User talk:Partha 66

Top 10 mistakes when writing a research paper'Partha 66 (talk) 18:21, 31 October 2011 (UTC) Avoid these common research paper blunders Fall has arrived and that means writing a research paper is in season again. Don’t sell yourself short; you’ve got the potential to write an awesome research paper worthy of an “A.” However, it’s easy to make simple mistakes when you’re given such a large project. Prevent some very common errors by avoiding these research paper writing blunders and it will be smooth sailing this semester.

1) Letting your deadline slip You never mean to do it, but somehow deadlines often creep up out of nowhere. For big research papers, try making a timeline in your planner. Schedule dates that you’d like to have certain tasks completed (such as your outline and first draft) and maintain your progress. Research Paper Writing Tips suggests “if you are getting 3 months for your research paper, then permit the first 10 to 15 days for managing your thesis statement, the next 15 days for collecting the useful resources to hold up your thesis and the following days for your writing and editing process.” Making strides ahead of time will keep the stress and late-nights to a minimum when the turn-in date draws near.

2) Being afraid to ask for help Everyone struggles with research paper writing now and again. Your professors, advisors, and librarians want you to succeed and, more than likely, they will all be eager to help you or give advice where they can. Don’t hesitate to contact your professor if you’re not sure how to get started or how to progress with your paper; they’re there to help you. Schedule a meeting and bring along some of the work you’ve done so far. The book How To Research discusses “chunking.” “You may be able to divide some of your research tasks up into small chunks which can be tackled whenever you have a little spare time. For example, if you take photocopies of materials you need to read.” Be sure to not wait until the last minute to ask for help with things you should have begun long ago, though.

3) Making your topic too broad Once you start developing ideas for your research paper, try to narrow your focus down even further. Papers that lack focus only skim the surface of a number of concepts, but never delve into the details. Challenge yourself to pick one very specific thesis and research as much as possible to inspire you to flush out your ideas as best as you can. The article “Tips for determining the quality of your research paper” says that the “thesis has to be clear and precise. The thesis should serve two purposes, they should guide you while you write and guide the readers when they read. The thesis should have a strong argument based on a debatable claim.”

4) Skimping on the sources Providing credible sources and a lot of examples is a great way to let your professor know you’ve performed thorough research and really understand the topic. An article called “The Quick Fix: The Research Paper Jigsaw Puzzle” states that relating good sources should be like assembling a puzzle and that students should learn the “art of ‘borrowing’ specific ideas from obliquely related sources to create new observations of their own.” (All while properly citing them, of course.) Questia can help you find trustworthy, relevant articles to help you research your topic and support your claims within your paper.

5) Getting unorganized Doing great research may not assure you a great research paper if you can’t keep your material organized enough to call upon it later. Questia’s personal workspace has tools right on the website that allow you to make personal files to store all of your relevant articles in. You can even highlight the most important parts of the source, make personal notes in the margins, and automatically create your bibliography—all right on your computer. It is also possible to become unorganized within your very paper. Collegeessaytips.org suggests you ask yourself the following questions to keep your focus: •	Did I use my outline? •	Is there anything that I missed? •	Is there sense to my arguments? •	Did I put everything in my own words? •	Do my paragraphs connect and flow from one to the other? •	Does my conclusion tie the entire paper together?

6) Being Sneaky Changing the margins? Adjusting the line spacing? Altering the font size ever so slightly? Resist the temptation to do this. When your professor sets a page length it isn’t because they enjoy reading that specific page length in particular. It is because your professor knows that page requirement is the amount of space that it will take to develop your topic to the appropriate amount and earn the good grade you deserve. Following the advice in this article will assure that you don’t need to try any of those tricks.

7) Adding “Fluff” Sometimes meeting that page length requirement can be difficult when you feel as though you’ve run out of things to say. Professors know fluff when they see it. They know you’ve chosen to ramble on to fill the page requirement rather than do more research. Your introduction and your conclusion should not generally exceed one page unless your paper is extremely long. If you hit a wall, consider asking your professor for advice on where else you might go with this topic or suggestions for further reading.

8) Not having a friend read it over Sometimes after you’ve spent so many hours and days on a project, your exhausted eyes can start to miss things. Concepts that may make sense to you after doing all your research may not make sense to anyone else. Have someone else do a read-through of your paper, even if it’s a quick one, to make sure that your paragraphs are coherent and you haven’t made any obvious mistakes. Also, consider visiting your school’s Writing Center for further help if they offer one. The more reviews, the better.

9) Trusting the computer to spell-check Just because you’ve managed to avoid those red squiggles while typing your research paper doesn’t mean your paper is error-free. Your computer won’t always let you know when you’ve used the wrong form of a word such as “you’re” or “their” but your professor certainly will. Carefully read over your entire paper when you’ve finished to be sure you’ve avoided simple spelling and grammar mistakes. Professors hate reading silly mistakes as much as you hate making them.

10) Forgetting finishing touches Often for big projects such as a research paper, professors will have very specific guidelines as to how they would like it submitted to them. Make sure your name, class, and date are on it and don’t forget the staple! If your professor requested a cover page, binder, etc., don’t forget to get everything assembled ahead of time. You don’t want to lose points on presentation after working so hard on the research. When it comes down to it, you know you are fully capable of writing a research paper worthy of an “A.” What you need to do is avoid these common mistakes and give yourself enough time to complete the assignment to the best of your ability. These back to school tips will help you learn how to write a research paper and feel confident doing so. Pace yourself and let Questia help you discover reliable information along the way.