Academic Writing by Belgapixel
At the heart of any field of research is the academic paper. University academics live by the motto “publish or perish”. That is, to maintain the prestige of their work, and their tenure, they must regularly publish in respected journals.
If you have enrolled in a science related curriculum you will quickly learn that persuasive writing is a core competency. But writing for research is far different to writing for English literature. In a persuasive essay you can be emotive to illustrate your point. In contrast, a research paper is cold and unemotional. Facts, not descriptive narrations form the basis of your argument.
The structure of an academic paper also differs from a persuasive essay. Typically, there are 7 sections that must be addressed -
Title page – This part of a research paper includes a highlight of the subject matter to be researched. Mostly, it is supposed to contain a brief title which in most cases is in form of a thesis.
Abstract – This is the second part of a research paper and it contains a concise summary of the work contained in a research paper. It should be brief containing just about two hundred words; just enough to give the reader a chance to have an idea of the research paper content within a few minutes. The Abstract gives a general approach used in writing a research paper, important conclusions and pertinent results of the study.
Introduction – This marks the beginning of a research paper and involves a brief description of the past details of a similar research or related research. The introduction forms the base of the study and involves outlining the following four things: describing the importance of the study, defending the model used within the study, providing the rationale e.g. writing down the objectives and stating the hypothesis for the research paper. Lastly for this section, is a brief description of the experimental design.
Material and Method/Methodology – This section contains a summary of the materials to be used in carrying out the study and stating the methods to be used in assimilating data. There is no page limit to this but the point is to keep it concise as the reader may want to fully grasp the information written on it.
Result – This section represents the results of a research paper. Mostly the data in this section may be in its raw form and later on summarized by the use of tables or graphs. However, a concise summary of results is better for it accords coherence. Thus, the best way for data presentation is the use of tables and graphs in this part.
Discussion – This is the analysis of the information and findings gathered throughout the study. This is done to ensure that a proper summary which is supported by data gathered throughout the research paper is derived.
Literature cited/Bibliography – This is the last part of a research paper and involves writing down all the research material used in the study. This is to help readers who may want further illustrations or information about the researched topic.
Contributing Author – Vishal Dwivedi Image shown under creative commons share alike – Source
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