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We’re delighted to announce that all research-type articles  (including Research Articles, Review Articles and Squibs) accepted for publication in English Language & Linguistics  from 12 August 2024  will be ‘open access’; published with a Creative Commons  licence and freely available to read online (see the journal’s Open Access Options page for available licence options). We have an OA option for every  author : The costs of open access publication will be covered through agreements between the publisher and the author’s institution , payment of APCs from grant or other funds, or else waived entirely, ensuring every  author can publish and enjoy the benefits of OA. 

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• ISSN: 1360-6743 (Print) , 1469-4379 (Online)
• Editors: Professor Laurel J. Brinton University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada , Professor Bernd Kortmann University of Freiburg, Germany , and Dr Warren Maguire University of Edinburgh, UK
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Recently published articles

Caroline gentens, lobke ghesquière, william b. mcgregor and an van linden (eds.), reconnecting form and meaning: in honour of kristin davidse (studies in language companion series 230). amsterdam and philadelphia: john benjamins, 2023. pp. 305 + vii. isbn 9789027212993..

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A quantitative exploration of the functions of auxiliary do in Middle English

• LORENZO MORETTI

Ole Schützler, Concessive constructions in varieties of English (Language Variation 9). Berlin: Language Science Press, 2023. Pp. viii + 270. ISBN 9783961104222.

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Morphosyntactic agreement in English: does it help the listener in noise?

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Elnora ten Wolde, The English binominal noun phrase: A Cognitive-Functional approach (Studies in English Language). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023. Pp. xx + 310. ISBN 9781108921893.

• Carmen Portero Muñoz

Irina T. Pandarova, Revisiting sentence adverbials and relevance (Pragmatics & Beyond New Series, 334). Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2021. Pp. ix + 254. ISBN 9789027213730.

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An exploratory investigation of functional variation in South Asian online Englishes

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Merja Kytö and Lucia Siebers (eds.) , Earlier North American Englishes (Varieties of English Around the World G66). Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2022. Pp. viii + 261. ISBN 9789027210876.

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• English Language & Linguistics , Volume 12 , Issue 2

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• Research paper

How to Write a Research Paper | A Beginner's Guide

A research paper is a piece of academic writing that provides analysis, interpretation, and argument based on in-depth independent research.

Research papers are similar to academic essays , but they are usually longer and more detailed assignments, designed to assess not only your writing skills but also your skills in scholarly research. Writing a research paper requires you to demonstrate a strong knowledge of your topic, engage with a variety of sources, and make an original contribution to the debate.

This step-by-step guide takes you through the entire writing process, from understanding your assignment to proofreading your final draft.

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Table of contents

Understand the assignment, choose a research paper topic, conduct preliminary research, develop a thesis statement, create a research paper outline, write a first draft of the research paper, write the introduction, write a compelling body of text, write the conclusion, the second draft, the revision process, research paper checklist, free lecture slides.

Completing a research paper successfully means accomplishing the specific tasks set out for you. Before you start, make sure you thoroughly understanding the assignment task sheet:

• Read it carefully, looking for anything confusing you might need to clarify with your professor.
• Identify the assignment goal, deadline, length specifications, formatting, and submission method.
• Make a bulleted list of the key points, then go back and cross completed items off as you’re writing.

Carefully consider your timeframe and word limit: be realistic, and plan enough time to research, write, and edit.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

There are many ways to generate an idea for a research paper, from brainstorming with pen and paper to talking it through with a fellow student or professor.

You can try free writing, which involves taking a broad topic and writing continuously for two or three minutes to identify absolutely anything relevant that could be interesting.

You can also gain inspiration from other research. The discussion or recommendations sections of research papers often include ideas for other specific topics that require further examination.

Once you have a broad subject area, narrow it down to choose a topic that interests you, m eets the criteria of your assignment, and i s possible to research. Aim for ideas that are both original and specific:

• A paper following the chronology of World War II would not be original or specific enough.
• A paper on the experience of Danish citizens living close to the German border during World War II would be specific and could be original enough.

Note any discussions that seem important to the topic, and try to find an issue that you can focus your paper around. Use a variety of sources , including journals, books, and reliable websites, to ensure you do not miss anything glaring.

Do not only verify the ideas you have in mind, but look for sources that contradict your point of view.

• Is there anything people seem to overlook in the sources you research?
• Are there any heated debates you can address?
• Do you have a unique take on your topic?
• Have there been some recent developments that build on the extant research?

In this stage, you might find it helpful to formulate some research questions to help guide you. To write research questions, try to finish the following sentence: “I want to know how/what/why…”

A thesis statement is a statement of your central argument — it establishes the purpose and position of your paper. If you started with a research question, the thesis statement should answer it. It should also show what evidence and reasoning you’ll use to support that answer.

The thesis statement should be concise, contentious, and coherent. That means it should briefly summarize your argument in a sentence or two, make a claim that requires further evidence or analysis, and make a coherent point that relates to every part of the paper.

You will probably revise and refine the thesis statement as you do more research, but it can serve as a guide throughout the writing process. Every paragraph should aim to support and develop this central claim.

