Writing research essays or research methods essays can be quite tedious as it requires you to use extensive evidences to support your thesis, which means, for you, more research still needs to be done. But don’t dismay just yet. This guide will give you a brief but concise discussion on how to write a research essay.
Topic selection
The key to writing research essays is to select a topic that is not too broad to consume a great amount of research time and reference materials, but also not too shallow to be uninteresting. Therefore, the first step in the process is to choose a topic that you find interesting (that is, if no topic was given to you by your instructor) for you to retain your interest while working on it. More importantly, your goal in brainstorming is to develop a discernible research question.
Do preliminary research
Next, do preliminary research to get a sense of the context of your topic. Your source material might just be an encyclopaedia or look up concepts you are unfamiliar with in a specialised dictionary. At this stage, your aim is to completely digest the essay question to have a deep understanding of how to approach the topic and what treatment to use.
Gather sources
Easier said than done – but the trick here is to develop a research strategy by driving your search at specific terms and concepts related to your topic.
Analyse your research
What are the authors trying to convey? How do they support or relate to your own analyses and arguments? Aim for a brief summary of your entire research essay to avoid confusing your readers. You may also study the approach the author used and practically apply it on your own by giving your own analysis of a specific issue.
Research essays are not as simple as shopping for references and restating them in your own words. It’s a matter of emphasising your thesis and working on proving that.
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