Despite
what many people think, writing content is a very hard work. It involves a lot
of steps, but the most intimidating one is searching for information online. To
write a persuasive high-quality piece requires thorough research and a lot of
time and effort.
Experienced
writers are familiar with the phenomenon of the writer’s block. It is a psychological state that
creates a lot of obstacles during the writing process. It doesn’t involve any
other physical distractions, like a smartphone or tablet, but is based exactly
on the lack of self-confidence and skill.
Having
good research skills is a way to battle the writer’s block effectively. Good
knowledge of how to properly do research for your writing is a great boost for
your confidence, which helps trigger the creative process.
To make
things worse, the Internet is so overcrowded with information that it can get
harder and harder to fish out the resources you could actually use. To help you
improve your research skills, here are 4 ways to gather information quickly and
how to use search engines properly to accelerate the writing process.
1. Identify Reputable Content
It’s been
mentioned that it’s quite hard to find reputable information on the web. A lot
of articles and blog posts get copied and plagiarized, and it takes specific
knowledge to identify whether you’re looking at the original content or just a
copy of it.
In order
to identify reputable content when doing research for your writing, experts
from RewardedEssays and Flashessay recommend looking for the
following elements of credible content:
·
Penetration into the subject: the first characteristic feature
of credible information is deep insight and penetration into the subject. The
information you can actually trust, should bring value and introduce new ideas.
Even if the topic is worn-off, high-quality content still introduces new ideas
and personal judgment of the author.
·
Well-explained information: unless you’re looking for a very
specific, scientific content, all other information should be presented in a
simple, understandable manner. If you want to gather information quickly, you
should pay attention to the resources that explain the subject matter in an
understandable language.
·
In-depth penetration: simple and understandable content
shouldn’t be too flimsy. You can explain difficult concepts with simple words
and still look deep into their essence. Look for the content that explains the
concepts in full.
·
The presence of references: look for the content that has
either post-text citations or in-text references. If the article has references
to other authoritative websites, it’s a sign of the credible content.
·
Applicability: the information should be
relevant to the topic you are writing about. It sometimes happens that the
title is relevant but the content is not. Make sure that you don’t waste time
on such low-quality content.
2. Use Different Search Engines
Google is
always our go-to choice. However, editors from Hot
Essay Service
highly recommend switching to other search engines such as Bing from time to
time, and here’s why:
·
you
get a broader reach and a greater variety of results;
·
it
helps you make your search more specialized;
·
you
can filter your results and be more selective with resources.
Some people choose to stop using Google for the purpose to find relevant
information, as it is believed that it doesn’t allow you to do a deeper search.
Either way, using multiple search engines gives you a broader search result,
which can accelerate the whole research process.
3. Use Well-Established
Resources
Every
experienced writer knows that supporting writing with credible resources is a
sign of the high-quality content. Referencing credible resources in your
writing positively impacts SEO and increases traffic. But if you’re confused
and do not know where to look, IsAccurate
and Top Writers Review have prepared the list of the best
credible resources for writers:
·
HuffPost:
this is a liberal resource with the latest news as well as a blog, where
experts voice their opinions on different topics. Here you can find information
on any topic, from marketing to essay writing.
·
Statista: if you’re looking for some
statistics to support your writing, Statista is the first resource where you
should look it up. They mostly do statistics on marketing, but you can find
stats on other topics.
·
JStor: often writers require references
to support their writing, and JStor is a great platform to find necessary
resources. It’s an online library, which requires a subscription. But for the
price you pay it will provide you with the access to millions of books and
articles on different topics.
4. Pay Close Attention to The Top
Results
Google and
other search engines rate the most authoritative websites and put them at the
top of your list, and they to it for a reason. It simplifies the whole research
process for the users, as they automatically get the information they can
actually use. However, to get exactly what you need, you must remember the
following rules:
·
to
get relevant links from credible websites, enter correct keywords. For example,
“content marketing mistakes Forbes” will give you the most recent and relevant
article on this topic.
·
use
“vs.” if you need a comparison of two concepts;
·
use filters. If you need the most recent
content or information from the previous years, use search engine filters for
that.
Be Confident!
Many
writers say that they used to postpone researching as much as possible, as they
were not sure that it will be productive. But being persistent goes a long way,
so put away your distractions and start researching right away. Hopefully,
these tips will help you avoid the writer’s block and let you gather
information for your writing quickly.
Daniela
McVicker is an entrepreneur, blogger, and professional writer, working for Rated
by Students. She
gives professional advice based on her vast writing experience and creates blog
posts to help aspiring writers become true professionals. She counts running,
online business, musical theater, and writing among her myriad interests.
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