How to write an Essay:

Step 4: Use the Internet

Make the most of search engines
Research on Quality sites only
Search using all important Key words
Do not Rely Entirely in the Internet

While research and study should never be based entirely on the internet, it is extremely crucial to use the internet as an important source of information. The internet is generally the best way to begin research on any topic since it is a sea of information and is an excellent way to get introduced to the topic before beginning to dead and study academic and scholarly resources and texts.

However, it is very easy to get lost on the internet and some basic facts need to be kept in mind.

Make the most of search engines

Beginning your research with the most popular search engine, Google which has nearly 5 billion web pages and is definitely the best way to start. However, you should know that the internet has more than 500 billion web pages and must be utilised for best results. There are other search engines which have academic and scholarly data which could be particularly helpful for your academic research. The key here is to use popular as well as academic search engines, since the information found on popular search engines will be more general in nature which academic search engines will provide information and knowledge more specific to your topic. You can see this for yourself by searching for a topic on Google and then on any academic search engine – the result hits will be distinct and diverse giving your research essay that extra edge. Some of the academic search engines are www.findarticles.com and www.collegebot.com. Experience this for yourself and see!! You will be amazed at the difference in resources.

Research on Quality sites only

The internet, as we mentioned, is a sea of resources and can be confusing if you do not know where and how to research. With the countless number of sites, it is extremely crucial to sort the good from the bad, a distinction which you will make on the basis of several factors including the design, structure, presentation and the content of the site. It has been generally noted that site with a black background are basically entertainments sites while those with white backgrounds provide some kind of information. Sites which include lots of colours and fancy designs are believed to be designed by apprentices or beginners and once you get acquainted with the internet you will be able to distinguish and filter the useless ones from those which will be of use to you. When confusing scholarly research for your essay or term paper make sure that you do not refer or use blog pages or online journals which are available in plenty on the net. Some other sites to avoid and completely ignore are sites which offer you free essays. Sites which are too flashy should also be avoided. To make your task of selection simpler we suggest you know the different domain types which will save your time and energy.

Commercial domains - .com
Organizational domains - .org
Government domains - .gov
Educational domains - .edu
Network domains - .net

However, these distinctions are not entirely rigid ways of sifting websites and your experience will teach you to avoid sites with sponsored advertisements.

Search using all important Key words

Using a single or two keywords could generate numerous hits and sifting from all the information could be difficult. On the other hand entering too many keywords could generate very few results. The key here is to balance the correct amount of keywords and increase or decrease them on the basis of the hits generated. There are some tools which you could use to find popular keywords or use the advanced search options to get more comprehensive results. You should always remember that in case you do not find the relevant material on one search engine, you should try others.

Do not Rely Entirely in the Internet

The internet is a great source of material and resources and can be very exciting and interesting to surf. However, you should avoid relying entirely on the internet for your matter because of the authenticity and reliability of the sources which you find and which may not grant that scholarly status to your paper. As such, resources from academic journals and print resources such as books are preferable and will enable you to present your arguments in a more persuasive and convincing manner. Classic literature can never be replaced by blogs and articles on the internet, no matter how popular they may be.