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A research paper outline is essentially a list of the key topics, arguments, and evidence you want to include, divided into sections with headings so that you know roughly what the paper will look like before you start writing.

A structure outline can help make the writing process much more efficient, so it’s worth dedicating some time to create one.

Your first draft won’t be perfect — you can polish later on. Your priorities at this stage are as follows:

• Maintaining forward momentum — write now, perfect later.
• Paying attention to clear organization and logical ordering of paragraphs and sentences, which will help when you come to the second draft.
• Expressing your ideas as clearly as possible, so you know what you were trying to say when you come back to the text.

You do not need to start by writing the introduction. Begin where it feels most natural for you — some prefer to finish the most difficult sections first, while others choose to start with the easiest part. If you created an outline, use it as a map while you work.

Do not delete large sections of text. If you begin to dislike something you have written or find it doesn’t quite fit, move it to a different document, but don’t lose it completely — you never know if it might come in useful later.

Paragraph structure

Paragraphs are the basic building blocks of research papers. Each one should focus on a single claim or idea that helps to establish the overall argument or purpose of the paper.

Example paragraph

George Orwell’s 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language” has had an enduring impact on thought about the relationship between politics and language. This impact is particularly obvious in light of the various critical review articles that have recently referenced the essay. For example, consider Mark Falcoff’s 2009 article in The National Review Online, “The Perversion of Language; or, Orwell Revisited,” in which he analyzes several common words (“activist,” “civil-rights leader,” “diversity,” and more). Falcoff’s close analysis of the ambiguity built into political language intentionally mirrors Orwell’s own point-by-point analysis of the political language of his day. Even 63 years after its publication, Orwell’s essay is emulated by contemporary thinkers.

Citing sources

It’s also important to keep track of citations at this stage to avoid accidental plagiarism . Each time you use a source, make sure to take note of where the information came from.

You can use our free citation generators to automatically create citations and save your reference list as you go.

APA Citation Generator MLA Citation Generator

The research paper introduction should address three questions: What, why, and how? After finishing the introduction, the reader should know what the paper is about, why it is worth reading, and how you’ll build your arguments.

What? Be specific about the topic of the paper, introduce the background, and define key terms or concepts.

Why? This is the most important, but also the most difficult, part of the introduction. Try to provide brief answers to the following questions: What new material or insight are you offering? What important issues does your essay help define or answer?

How? To let the reader know what to expect from the rest of the paper, the introduction should include a “map” of what will be discussed, briefly presenting the key elements of the paper in chronological order.

The major struggle faced by most writers is how to organize the information presented in the paper, which is one reason an outline is so useful. However, remember that the outline is only a guide and, when writing, you can be flexible with the order in which the information and arguments are presented.

One way to stay on track is to use your thesis statement and topic sentences . Check:

• topic sentences against the thesis statement;
• topic sentences against each other, for similarities and logical ordering;
• and each sentence against the topic sentence of that paragraph.

Be aware of paragraphs that seem to cover the same things. If two paragraphs discuss something similar, they must approach that topic in different ways. Aim to create smooth transitions between sentences, paragraphs, and sections.

The research paper conclusion is designed to help your reader out of the paper’s argument, giving them a sense of finality.

Trace the course of the paper, emphasizing how it all comes together to prove your thesis statement. Give the paper a sense of finality by making sure the reader understands how you’ve settled the issues raised in the introduction.

You might also discuss the more general consequences of the argument, outline what the paper offers to future students of the topic, and suggest any questions the paper’s argument raises but cannot or does not try to answer.

You should not :

• Offer new arguments or essential information
• Take up any more space than necessary
• Begin with stock phrases that signal you are ending the paper (e.g. “In conclusion”)

There are four main considerations when it comes to the second draft.

• Check how your vision of the paper lines up with the first draft and, more importantly, that your paper still answers the assignment.
• Identify any assumptions that might require (more substantial) justification, keeping your reader’s perspective foremost in mind. Remove these points if you cannot substantiate them further.
• Be open to rearranging your ideas. Check whether any sections feel out of place and whether your ideas could be better organized.
• If you find that old ideas do not fit as well as you anticipated, you should cut them out or condense them. You might also find that new and well-suited ideas occurred to you during the writing of the first draft — now is the time to make them part of the paper.

The goal during the revision and proofreading process is to ensure you have completed all the necessary tasks and that the paper is as well-articulated as possible. You can speed up the proofreading process by using the AI proofreader .

Global concerns

• Confirm that your paper completes every task specified in your assignment sheet.
• Check for logical organization and flow of paragraphs.
• Check paragraphs against the introduction and thesis statement.

Fine-grained details

Check the content of each paragraph, making sure that:

• each sentence helps support the topic sentence.
• no unnecessary or irrelevant information is present.
• all technical terms your audience might not know are identified.

Next, think about sentence structure , grammatical errors, and formatting . Check that you have correctly used transition words and phrases to show the connections between your ideas. Look for typos, cut unnecessary words, and check for consistency in aspects such as heading formatting and spellings .

