Academic Tutorial On How To Write A Social Science Research Paper

Writing a social science research paper requires thorough planning and note taking. Doing both will prepare you to write the best research paper you can. It will also help you to write any future research papers.

Planning Your Paper

Every paper you write should be properly planned. This means you:

  • Prepare to take notes
  • Conduct research
  • Create an outline
  • Proofread your work for organization
  • Etc...

But how much of your time should be dedicated entirely to planning your paper? Well, a well planned paper will be much better organized than a paper that was never planned at all. Think about how you will prepare your argument and create an outline in order to help improve the final product. Remember though, that some writers are best at coming up with ideas but find it difficult to plan while others have trouble creating ideas and find it easier to create a plan. Sitting down and actually writing may be the only thing you need to get your ideas out.

It is up to you to determine how much time you personally need to dedicate to planning. Whether you are aware that your first draft is always disorganized or you often spend too much time writing the paper the night before it is due, you can likely benefit from a bit more planning. But be careful that you do not end up spending too much time or too little time to the process.

Planning your paper is great for you because it offers the following benefits:

  1. Planning lets you produce a logical argument that is easily followed by your readers
  2. Planning lets you create an economical paper that adheres to your word count and avoids repetition.
  3. Planning lets you produce a paper that makes a thorough argument, with nothing left out.
  4. Planning helps you draft your first paper easier because you can direct all of your concentration on writing issues such as clarity, word choice, and grammar.

If you plan too much you might not leave yourself time enough to write your paper and then revise it. You might end up with a paper that attempts to cover too much in a few pages, which results in no analytic depth. You might also end up not discovering new ideas throughout your writing and have no spontaneity.