editing of research papers

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Editing & Proofreading

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This resource covers process and strategy, not correctness rules. For help there, see our many resources on grammar,    mechanics ,  and punctuation .

There are multiple levels of editing, and terminology surrounding editing is often used interchangeably and fluidly. These levels have some overlap between each other, rather than being totally discrete stages; similarly, developmental and substantive editing are more closely related to the "revision" step of the writing process. The four editing levels are:

• Developmental editing: looking at the overall development of the piece, for instance looking for organizational patterns, missing information, inaccurate information, or anything that might confuse a reader
• Substantive editing: making changes to ensure sections (all the way down to paragraphs and sentences) flow logically from one to the next, ensure each paragraph's topic sentence is present and accurate, adding new necessary material to make connections between ideas, removing unnecessary material
• Copyediting: addressing sentence level issues such as style inconsistencies, subject-verb agreement, confusing or wordy phrasing, missing words, missing or inaccurate citations, and any other mechanical or grammatical issues that may be present
• Proofreading: usually the "last pass" before submission or publication; ensuring everything is correct and no lingering errors such as typos, missing words, missing punctuation, etc. remain.

In general, writers should follow this list down in order when revising and editing, from higher order to lower order concerns (in other words, from bigger or more impactful issues to smaller and less impactful issues).

While many writers edit alone at some point during the process, many writers also edit with a partner or writing group. Working with others is strongly recommended when editing; typically, this stage of the writing process comes last or close to last, meaning that writers are more likely to overlook mistakes or potential opportunities (because they have been working on the text for so long). It can be hard for writers to imagine other possibilities beyond what they have already written. A partner or group brings fresh perspective and a real audience who can offer feedback and tell the writer more about what it's like to read their writing. 

If you're intrigued by the idea of a writing group but not sure where to start, you might check out these resources: 

• OWL Vidcast: Writing Groups & How to Form Them
• Writing Groups Toolkit from University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

Editing Before Submission

When you're ready to edit, it's important to start with higher order concerns and move down to lower order concerns (as stated above). For higher order concerns, see the editing and revision tips on our Organization and Structure page. For lower order concerns (and sometimes higher order concerns — you might realize something about organization while reading carefully for sentence level issues!), here's a list of strategies that our tutors recommend in sessions with graduate writers. They're usually adaptable to different preferences you might have about working digitally vs. on paper, or working alone vs. with a partner or group. Be creative to find what works for you!

• Read aloud. You can do this yourself, get your computer to read your text out, or ask a friend. Hearing your writing read aloud can help identify places where sentences are confusing or difficult to read, highlight missing words, and create some distance between you and your writing so you can more easily evaluate it.
• Color code. You might do this by highlighting or changing font colors on your screen, using markers on paper, or even without color using font styles and sizes. This technique is useful for various applications, including identifying parts of sentences, identifying particular words or phrases you repeat often, or categorizing sentences by idea to check organization.
• Pick individual issues. When you read through with your focus on only one thing, like correcting comma errors or looking for all the places you write "the ways in which," you're less likely to miss instances of that error by getting distracted with other issues.
• Use checklists. Venues such as journals and conferences often have checklists for authors to use when preparing manuscripts; if you don't have a checklist from a professor, you can sometimes use these checklists to help guide your editing for writing for courses as well. You can also keep a checklist of known issues that your writing partners, professors, tutors, or mentors have mentioned on previous writing assignments to help you look for things you know you do (for instance, one former tutor always put her topic sentences at the ends of paragraphs — she keeps this item in a revision and editing checklist and it's one of the first things she addresses when she edits).

Editing with Feedback

Often, graduate students will be writing or editing with some type of feedback. This could be from peers in a class, from an instructor or mentor, or from a peer reviewer at a conference or journal. If you're in this situation, please see our resources on writing with feedback for more strategies and tips.

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Research Paper Editing Services

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Good research is careful, thorough, and comprehensive. But unless your writing has these qualities, too, it may be difficult to communicate your ideas clearly. So if you’re writing up your research, our dedicated research paper  proofreading service  will ensure you can present your findings with confidence.

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When you submit a research paper for proofreading, our editors will:

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We use this ‘Track Changes’ copy to highlight all edits in the document, so you can review our work and make further changes if required. And if your  chosen file format  doesn’t support Track Changes, we can adapt our process.

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Research Paper Writing Guides

How To Edit A Research Paper

Last updated on: Mar 27, 2024

How to Edit Research Papers With Precision: A Detailed Guide

By: Betty P.

11 min read

Reviewed By:

Published on: Mar 6, 2024

After you’re done with writing your research paper comes the time for another tedious and time-consuming task, the editing process!

Research paper editing is a mentally challenging task that requires a high level of concentration from the author. 

It goes beyond simply rearranging all elements of the paper in an organized manner. You have to check for grammar, clarity, and logical coherency, and analyze the content of the research document. 

Most research students often skip the editing process, and even some researchers save editing for the last. These common mistakes will always hinder the progress of your research paper.

In this blog, we’ll share practical insights on how to edit your research paper with perfection. Continue reading to understand how you should edit your research paper effectively.  

On this Page

What is Research Paper Editing?

Research paper editing is the process of reviewing and improving a research paper to make it clear, well-organized, and error-free. It involves checking and correcting grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. 

Other than that, the editing process makes sure that the paper follows a logical structure and is written clearly and concisely. Editors also look for consistency in writing style and formatting.

Unlike revising, which primarily focuses on restructuring and refining the content and overall argument, editing hones in on the finer details of language, style, and formatting.

Before learning how to edit your research paper, you should know that there are different types of research paper editing. 

What are the Different Types of Research Paper Editing?

There are different editing processes for research papers. All of them have the same focus, to take the research document toward perfection. You have to use a combination of these editing types to make sure your paper is as close to perfection as it can be. 

Content Editing

• Purpose: Analyze the organization and presentation of the research paper
• Focus: Ensures the paper makes sense, has a good flow, and develops and communicates arguments clearly
• Questions to Address: Does the paper have logical consistency, and are there any major gaps in reasoning?

Copy Editing

• Purpose: Focuses on corrections related to spelling, punctuation, grammar, word choice, and overall writing quality
• Focus: Enhances the overall quality of writing while editing research papers

Line Editing

• Purpose: A 'line-to-line' check focusing on word choice and writing impact, similar to copy editing
• Actions: Involves making changes to strengthen the paper, addressing issues like imitative phrasing and run-on sentences
• Focus: Emphasizes clarity and simplification to ensure the meaning is clear and not overly complex

Mechanical Editing

• Purpose: The final editing step after addressing structure, content, coherence, style, flow, grammar, and word choice
• Focus: Ensures strict compliance with the style guide specified by the chosen journal for publication

Once your paper goes through each strategy and steps in the process of editing one by one, it becomes ready for submission to a journal or presentation. 

