A Useful Plan of a Linguistics Research Paper Writing

Writing process is always a complicated thing which requires additional analytical, critical thinking, and research skills. In addition, any academic paper demands a serious preliminary study. It differs both from the art or technical text, and from the journalistic article. According to the specifics of any paper, it requires the particular means of its creation. The words “research paper” fully characterizes contents and the primary objective of the statement: description of results of own research. The structure of the essay is subordinated to the fundamental objective of the research. The process of research paper writing is thorough and profound work. Thus, it demands the maximum concentration of thought and imagination along with specific knowledge and skills. However, it is easier to write the research paper when you have some guidelines which can help you highlight the possible directions for you.

Is Linguistics Worth Studying?

The linguistics is first of all the science about language. Such understanding means an examination of all aspects of the phenomena. Linguists seek how to simulate the unconscious knowledge of the native language by adults and development of the first language by children. They aimed at investigating the structure of the specific languages and human language in general, describing a variety of languages in the world, and, at last, studying how language influences our daily communication and in what degree it defines our perception of the world around. Linguists investigate how we master the native language, and how our knowledge of the language is connected with other cognitive processes, as it varies in different regions. Linguistics examines the structure of various language components (for example, sounds and word combinations) and their interaction, describes and explains a variety of language substructures.

Many linguists are engaged in the field work, collecting material which allows them to understand better the concrete languages and human language organization. They work with carriers of the most different languages to investigate the particular phenomena of their grammar and/or to describe these languages entirely. Still, linguists use big databases (or cases) and perform well-elaborated experiments with children and adults at schools, in field conditions, and in university laboratories to understand better how any language works.

What Is Linguistics Research Paper?

Linguistics research paper is the independently written academic work which shows the ability of the student to analyze linguistics literature, empirical material (for example, words, idioms, phrases). In essence, it is the final stage of any linguistics course which includes the theoretical and practical knowledge obtained during studying. It is not recommended to limit your linguistics research paper only to the theoretical bases. The essential point of the whole linguistics research paper is creating a specific statement considering the chosen linguistics problem and describing your results obtained with the help of specific instruments: methodology, research methods, etc. Thus, it is obvious that the research paper is not the compilation of paragraphs from different Internet and other sources without any references. The Linguistics research paper writing is not an essay where you share the comments on the language destiny and/or meaning of life in a free form. The linguistics research paper is your scientific text where, except correctly issued quotes from works of other scientists, your analysis and your conclusions are the solution to a scientific problem.

Why Is Linguistics Research Paper Important?

With the help of linguistics research paper you learn how to:

• compare the different points of view on a stated problem;
• form an own position (especially concerning questions which seem to you general and irrelevant);
• analyze the facts (on the example of that small fragment of language which you will choose);
• state thoughts (in particular, according to the requirements of a certain style – in this case, the scientific one);
• follow the rules (technical registration of work, structuring material, etc.).
• plan (time, work, volumes);
• present the information logically.

At last, a linguistics research paper is one of the most personal components of education. It is considered that you investigate the topic which is attractive and challenging for you; elaborate the problem important for you, and, therefore, you try to solve it in the best way.

How to Choose an Ideal Topic for Linguistics Research Paper? Our Writers Advise

Very often, the most difficult thing in writing is to choose the appropriate topic. Definitely, the success of writing the paper and completeness the thought statement in many respects depends on the right topic. Therefore, it is advisable to pay considerable attention to this issue. Try to define the sphere of linguistics you would like to study and then define the problem in this sphere which needs to be solved. At least, you will find a general understanding of the desirable topic. Also, you can ask your professor for help. No less important is to formulate an exact and specific subject, avoiding generalization.

Good Topics Examples

Specific topics and questions which solves the particular problem.

• Language as Semiotic System;
• Idioms and Their Transformation in Newspaper Headings;
• Semantic Fields as the Way of Language World Picture Realization;
• The language of Media as a Reflection of World Changes: “Global” and “Local” Vocabulary;
• Interpenetration and Interference of Terminological, Common, and Colloquial Vocabulary.

Bad Topic Examples

Too generalized statements which do not contribute to science and do not solve any problem.

• What Is Language?
• History of the English Language;
• Phraseologisms in the Arabic Language;
• How to Translate Terminology.

How to Make the Competent Outline for the Research Paper?

Planning and elaborating the structure is one more critical point of organizing and writing the linguistics research paper. If you do not take into consideration some essential rules for creating the outline, it surely will negatively affect the result of the whole academic work. In this regard, pay attention to the fundamental structure of the research paper which has to be followed strictly. On the basis of the structure, you will be able to elaborate on the helpful outline for your linguistics research paper.

Structure of the Linguistics Research Paper

What rules of the writing of the linguistics research paper exist? The main is that the research paper must stick to the established structure. Following the structure, it is possible to create an algorithm (the sequence of actions) of research paper writing. To write the excellent linguistics research paper, you only must follow the step-by-step instructions, relying on own experience, by many tests and mistakes.

The contents of the analysis for different subjects can be different, but its structure always quite rigid. Any research paper surely contains the basic elements without which it is impossible to write a thorough analysis.

