Components of a Well-Formed Paper

Academic and Scholarly Writing
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Components of a Well-Formed Paper
Effective writing skills are critical in scholarly writing, and structuring a paper requires proper planning. Planning entails the selection of a research topic, organization, and basic structure. An individual must first select a research topic on which the paper will focus. This is followed by thorough research to identify what other authors have done. Research lets students narrow down the topic's key aspects and gather additional information. Organization entails brainstorming on the subject to identify any evidentiary support and primary and secondary information to be used in the paper. Afterward, one should select the most effective structure for the paper. Depending on the type of essay, a well-performed paper requires a refined structure comprising an introduction that contains a thesis statement, background, discussion points, and a conclusion (Shannon, 2011). Argumentative essays require a slightly different format comprising the introduction, background, evidentiary support, counter-argument, and conclusion.
The introduction of a paper is essential. It should introduce the paper's contents and encourage the reader to continue reading it. A strong beginning is significant. Therefore, the author should avoid weak introductions that generate little enthusiasm for the reader. For instance, although 'This paper is about the American Civil War' tells the reader what to expect from the paper, it is not engaging and lacks a motivating factor. A strong introduction should provide unusual or statistical facts about the research topic, a brief story, illustration, or anecdote connected to the research topic. There should also be a quotation or question that raises readers' interest to seek answers from other sections of the paper. The thesis statement is also part of the introduction. It is the study's controlling idea and explains the author's point of view regarding the selected topic.
The background information consists of all additional details on the research topic. It forms the main points and context of the paper and gives readers adequate information to follow the paper's main ideas. Background information comes from other similar studies on the subject area. The points of discussion are the primary ideas of the thesis. This section takes up most of the paper and is guided by the aims and research questions. Effective writers use specific and general statements to build on the critical discussion point. The points are connected by transition phrases or words independent of the overall paper structure. In argumentative essays, the points to be discussed are divided into evidentiary support of the thesis statement and the counter-arguments, which justify the author's position. A well-performed paper ends with a strong conclusion. This is a summary of the paper's key points. The thesis statement should be restated to tie the key points.
Effective Coherence in a Well-Performed Paper
Coherence in writing is how information is organized in the paper to effectively move the reader from the begging to the end (Shannon, 2011). It is easier to read a coherent paper because the ideas flow se...