Getting your outline ready will serve the purpose of giving you the soft landing that you are required to have the basis to complete your work on time without waste of your valuable time. The following steps can be taken to achieve an effective way to write your research paper outline.

Introduction

This is the part where you are expected to get the attention of your readers. It is expected that you give a commanding performance in the introduction that will compel your readers to hunger for more. You are not expected to give all in the introduction, but the teaser should be strong and very powerful.

Here are the components of a brilliant introduction:

• Hook: This should be powerful enough to arrest the attention of your readers. The length of the hook line depends on the size of your paper. The hook sentence might take up to about five sentences. The words should be carefully selected to drive home the point.
• Your audience: It is expected that you define your target audience in your introduction. You have to explain to them the reason why they are your readers.
• Thesis statement: You have to be clear about what you want to achieve. This should be clearly stated in your thesis statement. It will form the fulcrum on which you are going to base your point of argument. 

The above elements represent what is to be included in the introduction to your paper. We now think about the outline for the body of the paper.

Body

The body is the largest part of your research paper. Here, you have to include everything you have in your research findings. The length of the body of your research work will be determined by the overall size of the paper. All that you are going to include in the body must follow a particular format.

In writing an effective body to your essay; the thesis statement will form the basis of your write-up. You have to be at your creative best here to give the very best that will give you the expected higher grades at the end of the day.

Conclusion

This is the concluding part of your paper. It is expected that you include a summary of what you have written earlier. Your thoughts should not be included here. Everything to be written here should be drawn from your research arguments stated earlier. You need to include a call to action. This will state the reason why your paper is important and the purposes it is meant to serve.

Final Thoughts

The outline for the template of the research paper that will give you the edge over your colleagues is given above. What we have above gives you the total cover needed to excel.

Selecting something you like

Schoolwork is always easier if you appreciate what you are working on. Thus, your research topic should be something you want to know more about. So if your teacher allows you to choose your topic, pick something you like. If you don’t, you will regret it later on when you are forced to read books and articles that bore you.

Have a backup

Because your final choice will depend on the resources available and your teacher’s approval, it is smart to have a backup plan. So as you think of your first topic, consider 1 or 2 more possible research topics you can investigate if plan A is rejected.

Topics to choose from

In case you have been thinking about what to do but still have no answers, you can consider some of the following.

Family life

1. Difficulties of single parents
2. Integrating an adopted child into the family
3. The advantages and disadvantages of living with extended family members
4. Are mother-in-laws really the “monsters” that TV shows make them out to be?
5. Sibling rivalry: the pros and cons
6. The changing role of husbands and wives in the 21st century
7. Are middle children really at a disadvantage?

Health

8. How can people improve their EQ?
9. How do eating disorders begin?
10. How helpful is the intermittent diet?
11. Is the lack of sleep affecting teens’ grades today?
12. Are children today obese because of cafeteria food?
13. Are genetically-modified food items really that bad?
14. Why are more and more people turning to alternative medicine?

History

15. Engineering feats of the ancient world
16. The importance of the spice trade
17. The special role of animals in ancient times
18. The abuses of the Inquisition
19. The main difficulties that explorers faced
20. The end of the slave trade
21. How did the “flatness” of the world affect explorers?

Society

22. How do people feel about breastfeeding in public?
23. Why gangs are rarely a problem in small towns
24. The plight of illegal immigrants in the US
25. The effects of cartels on the underground economy
26. Why are counterfeit items still being sold in the open?
27. Are beauty pageants helping or diminishing society’s view of women?
28. How are the views about beauty changing in the 21st century?

Work and business

29. Are high grades a guarantee for business success?
30. The top factors that human resource managers look for
31. How the smartphone has influenced marketing today
32. The changing views of adults about online work
33. The world of sports agents: Are they hurting the sports industry or helping?
34. Are single dads receiving the same work benefits as single moms?
35. How can mom-and-pop stores succeed against well-established businesses?

Summary

The first step to a successful research paper is in choosing your topic. We hope the tips and topics above are of great help to you. Happy writing!

1. Start by giving a general overview, then narrow down to specific details

The opening paragraph should briefly describe your research area before going into your specific focus. Doing so helps make your work available to a more widespread audience, not just the experts in your field of study.

2. Notify your readers of the aims of your research and its significance

Tell your readers what you want to achieve and why they should read on to discover whether you succeed. For instance, “My goal is to A, which is crucial because it will result in B.”