• Title (name of your work);
• Abstract (short summary of the task and subtasks which you will consider within your research; it should also include keywords – the specific terms critical for your paper);
• Introduction (consists of the general statement of the problem, its exploration degree, and thesis which states the main objective of your research paper);
• Methodology (ways of obtaining the necessary material for studying);
• Research methods (ways of analyzing the obtained material);
• Results (your findings);
• Discussion (explanation and application of the theoretical knowledge in the field);
• Conclusion (includes the answer to your main question and generalized results);
• Recommendations (this section contains the explanation where the results of your research can be applied and how they contribute to the general understanding of the problem);
• Reference list (sources used for writing the paper).

How to Choose a Methodology?

There are plenty of ways which can be helpful in obtaining the material for further analysis. The method of field researches assumes collecting and the analysis of primary data according to the purpose of concrete research. Many linguistics studies assume use of primary information in various forms (for example, dialectal words, professional vocabulary items, etc.). To the most widespread methods of collecting primary information for observation, an experiment and poll panel, or focus group method. Observation is one of the possible ways of collecting primary data when the researcher conducts the direct observation of the persons involved in the analyzed situation, for instance, a communicative act.

How to Choose Your Research Methods?

Linguistics methods do not represent a uniform set of the principles, and ways of research, and the description of language entities. It is impossible to provide a sufficient explanation of linguistic methods for all linguistics or general scientific paradigms. However, it is possible to allocate methods, directed to the solution of problems of descriptive and theoretical linguistics and to proceed from some generalized ideas of the current state of linguistics and its methodical preferences.

There are various research methods which can be helpful for studying any particular linguistics aspect. You are free to choose those methods which are the most suitable for your research.
For instance, the distributive method is a method of linguistics research which implies the classification of language units and studying of their properties only on the basis of the distribution of the considered units in the speech, i.e., on the basis of their compatibility.

By means of a final set of semantic components, it is possible to describe an unlimited set of lexical units. The technology of semantic multipliers allocation consists in consideration of words and allocation of some signs breaking words into different classes and semantic groups, for example, on such signs as animate/inanimate, male /female, etc. It is possible to mark out also more differentiated signs for classes of words, for example, animals, fishes, birds, people, etc. Thus, the value of each word is represented as a set of such semantic multipliers.

The linguistic research paper also can imply the application of deduction and induction. The process of scientific research in such situation can be bidirectional: from the facts to entities or from entities to the facts. An inductive method of the organization of scientific process in a whole consists in collecting and documentation of the concrete phenomena (facts) with their subsequent generalization and transition from the facts to the entities which are their cornerstone. The deductive method as a starting point assumes, on the contrary, the postulation of entities based on certain assumptions and check of the reality of these entities for their compliance (or discrepancy) to the observed facts.

Methods of differential calculus are applied, mainly, by consideration of such phenomena at which conditions language units and their properties continuously change.
The following group of techniques is united by the approach based on the analysis of substantial characteristics of the speech. A specific place is taken by qualitative and quantitative analysis of the speech or language, so-called content analysis. Among methods of the content analysis, the methods developed within psychoanalysis are widely known.

How to Find Sources?

Information requires search on the Internet and work with files. Before starting writing directly, it is necessary to collect enough information considering the chosen topic. One of the main sources of information is, of course, the Internet. The worldwide network gives really huge opportunities for the fast, high-quality writing of the linguistics research paper. However, it concerns mainly the theoretical part, for writing the discussion section, because the methodology and results section require specific fieldwork. Moreover, it is advisable to find some information in libraries and databases. Despite the power of the Internet, it should not be considered as the only source of information for writing the linguistic research paper. The literature found in a library is capable of enriching your material considerably.

List of valuable sources for a linguistics paper includes:

• Sharifian, Farzad. Cultural Linguistics: Cultural Conceptualisations and Language. John Benjamins Publishing Company., 2017.
• Becker, Annette, and Markus Bieswanger. Introduction to English Linguistics. UTB, 2017.
• Martin, J. R. Systemic Functional Linguistics. Routledge, 2015.

How to Cite Sources Properly?

Creating the reference list also has its specific features. Thus, it is recommended to address Owl Purdue Writing Lab which contains all nuances considering appropriate sources’ citing.

Some Useful Reminder

In the Discussion section, you can provide the history of studying the problem you chose, providing the information from the peer-reviewed articles. To write the Discussion chapter, you have to read the main literature on the subject of your research, formulate the main problems considered in works of predecessors, and state it in a condensed form with quotes. In other words, it is necessary to tell accurately and systemically what is already known on this subject.

It is good if you manage to allocate various approaches to studying “your” language units, various understanding of terms, etc. In that case, do not forget to write to which scientific attitude you adhere. It is even better if you are able to formulate what aspects of a problem have not received due lighting in works of other scientists, etc. In the Results section, you should describe the findings you got from your research. Just tell in details what was made by you. It is recommended to translate the analyzed words and statements in foreign languages; you will better understand what you write.

Conclusion requires the summary of your findings, while Recommendation part implies including all prospects of research.
All in all, be attentive with the structure of the paper, cite the specific information you use, and proofread the text of your work to avoid grammar, lexical, and stylistic errors. Remember that your contribution to linguistics can appear quite important, so try to make your research paper useful in practical and theoretical terms. Consequently, your findings might shed light on some challenging linguistics aspect.