Strategies for Editing Your Research Paper

Here are the vital strategies that your research paper editing process should go through. Follow these, and you'll have a well-polished paper ready for submission.

Double-Check the Outline

“ How to edit a research paper outline?”

Before getting into the nitty-gritty of editing your research paper, take a moment to double-check your outline. The outline serves as the roadmap for your paper. It guides both the readers and yourself through the logical progression of ideas. 

Here are some key considerations:

Confirm Structural Coherence

The structure of your paper should align with the outlined plan. Each section should naturally lead to the next, creating a natural progression of ideas.

Check Transitions

Review transitions between paragraphs and sections. Smooth transitions enhance the readability of your paper. This makes it easier for readers to follow your thoughts.

Outline Accuracy

Verify that your outline accurately represents the content of your paper. Each point in your outline should encapsulate the essence of the corresponding section in your research paper.

You should never skip checking the outline in editing research papers. An accurate outline lays the foundation of polished and well-presented academic work.

Edit in Stages

Editing research papers becomes very tedious if you try to edit different aspects of the paper without a plan. 

For example, while reviewing your paper for mistakes, you discover a logical error in the outline. You jump straight to correcting it and after that, you notice a factual error. You start working on correcting that as well. This is the wrong approach! 

• This approach takes too much time, and you might lose track of what you’re actually doing
• It is always a great practice to break down the editing process into phases
• You should devise a plan that breaks down what issues to fix first

As a result, editing research papers will be much easier, and you’ll have a focused approach throughout.

It's a personal preference whether you want to tackle grammar or punctuation first, or focus on the overall logical structure of your research paper. 

Make Your Paper Logically Sound

With a solid outline in place, shift your focus to verifying the overall logic of your research paper. It's important for a reader to understand something logically. 

Here's how you can enhance the logical coherency of your paper:

• Organize Your Paper Effectively

Start by looking at how your paper is organized. Make sure your research paper introduction , literature review , methodology , discussion , and results follow a clear and logical order. Each part should fit together smoothly.

• Establish Logical Connections Between Ideas

Think about how your ideas connect. Check that each point logically leads to the next. Your paper should read like a coherent story, with one idea naturally flowing into the next.

• Maintain a Consistent Tone

Throughout the writing process, maintain the same tone in your paper. Avoid sudden changes in tone that might confuse your readers. Make sure your tone matches the formal nature of academic writing.

One thing to note here is that each sentence in your paper should somehow support the thesis statement . There should be no contradictions in your writing. 

Edit Out any Grammatical or Punctuation Issues

To make your writing clear and professional: 

• Focus on fixing grammar and punctuation issues. Check each sentence for problems like wrong verb use or confusing structure
• Pay attention to using commas, periods, and other punctuation marks correctly, and keep the style consistent
• Make sure each sentence is easy to understand and says what you mean
• Use spell check to catch any misspelled words, especially in technical terms

Tools like Microsoft Word can significantly improve your grammar by offering built-in features such as grammar check, style recommendations, and thesaurus as well. 

Verify Adherence to Guidelines 

One of the vital steps in editing research papers is to make sure that your paper aligns with the required research paper format and guidelines. Check the instruction manual provided to you by the concerned publication or the journal. 

Verify Source Accuracy

Verifying that your research paper sources are accurate. Make sure that your in-text and bibliographical citations are correct, and that they follow the required formatting guidelines 

(e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago).

• All references should follow a consistent formatting style throughout your paper
• Double-check that your in-text citations accurately correspond to the sources you've referenced
• Confirm that all necessary details are included in each reference, such as authors' names, publication titles, and publication dates
• Cross-verify against your sources to guarantee accuracy and completeness

Seek Feedback

Don't hesitate to ask others for their thoughts on your work. Seeking feedback is like having a fresh pair of eyes on your paper. It helps you catch things you might have missed and gives you different perspectives. 

Share your paper with peers, colleagues, or mentors and ask for their opinions. Are your ideas clear? Does your argument make sense? Feedback helps you improve your paper before submitting it, making sure it meets the expectations of your audience. 

Do a Final Analysis of Your Research Paper

The final step is to analyze your paper for one final time. In this step, you should look out for the following key points: 

Think about changing sentences that have extra describing words.

• Use Active Voice and Step-by-Step

Make sure everything has been described by using an active voice. 

• Keep It Short

Rephrase any sentences that seem too long. Break them to enhance the clarity of your text.

Now that we have addressed every strategy to edit a research paper, following a checklist always comes in handy. An editing checklist makes sure that you never miss out on even the smallest of details. 

Here is a great video that brilliantly explains and simplifies how to edit research papers effectively:

Research Paper Editing Checklist

For precise editing, a research paper checklist will always help you out. Below is a comprehensive checklist to follow:

Check out our blog on research paper examples if you want to get help from perfectly edited research documents.

How to Edit a Research Paper - Examples

Look at the following examples of how to edit a research paper for a better understanding.

How to Edit a Research Paper

How to Edit a Research Paper Introduction

How to Edit a Research Paper in APA Style

How to Edit a Scientific Paper

How to Edit a Research Proposal

How to Edit an Academic Paper

To conclude, the journey of editing, from content to mechanical details, transforms your research paper into a polished and cohesive masterpiece. Each step addresses distinct aspects and guarantees clarity, precision, and compliance with publishing standards. 

By following this guide, you can be sure that your edited research paper possesses the quality to meet the highest academic standards. We hope that now, you feel confident about editing your research paper.

However, letting professionals handle your research papers is also a great idea!

You may not have the time to edit your research document, or you might be having a difficult time trying to make your paper error-free. This is where SharkPapers.com will lend you a helping hand.

We have professional academic writers who provide research paper editing services for cheap! Our skilled experts exactly follow the required guidelines, and they’ll edit your research documents to be flawless.  

Give our paper writing service online a visit, tell us what sort of edits you require, and leave the rest to us!

Betty is an experienced writer and researcher who will work tirelessly to provide you with the best writing services possible. A voracious reader, Betty loves learning new things, which allows her to serve clients from a variety of academic disciplines. She has a taste for helping her students, so her work always results in positive feedback.

