Not all of us are good at numbers, and those who are may not be good at writing. However, writing a financial paper or dissertation will require a keen eye for finance as well as a way with words. Following the guidelines below may help in solving this dilemma and help you present a good finance paper.
- Choose a Topic
Compared to other disciplines, finance does not offer a wide or easy choice of topics for a paper. Also, since financial topics require extensive research and number crunching, it is advisable to choose a topic that is practical enough to attempt within a reasonable time.
- Prepare a Thesis
This is the heart of your paper and guides its development. A thesis statement must be reflective of the broader topic that you have chosen and must be clearly stated in the introduction as well as the abstract.
- Structure your Paper
This helps greatly in organizing your thoughts as well as your dissertation. A typical structure includes the following sections:
Title
Abstract
Table of Contents
Introduction
Literary Review
Methodology
Results
Recommendations & Suggestions
Bibliography
- Gather Key Financial Information
In the next parts, such as literary review, methodology and results, you present your argument and financial research. For this you need to gather relevant figures and documents such as financial reports, balance sheets, cash flow, profit and loss statements and so on.
- Interpret the Data
It is not enough just to present data in the form of numbers; it only makes sense when it is interpreted and presented. If there are visuals such as graphs and tables, they must be accompanied by a brief explanation. This adds immensely to the value of your paper. In the recommendations and suggestions section, you may flag or highlight key information that is crucial for decision-making and supports your point of view.
- Bibliography
It goes without saying that all reference sources that you have consulted during your research must be listed in the bibliography. Therefore maintain a list carefully even as you progress through your research and writing.
If you follow these guidelines, you should be able to write a fairly good finance paper.