Research Paper Outline: Writing Tips For Students

Writing a research paper is a process that needs to be planned. The preparation needed to write a research paper is more important than the actual writing process. That is why you need a research paper outline to help you do the final writing. If you want an easy time writing your paper, it is important to start out with an outline for it. It will help you organize your thoughts in a way that has flow from the beginning to the end.

What is a research paper outline?

Your final paper usually has a list of things that are captured in the entire writing. Prior to getting started, a research paper outline is written to help you. Ideally, a research paper outline is a list of items that are covered during the actual writing of your paper. It compromises of the research paper topic, the introduction and its subsections, the body sections and how the paper will be concluded.

When writing an outline, you must understand that there are different sections that must be captured to make your research paper complete. Therefore, ensure you have allocated enough space and points for each of your sections. It should be balanced in a way that brings out the objectives for each area.

Preparing a Paper Outline

After identifying a topic for study, it is now time to write up an outline of how you will proceed with your writing right from the beginning. It is therefore required of you to have an in-depth study of your area of interest. Make sure you have sufficient information in the area of study. This will give you an easy time when listing your items in the outline.

Prior to writing your outline, identify gaps that exist from past studies. Once you have pointed out these gaps, draft them somewhere for inclusion into your main outline. These are the essence of writing your research paper. For that reason, they will be important in writing your outline and the final copy.

The Research Paper Outline Format

An outline is simply a list of items and thoughts meant to guide you into writing your final research paper. Therefore, it is important to make sure that you have enough details to cover although the points are usually made in brief. Highlight each of the points and provide brief explanations to help you understand what your focus was about.

Get started with the introduction of your topic. Here, write a thesis statement, which is basically the main idea to be captured in your paper. After that, proceed on to provide a brief background of your chosen topic. Next, write the body section covering several thoughts drawn from a review of literature in your area of interest. Lastly, provide a hypothesis that will be discussed and be compared with findings from your research. After that, write a summary and conclusion.

Remember that an outline should be written to help you do the final writing. List down brief points of your paper following this guidance.