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How to Revise and Edit a Research Paper

• Your introduction engages the reader and clearly presents a thesis that responds to your assignment.
• The body of your paper supports the thesis with laser-like focus.
• Your conclusion convinces your readers of the importance of what you wrote.

Revision often requires changing the structure of your work to achieve a more logical presentation, one that is more descriptive, or one that ensures you have met the parameters of your assignment. More than anything else, it requires that you check all the facts and quotations you used and ensure that you have cited them properly and have not plagiarized a writer.

Academic Writing, Editing, Proofreading, And Problem Solving Services

Get 10% off with 24start discount code, check each part of your research paper.

The first step in the revising and editing process is to start reading your draft from the beginning and make sure that each part—the introduction, body, and conclusion—does the job it’s supposed to do. For each part of your draft, ask yourself the questions on the following checklist. If your answer to any question is “no,” make the revisions necessary to change your answer to “yes.”

Check Your Introduction:

• Does your introduction capture your readers’ attention?
• Does your introduction contain a thesis statement that clearly states the main idea of your paper?

Check the Body of Your Paper:

• Does every paragraph in the body of your paper support your thesis statement?
• Does every paragraph state a main idea in a topic sentence?
• Does every sentence in each paragraph support the main idea of the paragraph?
• Have you taken out any information that is irrelevant, or beside the point?
• Do your paragraphs provide enough support for the main idea of your paper as it appears in your thesis statement?
• In every paragraph, do you provide enough support for the main idea expressed in its topic sentence?
• Do your paragraphs flow in a logical order?
• Do the sentences in each paragraph flow in a logical order?
• Have you used transitions?

Check Your Conclusion:

• Does your conclusion sum up the main points in your paper?
• Does your conclusion help readers answer the question, “So what?”

Your paper is really shaping up now. But a truly excellent research paper has to do even more than get a yes answer to every question in the preceding checklists. It needs to be well written. In other words, it has to sound good and be free of errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Spell Check

If you’re writing your paper on a computer, of course you can use the spell-checker function. That part of your word processing program picks up most spelling errors. But it doesn’t catch all of them. For example, if you’ve typed the word though incorrectly by leaving out the letter h at the beginning, the word comes out as tough. Your spell checker does not catch that as a mistake because tough is a word. So whether you work on a computer or not, be sure to read through your paper—word for word—to correct any spelling errors. If you aren’t sure how to spell a word, look it up.

Check Grammar and Punctuation

A good knowledge of the rules of language helps you make sure your paper is free of grammar and punctuation errors. You can use the following lists to help you avoid common errors. However, if you have specific questions about the rules of grammar, usage, and mechanics, your language arts textbook explains all of the rules and offers further examples.

Avoid Repetition

If you find that in your paper you have used the same word over and over, replace the repeated word with another one that has a similar meaning. Too much repetition makes writing sound boring. Another kind of repetition to avoid is using the same type of sentence too many times in a row. This can make writing sound boring, too. Varying your sentences makes your writing livelier and more interesting to readers.

Proofread Your Research Paper

After revising and editing your draft, put it away for a day or two—if you have time, of course. Then look at it again. Mistakes that you might have missed pop out at you after you and your paper have had a little vacation from each other. At this point, do your final fixes, making sure everything is as good as you can make it. If you’ve written your paper on a computer, print it out for proofreading. Often, writers see mistakes on paper that they miss on a computer screen. After you proofread, you can type in your corrections.

Another way to catch mistakes and to find areas that still need improvement is to read your work aloud to yourself. Hearing the words in your paper is a particularly good way to call attention to problems such as repetition, improper use of pronouns, and mistakes in subject-verb agreement.

Another good idea is to ask someone else to read your paper and give you feedback. A pair of eyes besides your own can pick up details that you may miss. Your reader, whether a classmate or an adult, should not change your paper. He or she should only suggest additional changes and improvements, which you can make yourself.

Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism, in its most basic definition, means representing other people’s work and ideas as your own. Turning in a research paper that you borrowed, or stole from another student or downloaded from the Internet constitutes plagiarism. So does copying portions of text directly from your sources or from other texts you encountered in your research. It is a serious offense that, in school, can result in a range of penalties—from failing an assignment, earning a black mark on your academic record, to even being expelled. In the workplace, it can result in the loss of your professional reputation and the respect of your colleagues. It can affect your ability to earn promotions or find another job.

Plagiarism is not always deliberate. It can happen inadvertently when students do not understand how to properly present others’ work within their own papers. Even when you go to great lengths to write a paper, plagiarism can occur if you fail to properly cite the words and ideas of others. Plagiarism can happen if:

• You borrow short phrases from your research sources but fail to cite the source.
• You paraphrase an idea from your research using your own words but you fail to cite the original author.
• You represent another students’ work, even a short passage from it, as your own.
• You turn in a paper that you previously submitted as an assignment for another class. (Yes! It is possible to plagiarize yourself.)

More often than not, plagiarism results from a writer’s failure  to properly paraphrase or summarize another’s work or to correctly cite quoted material. Therefore, it is important to understand how to avoid plagiarism and to incorporate strategies for avoiding it in your writing routine. Plagiarism is easy to avoid if you have properly documented your research and if you follow the guidelines of an editorial style book, such as those published by the Modern Language Association (MLA) or the American Psychological Association (APA), to properly cite the research sources you documented.

Choosing a Documentation Style

“Style” refers to the way you present information and write what you have to say. Style guides prescribe conventions for writing and documenting your sources. Numerous styles abound.The three main styles are:

• MLA (Modern Language Association) style: used by the vast majority of high schools, colleges, and in literature, linguistics, and the humanities programs.
• APA (American Psychological Association) style: widely used in the scientific community. Most of example research papers on this site use APA style
• Chicago Manual of Style: typically used in books, magazines, corporate publications, and other popular outlets.

Styles aim to bring consistency to the way in which information is presented.They are designed to promote intellectual integrity and protect writers against plagiarism by specifying the ways in which information should be reported,quoted, paraphrased, and summarized.

In the vast majority of cases, students producing research papers will follow MLA style, although APA style is also used in the academic community.MLA style is widely used among high schools and in undergraduate courses at the college and university level. Straightforward and easy to master, MLA style was developed more than 50 years ago and is also widely used by collegiate presses and scholarly publications.

Upper-level and graduate-level science courses, and other disciplines that present findings in case studies, whitepapers, and reports, typically follow APA style. Your selection of style, however, should always be based upon what your teacher or professor assigns.

Learning the Basics

we review some of the basics of each style and provide a sample paper to illustrate basic MLA format.Students and serious researchers are advised to refer to the style guide of the association whose style they will follow.

