Writing a Strong Research Paper

1. See Writing a Strong Essay for help on basic writing for the paper (introduction, conclusion, etc.).

2. Spend a good amount of time searching for information before you start writing your paper. Reading websites and journals about the topic you are going to be writing about will help you decide which specific idea you want to center your paper around.

3. Don’t limit yourself to the first few sources you find. Having a definition from dictionary.com may not be as effective as having a definition from a scholarly source. Avoid citing references from web pages ending in .com and utilize any tools offered by your school to find scholarly references (research papers, articles, professional journals, etc.). Better websites to reference will end in the following: .edu; .org; .gov; or .net.

4. One of the most important factors to remember when writing a research paper is to strictly follow the guidelines of the format that you are told to use in your assignment instructions.

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American Psychological Association (APA) style is used mostly in the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Helpful websites are below:

apastyle.org

owl.english.purdue.edu

Resource for the references page:
www.liunet.edu

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Modern Language Association (MLA) style is used mostly for writing in language and literature classes. Helpful websites are below:

mla.org

owl.english.purdue.edu

Resource for the references page:
honolulu.hawaii.edu

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Chicago Manual of Style has two formats. The notes-bibliography style is used mostly for writing in literature, history and the arts. The author-date style is used mostly for the physical, natural, and social sciences. Helpful websites are below:

www.chicagomanualofstyle.org

owl.english.purdue.edu

Resource for citations:
library.osu.edu

See Titles to learn about the specific guidelines regarding title pages and how to come up with a good title for your research paper.