A research essay is a type of academic writing that requires you to investigate a topic, analyze evidence, and present your findings in a clear and structured way. It is different from a simple summary or a personal opinion, as it involves critical thinking, evaluation, and synthesis of information from various sources. A research essay can also demonstrate your knowledge, skills, and understanding of a subject, as well as your ability to communicate effectively and persuasively.

Writing a research essay can be challenging, but it can also be rewarding and satisfying if you follow some steps and guidelines. In this blog, we will show you how to perfectly write a research essay with all writing elements, such as:

• Choosing a topic
• Conducting research
• Developing a thesis statement
• Outlining your essay
• Writing the introduction
• Writing the body paragraphs
• Writing the conclusion
• Revising and editing your essay

Choosing a Topic

The first step in writing a research essay is to choose a topic that interests you and that you can explore in depth. You should also consider the purpose, audience, and scope of your essay, as well as the availability and reliability of sources. A good topic should be:

• Relevant: It should relate to the course or discipline you are studying and address a current or significant issue.
• Specific: It should not be too broad or too narrow, but rather focused and manageable.
• Original: It should not be too obvious or common, but rather offer a new or different perspective or insight.
• Debatable: It should not be a fact or a general statement, but rather a claim or an argument that can be supported or challenged by evidence.

Some ways to find a good topic are:

• Brainstorming: You can generate ideas by listing keywords, questions, problems, gaps, controversies, or contradictions related to your subject.
• Reading: You can browse through books, articles, websites, or other sources to find topics that catch your attention or spark your curiosity.
• Discussing: You can talk to your instructor, classmates, friends, or family members to get feedback or suggestions on your topic.

Conducting Research

The next step in writing a research essay is to conduct research on your topic and gather relevant and credible information from various sources. You should use both primary and secondary sources to support your thesis statement and arguments. Primary sources are original documents or data that provide first-hand evidence or testimony, such as interviews, surveys, experiments, speeches, letters, diaries, etc. Secondary sources are interpretations or analyses of primary sources or other secondary sources, such as books, articles, reviews, commentaries, etc.

Some tips for conducting research are:

• Plan: You should plan your research strategy by defining your research question, identifying keywords and synonyms, selecting databases and search engines, and setting a timeline.
• Search: You should search for sources by using different combinations of keywords and operators (such as AND, OR, NOT), applying filters (such as date range, language, publication type), and evaluating results (such as relevance, authority, accuracy).
• Organize: You should organize your sources by creating citations (using a consistent style such as APA or MLA), taking notes (summarizing, paraphrasing, quoting), and outlining (grouping ideas into categories).

Developing a Thesis Statement

The third step in writing a research essay is to develop a thesis statement that expresses the main idea or argument of your essay. A thesis statement is usually one or two sentences that appear at the end of your introduction. It should:

• Answer your research question
• Reflect your position or point of view on the topic
• Provide the main points or subtopics that you will discuss in your body paragraphs
• Be clear, concise, specific, and debatable

Some examples of thesis statements are:

• Social media has a positive impact on mental health by enhancing social support, self-expression, and self-esteem.
• The legalization of marijuana in Canada has led to increased crime rates, health risks, and social problems.
• Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragedy that explores the themes of madness, revenge, and morality.

Outlining Your Essay

The fourth step in writing a research essay is to outline your essay by arranging your main points and subpoints into a logical order. An outline can help you organize your thoughts, structure your arguments, and avoid repetition or omission of information. A typical outline for a research essay consists of three main parts:

• Introduction: It introduces the topic, provides background information, states the thesis statement, and previews the main points.
• Body: It develops the main points with supporting evidence from sources, such as facts, statistics, examples, quotes, etc. Each body paragraph should have a topic sentence, a transition sentence, and a concluding sentence.
• Conclusion: It restates the thesis statement, summarizes the main points, and provides a final comment or implication.

Writing the Introduction

The fifth step in writing a research essay is to write the introduction that hooks the reader’s attention, provides background information, states the thesis statement, and previews the main points. The introduction should:

• Capture the reader’s interest by using a hook, such as a question, a quote, a statistic, a story, or an anecdote.
• Provide background information by giving context, defining terms, explaining concepts, or presenting facts related to the topic.
• State the thesis statement by expressing your main idea or argument and providing the main points or subtopics that you will discuss in your body paragraphs.
• Preview the main points by briefly mentioning what each body paragraph will cover.

Writing the Body Paragraphs

The sixth step in writing a research essay is to write the body paragraphs that develop the main points with supporting evidence from sources. The body paragraphs should:

• Follow the outline that you created in the previous step
• Start with a topic sentence that introduces the main point of the paragraph
• Provide supporting evidence from sources that back up your point and cite them properly
• Explain how the evidence relates to your point and your thesis statement
• End with a transition sentence that links to the next paragraph or a concluding sentence that wraps up the paragraph

Writing the Conclusion

The seventh step in writing a research essay is to write the conclusion that restates the thesis statement, summarizes the main points, and provides a final comment or implication. The conclusion should:

• Remind the reader of your main idea or argument by restating your thesis statement in different words
• Summarize your main points by briefly reviewing what each body paragraph covered
• Provide a final comment or implication by giving your opinion, recommendation, solution, prediction, or question related to the topic

Revising and Editing Your Essay

The final step in writing a research essay is to revise and edit your essay to improve its content, structure, style, and mechanics. You should:

• Revise your essay by checking if it meets the requirements of the assignment, if it has a clear and coherent thesis statement and main points, if it has sufficient and relevant evidence from sources, if it has smooth transitions and logical connections between paragraphs and sentences, and if it has a strong introduction and conclusion.
• Edit your essay by checking if it follows the rules of grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and citation style. You can use tools like Grammarly or Hemingway to help you with this process.
• Proofread your essay by reading it aloud or asking someone else to read it for you. You can also use tools like ProWritingAid or PaperRater to help you with this process.