How to write my college essay in accordance with the standard rules? If you need an answer to this question, then this article will help you. We’ll walk you through all the writing and formatting rules you need to follow while writing a research essay.
The purpose and objectives of writing a research essay
The educational purpose of the research essay: confirmation by the students of their knowledge and skills on the topic studied, demonstration of familiarization with the relevant literature, and the ability to analyze the information collected.
Objectives are:
• To study the attitude of specialists to the chosen topic with the help of relevant articles and literature;
• Get acquainted with the existing methods for solving existing problems in the context of the topic studied in the essay;
• Study and analysis of the found statistical data;
• Logical presentation of an own generalized vision of the studied material and argumentation of one’s point of view;
• Suggestions for improving methods, ways of studying the topic of the essay, or the activities covered in it.
Rules for writing a research essay
1. Sticking to the structure
• Title page;
• Plan;
• Introduction;
• The main part (separation of information into sections, formatted paragraphs, and subparagraphs is mandatory);
• Conclusion;
• List of materials used as a source;
• Appendices.
2. Formatting a research essay plan correctly
• The same importance of topics in each section is required; these sections should have approximately the same length;
• One section reveals everything related to its topic;
• It is important to avoid tautologies;
• In the points of the plan, the title of the entire paper under consideration cannot be repeated.
3. Writing an interesting introduction
This is an important section in the research essay, taking up no more than two pages. Here they explain why the chosen topic attracted attention, how much it was covered earlier in the scientific community, for what purpose the student completed the task in question. The introduction briefly mentions the materials chosen as a source. To draw attention to the paper, it is worth as bright as possible, but in the spirit of a scientific presentation, to focus in the introduction on the main problem covered in the research essay.
4. Disclose the topic fully in the main part
An essay can be written in the form of an analytical review of scientific research on the main topic of the paper. In this case, the extent to which this or that specified scientific specialist has contributed to the work on the topic under study should be stated. It is possible to present the material as a critical analysis of a scientific dispute, setting out in the research essay your vision of different scientific approaches to the problem under study.
Alternatively, you can present the information in the format of a detailed review of the selected scientific work. The topic of the research essay, its task, and its purpose should have a common meaning. The points of the plan are disclosed sequentially, not forgetting to use evidence-based on verified facts, examples. When presenting the material, they clearly formulate their own thoughts, avoiding ambiguity.
Structuring the text makes it easier to perceive information and makes it easier to find answers to certain questions. Therefore, the paragraphs in the text of the research essay are no less important than the headings. And writing separate sentences that carry particularly important information in a font that differs in writing from the main mass of the test is not excess but a manifestation of respect for the reader.
5. Demonstrate your opinion in a conclusion
The conclusion is the part of the paper where you demonstrate your own opinion on the topic discussed. Here you need to talk about:
• The degree of success of the work done on the study of the main topic of the research essay;
• The most striking, promising scientific approaches in the study of the problem under study;
• The most valuable information in the abstract, controversial points that it is desirable to continue to study in connection with the topic considered in the paper.
The maximum size of the conclusion is two pages.
6. Make a separate page with appendices
Appendices need a new page where they talk about the materials:
• not considered in the main text of the research essay due to the fact that this would violate the logical structure of it;
• not included in the main presentation of data due to a large amount of information;
• not being information for a wide range of readers, but important for specialists who study in depth the main topic of the research essay.
What supporting materials are included in the appendices?
• Calculations, mathematical or other formulas, expressions;
• Tables, diagrams;
• Acts of testing, experiments, implementations;
• Inventory of new programs used in the covered calculations, experiments;
• Auxiliary illustrations;
• Data of the developed programs;
• Methods, both created and applied, a description of the digital products used in the reviewed studies or at the time of writing the research essay;
• Sources that may be useful to those interested in the topic of the research essay.
Stick to these rules, and you will be able to write a high-quality research essay. Good luck!