Tools to Help You Organize Thoughts & Write a Research Paper

Writing a research paper, whether as part of a university or college course or as a researcher, is an involving process that requires a high level of organization. The researcher often has to identify a topic, read widely, devise research questions, then answer them comprehensively but concisely, citing the various sources used to support the findings. Researchers need help organizing their thoughts, particularly after reading through all the sources, and there are a number of tools such as mind-mapping, outlining, drafting and digital solutions that can help in narrowing the focus and writing the paper.

Mind-Mapping

The rationale behind mind-mapping is that information is not stored in a strictly ordered fashion in the human brain, and that trying to recall things in a linear fashion, particularly when there are numerous ideas bouncing around, is difficult. Mind-mapping helps to organize thoughts through a graphical or pictorial representation, focusing on a central idea and then adding others to it as you think. In this way, there is no real pressure to remember exactly what you have read, but all related information is clustered together as you recollect.

Outlining

Outlining is a common tool that researchers use to organize their thoughts and set out the different chapters of the paper. It is a sequential tool where the researcher lists the most important ideas first and then elaborate using points that are related to the main idea. The outline helps the researcher to think about the main topic and sub-topics carefully and organize the thoughts, concepts and material related to it in a logical manner before writing.

Drafting

Drafting is an essential tool for writing a research paper because it allows the writer to put down his original thoughts and ideas after reviewing the sources, then continue to refine and edit the drafts until the work is ready for submission. It is almost impossible to come up with excellent research work on the first try. Drafting gives both the author and the research supervisor a chance to go over the work and to identify areas that could be built upon, altered or even removed to maintain a clear focus on the thesis topic and to present it in a manner that readers will understand.

Digital Tools

There are a number of digital tools that help researchers organize their thoughts and write original, logical and well-presented papers that are appropriately formatted, cited and free of grammatical and spelling errors. The tools include a variety of software that help researchers tag or highlight their sources and access them as they write, such as Citelighter, Zotero and Evernote. There are other types that allow the researcher to take notes wherever he is and later sync his devices to compile the research. There are also digital tools to help in other aspects of writing such as checking for plagiarism, storing and organizing files and capturing bibliographical information. Digital tools have great utility, especially because they are portable, easy to use and convenient, since many researchers conduct the bulk of their work online.
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