In education, a research essay is a common task that is assigned to determine how much a student has learned and understood about the topic at hand. In business, a report is a work of record that establishes problems, looks for facts, and looks for solutions. Regardless of the length of your essay or report, it may seem easy to write one, but in fact it is quite difficult to find the perfect one.
The format of your essay or report should consist of four main aspects, namely a specific research topic, relevant data collection, data analysis to answer your questions, and conclusions with key insights.
1) State a specific research topic
Often, you must reduce the research topic to a manageable size, with a “thesis statement” in any essay or a “purpose” in any report. For example, writing on the topic “Marketing” is too broad. Internet marketing offers you a target topic to write about and that is online marketing. Its final title could read as “How To Design The Best Internet Marketing Campaign To Increase Your Direct Email Response Rate”. As you can see, this title provides a well-defined topic with specific benefits that keep readers in mind. Pick something that you are interested in learning and writing about. This is because you can spend hours, days, or months working on this topic. Therefore, it is very important to get involved in a topic that you enjoy and feel inspired to write about.
2) Collect relevant information and data
A great place to start your research is your nearby library, as it is a treasure trove of valuable reference material. Of course, with the Internet at your disposal, you can also do an online search at home. Primary data such as interviews, questionnaires, and surveys are designed to collect specific variables and are obtained directly from the source. Secondary data is obtained from third-party sources, such as books, articles, and magazines. You should collect only the data that is relevant to your essay or business report. Don’t waste time on matters unrelated to your topic. Sometimes it’s easy to get lost browsing online. Discipline yourself with a 30 minute timer. Organize everything in digital folders. There are many software programs designed to help you organize your research data. Evernote is the one I love to use. It helps you remember and sync everything on different devices.
3) Analyze the data to answer your questions
After collecting all the relevant data, you will need to analyze it with a curious mind. Read all the information. Classify, group and organize. Examine all information critically. Sometimes it is helpful to prepare graphs, charts, and tables to discover a pattern or trend. At other times, you just need to read, study and interpret everything in your own way to give it a new conceptual meaning.
4) Conclude with key ideas and action steps
The purpose of each essay or report is to answer a few questions, including problems, problems, or challenges. Before reaching a final conclusion, list the alternatives or options with pros and cons. Choose the best alternative and give logical reasons to support it. Summarize your article and try to make a meaningful connection between the “why” and the “how.” Provide new insights, solutions, and action steps that will help make positive changes.
So, in short, this is how you should prepare to write a perfect essay or report. It is important that you try to write your draft and have someone else edit or proofread it for you. You may think you have a well-written essay for your teacher or a well-documented report for your boss. However, a professional proofreader or editor will help you catch any errors you may not have seen. If you are writing special reports for your companies, the task seems tedious in the end. Hire a copywriter who understands business-to-business copywriting. You will save time and headaches by increasing your productivity and response rate.