Volumes have been published on the rules and recommendations of both styles. The MLA publishes the widely used  MLA Handbook for Writers of Research , as well as the  MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing  which offers more detailed guidance for graduate theses, dissertations, and papers to be published in journals. The APA offers a variety of style guides, including  Mastering APA Style and the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , as well as extensive information online, including a narrated tutorial, at  www.apastyle.org .

Numerous online writing labs (OWLs) sponsored by university writing programs, such as the ones below, also provide extensive resources to help you brainstorm, outline, and write papers, as well as avoid plagiarism:

• Purdue University:  https://owl.english.purdue.edu/
• University of Wisconsin:  http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/Documentation.html
• University of North Carolina:  http://writingcenter.unc.edu/

Basic Formatting Guidelines

• Never submit a handwritten paper.
• Papers should be typewritten on plain white 8 1⁄2 x 11-inch paper.
• Use 1-inch margins on all sides.
• Double-space the paper.
• Text should be justified flush left, leaving the right-hand margin ragged.
• Create a header to run consecutively on all pages, flush right, one-half inch from the top of the page.
• Use quotation marks around the titles of articles and underline or italicize the titles of books and other long works.
• Avoid using all caps, underlining, or italics for emphasis.

Other formatting considerations are particular to the style you choose.

MLA Style Formatting Basics

• Include your name, your instructor’s name, the name of the course, and the date in the top left corner of the first page.
• Use a 12-point font that will be easy to read, such as Times New Roman or Arial.
• Use 1-inch margins for all sides of the paper—top and bottom, right and left.
• Create a header with your last name and the page number to appear in the upper right-hand corner of all other pages that follow the first page.
• Avoid separate title pages. Instead insert one blank line (no more) beneath the date and center the title.
• Never add blank lines or extra white space to the paper. Your teacher will suspect you are wasting space to fill a page requirement.
• Type the title in title case, capitalizing the initial letter of keywords.
• Center the title two lines under the header and just above the first line of text on the first page.
• Insert one blank line (no more) beneath the title and begin writing.Do not include extra white space above or below the title.
• Do not boldface or italicize the title and do not use special fonts.The title should be the same size and typeface as the rest of the paper.
• Justify your text flush left.
• Indent quoted excerpts by five spaces on the left and right-hand sides of the quoted text.
• Double space the entire essay including header information, your works cited page, and quoted excerpts.
• Be sure your works cited entries are formatted in the same style and size text as your paper.This is something you should especially watch if you used a citation generator; most produce the citation in their own fonts.
• Indent paragraphs five spaces, or 1⁄2 inch; do not add extra white space between paragraphs.
• Use one space after punctuation.

APA Style Formatting Basics

APA style was developed by social and behavioral scientists to govern the structure and presentation of scientific writing. Unlike MLA style, APA style calls for a separate title page and unique sections within the paper.The sections include:

• The title page
• An abstract summarizing the paper
• An introduction
• A description of the scientific methodology the researcher used
• A summary of the results
• A discussion of the issues

The references page is equivalent to the MLA’s works cited page. It is a list of the sources cited within the paper. As in MLA style, the referenced works should be alphabetized by author’s last name, listed separately, and formatted with hanging indents. Unlike MLA style, APA style makes liberal use of headings and uses five different levels of headings,each with unique formatting requirements. Check the APA Web site or style guide for details.When using APA style, remember to:

• Use a serif typeface, such as Times New Roman, for the text.
• Use a sans serif typeface, such as Arial, for headings.
• Create separate pages for the title page, abstract, the beginning of the text, references, and each appendix, figure, illustration, or table you use in the paper.
• Use captions with charts, tables, figures, illustrations, and other graphics.

Using Quotations/Citations

Any direct quotations or specific information you use from your sources must be attributed to your source, either by mentioning the author in the text or through an in-text citation. Quotation marks must appear around any words or phrases that appear exactly as they did in the original document. If you mention the author to introduce the quotation, you will need to follow it with a page citation to ensure that you avoid plagiarism, as shown in the example below:

Anne-Marie Minnow explained the importance of the Hadron supercollider as “an innovation that will advance scientific understanding by light-years.” (127)

If you do not include the author’s name in your text, you will need to incorporate the author’s last name in front of the page number in the citation, as shown in the example below:

The Hadron supercollider promises to be “an innovation that will advance scientific understanding by light-years.” (Minnow 127)

Note that the first example is a narrative reference in which the writer mentions the full name of the author in order to introduce, or set up, the quotation. In the second example, the citation follows the quotation to identify who the author is. In both cases, it is clear the words being quoted belong to Minnow and, in addition to using in-text citations like those shown above, you will need to cite the source on your works cited page.

Paraphrasing and Summarizing

Paraphrasing and summarizing are ways of discussing the work and ideas of others without quoting them directly. We summarize a discussion or reading to make it more succinct so that it can fit more neatly into our own discussion.We paraphrase a discussion in order to make it clearer or more relevant to our thesis and our audience. For all practical purposes, summary and paraphrase mean the same thing—using your own words to represent another’s ideas. It is equally as important to cite authors whose ideas you summarize or paraphrase as it is to cite those you quote.

Tips for Summarizing and Paraphrasing

• Whenever you summarize or paraphrase, write your understanding of the text you are summarizing. Avoid looking at the text as you do.This will help ensure that you do not inadvertently borrow the writer’s phrases. When you have finished, compare what you have written to the author’s words and correct any inaccuracies, again using your own words. If you used significant words or phrases from the original text, be sure to enclose them in quotation marks.
• As you incorporate your summaries and paraphrases into your paper, cite them as carefully as you cite quoted material.
• Be especially cautious when using word processing tools like Microsoft Word’s AutoSummarize. AutoSummarize shortens a page of text, highlighting key points and phrases that can be inserted into a research paper. Instructors are aware of these features, and many do not consider them legitimate. It is arguable, after all, whether this is you or the word processor doing the job. If you do use this feature, be sure that you edit the autosummary to quote the words and phrases that the word processor extracted from the original and be sure that you cite the source.
• Whenever you summarize or paraphrase, begin with a signal phrase to introduce the material. Be sure to cite the material as you would cite a quotation.

Now we came to the final part in writing.

Back to  How To Write A Research Paper .

