There are some essential skills required to write a research paper. Usually students have mastery to a certain extent over these skills, they learn these skills during their academic career. Research in itself helps the researcher gain more expertise in these skills. These skills may range from critical thinking, to creative writing, and problem solving to name a few. You can see that these are some very important skills that can help you anywhere in life. Therefore, vice versa research helps you get some hand over these important skills.
Skills to write a research paper
Remember that though you have good knowledge of the topic and the research process, writing a good research is in itself a different skill. Good communication skills and good writing skills are required so that the reader can rightly understand your point.
Research requires an academic writing style. Mostly students learn academic and creative writing as part of their curriculum. Here are a list of skills you need to learn before attempting to write the research paper.
English language skills
You need to have some mastery on English writing skills. Though it is quite possible that you ask someone who knows better English to check your paper. It is important to ask someone to recheck your paper for any mistake, even if you have good English language skills.
Your research paper might be in some other language, so you should have some command over the language in which you are going to write the research paper.
Writing structure
You need to know how to structure a sentence, a paragraph, and the whole chapter. Students learn it in academic writing but if you think that you need more knowledge there are plenty of good books that you can read on writing structure. You should know that you have to write the research paper in active voice.
Good vocabulary
Research does not require fancy vocabulary but you should know essential English vocabulary that will help you write the research. Good vocabulary is also essential because sometimes when we don’t have it we become repetitive in the use of words. In research we need to use descriptive, analytical, and explanatory verbs again and again. You need to have good vocabulary so that you do not become repetitive and use several different verbs each time. You should know what synonyms you can use to replace a verb when it is becoming repetitive.
Reasoning skills
Reasoning skills are also necessary because you have to think and find the reasons behind a result or situation. You need to argue yourself what are the possible reasons, solutions, and explanations for a phenomenon.
Naturally some people have better reasoning skills than other but you can also learn it overtime. Read more research papers and books related to your research and ask yourself a lot of question where ever you are not satisfied with available knowledge.
How to handle writing issues
There are many researcher who conduct the research in the best manner but they do not know how to write it.
- A badly written research paper may lack interest and it will fail to deliver the research in the correct manner.
- The good results go unnoticed because the message is not delivered properly.
- You should think like the reader so that you can see what re the loopholes in writing.
- Ask some one who has good writing skills to read and analyze the research paper. Such a person can help you find any problems and you can fix it.
- Poor writing can make your research paper biased.
- And, remember the best research paper is one that provides the evidence to the reader in such a way that they can consume it wholly. The reader can use your research and build on it.