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Research papers are a very involved process. A lot goes into creating one and bringing it up to standard. So how much worse is a 10 page research paper? This article goes into the whole process of writing a ten-page research paper, from start to finish.
It’s okay to feel apprehensive about taking on such a big responsibility. Ten pages is a lot of words – and it doesn’t include any title pages or reference pages!
Read on for lots of information on how to properly write a research paper. Just take things one step at a time.
Make Sure You Understand Everything
This is the first step. Make sure you understand absolutely everything about the paper. Look at the question, the formatting, any potential research you already have. People can’t offer help with research papers if they don’t know you need help. The start of the process is the best time to ask for help, as that way, you can start with a clean slate.
Understanding everything is the key to making sure that you have a good paper. Say that you misunderstood the question, and then wrote a full ten-page essay on that. It might be the best essay you have ever written, but it would still be marked down. Understanding things is hugely important.
Plan
If you are looking up how to write a 10-page research paper, then you will likely get advice to make a plan. A plan, or an outline, will let you put everything in one place before writing. People like making plans because it brings some order to the chaos that is writing a research paper. 10 pages is a lot of work — there’s a lot of research, a lot of quotations, and a lot of everything else that goes into writing. The beauty of a plan is that it can have whatever you want in it.
If you want to use your plan to record the quotations you will use, you can do that. If you want to use it to put down important research, you can do that. You will find a plan hugely helpful in the writing process.
Do your research
If you want to write a 10-page paper, then you are going to have to do your research. There is a strategy for doing proper research. When you are working on a ten-page paper, you will need to be very careful about keeping everything in order. Research can quickly get out of hand if you aren’t careful.
First of all, do general research. This is research that isn’t too in-depth but will give you an overview of the topic. Most teachers will give their students a number of questions to choose from. General research will help you choose which question you want to focus on.
Once you have done that, it is time to go deeper into your subject. Delve as deeply as you can into your chosen field, and you are guaranteed to find sources you can use to construct a good paper. Research is what makes a good paper.
Plan your Headings
A 10-page research paper is a very long document. You will need to break it up into smaller manageable chunks for your readers. One thing you should always remember about any research paper is that it has to make logical sense. You can’t just add paragraphs and sections into your paper wherever you want to – it has to make sense. A good paper flows from one point to the next. Remember that when you are writing the paper, you are constructing an argument. Doesn’t it make more sense to have a paper that gradually builds up, a point on point, until the final conclusion? Anybody reading a paper that is laid out like that will find themselves being convinced as each argument builds on the last one. That is what you want to accomplish in your own paper.
Write the Paper
Obviously, at some point, you do have to write the paper. The ability to write a ten-page paper is something that you need to cultivate, but don’t worry. Even if you haven’t written any of these papers before, just treat it like a short one! You could think of it as two five-page papers if that would make it easier.
Writing is a case of taking things one step at a time until you find yourself with a paper. Make sure that your writing is the best it can be because this is how you convince your readers of your arguments and your own stance. Writing is one of the most important steps in the paper writing process.
Do a Second Draft
When you are writing a 10-page research paper, always do a second draft. Handing in the first draft of your work shouldn’t even cross your mind. The first draft is generally going to look sloppy and unfinished. A second draft will let you collect your thoughts. You take the best of the first draft and the new thoughts that come from a second time going over the material. Then you combine them to create a better draft.
Your second draft will always be more polished than your first. Think of your first draft as a trial run of your paper. Many people call it a rough draft for that very reason. This is where you can play with your paper and try things out. If they work, then they stay in for the second draft. If they don’t work, then they get taken out. This way, you can work on your paper until it is absolutely perfect!
Edit, Edit, Edit
Anybody writing a research paper in college should know that editing is a vital part of the process. You would be amazed at how many small mistakes you can make when writing, even if you think you are paying attention. For best results, try and step away from your work for a while, or even get someone else to look at it.
There are normally two levels to editing. One level is when you look at the small things, like spelling and grammar. This is focused purely on making sure your writing looks grammatically correct. The next level is the one that focuses on formatting issues. Have you formatted everything correctly? Do you have any half-finished sentences? Take the time to do your editing properly.
How Long Does It Take to Write A 10-Page Paper?
There is no set time limit for paper writing. The ultimate deadline is when your paper is due. Up until then, you can take as long as you need to. If you are taking your time, you could do it comfortably in a week. Remember that ideally, you should take some time away from your work in between writing it and editing it. This allows your eyes and brain to rest and reset. Looking at your work with fresh eyes allows you to see things much more clearly. Small mistakes that otherwise would have flown under the radar can be found!
Is It Real to Write A 10 Page Research Paper in One Night?
The short answer is no. While some people would technically be capable of writing a 10 page research paper in one night, it isn’t a good idea. A research paper isn’t something that every teacher assigns. It is normally only given to students who are at a high level in their studies. Any student who is studying at that level will need to do a lot of work for their papers. One night isn’t enough time to properly do that work.
You should pace yourself when working on one of these. If you do too much, you might make stupid mistakes.
How Many Paragraphs Does A 10 Page Paper Have?
This question comes up from time to time, and the answer is this: it all depends. It depends on how your essay is formatted, whether it has single or double-spaced lines. It depends on how long you make your paragraphs!
Remember that every essay has an introduction and a conclusion (two paragraphs), and then a (usually) an odd number of body paragraphs, so if both the introduction and the conclusion are half a page long (remember that they aren’t as long as other paragraphs), that leaves nine pages. If each body paragraph is one page long, then you have nine paragraphs.