Where To Get A Good Research Paper Structure Sample
In high school and at university, you’ll have to write dozens and dozens of research papers. If you’re dealing with your first assignment to write a formal academic research paper, it can be difficult to figure out how your paper is supposed to be structured. One of the best ways to get a feel for the tone, structure, and writing style of research papers is to look for samples. Samples of good papers will show you exactly how it should be done, including giving you a solid idea of the kind of format and structure that’s typically used to present your ideas and information in this type of academic writing. When you’ve read other people’s work, you’ll feel more confident when the time comes to put your own information and ideas together for a school assignment.
Here are some of the best places to look for solid, informed, well-written samples of academic research papers.
- Peer-reviewed academic journals. Almost every academic subject has at least one peer-reviewed publication in which professional academics can publish their own original research. These are probably the best examples of real life academic papers. You can find peer reviewed articles across a very wide variety of subject areas, from specific periods in human history to interdisciplinary scientific subspecialties like biophysics and chaos theory. These are probably the ultimate source for proper structure and format.
- Look for essay anthologies. Many books contain anthologies of peer-reviewed journal articles on a particular subject, which can give you further material to evaluate for structural regularities. It may be especially helpful to find an anthology related to the subject you’re writing about, or at least within the same field. For example, history anthologies will give you the best idea of how to structure history papers, whereas anthologies in the hard sciences would be more useful for a biology project.
- Look at university websites. Many universities have a page on their website dedicated to guidelines and tips for writing academic papers with the correct structure and format. These can be found with a simple internet search, and can walk you through the process of planning and outlining the global structure of your paper.
- Ask upperclassmen for advice. If you have any older friends who have experience writing academic papers, ask them if they have any papers they did and received a good grade on. Someone else’s A paper can definitely give you an idea of what kind of structural elements you should incorporate into your own work. It’s even more useful if they took the same class, especially if it was with the same teacher or professor.