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Sharper Pens, Clearer Minds: Editing Revising Tips for Perfecting Your Paper

Table of contents

• 1 The Initial Review
• 2.1 Take a Break
• 2.2 Read Aloud
• 2.3 Use Editing Tools
• 2.4 Focus on One Aspect at a Time
• 2.5 Check Grammar and Punctuation
• 2.6 Improve Clarity and Conciseness
• 2.7 Eliminate Redundancy and Cliches
• 2.8 Verify Sources and Citations
• 2.9 Address Transitions
• 2.10 Consult a Style Guide
• 2.11 Read Backwards
• 2.12 Consider Professional Editing
• 3 Ready to Start Editing?

Essay writing is among the most common assignments students of different majors receive. Embarking on the journey of writing a research paper or essay is the first step in crafting a compelling work. The true magic lies in editing, where your initial draft transforms into a polished masterpiece. Editing essays is not merely a task to correct grammatical errors. It is a nuanced process that involves refining ideas, improving clarity, and enhancing the quality of your writing.

From this article, you will learn:

• what to pay attention to while writing and editing an essay;
• essential rules for editing academic writing;
• how to bring your text to perfection.

So keep reading!

The Initial Review

The initial review of your essay’s plan is a foundational process akin to taking a step back to appreciate your work. It helps to focus on big-picture elements that lay the groundwork for a well-crafted piece. The emphasis is not on the meticulous correction of commas or typos. The main task of editing in the writing process is to check the structural integrity, organizational coherence, and logical flow of your writing.

Consider the initial review as the unveiling of the blueprint of your work. It’s time to examine the architecture, ensuring that each section aligns with the next and that ideas unfold logically. Ask yourself: Does the introduction effectively set the stage for what follows? Is the body of your work structured logically, guiding the reader through a clear and understandable narrative? Are transitions smooth, facilitating a seamless flow of ideas?

During the initial review, these questions helped to create a more efficient and targeted editing articles process. It allows you to identify and rectify any structural weaknesses or organizational lapses. Besides, it helps to prevent the need for extensive revisions in later stages. The initial review in the essay outline serves as a strategic investment of your time, ensuring that your writing meets the expectations of grammatical correctness and captivates your audience with a well-crafted and organized narrative.

12 Tips on Editing Your Paper

Start editing once you have assessed your work and found no critical or logical errors. This process may be lengthy, but it will only improve your text. So, how to edit a paper? Are there any editing techniques in writing? Below are some tips that will help you revise and edit efficiently.

Take a Break

The first thing you need to do before editing is to pause and take a break. You can go for a walk, cook a meal, or chat with friends. You can do anything that distracts you from your paper’s text. After you have rested, you will be able to notice all the shortcomings and errors with a fresh look and edit an essay efficiently. If necessary, take breaks several times, and take a break every time you see that you have stopped noticing errors in the text.

The next important thing to do while working on your paper is to read aloud. You can’t always notice minor flaws when you silently read your paper. When you speak the essay’s text, you can immediately see logical errors and how you can improve the written sentences. If the text looks complicated and confusing, simplify what you have written and replace it with synonyms. After you edit your own writing, read the text aloud again. Also, use overwriting.

Use Editing Tools

Editing tools serve as invaluable companions. They offer insights and corrections beyond manual review capabilities.

Consider these grammar and spell-check software:

• Grammarly ;
• ProWritingAid .

It can catch overlooked errors, ensuring a polished and error-free manuscript. Style guides provide writers with rules for style consistency and coherence. Additionally, tools like Hemingway Editor analyze writing for readability and suggest improvements.

Professional essay editing tools don’t mean relinquishing creative control. It empowers writers to refine their work more comprehensively.

Focus on One Aspect at a Time

This tip will help you cut down on all your shortcomings quickly. It focuses on individual tasks and assists you to complete the task more efficiently. Self-editing is a process that takes place in several stages. Imagine you decided to eliminate punctuation errors first, so read the text, focusing only on this. The second time you decide that it’s time to remove the passive voice, focus only on this and make edits. You need to be careful if you fall into the use of passive voice . This way, step by step, you will improve your paper and make it more simple and interesting. Moreover, you will not miss anything important with this method.

Check Grammar and Punctuation

Now, let’s review the points you should check in your text. Of course, the most important thing is grammar and punctuation. They show not just your mastery of the subject but your education in general. Thus, you need to do a spelling check. No one will want to read a text full of errors and typos. Do not be lazy to spend more time editing your writing and eliminate all the errors.

Improve Clarity and Conciseness

A well-constructed essay not only conveys ideas but does so with meticulous precision and transparency.

The process involves:

• eliminating ambiguity;
• eradicating redundancies;
• embracing a language.

Each word must contribute purposefully, facilitating effortless comprehension and engendering reader engagement. Through assiduous proofreading, one must meticulously pare down superfluous elements, sculpting sentences to embody clarity. Simplicity should be embraced without compromising substance, ensuring a seamless narrative flow. In this pursuit, each word becomes a brushstroke on the canvas of your essay ─ contributing to a lucid, compelling picture. Mastery of the delicate equilibrium between clarity and conciseness empowers your writing, transforming it into a potent medium that resonates with impact and captures your audience with precision and insight. It is one of the most important self-editing tips.

Eliminate Redundancy and Cliches

In pursuing articulate and impactful writing, eliminating redundancy and cliches is paramount. Redundant expressions, often unintentional echoes of the same idea, can dilute the clarity and precision of your message. Common cliches , once vivid, lose their potency through overuse and can detract from the originality of your work. Consider this an opportunity to infuse freshness into your writing, making every word count.

For instance, phrases like “future plans” or “free gift” carry inherent duplicity; the terms imply the concept. Instead, precision can be achieved by employing concise alternatives such as “plans” or “gift.”

By conscientiously identifying and excising these linguistic redundancies and cliches, your essay not only attains a heightened level of sophistication but also ensures that each expression contributes uniquely to the richness of your narrative. Embrace the challenge of crafting economical and distinctive language, and watch your ideas shine through with newfound clarity and impact.

Verify Sources and Citations

In the meticulous process of essay refinement, verifying sources and citations is a crucial step toward academic integrity. Accurate and adequately attributed sources lend credibility to your work, substantiating claims and bolstering arguments. Rigorously cross-checking citations ensures the reliability of your information, guarding against unintentional errors and upholding the standards of scholarly writing. A vigilant approach to source verification fortifies your essay’s credibility and reinforces your commitment to intellectual honesty and the pursuit of accurate knowledge.

