As a student, you probably had to write a research paper at least once. In this article, we have listed the main mistakes students tend to do while completing this type of writing tasks so you could avoid them while working on your own projects.    

Grammatical errors    

No matter how hard you try to make your paper perfect, a small grammatical mistake, typo, or factual error can ruin everything. To avoid any of these, give your piece to a third party for a review. If an outsider reads that text with a fresh eye, they will definitely be able to spot something that you simply did not notice earlier because you are used to your own writing. 

You yourself can become this third party if there is no one to turn to. Just put aside your work for a while, and give yourself some time to rest. Next day you will read this text as if for the first time, and draw useful conclusions or find errors that you have missed before. In addition, you can always try one of the writing agencies on the internet – often they offer proofreading and editing services most students can afford.    

Plagiarism    

This is something students tend to forget about as well. Plagiarism check is crucial, because if you fail to make your paper unique – you will simply lose points or have you write-up rejected altogether. To make sure your paper is not plagiarized, use free online tools or, again, turn to a writing service and ask them to check your paper for you. If you want to find out how exactly this works, find more at EduBirdie.    

Poor quality sources  

It often happens that you find a million of seemingly useful and important sources that you are going to use in your work. You open endless tabs with different texts and links, and you know for sure that the amount of your work will be as it should be because you have a lot of information. But the problem is that students do not always understand which sources are really reliable and which are just unnecessary nonsense. Therefore, they often refer to some studies or texts that have lost their relevance or have never been relevant at all. And it can ruin all your work, especially if one of these sources back up your main idea. Therefore, to avoid this, you should repeatedly check your sources for relevance and proof. For starters, try Google Scholar to find only trusted publications and links. Because if you find a source not previously mentioned and think that this is a goldmine of knowledge, you can get into trouble and make a fool of yourself.    

Incorrect citation    

In addition, the problem may not only be in the source itself but also in its correct citation format. Usually, each school has its own specific standards, and you definitely don’t want to fail that. That’s why you should listen carefully to what your teacher says and stick to their guidelines. If you are not sure what exactly you need to do, ask your groupmates, a teacher or simply check your school’s website. Plus, there are numerous sites on the internet that can help you figure out what to do.