Cursing yourself for not completing the research paper before? Or are you just straight-up lost and crying over the time you decided to sign up for study courses?

Here’s my advice.

Take a deep breath and try to relax.

It’s ok. It happens to the most of us.

My next advice is to continue reading this blog. I will help you get done with that research paper in no time. Below are some of the proven tips which I learned in my academic years to write my papers quickly. And yes, my professors graded me well too.

1. Understand your topic and choose it wisely

Sometimes you are assigned with the topic. Other times, you are given the choice to choose it yourself. In that case, you should pick a topic which you know you can write on. Otherwise, you will find research very challenging. For example, don’t like finance? Run from choosing topics related to it as fast as you can. Also, just don’t select a topic because you like how it sounds. Even if you are assigned one, run a quick google search. Read at least a page on it, so you know what you are signing up for. The topic should have some research available on it already as well.

2. Create a generic outline

An outline or simply a research statement acts as a checklist for you to stay relevant in your research and writing. It will also save your time. Yes, I understand how intimidating it is. Back in high school, it was mandatory for us to submit our essays with brainstorming. I believed in reverse engineering and the fact that ideas come as you write. Therefore, I used to first write the paper and then the outline.

While this may work for a 500-word essay, my strategy crushed when I had to write a 5000-word research paper. Thus, before you dive in writing, make an outline of your main idea, subheadings and the points you may cover. If you don’t know what to include, still make one. You can improve it as you do your research. This brings us to the next tip.

3. Research well, duh

Research? Why will you tell me that? I know it already.

No, hon. I am not telling you to research but to research well. And both of the things are different. Even while writing short blogs, most of the time I got distracted from my topic by doing inappropriate research. My topic might be “Writing the Perfect Resume” and instead I might end up writing on “What is a CV?”

This mostly happens when you have ample of research resources available on the topic. You try including everything you like from these resources. Then, before you know it, you lose track. When you should be talking about cookies, you find yourself talking about flour. Therefore, optimize your research by referring back to your outline and knowing exactly what you have to research. You might also set a time limit for researching a certain heading.

4. Get your laptop and start writing

What may put you behind your deadline is waiting for the right motivation to start writing. Believe me, it will never come until you have a week left to submit it. Or worst, a day? Shivers. Even if you start writing just a week before, you will heavily compromise on the quality of your work. Suddenly your goal will be to submit a complete research paper and not a good one.

Thus, once you are done with your research, start writing. Even if you don’t want to do it or in case of confusion, just giving a try will actually allow you to develop strategies to complete it. And before you know it, you will be writing better. However, make sure to refer back to your outline and research, so you don’t write anything irrelevant. Set a schedule to write. If you feel demotivated, just watch some cute kitten videos for a few minutes. It works like a charm.

5. Write the Introduction and Conclusion at the end

Well seems like reverse engineering does work with research papers as well. But this is basically the format of writing every academic paper in the world. Your introduction briefly answers the questions of why, what, who, where, when and how related to your problem statement. In contrast, a conclusion simply summarizes whatever you wrote in previous pages. This is why you cannot write these sections of the paper at the start. Actually, writing them at the same time will make sure your problem statement outlined in the introduction and findings in the conclusion are relevant.

6. Proofread your paper (and get someone to do it for you)

Most of the time when the deadline is near, I try completing the write-ups without leaving any time for editing. When I am done, I just glance over it hastily and submit it. Trust me, big mistake. Grammar and punctuation mistakes ticks everyone off. While I suggest proofreading after writing every page, make sure to efficiently read your complete research paper again and again. You’ll find it much better to proofread it after a day of writing. Or instead, you can ask some friends or family members to do it for you.

7. Cite your work

So you researched and now you won’t thank the professor,at the end, whose 1000-word essay you re-wrote? Bad practice. While during research and writing, make an additional file simultaneously for all the references. Then, decide which citation format you may use or just ask your supervisor. Run a quick google search and find some website or app to customize the reference in the right format.

Bonus tip: The printer can sense your fear

In case you have to submit a hard copy of your paper, don’t leave printing for the morning. At the most crucial moment, even your world’s best printer might go out of ink. Just print it at night and sleep well before the big day.