Pending a coherent set of research paper guidelines to follow and depending on the subject of the research paper, the writer is required to use factual evidence to either analyze or persuade the reader.
There are primarily two types of research papers, analytical research papers (where credible evidence is used to analyze components of one or more issues) and persuasive arguments (factual information is used to persuade the reader to take on the position of the writer).
Although often overlooked, the pre-writing process is the most imperative step in writing research papers. During this stage, the writer should choose a relevant topic, brainstorm ideas and create an outline of the research paper.
Finding reliable sources and accurate information to support your thesis will help you to write winning papers. Using index cards, record the fact or quote on one side of the card, while the other side should contain the bibliographical information (see the APA and MLA guide for more information on how to write citations).
There are two types of sources for research: primary and secondary sources. Primary sources are the original documents. For example, first-hand account interviews, novels, poems, and newspaper articles are considered primary research. Secondary research consists of sources that analyze or interpret primary source materials.
All essays require the writer to organize his ideas coherently by using the standard organization of an essay: the introduction (reels the reader in and gives a general overview of the topic via a hypothesis), the body (details and supporting details that support the hypothesis), and a conclusion (the summary).
After the grunt work of research, planning and writing the actual research paper, the last step includes editing and re-writing the text. Most people get a peer, teacher or other professional to peruse their research paper for errors before correcting the actual paper. Other must-haves for the research paper are a spell/grammar check, bibliography/works cited page, proper heading (which in some cases includes a cover page), table of contents, page numbers, appendices, charts and graphs and other documents referenced in the research paper.