Finally, you need to make sure your paper is correctly formatted according to the rules of the citation style you are using. For example, you might need to include an MLA heading  or create an APA title page .

Scribbr’s professional editors can help with the revision process with our award-winning proofreading services.

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Checklist: Research paper

I have followed all instructions in the assignment sheet.

My introduction presents my topic in an engaging way and provides necessary background information.

My introduction presents a clear, focused research problem and/or thesis statement .

My paper is logically organized using paragraphs and (if relevant) section headings .

Each paragraph is clearly focused on one central idea, expressed in a clear topic sentence .

Each paragraph is relevant to my research problem or thesis statement.

I have used appropriate transitions  to clarify the connections between sections, paragraphs, and sentences.

My conclusion provides a concise answer to the research question or emphasizes how the thesis has been supported.

My conclusion shows how my research has contributed to knowledge or understanding of my topic.

My conclusion does not present any new points or information essential to my argument.

I have provided an in-text citation every time I refer to ideas or information from a source.

I have included a reference list at the end of my paper, consistently formatted according to a specific citation style .

I have thoroughly revised my paper and addressed any feedback from my professor or supervisor.

I have followed all formatting guidelines (page numbers, headers, spacing, etc.).

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English for Academic Research: Grammar, Usage and Style

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Table of contents (18 chapters)

Front matter, abbreviations, acronyms, and punctuation.

Adrian Wallwork

Adverbs and prepositions

Articles: a / an / the / zero article, genitive: the possessive form of nouns, infinitive versus gerund ( -ing form), measurements and numbers, abbreviations, symbols, comparisons, use of articles, modal verbs: can, may, could, should, must etc., nouns: countable vs uncountable, plurals, personal pronouns, names, titles, proofreading tools: checking the correctness of your english, quantifiers: any, some, much, many, much, each, every etc., readability, tenses: present and past, tenses: future, conditional, passive, translation, chatgpt and generative ai, back matter.

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About this book

This guide draws on English-related errors from around 6000 papers written by non-native authors, 500 abstracts written by PhD students, and over 2000 hours of teaching researchers how to write and present research papers. 

This new edition has chapters on exploiting AI tools such as ChatGPT, Google Translate, and Reverso, for generating, paraphrasing, translating and correcting texts written in English. It also deals with contemporary issues such as the use of gender pronouns.

Due to its focus on the specific errors that repeatedly appear in papers written by non-native authors, this manual is an ideal study guide for use in universities and research institutes. Such errors are related to the usage of articles, countable vs. uncountable nouns, tenses, modal verbs, active vs. passive form, relative clauses, infinitive vs. -ing form, the genitive, link words, quantifiers, word order, prepositions, acronyms, abbreviations, numbers and measurements, punctuation, and spelling.

Grammar, Vocabulary, and Writing Exercises (three volumes)

100 Tips to Avoid Mistakes in Academic Writing and Presenting

English for Writing Research Papers 

English for Presentations at International Conferences

English for Academic Correspondence

English for Interacting on Campus

English for Academic CVs, Resumes, and Online Profiles

English for Academic Research: A Guide for Teachers

Adrian Wallwork is the author of more than 40 English Language Teaching (ELT) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) textbooks. He has trained several thousand PhD students and researchers from 50 countries to write papers and give presentations. He edits research manuscripts through his own proofreading and editing service.

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About the author, bibliographic information.

Book Title : English for Academic Research: Grammar, Usage and Style

Authors : Adrian Wallwork

Series Title : English for Academic Research

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31517-6

Publisher : Springer Cham

eBook Packages : Education , Education (R0)

Copyright Information : The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023

Softcover ISBN : 978-3-031-31516-9 Published: 23 September 2023

eBook ISBN : 978-3-031-31517-6 Published: 22 September 2023

Series ISSN : 2625-3445

Series E-ISSN : 2625-3453

Edition Number : 2

Number of Pages : XIII, 232

Number of Illustrations : 49 illustrations in colour

Topics : Language Education , Grammar , Professional & Vocational Education , Syntax

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Home › Journal › Top Scopus Indexed Journals in English Literature

Top Scopus Indexed Journals in English Literature

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on June 15, 2020 • ( 0 )

1. English Historical Review -(OXFORD) (https://academic.oup.com/ehr/pages/About)

2. ASIATIC: IITUM Journal of English Language & Literature ( https://journals.iium.edu.my/asiatic/index.php/AJELL )

3. English for Specific Purposes ( https://www.journals.elsevier.com/english-for-specific-purposes )

4. The Australian Association for the Teaching of English (AATE) ( https://www.aate.org.au/journals/english-in-australia )

5. English in Education (Wiley) ( https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/17548845 )

6. English World-Wide | A Journal of Varieties of English ( https://benjamins.com/catalog/eww )

7. European Journal of English Studies– Taylor & Francis Online ( https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/neje20/current )

8. Journal of English for Academic Purposes – Elsevier B.V. ( https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-english-for-academic-purposes )

