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Writers block when writing research papers



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Writers block when writing research papers

While I have started writing for websites regarding research work I seem to had hit a brick wall. A research writer will spend a lot of time to gather as much information as possible in order to write the best article or essay as possible. What I have noticed in the last few days is that no matter which task I am doing I constantly run into the same problem - cramming all that information into a decent length article that will keep the reader interested and allow the reader to gain knowledge on the subject in question. I suppose what I am trying to say, is how does the more experienced research writers handle this when it comes to sticking to the point without wandering off too far?

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anyone01
The most splendid approach to beat a temporarily uncooperative mind is to discover associations with by and by. In the event that you can feel the reverberation between at least two thoughts, you will be so increase that it will enable you to blast through any lexiconical barrier you find before you. The genuine mystery of a temporarily uncooperative mind is that the essayist is typically their own motivation for it and must assume liability with the end goal to find a way to conquer it. As it were, as an essayist you can be the cause all your own problems.



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jeffreyjose48
One of the good thing to do is to eat peanuts. Peanuts are good for the brain. Its also good for the heart.



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Corzhens
When I do a research for writing, I always use a note pad to write down the points of interest or sub-topics. For example my research is on a breed of dog, I would jot down the costing in other countries, the characteristic of the breed, the usual caring as a pet. When the list is long then that's the time to sort it out and write down the details. It is usual to hit a wall no matter what you are writing. The best way to overcome writer's block is to stand up and leave what you are doing. Shifting your mind to other things will give you a fresher outlook. That is the time to continue what you are writing.



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ajahcuizon
Keeping a memo pad is the most effective way for me to organize my thoughts. Also, it helps me to diminish having writers block because I could jot down the ideas that I have so that whenever I got lost from my ideas, I could get back on track. I agree that standing up and take a break would be effective for those having writers block so that they won't feel pressured and make their minds calm.



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superlicca
There are some reasons for writer's block. You may not have the right timing to write. Or a writer is trying to be perfect. You want everything to be perfect before publishing them which is not bad since you want to create a great article. What I do to overcome writer's block is to eliminate the distractions. When you write, you tend to do other things like playing games on your phone, watching TV or Youtube Videos instead of focusing. If you will try to avoid these things then you might give your 100% focus or attention to write.



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Barida
Yeah, focusing on what we are writing is a key way to ensure that things move as we planned. I am the sort of guy that enjoys playing games on my mobile and I also chat some times. For the days that I got frustrated by this, I never knew that the fun part was the reason I couldn't complete my work then till today that I read about it.



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ajahcuizon
I agree. Eliminating distractions will have a big positive impact to your writing. You will have to convince yourself to disregard everything that will make yourself unfocused to your goal. Also, getting enough sleep will help you diminish the blocking of your mind for your thought. Eating some snacks while writing is also good for your mind.



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jeffreyjose48
I agree with you. There are many reasons for writer's block. Right timing is needed.



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Barida
Research writing is one of the writing jobs that look as demanding as anything. This is because the supervisors will always demand for the best from your clients and to make it happen, you've got to follow with doing the thing that will make the research paper top notch.

One thing that I always advise is that you set things up on a light mode and try to fix how you relax your mind after work for this is the best way you can handle being frustrated with the demands of the work.



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mitan143
I think that happened because maybe you are distracted or pressured with your responsibility as a research writer. I may be wrong with my thought about you but based on my experience before that's the reason why I tend to have a writer's block. I'm not really a professional writer yet but, I think lack on focus is also one of the reasons for that. Why not try to have a guideline on how you write your article or whatever it is, so you will be sticking into your primary goal.



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jeffreyjose48
I agree with you. Writers block may come because of distraction or pressures with responsibility as a research writer. Lack of focus may also be the reason for writers block.



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ajahcuizon
Write down all your thoughts first in a piece of paper and decide in which thought you are going to start. Separate those important things to put in your content. Too much information will make your reader confused if you will try to put everything on it. Take those points that you will use as your main point about your content. Then make the rest of the points, use it as your sub topic about your main topic. On that way, your reader won't get confused on which you are really talking about.



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stbrians
It is a matterof organising yourself. On the points you write only choose the most important and what readers will be interested in. Arrange the foamat on how your ideas will be arranged. You must know which foamat will bring the most impactimpact
SEO is an important point to note too



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MOli4
Thank you so much for all your responses. All these points are very helpful and a reminder of the simple things I had not paid attention to in the last few weeks. It is quite easy to lose focus when you are under pressure and I agree, I need to have a look at what it is that gets me in the correct state of mind.



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stbrians
Exactly! There are many times when we get lost in this maze of writing. We need to be brought to reality by others.



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Kakashi2020
It really depends on the scope and how long would the research paper would be. One thing I usually do when I'm doing research work is to limit the topic/subject scope, limiting it would also limit the materials needed hence it would be easier and shorter to write.



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Martinsx1
Well, it's true what you just mentioned about the scope of the particular research one would be carrying out.

If it's a short research that requires less literature review and data collection and analysis, then having writer's block wouldn't occur too much and vice versa.



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emiaj55
When doing research for writing for websites, I always find it helpful to use the Inverted Pyramid structure in my notes. This way, I can keep the important parts on the top and not forget about them. Plus, when I read more and more about my current topic, and I find something new, I usually put them on top as well because I'm thinking It will be interesting. After doing my research, I now focus on rearranging the data I collected in the inverted Pyramid, still prioritizing the important and interesting parts I've found on top. Then in writing my final transcript I could easily refer to my notes with a clear breakdown of information by importance.

