How to Start a Research Paper?

A lot of students put writing their research papers off until the last few days before the posted deadlines. Some students will ask for extensions or simply try to write to the best of their abilities the night before and hope their professors will show mercy. These are terrible approaches to getting this important academic assignment completed.

We’re going to assume you have conducted all of your research and have plenty of time before your deadline, and what you are looking to find are effective strategies on how to start an introduction to a research paper. This article will help with that:

How to Start a Research Paper

Writing an intro to a research paper can be a frustrating and time-consuming process. A lot of students leave this and the conclusion until the end because it allows them to align the components of the introduction with the rest of the paper. This is a really good idea, especially when you are dealing with a long writing assignment such as this.

1. Introduce the Research Study Topic

   Whatever topic you have chosen to study must be introduced in the first few lines of the research paper. Start with a good hook (an anecdote, a quote, a fact, etc.) that captures the reader’s interest; just make sure that it is appropriate to the subject at hand.

2. Put Your Topic In Greater Context

   Putting your work into context is a great method for how to start a research paper intro because it tells the reader what literature (studies) exist surrounding your topic and explains their limitations. These sentences should be limited to the most important resources.

3. Explain the Research You Conducted

   Next, you need to describe the type of research you are conducting (e.g., qualitative or quantitative) and illustrate how it fits to fill in gaps that exist in the broader scholarship of the discipline.

4. Provide a Reasoning for the Research

   The reasoning behind your study is an important element for how to start an introduction to a research paper. This is where you state your case for the need to answer questions related to your study. It’s your last opportunity to indicate the significance of your work to the academic community.

5. State Your Hypothesis (Thesis) at the End

   Finally, end your introduction with a clear and concise hypothesis. This should state your position on the main question at hand. Minor questions can be answered throughout your work, but your main focus should be addressing a single research problem.

Research projects can be quite long depending on the subject and topic. Because of this, the introduction plays a key role in clarifying what you are presenting by posing questions and your hypothesis. An intro doesn’t need to be more than a paragraph long (or a few paragraphs for longer projects), but you must touch on all the essential components. If you require assistance with writing, editing, or proofreading your research paper, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re available 24/7 and are ready to help out whenever you need us.