You are currently viewing A Short Guide How to Write a Term Paper
Photo by Krzysztof Maksimiuk on Unsplash

A Short Guide How to Write a Term Paper

One of higher education goals is to teach students how to think independently and develop research skills. That is why every student must learn how to write a term paper. Unfortunately, many people either postpone this task to the very last moment or are afraid that they will not cope with it and resort to buying a term paper online without getting the necessary skills. We offer you a short and clear guide on how to write a term paper and get a high grade. 

11 Steps of Working on a Term Paper

  1. Choose the topic of a term paper. Students do not always have a choice, but there is something you can do. First, you need to select the right supervisor from those teachers whose opinions you are closest to. Discuss with the professor a range of topics that can be taken, and then choose the one that is closest to you; 
  2. Study general information. Encyclopedias, textbooks, dictionaries, and review articles on the Internet will allow you to understand what the term paper will be about. Please do not ignore this stage; otherwise, it won’t be easy to make a coherent outline. But do not dig deep into the materials yet. The professor perhaps may correct your plan, require you to emphasize some issues and omit others;
  3. Compile an outline. When you get a general idea of the topic of your term paper, proceed to make a plan. There should be two plans, a short one and a thesis one. First, create a brief outline for writing a term paper, and discuss it with the teacher. Write out the plan for the thesis. You should have a paragraph or at least a sentence for each section: what you will write about and what issue you will explore. Your supervisor must review and approve it. It is better to rewrite the plan five times than to rewrite the entire term paper once!
  4. Study materials. First, select general information on a given topic. Do not forget that the more references to sources you have, the more valuable the work looks. Therefore, you should explore everything: textbooks, articles from journals, articles from conferences, dissertation abstracts, etc. Wikipedia and similar websites are not scientific sources. Once a general picture of the topic is drawn, it is necessary to narrow the search for information to the subject of the term paper;
  5. Structure and compile the materials. It is necessary to break the material into chapters and paragraphs. This stage seems simple, but there is a pitfall. You need to isolate the main thing. The material that will get into your term paper should support your viewpoints; 
  6. References. Do not leave the procedure for working with references to the last moment. It’s pretty confusing to review everything over again and recall everything you’ve used. It is better to put references as you write the paper;
  7. Write an introduction. In this section, it is important to work carefully on the text and structure. Draw attention to the main components: the relevance of the topic, the object, and subject of the study, the purpose, and objectives of the term paper, and a brief review of the literature on which the study is built. You can briefly and concisely formulate these concepts and highlight them in the text with indents or paragraphs to make it even easier for the professor; 
  8. Write conclusions and personal opinions. Each paragraph and each chapter concludes with unique thoughts on the topic. It is possible and even necessary to discuss with the authors who have already written something on your topic (within the limits of adequacy, of course). In general, the more independent conclusions are, the more original the course work will be. Therefore, you have a higher chance of getting an A. It is crucial to formulate the main findings and conclusions of the study. You can write at least three sentences — it will not take much time, but the work will look complete.
  9. Make a list of references. Write down all the sources of literature that you mention in your term paper. Even if you do not hold any of the textbooks you refer to in your hands, you can quickly make a bibliography. Enter your topic or individual authors into any Internet search engine, and you’ll see a huge number of bookstores where you can look up all the source outputs;
  10. Format the document. There are specific requirements for formatting a term paper, and an inattentive attitude that will negate all your efforts in writing research. These rules are often prescribed in methodological recommendations, but you can use the generally accepted ones;
  11. Proofread and check references. The teacher will be more favorable to you if there are few or no mistakes and typos in your term paper. Mistakes are unacceptable in a serious paper claiming a high score. 

Featured Photo by Krzysztof Maksimiuk on Unsplash