How to Write Outline of Research Paper – Expert Guide

A research paper outline is still a skill that the majority of students lack. All forms of research papers need an outline, which is one of their most important components, before beginning to write a research paper, it is how you should organize your thoughts and work. 

Also, The use of an outline serves as a reminder to make sure that your research paper covers all relevant subtopics. Hence, The act of actually writing a research paper is just as crucial as properly organizing and presenting it in the outline. Yes, it may at first seem like a difficult endeavor.

Hence, in this article, you will learn what a research paper outline is, and how to generate them. Also, you will learn how to write a research paper outline. Furthermore, you will learn how to write a research paper outline in the APA format.

What Is A Research Paper Outline?

A research paper outline is a supplementary document that contains all the topics to be covered in a paper in the intended sequence, typically divided into paragraphs.

The main goal of a research paper outline is to organize the subjects, information, and other components of the paper (such as direct quotes) so that you keep on track and don’t forget anything.

It is customary for authors to create outlines after deciding on a thesis statement and gathering research-based support but before beginning the first draft. Making structural modifications throughout the outlining process is significantly more effective than doing it after you’ve finished writing the first draft; hence you may eliminate certain topics early on without wasting time writing them and add new topics prior to the drafting stage so you can write everything at once.

You may also check out 120 Best Research Topics On Political Science

Research Paper Outline Generator

A research paper outline can be considered the framework or rather, the spine of a research paper. Hence it is extremely important for it to be strong and perfect.

Besides, many students omit the process of outlining, considering it an insignificant part of research paper writing. But, in truth, it is one of the most important stages of preparing a research paper.

One cannot be excused for not using an outline due to lack of time, anymore, as there are various options available for getting an outline prepared specifically for a particular assignment. Research paper outline makers come in the form of software as well as professional writers.

Basic Aspects Of Research Paper Outlines

In order to identify the suitable method to adopt, for getting your outline prepared for you, you must be aware of certain basic aspects of research paper outlines.

• Various sorts of research paper outlines exist. It’s crucial that you fully comprehend your outline while writing your research paper. if you decide to use a piece of software, make sure that it can handle the pattern that you are most familiar with.
• With relatively limited choices for modifications or adjustments, software would be fixed. Therefore, research paper outline builder software won’t be of assistance to you if your assignment’s instructions contain a lot of specifics. 
• Software for creating research paper outlines is not cheap. Additionally, the same program might not be appropriate for all tasks because each research paper has a particular goal and must be written in accordance with its own instructions.
• Additionally, using software necessitates a thorough understanding of how to use the many options it provides. Therefore, if you are unfamiliar with the software, it may take more time than creating the outline yourself.
• When working with experienced writers, you will have the freedom to make adjustments whenever you choose. But make sure the company you select allows free document revisions for financial ease.
• Also, There are companies that create research paper outlines for their clients using software. They can be utilized if your outline does not have many restrictions. However, it will be wiser to choose a company that gives outlines created by qualified writers.
• Professional writers often aren’t all experts in academic outlining. Find academic writers to outline your paper as a result.

How To Write An Outline Of A Research Paper

You can follow the steps listed below to create an outline for a research paper:

• Understand the type of paper you are writing
• Know your topic
• Gather resources
• Complete all the necessary research
• Consider the use of a parallel structure
• Give thought to the five-paragraph essay
• Develop an introductory sentence
• Add ideas or full sentences
• Establish an arguable thesis
• Concluding by rephrasing the research paper’s main point of focus 
• Be consistent in ensuring a similar tone while writing all sub-sections

#1. Understand the type of paper you are writing

Research papers at the high school and college levels often have five paragraphs. This is one of the important things to note when writing a research paper outline.

#2. Know your topic

Professors frequently assign topics to their students. The finest topics are those that have a good chance of grabbing your reader’s attention and that may also be debated.

#3. Gather resources

It is necessary to be able to compile notes, resources, and references from various sources.

#4. Complete all the necessary research

Carry out all essential research or studies to support the findings, overall argument, and conclusion.

#5. Consider the use of parallel structure

It is important to take parallel structure into account. Each section of the outline must start with a word of the same type, such as a noun or a verb. When employing verbs, be sure to stick to the same tense.

#6. Give thought to the five-paragraph essay

Even though the assignment is longer, consider writing a five-paragraph essay. An introduction, body paragraphs that directly support the main argument, and a conclusion makeup important sub parts.

#7. Develop an introductory sentence

Create an introduction sentence as the next step. The crucial phrase is this one. Its main goal is to get all of its readers interested. Just by reading the beginning, a reader should be able to determine the main aim of the paper. 