If in any chance my current topic is so interesting that instead of an inverted pyramid I make an inverted Eiffel Tower instead (pun intended), and I find no way of discarding the other facts I've researched, then I always opt of making a two part article of the topic. I just strive to write in a way that readers would look forward to the second part. It is extra work on my part but it also extra satisfying.



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amelia88
I think if you're writing a research paper, it's easier to map out your ideas first before you start researching. Sometimes when I research without mapping out my ideas, I end up with too much information - even when it's good information - and I struggle with what to incorporate. If I'm more pointed and direct with my research from the start, it tends to be easier to consolidate everything.



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NerdIndeed
You can only say so much about a specific topic, and I believe it is not that bad to wander off from the subject matter if the need arises. Though, your introduction and ending should be on point as to what you are trying to convey with your article. The body can hold as much relevant and related info as you wish.



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theresajane
It is so hard to have a writer's block especially if you are too focused on the number of days left before the deadline. I personally experienced that with my teammates. We were assigned with different tasks, and different parts in a research paper. The pressure is too overpowering that it is so hard to think properly. Luckily, my teammates were very helpful and helped me during that time.



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Martinsx1
When you have your research work done by a group, there is almost a minimal chance of getting writer's block when doing your own part because the work would be divided and it makes it easier for you to complete your task without feeling hung up and chocked up with writer's block.

It's when only you would be expected to carry out the research all alone that you are most certainly going to have writer's block. There is no escaping from it.



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jaymish3
I think the best way to handle this is to be organized. Before you begin writing have a plan. In your plan jot down the points from your research of what you want to cover in your essay/research. Make the essay about proving or disapproving these points. Be brutal about this, don't go off course. Before you know it you will have an essay with relevant points. In your plan also include how much evidence you need to support a point and stick to this.



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Kakashi2020
I do agree that a good outline and plan is needed in writing a research paper. Boundaries on topics or subjects must be set so that the research work would be limited. Not doing this would open you up to a lot of data which can be very hard to handle. In my opinion a good researcher should always abide by the predetermined scope of his topic.



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Martinsx1
Research work should never be done in a haste no matter how urgent the work is needed. If the work is done in a haste, there will definitely be some missing links and information that would be skipped in the process which would render the research incomplete and inconclusive. When you have writer's block during the course of writing your research paper, please take some time off and get yourself back to normal and resume the work.



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MomoStarr16
First of all, don't put sommuch pressure in yourselves. Try to focus on what you have instead of thinking negative. Stop for a moment and start writing an outline. It will make you guided about the thougts that will come into your mind. That way you will never lost your path. And resting your brain is important. But avoid long procrastination because it will kill all your effort.



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Youngshark
when I am doing research using mozilla or any other browser for that matter I like to keep all the tabs open such that in case I forget anything I go back and refer quickly making the time I waste remembering minimal. Having to cram all that information can be difficult.



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EfficientNinja
I haven't written an individual research paper before. I wrote my first research paper with a team and we support each other by writing on the subsections where each of us is very good at. We focus on the topics that we have a better grasp on and once we're done with our part, we help them finish theirs so we would be able to pass our research paper before the deadline.



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mdayrit
I get writers block whenever I am stressed or I am not in the mood to write research papers. So I do the usual of us here do, to take a break and relax first. This greatly helps me to condition myself to write and take away the stress that I am feeling.



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nrnlss
When I get hit by writer's block and my mind doesn't cooperate with me I usually drive around and relax for a bit, eat and go outside alone. Also, meditating is really helpful for me, so maybe you should try does things and see if it works for you, if not I am sorry for wasting your time.



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rlpzbeermoney
The hardest thing is staying on topic. There can be so many things to write about your topic but most of the time, we get side railed in the content. I think planning your topic and sub-topics first can help with you writing a decent research paper. That way, you follow something.



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cks003
Writing a research article is not an easy task as it requires facts, objectives of the research, significance of the article to the society or literature etc. The author/s should maintain a flow and direction of the story line in order to ensure clarity of the message that the author/s intend to convey. The most difficult part of the research article is the Introduction and Conclusion sections, as they are the gists of the article. A reader's decision to continue reading depends very much on the Introduction section, in other words, the quality of the paper is evaluated just by reading the section alone. The Conclusion section tells the overall finding of the research, thus the quality of the research is "concluded" in the section. If you can maintain the coherence or consistency of the two sections, you will be focused on one single point in the article.



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Jeane
First, the best way to deal with writers block is to take a break, do something else. Though it will take longer to complete what you began, you'll avoid making mistakes that may compel to re-write the entire piece.
how does the more experienced research writers handle this when it comes to sticking to the point without wandering off too far?

My approach would be simple. Set parameters. What information do you want convey to the reader? Focus on that and cut out everything else.



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hstinscdln
An advice I developed to follow was narrow down your ideas and stick to it once you have started writing it. I am not as good as other writers but I have my own advices to myself. I belirve that other writers as well have their own ways to manage their ideas, but that is how I do mine and I think that is working fine for me. You don't have to include all the informations you've gathered, just include what will keep the readers interested and keep your informations relevant to each other as much as possible.



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jaymish3
Isn't the research standard a different one though? A research paper is not about keeping your readers interested. It is about conveying an argument with research as back up. How do you get writers block?In fact I would argue that the problem would be knowing how much information to include. The problem would be editing your work and deleting arguments and supporting points.



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RachelWalsh
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