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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