Tell me if this sounds familiar: You’re searching online for sources for your research paper, and halfway through reading, you ask yourself, “Who writes this crap?” Good question. You, your neighbor, or just about anyone can publish online. In the world of the internet, you could become Allie S. Everson, PhD and write an article …
It’s late Sunday night, and you’ve spent more time than you should binge-watching your favorite crime drama. Even though you most certainly feel like those eight hours were time well-spent, they did nothing to help you think of a good topic for your upcoming sociology research paper. I stress the word “good” here because it’s …
Tell me if this has happened to you: your phone gets dunked in water (we won’t discuss how), and you start researching to see if putting it in rice will actually save it. You read a few blog posts and watch a few videos. But instead of immediately putting your phone in a bag of …
Your heart is pounding so hard that you’re positive everyone in the room can hear it. Beads of sweat form on your brow as you try to load your presentation. You pause and breathe deeply. It does nothing to calm you. The presentation finally loads … but it’s the draft you started days ago. The …
Unless your prof has taught a grand total of no more than one course in her teaching career, chances are she’s already tired of reading papers about topics like these: The differences between high school and college Marijuana legalization Gun control School uniforms While it is possible to write a uniquely fascinating research paper about …
Sometimes, essays and research papers are just really difficult to write. You may feel like you lack the creativity or just the motivation to get it done. Other times, you get in the zone. The inspiration strikes, and you’re able to get through the content really quickly. But as inspired as the body of your research paper …
Most of us think technology is pretty awesome—that is, until you go on a late-night fast food run and the drive-thru voice tells you that the credit card machine is down (and of course you have no cash to pay for your burger and fries). Or maybe technology is great because you can take an …
What do the following have in common? Hippies Kim Kardashian Whip/Nae Nae Friends (the television show) Call of Duty (the video game) At first glance, these probably don’t seem to relate to each other in any way, but they actually have at least one very important thing in common: they’re all pop culture legends. While …
Let’s face it, most of us are used to writing essays and research papers. We’ve written them throughout our entire academic careers. The abstract, on the other hand, is likely a relatively new endeavor. Without a lot of practice and experience writing abstracts, it can be pretty daunting. Heck, it’s enough to leave your fingers …
If you’re a math person, the word abstract likely conjures up numbers like three or seven (numbers that don’t really refer to a certain thing). If you’re more of an artist, you might envision Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night. And for those of you who are into teaching, medicine, or maybe psychology, you might think …
Hypothesis: (noun) a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation. Yikes! That sounds pretty serious (and a little intimidating too). Don’t let it scare you, though. In simpler terms, a hypothesis is an idea of what you think will happen in your experiment or …
It’s been a long night of frantic researching and writing, and as you check your word count for the fifth time in the past 10 minutes, you realize your required 2,000-word research paper is still only 1,162 words. Gone are the days of trying (and likely failing) to make your paper look longer by changing …
Aiming for the big ‘A’ on that next essay? Well guess what—winging it without an essay outline is just not an option! By now, you’ve probably made plans in one form or another. You’ve marked quizzes and paper due dates on a calendar. Maybe you’ve put together a surprise birthday party for your friend. Thinking about …
Woot! You’re finally free to choose your own research topic. This calls for celebration! “Why celebrate?” you ask? Because you’re no longer under your teacher’s thumb, that’s why. You can pick whatever topic you like, something you actually care about. How cool is that? So take a few minutes (or longer) to think about issues …
So you’ve carefully read your professor’s instructions and picked your research topic. Awesome — but now what? The long and winding road to a great research paper starts with a strong thesis statement, but theses don’t grow on trees! You must first come up with a great research question, which will act like your paper’s …
Have you ever stared at the rack of candy at your local convenience store trying to figure out which candy bar you want? Do you finally just grab one simply because a candy bar is a candy bar, and it’s all chocolate, so one is just as good as the next? This might be a fine …
Tired of writing about the same tired old topics like the ban on smoking in public places, the dangers of texting and driving, or gun control? Good. Your professors are tired of reading about these topics, too. When you’re writing a research paper, you want to impress your professors with your writing skills, but you …
True or false? Writing a research paper is time-consuming. True: Writing a research paper is very time consuming. You can’t just grab a few random sources and try to make them work. You certainly can’t start writing a research paper a few hours before it’s due and expect to write an “A” paper. True or false? Writing …
It’s the first day of class, and your instructor hands you the syllabus. As you browse through, you get to the list of assignments and your eyes widen–a 15-page research paper is due at the end of the semester. You’ve never written 15 pages of anything in your whole life. Sure, you have all semester …
Research Paper: Two words that strike fear into the hearts of many students. Four syllables that create panic, dread, and anxiety. But they don’t have to. Writing a research paper takes time and requires effort, but if you have a good topic and credible sources, you’re on your way to a great paper. Wait…what? Credible …
You’ve really hit the big leagues now. Gone are the days of teachers telling you exactly what to write and giving you research paper topics that drive you out of your mind with boredom. You have freedom to choose your own topic now! (No need to write one more boring, assigned paper about gun control …