9. Journal of English Linguistics- SAGE Journals ( https://journals.sagepub.com/home/eng )

10. Research in the Teaching of English-NCTE ( https://www2.ncte.org/resources/journals/research-in-the-teaching-of-english/ /)

11. The English Classroom – Regional Institute of English ( http://www.riesielt.org/english-classroom-journal )

12. World Englishes (Wiley Blackwell) ( https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1467971x )

13. English Language & Linguistics – Cambridge Core ( https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/english-language-and-linguistics )

14. English Today-The International Review of the English Language-Cambridge Core ( https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/english-today )

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English for Academic Research

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Studies in Language Testing (SiLT)

Studies in Language Testing (SiLT) is a series of academic volumes edited by Professor Lynda Taylor and Dr Nick Saville, and published jointly by Cambridge English and Cambridge University Press. The series examines important issues and new developments in language testing that are relevant to test users, developers and researchers.

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English Profile is a collaborative programme designed to enhance the learning, teaching and assessment of English worldwide. Its aim is to create a ‘profile’ or set of Reference Level Descriptions for English linked to the Common European Framework (CEFR). These volumes summarise the latest research from the programme.

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• DOI: 10.69706/pp.2023.1.1.18
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Exploring the Complexities of L2 English Academic Writing

• Csilla Sárdi
• Published in Pázmány Papers – Journal of… 13 June 2024
• Education, Linguistics
• Pázmány Papers – Journal of Languages and Cultures

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Teaching academic writing in higher education, introducing needs analysis and english for specific purposes, researching language learner strategies, students first language writing skills and their english language proficiency as predictors of their english language writing performance, recurrent word combinations in academic writing by native and non-native speakers of english : a lexical bundles approach, lexical bundles in l1 and l2 academic writing., building genre knowledge, is there an "academic vocabulary", related papers.

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101 English Research Paper Topics, Questions and Ideas

English Research Paper Topics and Ideas

When it comes to English, there is no limit to the topics you can research about. English research paper topic is the question you’re going to answer in your paper based on your research. However, choosing an interesting topic that will capture the attention of your readers and show your academic prowess can be challenging. The trick to getting an idea worth writing about which will also give you a good grade is to pick a topic that you’re interested in and that which you have some background knowledge. It must also be narrow yet have adequate research material and be related to the specific class you’re currently taking. If you’re having trouble finding a good research topic, here are helpful tools on how to get started.

How to Select the Best English Research Paper Topics? Here Is the Easiest Way

Knowing how to select the best research paper topic is an essential skill that every student must have. It is crucial not only for English courses but also for other assignment papers that you will need to write. Selecting a great paper topic starts with choosing a topic of interest. You then need to do background research and brainstorm different ideas.

During the research, you also need to note down various keywords which will help you narrow down your topic. Finally, you need to use the why, who, what and when questions to get different aspects of the topic and to create an outline of how your content is going to look like.

Even with all the information, keep in mind the length, due date and makes sure your topic meets all the assignment requirements.  However, don’t be so focused on your topic that you fail to modify it based on the research. In most instances, during the research process, it is normal to find some other aspects of the topic that are more interesting. So be flexible!

List of English Research Paper Topics for All Students

Your ideal paper topic should be written as a thesis statement. The thesis statement should be between one and two sentences. Keep in mind that the title of your paper may not be the same as your thesis statement, but both should convey the purpose and focus of your research. In English literature, there are so many topics at your disposal that it might overwhelm you. The best way to go about choosing your topic is to look at the different categories.

Look at the similarities between the two genres in the story or what are the differences. Is one genre more effective than the other and how each genre is portrayed in the story? You can also explain how a particular genre emerged or literature in current society.

What issues do the characters try to bring out ion the story? Or how are the characters important to the novel and how do they reflect in real society?  These are some of the research topics you can consider.

• Gender Roles

How is the gender portrayed in the story? What are the roles of men and women in the novel? You can examine equality or gender expectations as part of your research topics.

• Culture and Literature

What cultural issues is the book addressing?

• Politics and Religion

In the novel is there any connection between politics and religion? What beliefs is the book promoting?

