Editing is crucial for a coherent paper free of various errors. However, many students struggle with editing their papers while others do a poor job, missing various crucial mistakes. 

How should I edit my research paper? Read on for tips on how to edit a paper and overcome common academic writing errors.

How to edit a research paper: 12 pro tips for your writing

1. Edit each chapter as you go

Editing a research paper often proves a tedious task due to the numerous numbers of pages within your work. For easy editing, we recommend that you adopt a chapter-by-chapter editing approach.

Before writing any chapter, develop an outline and highlight the objectives for the section. Afterward, gauge how your chapter has met these objectives and address various issues within each section.

 This will help you overcome the burden of editing your full research paper, reducing the exhaustion and ensuring that your paper addresses all your intended objectives.

2. Develop a reverse outline

Before writing your paper, develop a reverse outline for each section. This allows you to gauge the completion of your research and to compare your initial outline to your final paper. 

With this, you can determine the areas that require further changes to achieve the goals you had set for your research paper. 

3. Make use of various editing software

The first step to perfection is by admitting your limitations. When editing your paper, you may miss various mistakes and suffer unwanted consequences. Editing software helps you to nub various issues that you could have easily missed, reducing the number of errors to fix.

These tools can help you identify instances of plagiarism in your work, ensuring that you fix the issues before the submission of your paper. 

4. Take some time off when editing a research paper

If you have properly scheduled time for your research paper, you shouldn’t be in a rush to edit your paper. Ideally, take some time off to regain your focus and master ample concentration during the editing phase. 

Also, employ the Pomodoro technique in your editing phase to maintain focus throughout your editing, and to ensure maximum productivity. 

5. Engage an editing service

If you have limited time at your disposal, it is best to consult an editing service. These editing experts can help you to ensure that each chapter is in order as you progress with subsequent sections of your paper. 

A research paper editor usually has a vast understanding of your topic ensuring a high quality of your paper. 

6. Find a conducive environment

Focus is crucial as you edit research papers. for the best results, you should gauge each argument in your work and check for the coherence of your arguments.

This is not possible when you are riddled with countless distractions. We thus recommend that you find a conducive environment free of distractions, ensuring the most of each editing session. 

7. Tackle one aspect at a time

There are multiple types of errors to handle within a research paper. Ideally, tackle one error at go for the best results. For instance, you could start by checking for plagiarism and later check for structural issues. 

8. Revisit guidelines on how to edit research papers

The faculty guidelines are of key essence for your research paper edit. These guidelines highlight any issues you could have overlooked, ensuring that your paper meets the expected faculty standards.

Keep the rules in mind during writing and editing and check how compatible your final paper is with the writing guidelines. 

9. Chunk long sentences

Break long sentences into two and cut off superfluous words within your essay. Doing this will allow for optimal readability and also help to increase your final word count.

10. Trim the jargon

Too many technical terms may make your paper hard to read. When you are editing your work, replace the unnecessary jargon, limiting the technical terms to the words you’ve encountered throughout the topic.

11. Attribute quotations

Countercheck all quotations in your work to ensure that they are credited to their source. This is often a common error by students that results in direct plagiarism. 

12. Countercheck references

One phase of your writing should be dedicated to counterchecking in-text citations to the entries in the works cited section. This allows you to check for broken references and to ensure that you have adhered to the recommended referencing style. 

Final word

Many students find it difficult to adhere to all the rules. Therefore they prefer to ask an online research paper editor for help. This is a great way to save time and get a good grade. You may find it difficult to edit your scientific papers after a long period of writing. You always have a way out!

If poorly cited, the sources used in your work might be flagged as plagiarism, exposing you to dire consequences. It is thus vital to learn how you can cite various sources within your work, avoiding plagiarism claims.

This guide will analyse various styles for references in a research paper, helping you overcome confusion regarding various referencing styles.

What are references in a research paper?

References are the total of information included in your paper to acknowledge the authors behind the work cited within your writing. Research paper references can be classified either as in-text citations or bibliographies (often termed as the works cited). 

The research references are crucial for your paper as they help you avoid plagiarism and guide your reader on the sources from which they can investigate various ideas further.

How to write references for a research paper

The format for references in a research paper is crucial to master as you write your work. When you are preparing to write your paper, refer to your faculty/ tutor’s instructions to determine the recommended referencing style for your paper.

Besides overcoming plagiarism, the referencing style dictates your paper format. If these are done poorly, you may be penalized, losing a substantial amount of the credits you worked so hard to secure.

Here, we’ll look at the format of research references in APA and MLA as they are the most common referencing styles for research papers.