#8. Add ideas or full sentences

Adding ideas or full sentences comes next. This phase is taken to make sure that the notion has enough support for at least three to four sentences, quotations, or citations.

#9. Establish an arguable thesis

 A minimum of three to four points must be included in this line, which usually serves as the introduction’s last clause.

#10. Concluding by rephrasing the research paper’s main point of focus 

Reiterating the key idea of the research paper’s focus should start the concluding or final paragraph. End the conclusion with a fact or by urging the audience to do more study.

#11. Be consistent in ensuring a similar tone while writing all sub-sections

When composing all of the sub-sections, consistency is essential for maintaining a consistent tone. There should be a topic or a brief sentence for each segment. This generally helps to keep the paper uniform. One must, however, refrain from doing both.

How To Write A Research Paper In APA Format

Term papers, creative writing pieces, composition-type papers, and concept papers all have different formats than APA-style research papers. You must follow these instructions as you write the paper throughout: 

Page layout

On 8.5″ x 11″ paper with 1″ margins on all sides, type the text using double spacing.

Each paragraph should have a 0.5-inch indentation on the first line.

All pages should have page numbers.

Font

A font that is easy to read, such as Georgia 11pt, Arial 11pt, or Times New Roman 12pt, could be used.

Seven key elements make up the APA research paper format: a title page, an abstract, an introduction, a method section, a results section, a discussion section, and references. The following are the sections of an APA-style paper:

Title page

The title should be between 10 and 12 words in length and should capture the main idea of the work, according to the APA research paper format. Your name and the name of the college come after the title.

Additionally, use MS Word’s “View Header” function to generate a page header, and on the title page, include a running head, which is a brief title that displays at the top of pages of published articles (flush left) and the page number on the same line (flush right). With punctuation and spacing, the running head shouldn’t be more than 50 characters.

The toolbox also allows you to insert a page number, which will automatically number each page.

Abstract

The abstract should be one paragraph, double-spaced, and written in block format with no more than 120 words. Also, briefly describe the subject in one or two sentences. Include an overview of the procedures, the findings, and the conclusions.

Introduction

The hardest part of an APA research paper format is writing the introduction. Defining the knowledge gap and outlining your study’s objectives and motivations, a strong introduction critically assesses the empirical knowledge in the pertinent field(s). The challenge here is to maintain the reader’s interest while they read your paper.

Readers are kept interested in your paper by a strong introduction. Researchers need to present a logical progression of ideas that will ultimately lead to the study hypothesis if they want to write an engaging introduction. Additionally, avoid describing every single study in-depth while including references in your introduction. Summarize the article’s main conclusions rather than quoting directly from it; instead, paraphrase the text.

You may also see How To Write A Research Paper Introduction

Methods

In an APA research paper, the method section is uncomplicated. However, The process and requirements must be stated. This section’s objective provides a thorough description of your research and experiments. Hence, the results may be replicated by other scientists and your procedures can be successfully followed by them.

Experiments, procedures, and protocols are all included in this section. Keep the stages in the procedures succinct and precise, and make sure you read them through to prevent repetition or eliminate redundancy.

Results

You could explain your methodology for data analysis and present your conclusions in this part. Also, If your data analyses are complicated, divide the section into subsections, ideally one for each hypothesis. Explicate the subsections using statistical analysis and include tables or figures to visually represent results. Most essential, don’t discuss how you interpreted the results here. In the discussion section, you can interpret and explain the findings.

Discussion

In this part, results are interpreted and understood. The research hypothesis is better understood in the discussion section, which also places the findings in the larger context of the relevant literature. In this section, which is the opposite of the introduction, you start with the specifics and explain the overall grasp of the issues.

You summarize your key findings at the beginning of the discussion and then debate whether your hypothesis is supported by the data. You might also describe how your results add to or complement the body of knowledge already available on the subject.

To complete the circle of your story, relate your findings to some of the works of literature that were listed in the opening. You might also note whether your results contain any intriguing or unexpected insights. Discuss additional hypotheses that might aid in defending your unexpected findings.

Give a brief explanation of the study’s limitations and list all the new questions it raised. You could also discuss what areas of the subject require more study and what knowledge gaps remain in the field of current research. Give your audience “the big picture” by mentioning how your findings might be related to more important aspects of human existence.

References

Indicate the references in alphabetical order. The references should all be double-spaced, with no extra spaces between them. Also, Each reference should be understood to be the second line. For information on how to format references properly, please see the examples (listed below).

Journal Article

The article title is uppercase just for the first letter; the journal name and volume are italicized. Each of the keywords is capitalized if the journal name has more than one word.