Interesting 101 English Research Paper Topics

• Role of technology in economics
• Advantages of studying internationally versus locally
• Importance of teamwork collaboration for nurses
• School-based mandatory student drug testing approach work to reduce illicit substance use in adolescents
• Does pissing on demand: workplace drug testing and the rise of the detox industry by Kenneth D. Tunnell advocate for invasiveness?
• Psychological factors that influence consumer choice
• Should Drug testing be mandatory for student-athletes?
• The benefits of drug testing for welfare individuals
• Employee drug testing can result in business productivity
• Biblical allegories in modern literature
• Steinberg display hypocrisy of modern Christianity
• In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, rose of Sharon’s baby is a symbol of hope or death
• Important themes in The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and their reflection in today’s society
• Is The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck an educative classic novel or a controversial piece of writing?
• Today’s immigrant can relate to the Joad family in The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• The issue of accessibility of contraceptives for high school students
• Sexism in the media industry
• Whether or not convicted criminals should be eligible for social welfare
• How hunting can become a necessary means in some cases
• Drawbacks of a democratic political system
• The issue of firearms and whether or not they should be registered with the police
• Effects of gangs in poor urban centers
• The pros and cons of legalizing prostitution
• How early modern treatment of extremes resonate in present-day culture in Excess and the Mean in Early Modern English Literature by Joshua Scodel
• How individual freedom and modern English culture is portrayed in Excess and the Mean in Early Modern English Literature by Joshua Scodel
• How the pleasure of literature can lead to a dark side? Use the book Futile Pleasures: Early Modern Literature and the Limits of Utility by Corey McEleney
• In the book Animal Characters: Nonhuman Beings in Early Modern Literature by Bruce Thomas explain how animal characters relate to the emerging economy and culture of the European Renaissance
• The relationship between literary form and code of conduct in the book Rhetoric and Courtliness in Early Modern Literature by Jennifer Richards
• Importance of digitization of medical records
• The issue of feminist women being too harsh on other women who don’t support the movement
• Life in London in the 18 th century
• Ethical use of stem cells
• Golan Heights and its importance to the Israelites
• Various conflicts that have revolved around the Golan Heights
• The issue of who are the legal occupants of Golan Height
• Strange medieval family laws and their influence on society
• The significance of the little bird in Trifles by Susan Glaspell
• Changes in the role of women from Susan Glaspell’s Trifles
• Use The Monk by Matthew Lewis as a response to formal realism.
• The role of feminine men and masculine men in The Monk by Matthew Lewis
• Feminism in Susan Glaspell’s Trifles
• The role of violence in Victorian society in Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold
• Literary criticism of The Monk by Mathew Lewis
• Sea symbolism in Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold
• How is the Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold a presentation of a changing world?
• Is Susan Glaspell’s trifle the ultimate women suffrage story?
• The Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold is a mockery of the Victorian society
• Compare and contrast the Dover Beach by Matthew Arnold and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S Eliot
• The perception of how women love in the legend of La Llorona
• The expectation of women in Marge Piercy’s Barbie Doll
• Unfair treatment of women in the poem A work of Artifice by Marge Piercy
• Discuss the theme of industrialization, corruption, and capitalism using Williams Blake’s London
• London in the eighteenth century by William Blake’s London
• Criticism of gender roles in The Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
• Social distinction in The Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
• Dehumanization effects of colonialism in Heart of Darkness by Josef Conrad
• The theme of racism in Heart of Darkness by Josef Conrad
• How the characters portray differences in social class in Pamela by Samuel Richardson
• Teachers using modern technology affect the quality of education
• How modern-day heroes shape young people
• How marriage has changed for modern society
• The link between illegal immigration and terrorism
• The drawbacks of online dating apps
• European influence on fashion in the world
• How myths about eating certain foods are affecting health
• Are UFOS a reality or fiction?
• Pros and Cons of e-learning
• Is bodybuilding only for boosting ego or for health reasons
• The America dream for immigrants and minorities
• How technology is revolutionizing terrorism
• Eliminating the SAT for college admission can make education better
• How the role of women in the military and battlefield has changed?
• How depression affects human behavior
• The genetic link to optimism can shape attitudes. Explain
• Violent discipline by caregivers affects a child’s mental growth
• Therapy and how it can be an effective rehabilitation method for hardcore prisoners
• Secondhand smoke is the major cause of lung cancer deaths
• How alternative medicine for cancer is unsafe
• Children should be taught at school about various types of sexual orientation
• Cybercrime is the new terrorism
• The impact of Bioterrorism
• The refugee crisis is increasing terrorism
• Social media and modeling industry: Is social media making it easy for models to become rich?
• Industrialization and agricultural activities are the greatest contributors to climate change
• Effects of commercialization of sports
• Negative effects of doing the wrong exercises
• Dangers of consuming organic foods
• Dangers of weight lifting on women
• Whether or not sports betting should be regulated
• Should gambling addiction be ranked in the same category as hard drugs?
• Athletes are excelling because of their professional trainers
• The modern pop musician has more influence than musicians of 80s
• The definition of feminism has changed since the 18th century
• Going to music school influences the success of a modern musician
• Tobacco advertising and its effects
• How obsession with healthy eating can drive more people into anorexia
• The link between Social media and suicide for teenagers and youths
• Should it be mandatory for parents to control their kid’s social media accounts
• The civil rights movement and the effects
• Analysis of strategies used to alter consumer attitudes
• Globalization and how it affects the economy

Examples of English Research Paper Questions

One of the main parts of writing English research paper is to define the research paper question. The question often leads to a hypothesis or thesis statement. Good research questions will generally be based on the who, why, how and what type of questions.

For example, what are the main questions that a reader might ask in this topic or what are your opinions about the topic and who is affected by it? How is the culture portrayed in that particular novel or book? Which political values is the novel questioning? What are the differences and similarities between the two characters?