Address Transitions

Navigating the terrain of effectively writing your essay involves more than just conveying ideas ─ it demands fluidity in transitioning between them. Addressing transitions ensures a seamless flow, guiding readers through the narrative effortlessly. Transitional word phrases, or employing thematic connections, are thoughtfully crafted transitions bridges the gaps between ideas, enhancing coherence. Elevate your essay by considering transitions not as mere connectors but as architectural threads binding your thoughts into a cohesive, compelling whole.

Consult a Style Guide

A style guide is an indispensable companion in the pursuit of impeccable writing. Consulting a guide ensures formatting, citations, and language conventions uniformity. This meticulous approach adds professional polish to your essay. Also, it conveys a commitment to standards. A style guide is your compass, from punctuation nuances to citation intricacies, for navigating the terrain of writing academic papers .

Read Backwards

Professional editors use this unique technique, and it indeed improves your writing. For a concentrated spelling and grammar review, flip the script. Read your essay backward, starting from the last sentence and progressing upward. It helps a concentrated spelling and grammar review flip the script. This technique unveils overlooked errors by disrupting the conventional flow. Elevate your editing prowess by adopting this reverse perspective.

Consider Professional Editing

The last in our list of tips for editing writing is professional help from a writing service . Use the editing help to make your work easier if you doubt your editing progress or the document’s significance. A skilled editor polishes grammar and style. By outsourcing improvement, you ensure your document reaches its goal. Embrace the assurance of professional scrutiny, allowing your work to be experienced.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. A professional editor will know what to look for and how to get your essay into shape.

Ready to Start Editing?

As you can see, the editing process is not as scary as it seems to be at first glance. Follow the editing tips from this article, and you will get an essay of high quality without errors, typos, and cliches.

Remember that an influential paper contains:

• verified data;
• a balance of active and passive voices;
• examples, etc.

Your task is to ensure that the essay reveals the topic and that everything is clear and easy to read. Remember to show sources and proper citations to ensure the paper is original and omits plagiarism.

These simple editing tips for writers will simplify the work on any paper and take your writing to the next level!

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Expert Tips for Editing a Scientific Paper

Preparing Your Journal Manuscript for Publication

After completing your scientific study and writing your research paper, it is time to submit your manuscript for publication in journals. But how do you know that your research is ready for publication?

According to a 2016 study of 5,633 journals indexed in the MEDLINE medical database, the rate of rejection for many top journals approaches 90%. While there are many reasons for journal rejection, two of the main issues leading to rejection of submitted manuscripts are poor writing quality and incorrect formatting. It is therefore crucial to consider receiving scientific manuscript editing services after finishing your research paper if you want journal editors to seriously consider your work for publication.

However, for many research authors, understanding how to correctly prepare a research paper is a painstaking effort that can take years. Learning to apply the most appropriate scientific writing style and formatting rules often means drafting several research manuscripts. But time spent revising language, proofreading the work, and applying correct formatting can take away from the more central work of researchers: conducting and presenting critical research.

An expert scientific paper editor can alleviate this time constraint and help researchers efficiently publish their academic papers in a reputable journal. But before sending a paper to a professional English editing and proofreading service , read these tips that all scientific research authors can apply to both prepare their work for publication and enhance their academic writing and editing skills in future work.

Proofreading and Editing Tips from Scientific Editors

Research authors likely already understand that editing a research paper is quite different than editing an email or a blog post. Issues with grammar, punctuation, formatting, terminology, style, and expression all have an impact on publication success and need to be revised accordingly. But not all scientific manuscripts follow the same rules, so reading many journal manuscripts published in your target journal will help you understand which formatting and style rules to follow.

Differences Between Editing and Proofreading?

Before we discuss revision tips, we should understand the distinction between “editing” and “proofreading”—this will be important when it comes time to choose a freelance editor or editing service.

Scientific paper editing and proofreading are two parts of the same process. For a more detailed breakdown of these two steps in the revision process and to decide which is best for you, see our article on editing versus proofreading.

In short, during the editing process editors revise the content, language, and organization of your research work. This can take the form of content editing or substantive editing (which are done during or immediately after the drafting process), or language editing, which focuses on using consistent vocabulary terms and revising terms, phrases, and sentences so they read more naturally and follow the high academic standards of a journal.

While proofreading, editors find and correct mistakes in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and formatting. Proofreading is the final step in the revision process and should be performed by an English-speaking editor with extensive knowledge of both the English language and academic writing rules and conventions.

Review the Organization of Your Manuscript

Applying the correct manuscript structure is essential to getting a study published in your target journal. This means ensuring that all your content is placed in the correct section and order.

First, check that your manuscript contains all the necessary sections in the right order. Most journals follow the standard IMRD (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion/Conclusion) format, but there are often deviations from this section order depending on the journal.

Some common organization issues in scientific papers include:

• Insufficient background information included in the Introduction section
• Methods/Materials section not ordered properly (chronological or another logical ordering)
• Results sections that do not follow the order of the Methods section
• Discussion sections that do not include study implications or study limitations
• Conclusions that simply repeat information without providing new insights

Again, the best way to ensure that your manuscript has all the right content in the correct order is to carefully read articles published in your target journal. See our article and video on the parts of a research paper to understand what information to include in each section of your research paper.

Review Your Paper's Vocabulary and Language

For many research authors (especially ESL authors), the most difficult about academic writing is choosing the correct academic terms and phrases. This includes choosing correct key technical terms, academic verbs, and natural English expressions. While it is not possible to write a “perfect” research paper without having considerable knowledge of English-language conventions, there are some writing resources that can help:

• 100+ Verbs for Academic Writing
• Effective Transition Terms in Academic Papers

Use a Human Paper Proofreader

There are several useful free AI essay editors available to writers. And while it is perfectly fine to use these programs to catch errors during the drafting process, human proofreading and editing is the best way to ensure a flawless manuscript.

Expert proofreaders and editors with extensive knowledge of the English language can understand the nuances in mechanics and usage that lead to many of the writing errors found in rejected manuscripts.

Scientific Editing and Proofreading Checklist

As you can probably tell by now, there are far too many potential writing issues to cover in a single article. But asking yourself the following questions BEFORE receiving editing and proofreading for your scientific paper will help ensure that your manuscript is well written and ready to send to journal editors after receiving final language editing.

