however, the more detailed outline you use the better. The simplest diagram of an outline looks like this: Introduction Hook Define the audience. Thesis statement. Body An argument to support the thesis. An argument to support the thesis. An argument to support the thesis. Conclusion Summary of arguments. Call to action. A  research paper outline: step-by-step guide Introduction The introduction is an important part of every academic work. It determines whether a reader is going to continue with your paper or just give it a rest. An introduction should be intriguing, engaging, and informative, although without giving away too much. There are three main points that make an impressive Introduction: Hook. Depending on the overall volume of your research paper, a hook can be from one to five sentences long. This the part that persuades readers to read the paper. A hook should be interesting and provoking – you need your readers to want to read your research paper. Define the audience. In your pre-writing activities, you had to define the audience for yourself – you had to understand who would be interested in reading your paper. Here, however, you need to explain to your reader why she or he is your target audience. The Introduction and the whole text, for that matter, should be relatable. Thesis statement. Here you state your argument. You make a clear point about what you are going to discuss and why is it important. Your thesis statement should be clear and simple but never dull. You want the readers to read your paper especially after the research you have conducted and materials you have gone through. Body The Body is the main part of the research paper outline you are writing. It has no volume limitation, as it is the biggest and main section of the paper. The quantity of paragraphs for this part depends on overall requested volume of the research paper: the more arguments you have to support the bigger Body section there should be. All the evidence you have found during the research should go here. You state each idea and provide efficient evidence. Do not state something you have no ways of proving! Each statement you give has to be backed up with the proof. Do not forget about valid references and proper citation according to the required paper format. You can mention counterarguments to your ideas and provide evidence why they are not correct. Opposing facts prove your deep knowledge on the topic and that you have really conducted a thorough research. This will show your commitment to the challenging tasks and create quite an impressive academic reputation. Do not forget about the style and the tone of your research paper, which you have stated in the introduction. The paper should be consistent from the beginning to the very end. The manner, pattern, and techniques should be the same throughout the paper. However, remember to be creative and use various language techniques to make your paper interesting to read. Take into consideration that there is a high chance that your professor knows everything about the subject. Nonetheless, your paper needs to be addressed to the reader unfamiliar with the topic and the thesis statement of your choice. This again will show your deep knowledge on the matter. Be sure to explain everything clearly without sounding too dull in the process. Stuck on Your Research Paper Outline? Check out these research paper example. Yes! Show me examples .popup_essay{ text-align: center; border-top: 1px solid lightgrey; border-bottom: 1px solid lightgrey; } .popup_essay h3{ letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin-bottom: 0; } .popup_essay p{ font-style: italic; letter-spacing: 0.3px; color: grey; font-weight: normal; font-size: 17px; margin: 15px 0; } .post-page-wrapper .post__wrapper .post__content .popup_essay a { background-color: #4CAF50 ; border: none; color: white; padding: 13px 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; display: block; font-size: 16px; width: 210px; margin: 0 auto 15px auto; letter-spacing: 0.3px; } .post-page-wrapper .post__wrapper .post__content .popup_essay a:hover{ text-decoration: none; } Conclusion The conclusive part of the research paper has to summarize the arguments so the readers digest the main idea and remember it for a long time. The conclusion should not be long but should contain all the important parts to make the whole paper sink into readers’ memory. Summary of arguments. In this short section, you again state your strongest arguments. There is no need to provide a deep explanation of your ideas or evidence to each of them. Nonetheless, you will have to give a general overview of the arguments you used in the research paper. Call to action. This is the very end of your research paper and it should provoke your readers. Whether it is a call to a discussion or to an action, you need to choose what your final message to readers should be. Connect with a professional writer in 5 simple steps. Start now Please provide as many details about your writingstruggle as possible. Next What's the area of study of your paper? English Business and Entrepreneurship Nursing History African-American Studies Accounting Anthropology Architecture Art, Theatre and Film Biology Business and Entrepreneurship Chemistry Communication Strategies Computer Science Criminology Economics Education English Engineering Environmental Issues Ethics Finance Geography Healthcare History International and Public Relations Law and Legal Issues Linguistics Literature Management Marketing Mathematics Music Nursing Nutrition Other Philosophy Physics Political Science Psychology Religion and Theology Sociology Sport Technology Tourism Next How many pages do you need? Next When is it due? 01 AM 02 AM 03 AM 04 AM 05 AM 06 AM 07 AM 08 AM 09 AM 10 AM 11 AM 12 AM 01 PM 02 PM 03 PM 04 PM 05 PM 06 PM 07 PM 08 PM 09 PM 10 PM 11 PM 12 PM Next What's your e-mail? Next Done! Have problems with your essay? Ask us write my essay online,  get help from real pros, and boost your grades fast and easily! Remember that the main purpose of the research paper is to show your abilities to work by yourself and demonstrate the range of your knowledge on various topics. Creating a good outline is essential in a further composing of your research paper. Make sure to take notes when conducting a research, do not be afraid to ask for assistance and read additional resources.