Term Paper Outline: The Main Components Of A Term Paper

Term Paper Outline: The Main Components Of A Term Paper

Different courses will have different requirements for writing a term paper. Therefore, you need to look for the style guide given by your lecturer and comply with it.

 

However, if no specific outline or guideline has been given to you, you can follow this basic outline, which contains all the principles and elements for a proper term paper.

 

A term paper will have four three main sections:

 

1. 1. Preliminaries
   2. The body or Text
   3. Reference Page

 

1.0. Preliminaries In APA Format

The preliminaries refers to all the content that appears at the beginning of the paper.

These includes:

 

1.1. Title Page

A title page contains:

• • The title of your paper
  • Your name and student number
  • The course name and code,
  • The instructor’s name
  • The due date

 

1.2. Abstract

An abstract is a brief summary of the main ideas of your term paper usually in about 100 to 200 words.

 

1. The main elements of an abstract are as follows:
2. A short statement of your research nature or subject
3. A brief description of your general theoretical approach and research methods
4. A short summary of your main arguments and research findings
5. In an APA paper, the abstract should be written in a page of its own

 

1.3. Table of Contents

A table of contents for a term paper provides an analytical outline of your paper with the sequence of your presentation.

 

A table of contents for a term paper should list out:

 

• • The heading of every division of the term paper
  • The subheadings of every subsection within the divisions (if any)
  • Page number for every division and subsection of the term paper

 

2.0. Guidelines for Writing the Body of a Term Paper

2.1. Introduction

An introduction should be an interesting opening to show the main theme and specific topics of your term paper.

The main elements that must be in the introduction include:

1. A concise and complete statement of your research question or the general purpose of your term paper.
2. A justification for your study  or the significance of the topic of your term paper
3. A background to your research question and a review of the relevant literature on it (literature review)
4. A brief statement of the sources of data, the procedure or methods of analysis (methodology)
5. A preview of the organization of the paper

 

2.2. Literature review

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question.

 

The basic components of a literature review include:

1. A description of the publication;
2. A summary of the publication’s main points;
3. A discussion of gaps in research;
4. An evaluation of the publication’s contribution to the topic of the term paper.

 

2.3. Methods

• • How did you search for information or data on the topic?
  • What is your impression of the utility, relevance, or quality of the data you collected?
  • What special steps did you take to select or utilize the data?

 

2.4. Results

• • What are your findings?
  • Are their problems with your findings in terms of answering the questions posed in the introduction?

2.5. Discussion

• • What do your observations mean?
  • Summarize the most important findings.
  • What conclusions can you draw?
  • How do your results fit into a broader context?

 

2.6. Conclusion

A conclusion should provide a firm ending of what you have discussed in the paper and, preferably, further to reach a judgment, to endorse one side of an issue, or to offer directives.

 

A good conclusion usually contains:

 

1. A recapitulation of the main findings or main themes 
2. Statements about the specific values or alternative insights of your paper for understanding the subject matter
3. Indications of the important relevance to the current circumstance or future possibility
4. Suggestions for policy in points to your findings

 

3.0. Guidelines for Reference Page

Different institutions have different styles of documentation. If no referencing style is requested, you should choose one and use it consistently in your paper. American Psychological Association (APA system) is the most common type of referencing system used in term papers.

 

Here is how to use it for various types of works:

1. Book reference

Author’s name. (Year). Title of work. Location: Publisher

 

2. A chapter or an article in an edited book

Author’s name. (Year). Title of chapter or article. In Editor’s name (Ed.), Title of book (page numbers). Location: Publisher.

 

3. Periodical (e.g., journal articles)

Author’s name. (Year). Title of article. Title of periodical, Volume Number, Page.

 

3. Daily newspaper report or article

Heading of the report or the article. (Year, month and date). Title of the newspaper, page.