Once you have a couple of various research questions, you can choose the top three questions and use them to generate a thesis statement.  You can then construct your paper around good research questions. If you don’t have a clue what to write, here are a couple of questions to inspire you.

• Is random drug testing in a workplace ethical and necessary?
• Do pharmaceutical companies view Ebola vaccine as unprofitable?
• Has the role of the first lady changed?
• Does motivation play a role in human development?
• Should the use of marijuana be regulated?
• Have the effects of religious cults changed today as compared to those in ancient society?
• Is technology affecting health management?
• Is it ethical to wear fur coats?
• If a college education is made free, will it be more or less qualitative?
• Are standardized tests a good way to evaluate a student’s knowledge?

How to Come up with the Best English Research Paper Ideas

The main point of choosing a research topic is to go for aspects of the subjects that you understood better and that which interests you the most. What’s great about a teacher asking you to come up with a research topic is that you can go in any direction that you want. You can look at imagery within the novel, or discuss the allegory of two random but related novels.

However, the process of coming up with English research paper topic that will impress your lecturer is not easy. If you don’t understand your assignments, then don’t hesitate to use our services. Feel free to call us now, and we will help you narrow down good topics that your lecturer will love.

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A 2022 Supreme Court opinion.

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The Gun Lobby’s Hidden Hand in the 2nd Amendment Battle

In the battle to dismantle gun restrictions, raging in America’s courts even as mass shootings become commonplace, one name keeps turning up in the legal briefs and judges’ rulings: William English, Ph.D.

A little-known political economist at Georgetown University, Dr. English conducted a largest-of-its-kind national survey that found gun owners frequently used their weapons for self-defense. That finding has been deployed by gun rights activists to notch legal victories with far-reaching consequences.

He has been cited in a landmark Supreme Court case that invalidated many restrictions on guns, and in scores of lawsuits around the country to overturn limits on assault weapons, high-capacity magazines and the carrying of firearms. His findings were also offered in another Supreme Court case this term, with a decision expected this month.

Dr. English seems at first glance to be an impartial researcher interested in data-driven insights. He has said his “scholarly arc” focuses on good public policy, and his lack of apparent ties to the gun lobby has lent credibility to his work.

But Dr. English’s interest in firearms is more than academic: He has received tens of thousands of dollars as a paid expert for gun rights advocates, and his survey work, which he says was part of a book project, originated as research for a National Rifle Association-backed lawsuit, The New York Times has found.

He has also increasingly drawn scrutiny in some courts over the reliability and integrity of his unpublished survey, which is the core of his research, and his refusal to disclose who paid for it. Other researchers say that the wording of some questions could elicit answers overstating defensive gun use, and that he cherry-picked pro-gun responses.

The Bruen decision in 2022 upended Second Amendment law by sweeping away any modern-day gun restrictions that could not be tied to a historical antecedent. The ruling led to a surge in firearms cases — to an annual average of 680 today compared with 122 in the decade before. Pro-gun rulings have also risen: The 74 issued last year make up a quarter of all such rulings since 2000, according to researchers at the University of Southern California. Courts have struck down restrictions on high-capacity magazines in Oregon, handgun purchases in Maryland and assault weapons in California.

Dr. English’s brief in the Bruen case.

Here’s an example of that missing context.

The paper quotes a survey question, omitting the setup to it, which is highlighted below in blue.

Many policymakers recognize that a large number of people participate in shooting sports but question how often guns are used for self-defense. Have you ever defended yourself or your property with a firearm, even if it was not fired or displayed? Please do not include military service, police work, or work as a security guard.

Other questions followed the same pattern of omission. This one, about AR-15-style rifles, included text before and after the question in the version respondents saw, but not in the paper.

Some have argued that few gun owners actually want or use guns that are commonly classified as ‘assault weapons.’ Have you ever owned an AR-15 or similarly styled rifle? You can include any rifles of this style that have been modified or moved to be compliant with local law. Answering this will help us establish how popular these types of firearms are.

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Will China’s historic paper on Chang’e-6 lunar far side samples be in English or Chinese?

• The Chang’e-6 mission’s cargo is expected to yield a wealth of research but debate is growing about what language it will be published in first

Within China’s scientific community, there persists a notion that publishing in English is not only a medium of communication, but also a bridge to global recognition. The use of Chinese remains taboo, a silent sacrifice at the altar of international acceptance.

When China’s Chang’e-5 mission in 2020 retrieved the first lunar samples in decades from the moon’s near side, the first research was carried out by a joint team of Chinese and Western scientists and appeared in Science magazine in October 2021.

This was followed by three more scientific papers published by Nature in the same month, according to an editor with the Science China Press, a scientific journal publishing company of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), recalling the global sensation.

The rocks collected in 2020 led to a number of surprising discoveries, as they turned out to be much younger than the samples brought back by the US Apollo and Soviet Luna missions in the 1960s and 1970s.

“We certainly hope that some of our country’s groundbreaking scientific and technological achievements can appear in China’s top journals, so that we can expand our influence,” said the editor, who asked not to be named.

