5 Mistakes to Avoid When Writing a Research Paper

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Welcome to Limitless! 

Have you ever felt so annoyed by a professor’s comment on your work because you know better and should have been more careful? I feel you.

Here are 5 mistakes to avoid when writing a research paper. 

1. Not sticking to your format’s style

What kind of citation style does your discipline use? MLA? Okay, perfect! The MLA guide is your new best friend (Of course, this is an example). Most of these guides have their own specific formatting styles, including the fonts and sizes to use for headers, sub-headings, and texts. So, make sure you are complying with everything to the T. If you can’t find your citation’s guide, owl.purdue.edu is an excellent resource for finding most citation guides. 

2. Not including page numbers 

This is a very minor error that you could easily forget. I would suggest that you write it on a sticky note and paste it on your computer if you have a tendency to forget. Also, make sure you are sticking to your format’s style of page number placement. If you do not know how to do pagination, you could check YouTube. 

3. Using informal language and incorrect grammar 

Words like “it’s”, “wouldn’t”, “isn’t”, and the family of condensed words should not be used in your paper. Write your words in full. Also, do not use slangs in your research paper. If you must use a slang or a language other than the one you are writing in; then put it in italics. 

Furthermore, note that only complete tenses should be used in a research paper. Phrases or words without a subject are grammatical blunders. In addition, (last minute people won’t like this one🤣) always make sure you go through your research paper after writing, you could also ask someone to take a look at it. If everyone around you seems to be too busy, paste that paper on Grammarly, let it spot your errors! 

4. Not explaining quoted words/ mindless lifting 

I didn’t know about this one till I started my Master’s program. My professors would always tell me to explain my quotations. Quotations are words of other people that you make reference to in your paper. You can’t just paste someone’s idea without explaining what they are trying to say in your own words or use it to illustrate a point; the quotation should be well-linked to your paper. 

Trust me, these professors have a lot of time on their hands, they are paid for it. So, don’t even think of pasting something that doesn’t make any sense in your paper to fill the space and meet the minimum page limit. All in all, your quotations must make sense and be well-linked to the ideas in your paper. 

5. Not citing properly and a shabby reference list 

The earlier you get the hang of in-text citations and references, the better. Citation guides are your new best friend, watch YouTube videos, check Google, ask people, ask your professors if you are ever confused. This is one area that I know steals the marks of people. Just a little referencing mistake, and the professor is already considering deducting from your mark. 

ALWAYS double check to ensure that all your in-text citations are included in your reference list. Ensure that you are complying with your citation’s guidelines for in-text citations and reference lists.

Lastly, take note to incorporate whatever comments professors make on your paper in the next one you write. Some professors “yell” in the comment section when you repeat errors🤣. 

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Thank you for reading guys! I hope this helped. Should we do more research-related posts?🤔

Till we meet again❤️.