How to Write an Article: Structuring Your Paper

When you get ready for work or school in the morning, you usually have a fairly regular routine that you follow. A typical morning could follow the itinerary of wake up, brush your teeth, shower, continue getting ready, eat a quick breakfast and hop in the car for a ride in solace, before the busy day. Similarly to this standard routine for beginning a weekday, structuring your research paper can follow a set routine, too. Although each of your research papers will be unique, and different—a safe rule of thumb for structuring your paper is with an introduction, body and conclusion.

Once you have selected a topic and gathered your research, you are ready to begin structuring your paper. The best means to lay the groundwork for you paper is with an outline. An outline is a structured format, which will allow you to arrange the information you would like to present in the introduction, body and conclusion of your paper.

Within the introduction of your paper, you will want to hook your reader off the bat, present your topic and outline how you intend to support your topic throughout the body of your paper. Your introduction is where important background information can be presented, too.

Following the introduction, you will move into the body paragraphs of your paper. The amount of body paragraphs present in your paper is completely customizable. You will want to determine the most organized layout when creating your outline, and then present the meat of your research in the body paragraphs of your paper.

After presenting your research, you will need a conclusion. The conclusion is your chance to tie any loose ends in your research. You can recap your topic, and reiterate your points of support in the conclusion. The conclusion is not a place where any new information should be presented.

We will wrap up with an example. If I am writing a paper about the benefits of electric cars I will first gather all of my research. With my research I will set forth to write an outline. The introduction will share my thesis statement and some general information about electric cars. My paper will have three body paragraphs, each paragraph sharing one benefit of electric cars. The paper will close with the conclusion, tying up any loose ends—as well as reiterating the benefits of electric vehicles. Apply this standardized format to all of your papers, and you will be on the road to success!