How to Write a Paper Through Stress, Imminent Mental Breakdowns, and Writer’s Block

            After hours and days and months of research, after compiling tons of notes and sources, it’s finally time to start the actual research paper.

            But where do I begin?

            Well, if the notes that I took were well-organized into a chart or outline, as I mentioned in a previous post, and I have a literature review done as well, then I have a starting point. Most people think that you have to start your essay with your thesis. This is perfectly fine if you want to go in order, but it has always been easier for me to just begin with my reasons and then go back to write an introduction. I feel that once most of my paper is done, the intro that I write will better encompass the rest of my research. Do whatever works best for you.

            Remember, it’s okay if at first your paper doesn’t come out the way you planned. You can always move things around, add and subtract phrases, and check for errors later. Just don’t procrastinate like I (and many others) tend to do.

            But knowing the information is only one part. Stay healthy—get some sleep and eat a snack. If you feel stressed, or you have writer’s block, take a break. Take a break between making corrections, too. Remember, this paper may be an important, but so is your health. And trust me, you won’t be writing anything coherently when you’re exhausted or panicking; mental breakdowns can be avoided if you remember this!

            Again, if you want to be able to have a reference to help you with your paper, make an outline. Nothing is final until you hand it in, so improve your rough draft until you’re happy with it. That way, no matter what your grade, you know you’ve done your best.

Who Are You Writing For?

            All of this time has been spent researching the topic to understand and develop it. However, sometimes you need to read non-scholarly sources, such as biased web articles, or watch videos on the topic. Now that you have a solid background of your topic after reading many scholarly sources without bias, you will not be easily swayed by biased and powerful advertising or websites.

            But why read through these sources? Can they even be used for your research paper?

            Many will probably not be useful for your paper. So why bother? Well, while researching scholarly sources is important, looking at biased videos by Novartis advertising animal research or skimming through PETA’s website helps me to get an idea of how my topic applies in the real world, and what I want to write about or include in my paper. It helps to see what people think and what I should keep in mind for my readers. This is important in understanding the readers’ various viewpoints. (To view the mentioned examples, click here for the Novartis video and here for PETA's website.)

(For the original source, click here.)

            In the video above, for example, many people are interviewed and asked about their opinions on animal research. While many have very different opinions as to whether or not animal experimentation should continue, many of them also agree that it is still very important in medical research. For example, one French woman says that she doesn’t much like the idea of animal experimentation, but agrees that it will slow down research if banned, unless they can find an alternative. Watching this video helps me to understand part of my audience and what points will be important to get across.

            So try watching a video on your topic, or skim through a biased source; it is just as important to understand your readers’ views and the modern aspect of your topic as it is to research it thoroughly through case studies and scientific journal articles.        

Helpful Critics

            Many sources that are peer-reviewed are considered scholarly sources. Researchers have their peers review their work before it can be published. Even if you are an expert at the top of your field, having your paper peer-reviewed by fellow researchers helps you in more than one way— both in getting your research published and making sure it is well-written and presented.

            Many of us don’t like it when we are criticized. We get defensive about our work or uncomfortable about our mistakes. However, constructive criticism is good for us. If we never let anyone criticize our work, we would never learn and be able to get better.

            So whenever you write a paper, see if you can’t find a peer to review it for you. They might catch something you didn’t see, or have you rewrite something to make it clearer for your audience to understand. It’s important to remember your audience. You may find that you understand what you wrote, but the reader would not understand without a simpler or clearer explanation. Remember, when writing a research paper, it’s not written for you; you know what you’re talking about. Your research is written for your audience, so that they can see the importance of your research.

            If research is the way to spread your knowledge and new ideas, then having it peer reviewed is the way to make sure your ideas are getting across to your readers correctly. Take advantage of constructive criticism; having an outsider’s perspective can be very helpful.

Outline Your Ideas

Taking hundreds of notes, slipping sticky notes into books to tag pages, highlighting important quotes on an online document— these are all ways to organize your sources and their arguments. But what’s a better way to start understanding how your sources can be used?

Well, one way is to write a literature review.

A literature review allows you to summarize your sources, compare them to other sources, and decide how they will be used in your final research paper— if they will be. It helps you to establish a background for your paper, although it can be a little difficult to understand how to begin to write one.

Speaking from experience, I’ve always had trouble finding a way to best present and articulate my information. I researched it all, I knew what I was talking about, but I found it difficult to organize a way in which it all fit together nicely so that my jumbled notes would make sense to others.

So, what’s the best way to start?

Make an outline. This is good advice for any essay or paper or report. An outline gives you a basis from where to start and can help you organize your notes and thoughts. It can also help you to organize your sources in a way that helps them flow. Then, decide which sources fit into the certain categories/sections on your outline, and from there add your notes.

Also, as a final tip, when you begin to write your literature review, you don’t need to strictly stick to the outline. If you find something that works better as you are writing, then use it. Don’t be afraid to change your outline over and over again; sometimes reorganizing your thoughts helps you to write better than before.