Introduction

• Done with your preliminary research, we will discuss the different sections of a research paper and how to write each one of them. • But how should it be structured? • What information belongs in each section, and how can you make sure your writing is clear and concise?

What Belongs in a Research Paper

• Title • Abstract • Introduction • Methods • Results • Discussion • References • Tables and figures • Appendix Not every paper will contain all of these sections, papers in the humanities may not need tables and figures.

Introducing Your Topic

• The title must be impactful and summarize the main idea of your research. • An abstract is a one-page (250 words) summary of your research paper. Think of it as a preview. • The introduction to your paper will explain what your topic is and why you believe it is relevant.

• The introduction should include some background to the issue, what your study is addressing, and summarize the literature that has preceded your paper. • Imagine you are drawing a map for the reader as you write your introduction. • Your hypothesis should be understandable and they should be able to follow your reasoning.

Methods and Results

• What did you do and how did you go about it? • How you selected your subjects, and what considerations were taken. • What materials did you use and what was the exact procedure you followed? • What quantitative or qualitative analysis methods did you use?

Write the methods section in sufficient detail so that another researcher can replicate your study or approach to the topic. The results section tells us what you learned from your research. The results section of your experiment will present and explain the results, but not what you think those results mean. That will be saved for the discussion portion.

Discussion, References, Figures, & Appendices

The discussion portion of your paper is critical as it showcases your ability to analyze your results in both the micro and macro frameworks. The references section will list all of the sources you referred to or quoted during your research.

Good to Great!

Review your paper for grammar, spelling, clarity, vocabulary, and other language details. Technology has brought us numerous AI writing tools that can help you. For academics, there are even specialized tools that are specially tailored for highly technical writing.

Whether or not you have a figures section will depend on the citation style you are following. Finally, if you have any supplemental information that is not critical to understanding your study, you can include it in the appendix. Like programming code, details of a secondary analysis that you performed, or anything else.

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