APA referencing format

Intext citations in APA

Intext citations are crucial to attribute the cited work to the bibliographies in the work cited section. An APA intext citation comprises the last name of an author and the date in parenthesis. Some of the ways you could add an intext citation into your work include:

e.g., 1. Recent studies also indicate that this hypothesis may bear truth on the matter (Dennis and Zacharia, 2017). 

e.g., 2. Dennis and Zacharia also support this hypothesis in their recent study (2017). 

Note: page numbers should be indicated in your citation if quotations are used. The page numbers may be quoted as:

(Dennis, 2017, p.56).

Bibliographies in APA

While the in-text citation points to the reference, your bibliography should guide the reader to the document/ chapter on which your argument is based. This allows readers to search for various sources for a further investigation of tackled ideas. 

Here are some templates to help you cite various sources used within your work. 

Citing a book:

The surname of the author, initial of the first name. initial of the second name. (Publication Year). Title of the book. Publisher.

Citing a journal:

The surname of the author, initial of the first name. initial of the second name. (Publication Year). Article title: Subtitle. Journal Title, Volume(issue), page range. URL or DOI

Citing a website:

Name of the author or organization. Year, Month, and Day of Publication Title of the page. The site’s title. URL 

MLA referencing format

Intext citations in MLA

MLA in-text citations should feature the author’s last name and the page number. Although the author’s name can be part of the text, the page number should always be in parenthesis. 

e.g., 1. These results are per a recent study in the field (Hendricks, 265).

e.g., 2. The study by Hendricks supports these findings (265). 

Bibliographies in MLA

Citing a book in MLA:

Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year Published.

Citing eBooks in MLA: 

Author last name, first name. Title of Book. City of publication: Publisher, copyright year. Name of database (if electronic). Publication medium (Web). Date of access.

Online article

Last, First M. “Article Title.” Website Title. Web. Date Month Year Accessed

How many references should a research paper have?

If it’s your first time writing a research paper, you might be confused about how many references to include in the research. Although a substantial number of references in research indicates a proper understanding of the subject, falling within either extreme (too little or too many references) could dilute the relevance of your original arguments.

Although there is no ideal number of references for a research paper, your faculty might have provided information in the guidelines. If not, gauge paper’s that were submitted for your faculty and approximate the range of references for various word counts.

If you are struggling with these questions, you’ve come to the right place. This guide will tackle various matters surrounding the length of a paper, helping you consider how deeply you ought to discuss various chapters. 

How long is a research paper?

There is no ideal word count for a research paper. The length of a research paper is determined by the complexity of the topic, the broadness of the research, and the availability of materials on your topic. The average research paper length ranges from 4000-8000 words. 

If your faculty has not recommended any specific word count, we recommend that you peruse papers that were submitted in previous years. This will give you a gist of the ideal range and help you determine how your paper compares with the common submissions.  

Outline format for research paper

Ideally, your word count should be fairly spread throughout your chapters to develop arguments within your paper. However, some sections in your paper may require more information to develop and support various claims.

Before we discuss the research paper structure, it is key to highlight the sections that add to your final word tally. When calculating your word count, consider the abstract, literature review, introduction, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion.

Sections like the title page, references, and appendices are not considered as part of your paper’s word count as they are not developing your arguments. The research paper length is divided into various chapters:

• Abstract: 300-500 words
• Literature review: 15%-20%
• Introduction: 10%-15%
• Methodology: 10%-15%
• Results: 25%-30%
• Discussion: 25%-30%
• Conclusion: 10%-15%

Although this is the average word distribution for a research paper you should not be compelled to format your paper to fit these estimates. You should write your paper with the aim to exhaust various knowledge gaps within a topic. 

How long should an introduction be

The introduction of a research paper should carry between 15% to 20% of the total word count. this allows you to discuss the background information and establish the research objectives you’ll investigate within your paper. 

How long should a paragraph be in a research paper?

Like all forms of writing, a long paragraph can be tedious to read and thus compromise the readability of your paper. On average, paragraphs comprise four sentences. These are enough to introduce your idea, support it with evidence, relate it to your thesis, and transition to the next paragraph. 

Preferably, limit your paragraph to short, precise sentences that clearly outline your ideas. This will allow you to tackle a wide range of ideas without turning in a ridiculously worded paper. 

How long should a conclusion be

A conclusion of a research paper should be long enough to focus on various solutions to the research questions tackled in your introduction. The conclusion may also recommend the applications of your work or suggest necessary studies to clarify objectives that haven’t been properly investigated within the paper. 

The average length of a research paper’s conclusion should range between 10% to 15% of the length of a paper. Like the body, keep this part short and precise and refrain from introducing ideas that you had not tackled within your paper. 