3. Cite thoroughly, not excessively

After you have identified your specific study topic, thoroughly examine the most current and relevant literature about your study. Your review of the literature should be thorough but not too long. Consider citing review articles instead of various individual articles already previously reviewed.

4. Avoid giving multiple citations for a single point

If you have too many references worth mentioning, you should discuss them with more specificity. For instance, ” the study found there’s a significant association between A and B in men [3-6], women [7-10], and children [11-14].” Rather than, “Many studies have found a significant association between A and B [3-14].”

5. State your research question or hypothesis clearly

To help your readers go through your paper smoothly, you can frame your research using either:

• A hypothesis: fitting for a study in an empirical science. For example, “This study assesses the hypothesis that A and B are linked, and I will test this hypothesis using method X.”
• Research question: more suitable for exploratory research or formal sciences. For example, “This study examines this research question: Is A related to B?” or “This study investigates whether A and B are related.”

6. Give an overview of your research paper

Here’s a sample of an introduction structure:

• Introductory paragraph
• Literature review, which is usually composed of a few paragraphs
• Research targets, which tends to be a single paragraph
• Paper overview, which is optional and usually one paragraph

7. Keep it short

Avoid writing an unnecessarily long introduction. Aim for at least 500 words and no more than 1000 words. However, read the guidelines and past papers for crystal clear guidance.

8. Show importance, don’t state

Among the goals of the introduction is to explain the importance of studying your research topic. For example, do not say, “The introduction of new materials in the automotive industry is important.” Tell the reader why by, for instance, adding, “because it allows for the production of vehicles that are stronger and lighter hence improve safety and fuel economy.”

9. Don’t drown your readers in facts

Depending on which field your writing on, you should refrain from stating the main results in your introduction. However, medicine is an exception as you’re encouraged to preview your main findings in your paper’s introduction.

10. Check the journal guidelines

Journal guidelines will usually include requirements for the introduction. These may include a minimum or maximum number of words or a requirement for specific content such as a hypothesis.

Conclusion

When drafting your research paper, the introduction should be among the first sections you plan. It sets the scene for the rest of the paper hence why many authors first complete the other components (e.g., methods, results, and discussion) before composing the introduction.

Most students can potentially know very little about case briefs, especially in the sciences department. However, the situation proves different with students undertaking programs in law as it mainly deals with the court and its rulings besides law. Learners have to develop case briefs when describing the case details. Case briefs ensure a better comprehension of circumstances besides the decision-making of the court.

Case Brief

Different types of case briefs exist, and in most cases, you will get required to write such briefs for class. However, you have to display the court case, complete with its key takeaways from a particular case. Therefore, students pursuing law have to prepare their brief to understand basic law principles.

Contents of a Case Brief

Briefs come very short and outline particular points illustrated in a specific case. It becomes crucial to include these information points.

• The case name. It should include the involved parties, complete with what year the decision got called.
• The case history. It has to contain a summary of the trial happenings at every level.
• The case issue. It encompasses the lawful question that gets analyzed and answered.
• The case holding. It contains the popular case ruling and the response to the concerns.

It becomes essential to use facts and not opinions when describing your legal case to avoid gossip and make a direct statement on the court’s decisions. Facts anchored in law always prove valuable compared. You also have to discuss the courts’ reasoning, especially in making their decision based on the facts.

Guideline to Writing Your Case Brief

You can write your case brief based on diverse things and come in several ways. However, you will have to begin with the case picking. So if you got a case from your professor, it could help if you saw no need to go through with the step. However, following the steps proves a surefire method of including everything you might need for the case brief.  

• The case’s caption. Your brief has to incorporate the course that ruled in favor of the decision, your case name, and the exact page upon which your case appeared.
• State the truths. Facts often prove crucial because rulings and issues provided often get followed using legal principles. It becomes prudent to decide what facts to mention and upon which, you can count on its relevance to the brief. Further, ensure your brief comes short and concise.   Additionally, in instances where the defendant and the plaintiff have facts that prove conflicting, you should stipulate the critical differences between them. However, try and ensure that you make no assumptions of what proves incorrect or correct. So take your time and read the case comprehensively to get an elaborate and clear concept of facts besides the best way to present them briefly.
• Outline the case’s history. All cases typically follow specific procedures, and therefore, you have to interpret and note down the words in your words.
• Present your issues in queries. The section has to represent factual questions that the court has to decide on besides your comprehensive analysis.
• Display the holding. It becomes essential to present issues, but before this, outline the court’s decision. Try and avoid explaining the decision and instead provide answers for the concerns listed.
• Explain the brief’s rationale. It entails the place where you have to incorporate more opinionated concepts, complete with explanations and reasons for the court’s decisions. Here, you have to consider the whole case’s analysis besides the rules, legal principles, and facts. It will prove crucial to taking note of the decision’s justification and why the decision gets justified.

