Step 9 write your perfect research paper now when you have a polished draft you can finally start writing your text following the notes you have made here you need to consider the formalization of your papers font the distance between lines and fields and if you have a certain type of writing apa mla etc dont forget to format it step 10 proofread this is the last step it . Each step is carefully explained and the handbook includes helpful practice activities as well as appropriate examples taken from research papers written by middle school students don t let the process of writing a research paper overwhelm your students watch them become confident writers and thinkers with this new edition of how to write a great research paper . How to write a research paper step 5 evaluate your sources your first instinct might be to use the first handful of sources you find and cite them in your research essay this may be the easy way but its certainly not the best way as you find sources you need to evaluate them to see if theyre credible and if theyre right for your paper think of it like online dating you wouldn . Here are some pointers to other useful advice you and your research hammings famous 1986 talk on how to do great research the navigators research book of style is a slide deck from the navigators research group at the university of lisbon it covers choosing a research topic doing research and writing and submitting a paper. To make an idea web you need a blank sheet of paper thats at least 81 2 11 the size of a standard sheet of notebook paper begin by drawing a circle in the middle of your paper then in the circle write the first topic you can think of even if its not a topic youre actually considering