Introduction
The students who are writing their research paper often raise questions about plagiarism, format, and process. The format of the research paper means the things come in position wise, from Abstract through Keywords, Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Data Analysis, Finding, Discussion and Conclusion, References, Appendix, and Future Work. However, we never start our research from the abstract.
Literature Review
It is hard to write good literature review for beginner researchers. Smith (2003) argues that the literature review should have the ability to attract the readers. Jones (2000) says that the main motive of the literature review is not just the summary of what the authors currently know about that topic, but it gives details about how it is right and reasonable. According to Malik (2017), there are lots of brilliant students who have the abilities to write but need guidance to do special things like research papers.
Problems in Paraphrase
On the stage of graduation, it is time for students to search out new things using their own abilities, especially in research writing. There are many problems faced by graduate level students in writing research papers, including grammar, punctuation, data sources and not knowing how much explanation can be included. Kennedy and Smith (1986) mentioned eight main mistakes in paraphrasing including not deeply reading the ideas of authors, adding a lot of verbatim text, not adding key points, and using unsuitable words.
Plagiarism in Writing
Plagiarism has two categories: copying data from other researcher’s work, and minor changing of words. The chief principle to avoid plagiarism is giving the references at the end of the research paper.
Second Language Problem
The major thing behind the research paper is to develop self-motivation in graduate level students. Cooley and Lewkovicz (1995) say that 50 percent of second language students have problems in writing research papers. Students writing in a second language face difficulties with vocabulary, grammar and syntax, and often translate data from their mother tongue.
Problems in Choosing Topic
The act of choosing a research topic for graduate level students is challenging. Students often choose the topic without knowing the problems of that topic in details. Three important things for choosing a research topic are: the topic should be appropriate for research, there should be interest in the topic, and one should not choose a topic under compulsion.
Data Presentation
Data collected from Punjab University and GC University Faisalabad showed that 80% of students face second language problems, 70% face plagiarism issues and need guidance, 60% choose uninteresting topics, 50% have grammatical problems, 40% have paraphrasing issues, and 30% did not start their paper from literature review.
Works Cited
- Colwell AC. 2011-242: Writing Challenges for Graduate Students in Engineering and Technology, Purdue University, Calumet (Tech).
- Yulia. 2012. Students’ Problems in Writing Paraphrases in Research Paper Writing Class.
- Chien. 2015. National Taipei University of Business, Taiwan, Graduate Students’ Perceptions of the Problems in Writing Research Articles in English in Higher Education: A Taiwan-based Study.
- Laramee. How to Write a Visualization Research Paper: A Starting Point.
- Kallestinova (2011). How to Write Your First Research Paper.
- Fareed, Ashraf, Bilal. 2016. ESL Learners’ Writing Skills: Problems, Factors and Suggestions.