Writing An A+ Research Paper

Any work you do on your research paper outline needs to start with your thesis.

Make sure that your research paper outline is arguing your thesis.

Your argument may have changed as you wrote the outline.

If you do the research paper outline well, you will have done the bulk of the work and the next step will be so much easier!

Keep in mind these 3 components if you would like to learn how to write a thesis for a research paper.

This post is part of The Cafe Scholar’s Guide to Writing Awesome Research Papers.

Before you get started on your outline, make sure to check out the posts on planning your research paper and finding great academic sources! That just means that I may receive a small commission if you buy a product linked on this page.The outline is going to help you structure your paper in a way that makes sense and then pull together your research to fill in the details.A good research paper outline will save you time writing your paper, and it will help you create a focused, well-supported argument and a stronger paper.I usually add a category for background information, which won’t be listed out in my thesis but will come right after the introduction.How much background information will depend on the length of your paper and the type of paper.Finally, I branch out from each subcategory with quick notes about a few sources I might use for that subcategory.Next, on my mind map I number each of the categories based on the order I think I want to put them in.If so, that’s fine, but you just need to revise your thesis now that you have done all the research and prepared everything. What that means is that your paper is basically written, in bullet point form. Comment below and let us know what research paper you’re working on, and what you think your thesis and some of your categories might be!When it comes time to writing the paper itself, all you will need to do is fill it in by turning those outlined points and quotes into cohesive paragraphs. When you do this, include the full quote even if you think you will paraphrase it in the paper.That way, when you go to write the paper itself, if you decide to use the actual quote instead of a paraphrase, you have it right there and don’t have to go find it again.