How to lengthen a research paper

Sometimes, you may notice that your research paper falls below the recommended word count. if this is the case, there is no need to resolve to devious ways like increasing your font size and adding the spacing in a bid to increase your page count. 

Some of the tips to increase your word count without compromising the quality of your paper is: 

• Develop a reverse outline to determine how various ideas have been exhausted. After gauging the completeness of your paper, add more bits in sections where an idea was not exhausted. You may also consider breaking some ideas into two unique paragraphs and increasing arguments to support each new idea.
• Analyse counterarguments and acknowledge them in your paper while highlighting how your research has disproved these claims. 
• Spell out numbers that you had expressed as digits.
• Extend various contraptions within your paper. This is great as contraptions are generally frowned upon in academic writing.
• Replace specific nouns with full names in various instances within your paper.

How to shorten a research paper

Similar to a paper shy of the word count, an exaggeratedly long paper may be frowned upon by the faculty committee. When fixing a long paper:

• Cut off flowery language and ensure that each sentence is precise in explaining an idea within your work.
• Express various numbers in digits.
• Eliminate various arguments that are not crucial to your research questions.
• Settle for hyphenated words where possible.
• Write your paper using the active voice.

Many students often struggle with the complex nature of term papers with many opting to buy a term paper to avoid the arduous task of writing one. Fortunately, proper mastery of the structure and purpose of a term paper can help you develop an A-level assignment.

Read on for various tips for an analysis of the sections and information to tackle within your paper. 

What is a term paper?

Let us start with the term paper definition to establish the purpose of this assignment. A term paper is an academic essay required at the end of a term to test how well you have covered a given topic. 

These papers require an extensive amount of research to solve a topic problem while applying the concepts you have encountered in class. However, term papers are not limited to class content and thus require extensive research to tackle all perspectives regarding the topic at hand. 

Term paper outline

Like all academic papers, the term paper adheres to an outline that guides you on the manner in which to present ideas within your work. The key sections of your research paper are:

1. Cover page

The cover page of a term paper comprises your personal details, the paper’s title, your tutor’s name, and the due date. This helps avoid confusion and also to give your tutor a gist of your selected topic.

2. Abstract

Your term paper abstract covers the key portions making up your argument, to give the reader a gist of your discussion. Here, you should touch on the justification for your analysis, a validation of the research methods, and highlight your key results and conclusion.

This allows a reader to determine how well a topic has been approached and weigh the relevance of your paper to the assignment.

3. Literature review

The literature review section analyses all existing publications in your niche to highlight gaps that warrant your research. When going about your analysis, highlight how your work aims to fill knowledge gaps in the sources you have gathered.

This serves as a platform on which to justify your analysis and also offers you a base for establishing your term paper objectives. 

4. Introduction

The introduction of a term paper highlights the background information of a topic and introduces the objectives of your term paper. Your introduction is however different from the abstract and should not highlight your conclusion.

When going about the intro, include a hook relating to the paper and a thesis statement that captures your paper’s essence. You may also highlight some research objectives you intend to tackle and justify why your methods are best suited for the research. 

Doing this helps the reader approach the subject from your standpoint, and also allows one to gauge how well your paper has met its objectives. 

5. Methods

The methods section should outline any experimental approach used within your paper. If your paper is based on theoretical approaches, establish the criteria used in analyzing the problem and highlight how you approached data collection and analysis. 

6. Results

This chapter presents your results in a format that’s easy for a reader to analyze and draw relevant conclusions. 

7. Discussion

The discussion highlights how various results reflect on your hypothesis and presents your claims and how they overcome highlighted gaps. 

8. References

This is the list of the sum total of sources used within your paper. 

Term paper format

The term paper follows an APA or MLA format depending on the guidelines offered by your tutor. When approaching an APA term paper: 

• Insert the page number on the upper left corner of the title page header
• Add a left-aligned running head not exceeding fifty characters to the header of all pages but the title page
• Set all page margins to one inch. 
• All content, including headings, should be double-spaced. 
• Every paragraph’s first line should be indented by 0.5 inches. 
• Use a legible typeface (e.g., Times New Roman 12pt., Arial 11pt., or Georgia 11pt.). 
• Every page should have a page number. 

Ideally, consult an example of a term paper edited in your preferred style to familiarize yourself with the citations and structure of your paper. 

Final take

Writing a term paper should not trigger your fears and frustration. we hope this guide has helped you familiarize yourself with various components to highlight in your paper. Feel free to reach out for term paper help on various elements you may struggle with in your paper. 

Our team can also offer a custom term paper and editing help, helping you stay at par with your due date without compromising your paper’s quality.