Example: Ebner-Priemer, U. W., & Trull, T. J. (2009). Ecological momentary assessment of mood disorders and mood dysregulation. Psychological Assessment, 21, 463-475. doi:10.1037/a0017075

Book Chapter

Both the chapter title and the book title are capitalized only for the first letter of the first word.

Example: Stephan, W. G. (1985). Intergroup relations. In G. Lindzey & E. Aronson (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (3rd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 599-658). New York: Random House.

Book

Example: Gray, P. (2010). Psychology (6th ed.). New York: Worth

Table

Depending on the information you want to present, tables come in a variety of formats. Be thorough, then, and include the table number and title (the latter should be italicized). It is possible to single- or double-space tables.

Figure

A clear description of the x- and y-axes is required. Give a label and a succinct caption beneath the figure. Variables and units of measurement are frequently included in the figure caption. Additionally, remember to add error bars to your bar graphs and describe in the figure caption what the bars stand for. The error bars show the standard error of the mean above and below it.

In-Text Citation

• Cite your sources in your paper by including the names of the authors and the date of publication.
• Use AND when incorporating the citation into a sentence. “As stated by Jones and Smith (2003), the…”
• Use & when the citation is included in parentheses: “Studies have demonstrated that priming can influence actual motor behavior” (Jones & Smith, 2003; Kiley, Bailey, & Hammer, 1999). The studies in parentheses should be listed alphabetically by the first author’s last name, with semicolons between each study.
• It’s best to refrain from direct quotations, but if you must – give the name, date, and page number.
• After listing all the authors’ names for sources with three authors or more, you might add “et al.” before any further mentions, such as “Klein et al. (1999) found that…”
• The first author’s last name and “et al.” are used every time a source with six or more authors is acknowledged.

Secondary Source

It’s a word for information that has been referenced in another source. In your writing, stay away from secondary sources. Prior to reference it in your work, try to locate the primary source and read it. However, if you must cite a secondary source, have a look at the sample of an APA-style paper below:

The author of the secondary source, year, cited in the primary source, last name, made the following argument:

How To Write College Research Paper Outline

Here are five suggestions on how to write or develop a research paper outline for college:

• Craft the thesis statement
• Enlist the ideas that support the thesis
• Group related ideas
• Arrange them in a logical order
• Write subheadings and expand

#1. Craft the thesis statement

The fundamental idea of your research paper is stated in the thesis statement, which is arguably the most crucial component. If an outline serves as the framework for your research paper, the thesis statement acts as the cement.

In order to know where you’re going with the paper and to be able to create an adequate outline before you start writing, it’s vital to start by creating the thesis statement.

Despite being a one- to two-line sentence, the thesis statement must be regarded seriously. Therefore, don’t stress over creating the ideal thesis statement at this time. After you’ve finished writing the full research paper, you can always go back and polish it.

#2. Enlist the ideas that support the thesis

You must be forming your arguments and getting ideas while conducting research. Always make it a point to brainstorm and collect every concept that helps to support your viewpoint.

Here, making a brain dump is all that is required of you. Others won’t, while some ideas might. The key is to make a list of each one so you can see all of your thoughts at once.

#3. Group related ideas

You’ll have a ton of justifications and arguments at this point. This necessitates the subsequent step of grouping comparable concepts and placing them under the appropriate buckets.

This accomplishes two things: it stops you from using the same concepts twice, and it organizes your work so that it is more concise and free of repetition.

#4. Arrange them in a logical order

Your writing must flow logically and seamlessly change from one concept to another. Reading should be a fluid process.

One of the criteria on which you will be scored is logical flow, which is a sign of cognitive clarity.

Creating a college research paper outline is the only way to keep your content in a logical order.

In order to make your gathered ideas seem cohesive and unified, arrange them in a logical manner. The last thing you want to do is discover contradictions while revising or proofreading your research work.

#5. Write subheadings and expand

Writing subheadings and elaborating those concepts are the final steps in creating an outline.

Consequently, concentrate on developing those ideas and making them more precise so that the entire process of outlining will be helpful to you while you are writing the paper.

Conclusion

Research paper outlines can simplify your job and guarantee that you don’t forget anything important.

Depending on the formatting style chosen, research paper outlines can vary. The research paper outlines for APA and MLA will alter just a little bit.

An introduction, body, and conclusion should be included in a research paper outline.

In the research paper format, make quick notes on your important ideas and arguments so you may refer to them when writing the actual paper.

FAQs On How To Write Outline Of Research Paper

References

• https://www.grammarly.com – what is a research paper outline
• https://researchpaperstar.com – research paper outline generator
• https://statanalytica.com – how to write an outline of a research paper
• https://www.enago.com – how to write a research paper in apa format 
• https://writersperhour.com – college research paper outline

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