It was not always so. Tu Youyou, who won China’s first Nobel Prize for science in 2015, published her paper on the discovery of artemisinin in the Chinese Science Bulletin in 1977.

The journal, co-sponsored by CAS and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, once published many major discoveries but since the 1990s has suffered from a lack of quality manuscripts.

Speaking at a conference in 2018, George Gao Fu – a leading scientist in the field of virology and immunology and former head of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – said Chinese as a language of academic communication “used to be glorious”.

Breakthroughs, including Tu’s achievement and the discovery of high-temperature iron-based superconducting materials, had been published first in Chinese-language journals and then recognised by the world, he said.

However, for three decades China’s important scientific research results were “basically first reported by foreign journals”, Gao noted.

Interestingly, just a few years later, Gao led a landmark study by a Chinese CDC team on the epidemiology of Covid-19 that was first published in January 2020 by the New England Journal of Medicine.

The move caused controversy in China, where the public was eager for any information about the new coronavirus that causes Covid-19 as the country grappled with the early stages of the pandemic.

The response to the overseas publication of the study reflected a broader, uncomfortable dilemma for Chinese researchers: while they recognise the importance or necessity of writing in their native language, it is difficult on a practical level.

China’s Chang’e-6 touches down on far side of moon on mission to bring rock samples back to Earth

Newton’s Principia Mathematica was written in Latin. Einstein’s first influential papers were written in German. Marie Curie’s work was published in French.

Yet, since the middle of the last century, there has been a shift in the global scientific community, with most scientific research now published in a single language – English, which is spoken by only about 18 per cent of the world’s population.

While it is estimated that up to 98 per cent of global scientific research is published in English, the number of papers by Chinese scholars has been climbing.

As early as 2010, Chinese biologist Zhu Zuoyan, a CAS academician, observed that the number of papers published by scholars from China had risen from 0.2 per cent of the world’s total to 10 per cent within a decade, second only to the United States.

But China’s academic evaluation system encourages the flow of excellent papers to foreign journals, which had partly led to the country’s lack of international academic impact, despite having the second largest number of academic journals – more than 4,800 – in the world, he said.

In late 2019, Li Zhimin, former director of the Ministry of Education’s Science and Technology Development Centre, called for papers to be published in the country’s official language if the research is funded by the government.

The requirement would make it easier for funders to review research projects, facilitate exchanges with their domestic counterparts and improve the nation’s scientific literacy, he said.

A CAS physicist, who declined to be named, stressed that the proposal to “write research results on the soil of the motherland” could not simply be understood as submitting and publishing articles in domestic journals and in Chinese.

That would be “parochial”, he said. Rather, the key is to focus research on solving crucial issues or problems in China’s development, rather than blindly following global research hotspots and wasting research funds and resources.

But at an individual level, there are plenty of pragmatic reasons and incentives for researchers to do just that. Under China’s evaluation system, getting articles published in prestigious English-language journals often brings rewards.

In addition to promotion opportunities and academic honours, there is also fame, with overseas scientific recognition tending to attract wide media and public attention.

Last month, for example, biologist Zhu Jiapeng earned a prize from Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine for his “outstanding contribution” and a grant of 1 million yuan (US$138,000) as one of the lead authors in a study published by Nature.

Astronomer Deng Licai, with the National Astronomical Observatories under CAS, believes that research results from national missions such as the Chang’e programme should be prioritised for publication in domestic journals.

Deng, who has been a team leader on China’s giant telescope project since its development in the 1990s and 2000s, said he insisted that the first batch of studies to emerge from the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (Lamost) appeared in domestic journals.

“This can firstly highlight the nationality of these independent and cutting-edge major scientific projects, and also help to enhance the international impact of domestic academic journals,” he said.

But English has become the international scientific community’s lingua franca and should be used as a medium of communication, Deng said, adding that it had nothing to do with politics.

China’s space plans: lunar GPS, a 3D-printed moon base and soil samples from Mars

According to Deng, the scientists who study the Chang’e-6 lunar samples could consider publishing in some of China’s English-language journals, such as Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics (RAA).

“All of our pre-research articles on the Lamost programme published in RAA have made it into international lists of highly cited articles,” he said.

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences researcher Zhu Rui, who prefers to publish in Chinese journals – partly because the academy encourages it – said that using his own language when writing academic papers is not an obstacle, as long as the scientific community maintains substantive communication.

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Reminder - Historical Fictions Research Conference, Manchester, 13th & 14th February 2025

Call for Papers

Historical Fictions Research Conference, Manchester, 13th & 14th February 2025

Deadline for proposals: 28th June 2024

The Historical Fictions Research Network ( https://historicalfictionsresearch.org/ ) aims to create a place for the discussion of all aspects of the construction of the historical narrative. The focus of the conference is the way we construct history, the narratives and fictions people assemble and how. We welcome both academic and practitioner presentations. The Network addresses a wide variety of disciplines, including Archaeology, Architecture, Art History, Cartography, Cultural Studies, Film Studies, Gaming, Gender, Geography, History, Larping, Linguistics, Literature, Media Studies, Memory Studies, Museum Studies, Musicology, Politics, Queer Studies, Race, Reception Studies, Re-enactment, Transformative Works.