Conclusion

It becomes crucial to understand what a compelling case brief entails. Further, you have to summarize the case’s decision and whom it has gotten ruled in favor of, and why.

Sometimes the study may be flawed seriously due to some important limitations. These limitations may be the inability to acquire some critical data. When this happens. You can reframe it as an explanatory study that is intended to lay the groundwork for a more conclusive research study. When this is the case ensure that you explain clearly how you can successfully overcome these flaws in a new study.

These should not be an excuse for not being able to develop a research paper that is thorough. Most of the time when there are serious limitations, it means that it is likely the research problem is defined narrowly or the issue is recent and there is no enough research written on it. You can engage your professor when these limitations occur and the possible ways to go about them.

When writing your research and describing the limitations of the research make sure to:

• Make a description of each and every limitation in detail but concise terms.
• Have an explanation of why each and every limitation exists.
• List the reasons why each and every limitation cannot be overcome using any of the methods that are being used to gather data or the method the data was acquired.
• Assess and list the impact of each limitation and how it relates to the findings and the conclusions of the study.
• Describe appropriately how each of these limitations point to the need if further research is needed.

Keep in mind that whichever method you choose may be the source of the limitations that will emerge during the time your results will be interpreted. Case in point, if not enough interviews was done in a group that should have been. If this happens, this should not make you worry and cause panic. Make an acknowledgement of it then explain and point out how the next study this will be done different in methodology that might address the issues. When doing a research you need to understand that the main goal is not to just show the works but to also demonstrate the things that don’t work and what needs more clarification.

Whether you are composing an APA design research paper or another arrangement, it is valuable when you have a few clues to follow. It is much more accommodating when you have a model and mindful of the conceivable work substance, arrangement, and design. It isn’t hard to track down a sociology research paper test on the Internet because numerous administrations offer this alternative to their customers and other people who need it.

Research Paper Structure

Coming up with a good paper structure is crucial to the writing process. It is a way of ensuring all the aspects of the write-up get compiled in proper order.

You should know what you wish to write about before you start writing. There are various main components in a research paper.

• Title: states the general theme of the paper
• Abstract: gives the basis of the work in less than 250 words
• Introduction: provides a background for the thesis
• Literature Review: the overall information on your topic
• Methodology: an indication that the writer has carried out the study
• Results: and analysis of the data you collect
• Discussion: states your understanding of the research
• Conclusion: a summary of your work
• References and Work Citations: a list of the sources you used

Eight Steps in Writing a Research Paper

There isn’t a custom way of writing that you need to follow when writing your paper. All the steps are compulsory but, you may choose what order to follow. The crucial thing to note is not to focus too much on the grammar or style of writing. Instead, pay attention to the step you choose.

1. The Abstract. Ensure you pay attention to the main subject in your paper. Start by writing a rough sketch of your abstract.
2. Literature Review. Try and point out the findings that are vital to your research. Avail the background and supporting material for your facts.
3. Methodology. Here you need to provide the readers with info on the process of getting your statistics and the experiments you conducted. Make it clear why you chose the approach and give a comprehensive rationale for researchers to adopt.
4. Results. You need to take down the crucial outcomes and expound on how you arrived at the results. Organize your results well for the reader to comprehend them.
5. The Discussion Passage. Your discussions should include a comparison of your work to that of others. Try and connect your study questions to the vital sources of your paper. The section should help the reader see the implications of your study.
6. Introduction. There is a high chance of understanding the importance of your study after analyzing the findings. The main goal of your intro is to shed light on the implication of your paper.
7. Conclusion. It is simply a summary of the arguments you have defined in the previous passages. They need to strengthen the results and significance of your paper.
8. Finishing Touches. The final step involves proofreading and editing your work. Where necessary, add footnotes and citations.