• Is the manuscript title concise and relevant? The title is the first element of your manuscript that journal editors and readers will see. Crafting the perfect title for your manuscript can be difficult. Use as few words as possible to relay the topic of your research—this makes it easier for researchers to find your study in journal databases. For more information, read our comprehensive article on how to write a research paper title.
• Are the objectives of your study relevant to your intended audience? Consider the nature and goals of your research. Do they align with the readership of your target journal? Is your work intended for a very specific subset of researchers or a more general readership? While these are questions best asked before or during the drafting process, it is best to identify any potential incongruencies before submitting to your journal.
• Does your Discussion section address your research question(s)? The Discussion section is perhaps the most difficult research paper section to compose. It must address the research question(s) you asked in your Introduction section while also interpreting the Results and discussing the implications of your research. Be sure to remind your readers which gaps in scientific knowledge your study sought to fill and whether your research achieved or failed to achieve this goal.
• Are the materials and methods explained concisely and accurately? The items in the Methods/Materials section should be arranged in a logical order—either chronologically or in order of importance. Readers should be able to clearly distinguish each individual part of this section and understand how they fit together. Use headings (if allowed by your journal’s guidelines) and paragraphs to separate different methods, materials, and participants involved.
• Are the figures and tables relevant and clear? All figures, tables, charts, and graphs should clearly express data and results to readers without the use of explanatory text. However, each figure in the Results section should also be mentioned in the text.
• Are the proper voices and verb tenses used in each section? Using appropriate voice (passive or active) and verb tenses (present, simple past, and perfect) is crucial when writing a manuscript that journals will seriously consider publishing. Different situations call for different voices and tenses. Read more about how to apply passive and active voice and verb tense correctly in research papers.

Using Scientific Paper Editing Services

Because of all the potential language, formatting, organization, and punctuation issues that tend to arise in submitted manuscripts, receiving editing and proofreading is key to preparing your manuscript. Scientific paper editing thus involves both language editing for style and flow, and research paper proofreading to catch remaining grammatical and typographical errors in the text.

Wordvice’s professional editing services , including scientific paper editing services , are an excellent solution to satisfy your manuscript proofreading and editing needs. Our 500+ English editors have expertise in hundreds of academic subject areas and thousands of subdisciplines, so your work is guaranteed to be revised by an expert in your paper’s specific academic field. Our editors also provide extensive feedback, explaining their in-text revisions and providing suggestions to improve your writing.

So before submitting your work to a journal, be sure to read through this scientific paper editing checklist and then entrust your important research to a professional journal manuscript editing service like Wordvice to improve your chances of publication success.

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Well-presented research papers, which demonstrate good use of the English language, stand a much greater chance of being accepted by today’s top international journals. But achieving this can be a struggle, especially for research authors with English as a second language. That is why we offer a full range of professional research paper editing services to assist you towards publication success.

Successful  research paper review  not only requires a high-level of research paper editing but it also demands comprehensive knowledge of the research subject area. Because of this, all of Enago’s research paper editors hold PHDs and Master’s from the world’s top universities - with specialisms stretching across  1,117 academic subject areas. In addition, the majority are published authors and peer reviewers.

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Remove a code repository from this paper, mark the official implementation from paper authors, add a new evaluation result row, remove a task, add a method, remove a method, edit datasets, vasa-1: lifelike audio-driven talking faces generated in real time.

16 Apr 2024  ·  Sicheng Xu , Guojun Chen , Yu-Xiao Guo , Jiaolong Yang , Chong Li , Zhenyu Zang , Yizhong Zhang , Xin Tong , Baining Guo · Edit social preview

We introduce VASA, a framework for generating lifelike talking faces with appealing visual affective skills (VAS) given a single static image and a speech audio clip. Our premiere model, VASA-1, is capable of not only producing lip movements that are exquisitely synchronized with the audio, but also capturing a large spectrum of facial nuances and natural head motions that contribute to the perception of authenticity and liveliness. The core innovations include a holistic facial dynamics and head movement generation model that works in a face latent space, and the development of such an expressive and disentangled face latent space using videos. Through extensive experiments including evaluation on a set of new metrics, we show that our method significantly outperforms previous methods along various dimensions comprehensively. Our method not only delivers high video quality with realistic facial and head dynamics but also supports the online generation of 512x512 videos at up to 40 FPS with negligible starting latency. It paves the way for real-time engagements with lifelike avatars that emulate human conversational behaviors.

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How to Write a Research Paper | A Beginner's Guide

A research paper is a piece of academic writing that provides analysis, interpretation, and argument based on in-depth independent research.

Research papers are similar to academic essays , but they are usually longer and more detailed assignments, designed to assess not only your writing skills but also your skills in scholarly research. Writing a research paper requires you to demonstrate a strong knowledge of your topic, engage with a variety of sources, and make an original contribution to the debate.

This step-by-step guide takes you through the entire writing process, from understanding your assignment to proofreading your final draft.

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Table of contents

Understand the assignment, choose a research paper topic, conduct preliminary research, develop a thesis statement, create a research paper outline, write a first draft of the research paper, write the introduction, write a compelling body of text, write the conclusion, the second draft, the revision process, research paper checklist, free lecture slides.

Completing a research paper successfully means accomplishing the specific tasks set out for you. Before you start, make sure you thoroughly understanding the assignment task sheet:

• Read it carefully, looking for anything confusing you might need to clarify with your professor.
• Identify the assignment goal, deadline, length specifications, formatting, and submission method.
• Make a bulleted list of the key points, then go back and cross completed items off as you’re writing.

Carefully consider your timeframe and word limit: be realistic, and plan enough time to research, write, and edit.

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There are many ways to generate an idea for a research paper, from brainstorming with pen and paper to talking it through with a fellow student or professor.

You can try free writing, which involves taking a broad topic and writing continuously for two or three minutes to identify absolutely anything relevant that could be interesting.

You can also gain inspiration from other research. The discussion or recommendations sections of research papers often include ideas for other specific topics that require further examination.

Once you have a broad subject area, narrow it down to choose a topic that interests you, m eets the criteria of your assignment, and i s possible to research. Aim for ideas that are both original and specific:

• A paper following the chronology of World War II would not be original or specific enough.
• A paper on the experience of Danish citizens living close to the German border during World War II would be specific and could be original enough.

Note any discussions that seem important to the topic, and try to find an issue that you can focus your paper around. Use a variety of sources , including journals, books, and reliable websites, to ensure you do not miss anything glaring.

Do not only verify the ideas you have in mind, but look for sources that contradict your point of view.

• Is there anything people seem to overlook in the sources you research?
• Are there any heated debates you can address?
• Do you have a unique take on your topic?
• Have there been some recent developments that build on the extant research?

In this stage, you might find it helpful to formulate some research questions to help guide you. To write research questions, try to finish the following sentence: “I want to know how/what/why…”

A thesis statement is a statement of your central argument — it establishes the purpose and position of your paper. If you started with a research question, the thesis statement should answer it. It should also show what evidence and reasoning you’ll use to support that answer.

