Welcome to 5.1! In this guide, we’ll be discussing what you need to plan, produce and revise your final research paper. 

Why does this guide cover planning and revising? You need some of the same skills to do both, and that’s why they’re being grouped here. We’ll be discussing how to outline a research paper and how to make your writing clear. 

In the planning and producing stage, these skills are good to know so you can use them as you write. In the revising stage, you can use these skills to make sure your paper is the best it can be. You can go back to the outlining process to make sure your paper has all the essential components and you can revise your writing for clarity of expression. 

Let this guide serve as a sort of checklist for your final research paper, to make sure you have everything you need. 

Information comes from the College Board’s CED.

** Research Tip: If you have control over your deadlines, leave yourself time — at the very least, have a day before your paper is due  — to revise your final paper. I can say from personal experience that you don’t want to be revising at the last minute. **

Let’s start with the basic outline.

Outline of a Research Paper

While every research paper is different, most research papers generally have these elements and subelements in this order:

• Introduction: Opens your paper.
  • Background and Context of the Research: Your literature review naturally goes over some background and context, but you may find it helpful to give even more background.
  • Statement of the Research Question and/or the Project’s Goal: At some point, you’ll need to explain what you’re researching.
  • Literature Review: Your Literature Review looks at previous work done in your field or on your topic.
  • Gap Identification: For AP Research specifically, you need to “logically [explain] how the topic of inquiry addresses a gap” (Source: AP Research Paper Rubric). This means you’ll need to state directly in your paper what the gap in the field is that you’re going to fill. What are you doing that nobody else has done before?
• Method, Process, or Approach: Explains what the research process was. Remember, your research process description needs to be detailed and replicable.
• Results, Product, or Findings: Explains what the results of your research was. If you’re creating something like an artistic work, this will be a product instead of a result.
• Discussion, Analysis, and/or Evaluation:
  • Commentary: Your results won’t make much sense unless you add reasoning to your evidence. You need to explain what your results or product mean. You also need to explain how these results connect to your original research question or goal.
• Limitations: Discusses the limitations of your research.
• Implications: Discusses the implications of your research.
• Conclusion and Future Directions: This section is for wrapping up your paper and discussing what future work could be done based on what you found in your research. “Future Directions” of a work can count as implications of research, although I would add further implications just to be safe.
• Bibliography: Last but not least, you have your bibliography, a list of sources formatted in a citation style such as MLA or APA. When planning, you can use this list as a road-map, letting you know where to go next in your research paper writing process. 

When revising, you can use this list as a checklist to make sure you have all the components you need for your paper. 

Tips for The Writing Process

Now that you have your outline ready to go… If this is your first time around, it’s time to write! 

If you’re revising, it’s time to edit! 

Fundamentally, a research paper should be clear. A college-level reader should be able to understand what your paper is saying, even if they don’t know the background. Remember that you’re not giving your paper to experts in your field to grade, so you’ll have to explain any specialized terms you use. 

** Research Tip: This is where a peer review can be really helpful: your peers can let you know if you’re under-explaining something because they won’t be as deeply entrenched in your topic as you are.**

How do you write a clear paper? Here are some general tips: 

• Start with an outline when writing so you know what the rough shape of your essay is.
  • In the editing process, it can be helpful to “re-outline” your paper by writing a one sentence summary of each paragraph.
• Use frequent transition words such as however, therefore, despite, regardless…
• Keep in mind the tone you want to achieve as you write. Generally speaking, you won’t want to take a negative tone towards your research.
  • Writers express tone through their choice in words, the way their sentences are structured, and the imagery — if any — they choose to use.
• Check that your sentences have consistent tenses, modifiers, and sentence structures.
• Be mindful of the design elements you’re using in your presentation and paper, such as headings or tables. It’s important not to overuse these elements. Ask yourself: does this design element help my audience understand my point?
• Finally, choose a citation style and stay consistent to it.

** Research Tip: For some people, they work best by writing rough first drafts and then keeping the above elements in mind when revising. For other people, they prefer to revise as they write. Experiment a little to see what works for you!**

In the next guide, we’ll be talking about presentation skills, specifically.