Use this subject guide to help you find general information about writing research papers
1. Read the research paper assignment instructions provided to you by your instructor. Be sure to pay attention to any specific assignment requirements such as page length, style guidelines, topic selection, source types, etc.
2. Choose a topic for your paper. Narrow or expand your topic as needed, to meet the requirements of your assignment.
3. Find and read sources about your topic (books, articles, web sites, etc.). You can find many sources at the library.
4. Take notes of ideas or quotations you may want to cite in your paper ( it can be useful to write notes on index cards or in a notebook, making sure you also write down where the information came from).
5. Prepare an outline of your paper.
6. Write a first draft of your paper.
7. Conduct any additional research if necessary
8. Look over your first draft and then revise/rewrite as needed for clarity, accuracy, and quality.
9. Check to make sure you have included all necessary citation information (Works Cited or Bibliography at end of paper, in-text citations, etc).
10. Proofread your paper one last time for correct spelling, punctuation, and style guidelines and then make any final corrections to your paper.
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