5 Tips on how to write the perfect academic paper

Writing the perfect academic paper for your college course might not be easy, and is in fact, stressful. College is a brand new experience for everyone, and adjusting your academic lifestyle in a way that fits it is tough.

As soon as you start university, you are bombarded by tons of papers and several due dates. The amount of assignments that you have stress and overwhelm you. Mostly importantly, you have no clue how to write a research paper for your course and ace it.

As an English major who has done a huge amount of research papers, here are 5 tips on how to write a perfect academic paper:

Content for your academic paper

1. Read and research well

One thing about academic papers is that you need to do tons of readings and research in order to get a clear idea about your topic. Moreover, keep in mind that you should solely rely on reliable sources. For instance, journals, peer-reviewed articles, and governmental websites are the most credible references you can depend on. This will help you to come up with more objective and evidence-based conclusions. Try to find a couple of acceptable sources, and get your information straight. Once you feel that you are familiar and comfortable about the subject, you can move to the next step.

2. Brainstorm your main ideas

Now that you have established your topic, you can start formulating your main ideas. In order to do so, you should come up with a research question or a hypothesis that you want to base your argument on. To elaborate, after doing your research, what limitations did this research have? What are some gaps that you can fill? What are some questions that were not answered? Once you find a loop hole in the research, you can easily formulate your hypothesis. Next, you can start by organizing your main ideas. Remember, all your arguments should be well-cited and have credible references. Do not plagiarize and copy information that is not yours. Synthesize the information that you gathered in order to analyze your results. Also, your ideas should be logical and supported clearly.

3. Prepare your findings

After developing your main ideas, you should get to the core of your academic paper. What conclusions can be made from your research? Be critical and provide a profound analysis on your work. Through your findings, you should aim to establish the significance of your research and how you were able to fill a gap.

 Structure and Language for your academic paper

4. STI: Strip the Inessential

A problem most students face once they write their first academic paper is thinking that wordiness makes your paper more sophisticated. However, this is completely wrong. Wordy sentences will only lead to redundancy and reiteration. Moreover, your paper will have long, intricate, and unreadable sentences. Always keep in mind that your audience may not have the same knowledge as you. Your words and your language should be suitable for everyone to read. That’s why my best tip is to strip the inessential. Any word you write should have an added value to your sentence. If it does not add any value, then you should eliminate it.

5. Clear, concise, and simple

Similarly, as discussed above, your language and sentence structures should be clear, concise, and simple. Archaic and informal language isn’t appropriate for academic papers. Many students try to use advanced and eloquent vocabulary thinking this will make their paper appear better, which is not true. Do not become distracted by using sophisticated vocab that your start drifting from your topic. Instead, you should stick to a list of formal academic words. Moreover, try to vary your sentence structures, employ transitional words, and better stick to the present or present perfect tense. Your sentences should not be too long as well. Finally, avoid run-on sentences and make sure to proofread and properly edit your paper!