Writing essays and research papers isn’t all about writing and exhausting all your ideas after doing the research. Academic tasks usually come with a set of rules and guidelines every student must follow. For instance, the required number of pages or the specified number of words.
There could come a moment after you’ve done the research, compiled all the ideas you have, and put them up in a paper but haven’t reached the required number of words. Remember, you must submit your paper after fulfilling all the requirements. In such a scenario, what’s the best way forward? How do you go about it to ensure you meet the required word count? Keep reading to understand how to lengthen a paper easily.
How long should a research paper be?
Before evaluating how to make your paper longer, maybe you are wondering how long is a research paper.
Well, while the length of every research paper differs based on the topic or subject matter, it is significant to note that an average research paper will require about 4,000 – 6000 words. However, based on your tutor’s guidelines and the nature of your topic, you can get to write a research paper of more than 10,000 words or as less as 2000 words. Just ensure you master the art of writing such a paper and the best approaches on how to make research paper longer.
Tricks to make research paper longer
Should you fail to meet the required research paper length, the following tips will always come in handy:
- Always create an outline for the paper
One practical way how to make a paper longer is drafting an outline as you prepare to write the final paper. A detailed outline will help you figure out the appropriate number of words to include in every section to meet the required word count.
- Include examples in your points
Several examples in your essay will for sure lengthen your paper. When adding value points to support your topic or thesis statement, you will be making a claim, which you must describe and give supporting details for the reader to understand. Therefore, using examples in different scenarios will help you to write a longer essay.
- Hire a professional editor
When you feel like you’ve exhausted all you can when writing your research paper and don’t know how to lengthen a paper anymore, this is the right time to get help by hiring a professional.
An expert in academic writing tasks can quickly read through the paper’s requirements, analyze what you’ve written, and identify instances where there is a need for more content or more explanation.
Getting professional help will not only increase your research paper length but also help you submit a high-quality paper, free from grammar and typo mistakes.
- Cite as you write
Most students often prefer to write a paper first, then do the citations later, which is a wrong move. Citing later can leave you with less number of words. Therefore, whenever you write your paper, always cite as you move forward. This will put you in a better position to keep track of the word count.
- Review sections that aren’t clear
Once you finish writing any research paper, there is a possibility that some points or sections aren’t quite clear. As a way of making your paper longer, try to review such sections as you add more context to meet your word count target.
- Include quotes
It is okay to add insightful quotes in your essay after describing an argument. However, make sure you cite the quotes appropriately and that the quotes align with the subject matter of your paper. Such quotes will not only help you lengthen your paper but also help you argue out your points.
Conclusion
Not once or twice, you will often find yourself stuck with your paper as a result of not attaining the required word count. In such instances, do not submit a paper that doesn’t meet the required word count. Apply some of the above tricks, and you will be good to go.