If you’re looking for an example of a research paper outline, the odds are you find yourself faced with the task of going through the steps to writing a research paper. While it’s an excellent idea to use an example of a research paper outline (and you’ve come to the right place for that), it’s just as important to make sure you understand the steps involved in writing a research paper. The outline for your paper is only one step - but it’s not the first step.

The first step is getting a good grasp on exactly what topic (thesis) that you plan to pursue. Ultimately, the rest of the process of writing your research paper will flow from the topic you choose, the research materials you find, and how the analysis and findings play out.

Understanding the Steps to Writing a Research Paper

If you just came here for the example of a research paper outline, feel free to scroll down and use the sample printed at the bottom of this article. However, before you start using the outline, following the steps from the beginning will make the process of completing your research paper much easier, and will ensure a much better grade - most likely an A+. So what are the steps to writing a research paper? Read on.

First: Select Your Topic. This assumes the topic isn’t assigned. If you have the freedom to choose your own topic, try to choose a topic where you already have a few resources to conduct research. For example, if you know you have an uncle who was in WWII and that he would offer you an interview, doing a research paper on some aspect of WWII would be an excellent idea.

Second: State the thesis of your paper. This is the central point that you want to examine with your paper. It should be a question or a statement that you’d like to prove or disprove.

Third: Conduct Your Research. This is the most difficult step of writing your research paper. It actually comes before you create the outline. This is because based on what you uncover during your research, you may decide to change around the outline. Obviously, dive into Google and don’t forget to sift through the invisible web for even more information you couldn’t normally find. Once you’ve exhausted the Internet, don’t forget the many other resources at your disposal at your local library including books, references, and journals. Finally, also consider the option of interviewing experts if you really want to score some huge points.

Create Your Outline. See below!

Organize Your Research. This should be done during your research, but you can also do it after the fact. Take all of the notes that you’ve collected and organize all of your research into major groups or “points.” These are the major points that will make up the major sections of your research paper. Since you already know at this point that you have all of the information you need, the paper will practically write itself.

Write, Revise, and Rewrite. The part of writing a research paper that so many students fail at is properly editing. As you work through your research notes and write each section of the paper as you’ve outlined it, you’ll need to make sure that you only write the paper in terms of what the research taught you - be very careful not to plagiarize! When you’ve written the first draft of your research paper - remember, you’re not done! Carefully edit for grammar and spelling, and then retype the entire paper into final version format. Your polished work will be a surefire A+

An Example of a Research Paper Outline

Moving on to the reason that you came here - the example of a research paper outline. Please use the outline as a general starting point, but remember that the information you uncover during your research will really define how you fine tune the final outline.

• The Title of Your Paper
• A statement that describes the thesis of the paper
• Introduction - this includes a description of the question or issue that you’re going to examine and explore in the rest of the paper. It explains why the issue is relevant and important to investigate, how much of the issue the paper covers (the scope), and list the questions that you plan to pursue to answer the final thesis.
• Describe your Methodology - Explain how you went about doing your research, including not only online methods but whether you performed any sort of tests of your own, or whether you interviewed subjects and what procedures you used to analyze the information you uncovered.
• Analysis - This is the body of your paper and will likely make up the majority of the pages. Make sure to seperate this section into the logical subsections and you make your way through the process of answering questions and making your way toward answering or validating the original thesis you set out to pursue with the research paper. Carefully cite your sources whenever you use any of your research, and make sure to keep a numeric notation of the source noted in the paper so that you can list the source in the bibliography at the end of the paper.
• Conclusion - The conclusion of the research paper wraps up all of the issues examined and analyzed throughout the paper and draws a conclusion related to the original thesis based on all of those points and analysis. Don’t forget to include recommendations for future research to better answer the thesis, or to ask further questions related to the original thesis.
• References - This is probably the driest part of writing a research paper, but it’s also the most important because it’s the evidence that holds up your analysis. Check out this Cornell reference page for a good example of how to make references using APA format.

Once you’ve finished writing your research paper, please come back and list the grade you received in the comments section below!