How to prepare term paper

A term paper is an independent scientific study and research of a student on a particular topic. The purpose of the writing of such type of work is the student’s attachment of knowledge obtained during the educational process of the subject. Thanks to the term paper, it is easier for a teacher to check the quality of the student’s knowledge and the ability to apply this knowledge to the solution of professional tasks. It is one of the main elements of the learning process, which determines the ability of students to think independently and formulate their thoughts correctly.

Successful research and writing of the term paper depend on strict compliance with the basic requirements that are applied to them. These requirements are related primarily to the scientific level of work, its content, structure, forms of the material presentation, as well as their design.

In the term paper, a student should demonstrate his/her ability to find the relevant sources, selecting, detecting and logically organizing the information on the topic, data gathering, processing, summarizing and analyzing. The required amount is 30–40 pages without appendices. The number of bibliography sources used for devising the research work is about 8–10.

Writing the term paper is an important and necessary task for every student. Thus, there are some useful tips on how to prepare term paper carefully.

Steps to write the term paper.

Before beginning the research, the student must familiarize with the basic requirements for writing term papers. In addition, each stage of the research work should be coordinated with a supervisor. For rational use of time the following algorithm should be adhered:

1. 1Choose your topic. It should be informative, concise, but at the same time creative. The topic should reflect the essence of the problem under investigation, to contain the subject and the object of the research, to indicate the purpose and completeness of the study. Experiment with topics that are least researched on.
2. Look up for the primary literature on the topic and analyze it. The Internet, library, archive – these are your closest friends at the time of collecting materials. Monographs, articles in magazines, foreign publications – this is not even a complete list of what can and should be involved into the project. Refer those materials that are not too old depending on your topic. What have others published about it? How have literary or cultural scholars approached the subject?
3. Write your thesis statement. Browse through your resources and make some notes writing the main ideas. The thesis is the main thing that you want to prove in your paper. You should also be making notes about specific conclusions that you are drawing from the material.
4. Create the outline for the paper. Once you have decided on the topic, start drafting the plan. When you have a work plan before your eyes, you will clearly know what and where to write. Sort all collected information according to your plan and select from it the most important thing that will be valuable for your work.
5. Write the first draft. Now that you have organized your research material, the next step will be writing the first draft. Keep in mind that you will write multiple drafts, so do not put excessive pressure on the first one. Use the outline to compose your paper. Keep in mind that the first part of the paper should be related to its purpose. In each particular topic, the plan should serve as the implementation of its main idea. Write your rough draft in continuous prose including an introduction, body, and conclusion.
6. Write the final draft. After you have revised your initial drafts, you should compose a final draft. The next step is to revise your paper – strengthen the content. Start this at least a week before your paper is due. In fact, you don’t need to wait until you have a complete first draft to start revising. You can revise individual paragraphs as you finish them as well. Read your paper critically. Check for errors of mechanics-spelling, grammar, punctuation. Look for unity and organization-chain of evidence and reasoning should be easy to follow.

The outline of the term paper.

When you think about how to prepare your term paper, it is important to use the following components that are obligatory for any research work.

Introduction

In the introduction the relevance and degree of study of the subject problems are revealed, the expediency of the research is arguing. In this part of your paper you should answer the questions:

• What is the issue or problem?
• Literature review: what is current thinking, findings, and approaches to the problem?
• What is the significance of the problem?
• How do you plan to deal with the problem? What is your solution?

Main body

The main part of term paper consists of two sections, subdivisions, points, and sub-items. Each section begins with a new page. At the end of each section and subsection, there are short conclusions.

In the theoretical part of the paper, the analysis of the literature on the problem, which is being investigated is presented. In the practical part the empirical studies conducted by the author work, and their results are described. A detailed description of the group of subjects, methods and separate research methods are given. The focus in the practical part is given to the analysis of the results obtained during the research, and their interpretation. Interpretation of research results should not be confined by the statement of the received facts; it should include an attempt of their scientific explanation.

Conclusion

The conclusion summarizes the results obtained in the process of work, outlining the main scientific and practical results of the research, arguing their quantitative and qualitative indicators. Conclusions indicate how much they have been confirmed working hypotheses. The findings should inform about the achievement of the purpose of the study and the implementation of specific tasks.

It would seem that writing the term paper is rather difficult. Moreover, the requirements for its design are quite high. However, if you know how to prepare term paper and correctly organize your work, writing a paper will be easy.