How to make the Paper Look Serious

Most teachers will give their students a specific format and style to follow when writing their papers. It also depends on the method of submission. Some teachers need the work submitted as hard copies, while others insist on faxed or printed assignments. Below is the list of things to have in mind when considering your outline format:

• Ensure your paper has a heading or title page
• Use footnotes, parenthesis, and endnotes when citing
• The tone of your work should be formal
• When writing a paper for publishing purposes, consider the journal prerequisites
• As you conclude your work, including a list of citations and bibliography
• Ensure you save your document in the correct format as instructed. For example, PDF, DOC, etc.
• Follow all the instructions as directed by your tutor
• When you are describing an experiment, make use of past tenses and passive voice
• How long your paper depends on the word count required.

Writers who implement the correct paper format show that they respect the academic society. It easy for them to get acknowledged as serious writers.

Conclusion

There is no perfect way of writing a research thesis. The secret is to read several well-written papers. Choose a few topics that interest you and find write-ups about the same. These will serve as a template for your work.

• Bring back the thesis statement

The thesis statement is usually stated in the introductory part of the research paper. From that point, you work towards proving that statement by way of research and all else that is involved. At conclusion, it is important to restate your thesis just to remind the reader where it all started. The conclusion is supposed to bring together all the main points that make your work great and worth the reader’s time. Recalling the thesis statement will cause the reader to tie everything together.

• Avoid Wordiness

Make your conclusion as precise and clear as possible. Focus on the main points and try hard to synchronize your whole paper in this one section. Being wordy in the conclusion could throw your reader off since you are likely to lose focus. Remember it is not how much you say but how well you say it that matters. Summarize the main idea in every paragraph ad let your work speak for itself.

• Make an Effective Call to Action

As you conclude your paper, remember that your reader is waiting to know what you make out of all of it. Do not leave your reader with more questions than answers. Also, make it clear that you completely own up your study and would like to find solutions to the problems at hand. This means you need to make a strong call-to-action. Motivate your reader to get further into the study, find more information, and at least work towards solving the unsolved problems.

• Avoid trivial phrases

A good conclusion should speak for itself without being announced. That means you should avoid using some trivial phrases like, ‘in conclusion’ at the beginning of your conclusion. Make this final paragraph so good that the reader will automatically identify it as the conclusion. This increases the strength of your paper and this being the last main paragraph, it leaves the reader with a good impression.

Final Remarks

Assuming that the reader will overlook a weak conclusion just because the rest of the work was great is a mistake you should not make. The end of a paper means a lot to the reader. They would like to know what you make out of all the research regarding the main problem and what is expected of them. Follow the points discussed here to make your conclusion count.

Is the research paper current? — An excellent research paper should have present data from very reliable sources. Your research is only as valid as the data provided. This is a list of credible sources for your next sports research paper.

BBC Sports

This is most likely the most popular and most reliable news network on the globe. Once you visit the website, you can find all that information there. There is also an advanced search filter on their website that allows you to search for keywords or phrases. It is usually linked to other recent and related academic sports findings, news, and discussions that will go a long way in aiding your research paper.

The Sports Journal 

Primarily all the sporting activities both within and outside the United States are covered in this journal. This journal gets most of its credibility from its publishers; the US Sports Academy, so you are pretty sure of its authenticity. If your sports research paper focuses on the sports industry USA, you have a trustworthy source in this journal.

Sport Science

Sport Science brings together reports of various research to detailed statistics from other studies. For the writer looking for some inspiration, it gives ideas of topics to write on. The information is easy to go through as you can filter according to date and even subject matter.

An intriguing sports research paper topic has to be selected. Some issues cut across every single sport. For example, sports injuries will always occur in all sporting activities. The point is, whatever topic you eventually settle for, you must be ready to put in work. For students that battle with selecting a captivating and useful subject, here are a few valuable ideas;

Research Topics on Exercise

• How outdoor activities help people suffering from depression 
• The link between physical exercise, aggression, and teenagers

Topic ideas in Sports Science

• How do strict sports laws affect athletes?
• What character traits are essential for a competitive edge?

Topics in General Sports

• Drugs and athletics — How does it affect the athlete’s career?
• How to scale the weight of defeat

Research Subject Ideas on Training

• How to have better stamina as an athlete
• The Drug called adrenalin in athletics

Possible Studies in Soccer

• How does racism affect soccer?
• How soccer allowed Africans to be known

Research on the effect of Sports

• How do sports affect the development of children? 
• What changes about a sportsman’s life once retired?