The thesis statement should be concise, contentious, and coherent. That means it should briefly summarize your argument in a sentence or two, make a claim that requires further evidence or analysis, and make a coherent point that relates to every part of the paper.

You will probably revise and refine the thesis statement as you do more research, but it can serve as a guide throughout the writing process. Every paragraph should aim to support and develop this central claim.

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A research paper outline is essentially a list of the key topics, arguments, and evidence you want to include, divided into sections with headings so that you know roughly what the paper will look like before you start writing.

A structure outline can help make the writing process much more efficient, so it’s worth dedicating some time to create one.

Your first draft won’t be perfect — you can polish later on. Your priorities at this stage are as follows:

• Maintaining forward momentum — write now, perfect later.
• Paying attention to clear organization and logical ordering of paragraphs and sentences, which will help when you come to the second draft.
• Expressing your ideas as clearly as possible, so you know what you were trying to say when you come back to the text.

You do not need to start by writing the introduction. Begin where it feels most natural for you — some prefer to finish the most difficult sections first, while others choose to start with the easiest part. If you created an outline, use it as a map while you work.

Do not delete large sections of text. If you begin to dislike something you have written or find it doesn’t quite fit, move it to a different document, but don’t lose it completely — you never know if it might come in useful later.

Paragraph structure

Paragraphs are the basic building blocks of research papers. Each one should focus on a single claim or idea that helps to establish the overall argument or purpose of the paper.

Example paragraph

George Orwell’s 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language” has had an enduring impact on thought about the relationship between politics and language. This impact is particularly obvious in light of the various critical review articles that have recently referenced the essay. For example, consider Mark Falcoff’s 2009 article in The National Review Online, “The Perversion of Language; or, Orwell Revisited,” in which he analyzes several common words (“activist,” “civil-rights leader,” “diversity,” and more). Falcoff’s close analysis of the ambiguity built into political language intentionally mirrors Orwell’s own point-by-point analysis of the political language of his day. Even 63 years after its publication, Orwell’s essay is emulated by contemporary thinkers.

Citing sources

It’s also important to keep track of citations at this stage to avoid accidental plagiarism . Each time you use a source, make sure to take note of where the information came from.

You can use our free citation generators to automatically create citations and save your reference list as you go.

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The research paper introduction should address three questions: What, why, and how? After finishing the introduction, the reader should know what the paper is about, why it is worth reading, and how you’ll build your arguments.

What? Be specific about the topic of the paper, introduce the background, and define key terms or concepts.

Why? This is the most important, but also the most difficult, part of the introduction. Try to provide brief answers to the following questions: What new material or insight are you offering? What important issues does your essay help define or answer?

How? To let the reader know what to expect from the rest of the paper, the introduction should include a “map” of what will be discussed, briefly presenting the key elements of the paper in chronological order.

The major struggle faced by most writers is how to organize the information presented in the paper, which is one reason an outline is so useful. However, remember that the outline is only a guide and, when writing, you can be flexible with the order in which the information and arguments are presented.

One way to stay on track is to use your thesis statement and topic sentences . Check:

• topic sentences against the thesis statement;
• topic sentences against each other, for similarities and logical ordering;
• and each sentence against the topic sentence of that paragraph.

Be aware of paragraphs that seem to cover the same things. If two paragraphs discuss something similar, they must approach that topic in different ways. Aim to create smooth transitions between sentences, paragraphs, and sections.

The research paper conclusion is designed to help your reader out of the paper’s argument, giving them a sense of finality.

Trace the course of the paper, emphasizing how it all comes together to prove your thesis statement. Give the paper a sense of finality by making sure the reader understands how you’ve settled the issues raised in the introduction.

You might also discuss the more general consequences of the argument, outline what the paper offers to future students of the topic, and suggest any questions the paper’s argument raises but cannot or does not try to answer.

You should not :

• Offer new arguments or essential information
• Take up any more space than necessary
• Begin with stock phrases that signal you are ending the paper (e.g. “In conclusion”)

There are four main considerations when it comes to the second draft.

• Check how your vision of the paper lines up with the first draft and, more importantly, that your paper still answers the assignment.
• Identify any assumptions that might require (more substantial) justification, keeping your reader’s perspective foremost in mind. Remove these points if you cannot substantiate them further.
• Be open to rearranging your ideas. Check whether any sections feel out of place and whether your ideas could be better organized.
• If you find that old ideas do not fit as well as you anticipated, you should cut them out or condense them. You might also find that new and well-suited ideas occurred to you during the writing of the first draft — now is the time to make them part of the paper.

The goal during the revision and proofreading process is to ensure you have completed all the necessary tasks and that the paper is as well-articulated as possible. You can speed up the proofreading process by using the AI proofreader .

Global concerns

• Confirm that your paper completes every task specified in your assignment sheet.
• Check for logical organization and flow of paragraphs.
• Check paragraphs against the introduction and thesis statement.

Fine-grained details

Check the content of each paragraph, making sure that:

• each sentence helps support the topic sentence.
• no unnecessary or irrelevant information is present.
• all technical terms your audience might not know are identified.

Next, think about sentence structure , grammatical errors, and formatting . Check that you have correctly used transition words and phrases to show the connections between your ideas. Look for typos, cut unnecessary words, and check for consistency in aspects such as heading formatting and spellings .

Finally, you need to make sure your paper is correctly formatted according to the rules of the citation style you are using. For example, you might need to include an MLA heading  or create an APA title page .

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Checklist: Research paper

I have followed all instructions in the assignment sheet.

My introduction presents my topic in an engaging way and provides necessary background information.

My introduction presents a clear, focused research problem and/or thesis statement .

My paper is logically organized using paragraphs and (if relevant) section headings .

Each paragraph is clearly focused on one central idea, expressed in a clear topic sentence .

Each paragraph is relevant to my research problem or thesis statement.

I have used appropriate transitions  to clarify the connections between sections, paragraphs, and sentences.

My conclusion provides a concise answer to the research question or emphasizes how the thesis has been supported.

My conclusion shows how my research has contributed to knowledge or understanding of my topic.

My conclusion does not present any new points or information essential to my argument.

I have provided an in-text citation every time I refer to ideas or information from a source.

I have included a reference list at the end of my paper, consistently formatted according to a specific citation style .

I have thoroughly revised my paper and addressed any feedback from my professor or supervisor.

I have followed all formatting guidelines (page numbers, headers, spacing, etc.).

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