Creating a High-quality Research Paper Outline

Drawing an Outline for Your Research Paper

Although writing research works is an integral part of student’s routine. A successful academic work must not only display your stance on the topic but also convince readers of its novelty and accuracy. To simplify this time-consuming task, make an outline which is a step-by-step plan of your research work.

Making a Top-Notch Research Paper Outline

The outline is a framework of your research paper on the basis of which you create the whole work. Every outline should be comprised of three main parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. The more elaborate outline you write, the easier it will be to produce a well-structured paper.

Introduction

The introduction sets the mood and either encourages a reader to proceed with reading or prompts them to put the paper aside. Here are three principles to make your introduction stand out:

• Hook. This part depends on the general size of your work and may be from one to five sentences long. A hook must be riveting and thought-provoking to persuade readers to read your paper further.
• Determine the audience. Before starting writing your paper, find out who would be interested in it and try to meet the expectations of your target audience.  
• Thesis statement. Here you present your argument. You introduce the subject of your research paper and its significance. Bear in mind that your thesis statement must be comprehensible and simple but not boring.

Body

The body is the most significant part of your research paper. The overall amount of paragraphs depends on the size of your paper. The more arguments you present,  the bigger main part there should be.

Each idea you set forth should be supported with conclusive proof. Also, remember about references and citations that must correspond to paper format.

Counterarguments are not obligatory. However, if you state them, you must prove their inaccuracy. Such approach to your academic work will create an impression of painstaking research.

Remember to stick to the style and tone of your research paper which you set in the introductory part. However, do not forget to apply creativity utilizing miscellaneous language techniques to make your paper readable. As your target audience is not always well-informed about the subject you write about, you should provide comprehensive explanation written in an interesting manner.

Conclusion

The main task of this part is to summarize the arguments so that readers hit upon the main idea. The conclusive part should be concise and include all crucial points.

• Arguments summarizing. This part includes an overall overview of the arguments put forward in your research paper.
• Call to action. This section of your research paper must prompt readers to act by addressing the issue stated in the thesis statement.

Finally, you should always remember that the main task of your research paper is to demonstrate your capabilities and a perfect grasp of the subject you write about. Thus, drawing an outline will be helpful in your further research work.