For the 2025 conference, the HFRN seeks to engage in scholarly discussions on the topic of place in historical fictions.

As the geographer David Harvey points out, the construction of identities together with notions of belonging, power and freedom rest upon understandings of place. Perceived differences and affinities across and between populations, as well as over time, are often spatially determined, and because dreams of the future and imaginaries of the past are inevitably linked to space and territory, the historical imagination cannot be separated from the geographical. A sense of place underpins cultural memory and the imagined community of the nation through time. Conversely, as Paul Gilroy has shown, place is also crucial to the diasporic imagination, and it is moreover through re-visiting the relationship between place and time that alternative pasts can be imagined. Place is central to discourses around nostalgia, notions of golden ages, and the politics of home and belonging. 

Place is integral to historical fictions as they attempt to reconstruct and re-present the ways and worlds of the past, helping to locate stories and characters in time and often conferring a sense of authenticity. Narratives of both progress and decline are usually anchored by location, and processes of change are often codified through the relationship between people and space. Place can be a device for exploring the otherness, the ‘horrors’ of the past. Alternatively, it can instil a sense of continuity and commonality between ages.  Landscapes, including urban spaces are ‘storied’ and are, in the words of Paul Readman “‘sites of memory’ – focal points for mobilising a collective consciousness of the past”. As Readman goes on to point out, the association between place and human pasts transforms the former into heritage which in turn is bound up with constructions of collective identities. As Raymond Williams notes, different rural and urban environments, including that of the house, express social and moral values. 

Places are thus political. They are often associated with conservative histories: with instincts of preservation, of stasis, and with property rights, inheritance, and the upholding of unequal social orders – ideas which, for instance, often under-pin the country-house narrative. At the same time, place can be used to posit new ways of looking at the past, to assert alternative geographical identities to that of the national and to awaken suppressed histories. As is shown by right-wing reactions to the British National Trust’s policy of revealing its properties’ economic roots, such perspectives offer radical possibilities, helping to re-centre the stories of marginalised communities and destabilise accepted norms and beliefs.

Papers are invited on topics related but not limited to:

• The meaning of landscapes and/or urban settings in historical fictions
• The use of mise-en-scène in historical film, TV or games
• Country-house historical fictions
• Nostalgia in historical fictions
• Diasporic historical fictions
• The use of settings in historical fictions
• The portrayal of travel in historical fictions
• The construction (or deconstruction) of place-based identities in historical fictions
• The reparative potential of place in historical fictions
• Post-national or transnational historical fictions
• Maps or other spatial paratexts in historical fictions

Keynote Speakers:

Dr Dorothea Flothow, Associate Professor, Department of English and American Studies, University of Salzburg

Professor Ian McGuire, American Literature and Creative Writing, University of Manchester and prize-winning author of the historical novels,  The North Water  (2016 ) and  The Abstainer  (2020)

Beth Underdown, author of the historical novels,  The Witchfinder’s Sister (2017)  and  The Key in the Lock (2022)

Further Details

HFRC 2025 will be an in-person event taking place at Manchester Central Library, The Friends’ Meeting House, Manchester and The International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Manchester. All these venues are situated in the city centre. Piccadilly and Victoria Railway Stations are in the vicinity, and Manchester Airport is approximately 20 minutes away by train.

The organisers are Professor Jerome de Groot, University of Manchester, Dr Dorothea Flothow, University of Salzburg (Conference Manager), Dr Christine Lehnen, University of Exeter, Dr Siobhan O’Connor and Dr Paul Wake, Manchester Metropolitan University.

Proposals for 20-minute papers are due  28th June 2024 . They should consist of a title and an abstract of no more than 250 words. Panel proposals are also welcome. If you are proposing a panel, please provide a 700-word (maximum) description of the topic of the panel and the titles of individual papers; and for each participant the name, email address and brief statement (no more than 100 words) about the person’s work including relevant publications, presentations, or projects-in-progress. Panel proposals should be submitted by the organizer. Papers must be presented in English. Decisions on acceptance will be communicated by  31st July 2024 . Please use this  form ( https://conferences.historicalfictionsresearch.org/hfrn25/submission.jsf ) to register your proposal.

Please note that a membership levy will be introduced alongside the conference fee this year. Further details about HFRN membership and its benefits will be shared at the conference.

References:

Gilroy, Paul,  The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness ( London: Verso, 1993)

Harvey, David,  Cosmopolitanism and The Geographies of Freedom  (New York: Columbia University Press, 2009)

Readman, Paul,  Storied Ground: Landscape and the Shaping of English National Identity  (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018)

Williams, Raymond,  The Country and The City  (London: The Hogarth Press, 1993)

Visit our website ( https://historicalfictionsresearch.org/ ) for more details and regular updates. You can also write to HFRN conference manager, Dorothea Flothow at  historicalfictionsresearch [at] gmail.com.