2 answers
Helen
Student
Olin, North Carolina
1
Question
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What advice and resources do you recommend for me to strengthen my writing skills for papers and essays for college classes?
Question writing tips
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2 answers
Gurpreet Lally
CareerVillage.org TeamSr. Community Manager at CareerVillage
136
Answers
Austin, Texas
Updated
Gurpreet’s Answer, CareerVillage.org Team
Hey Helen,
I recently answered a similar question for another student and this was my advice to them. As psychology major/history minor my go to process in college was the following:
1. Start with doing research to the question you're trying to address. If you need sources, gather those first and take notes on which quotes or general information you'd like to refer back to for your paper. Link everything so you can quickly go back to those sources. Not only does this help you keep your thoughts in order so you're not scrambling to find supporting evidence later but I find it also helps me guide the narrative of the argument I'm making.
2. Create a somewhat detailed outline of your paper! The more time you put into preparing to write, the less time you have to spend writing. I normally start by defining the main point of each paragraph and listing the talking points and details (including the research listed in point 1) that I want to incorporate into each specific paragraph. If you're like me and store a dizzying amount of information in your head, writing it down really helps clear up some of that space for writing.
3. Break it into smaller task. Writing a whole term paper in one go probably won't work so try chunking it up into smaller daily tasks to accomplish. For example, lets say you have 10 pages to write. Try writing one page a day leading up to deadline so you're not forced to sit there and write it at once. The outline will be really helpful in reminding you where you left off and what you still need to cover.
4. Don't forget to edit. I normally give myself a few hours between writing the last page/paragraph and reading it. Why? It allows me to see the paper with fresh eyes and catch more mistakes. When you're been engrossed in something for a long time, such a writing something for hours, it can be hard to make out the details so this has helped me a lot!
5. Take advantage of the resources your school provides you. Many departments have services where someone can help edit your paper!
I recently answered a similar question for another student and this was my advice to them. As psychology major/history minor my go to process in college was the following:
1. Start with doing research to the question you're trying to address. If you need sources, gather those first and take notes on which quotes or general information you'd like to refer back to for your paper. Link everything so you can quickly go back to those sources. Not only does this help you keep your thoughts in order so you're not scrambling to find supporting evidence later but I find it also helps me guide the narrative of the argument I'm making.
2. Create a somewhat detailed outline of your paper! The more time you put into preparing to write, the less time you have to spend writing. I normally start by defining the main point of each paragraph and listing the talking points and details (including the research listed in point 1) that I want to incorporate into each specific paragraph. If you're like me and store a dizzying amount of information in your head, writing it down really helps clear up some of that space for writing.
3. Break it into smaller task. Writing a whole term paper in one go probably won't work so try chunking it up into smaller daily tasks to accomplish. For example, lets say you have 10 pages to write. Try writing one page a day leading up to deadline so you're not forced to sit there and write it at once. The outline will be really helpful in reminding you where you left off and what you still need to cover.
4. Don't forget to edit. I normally give myself a few hours between writing the last page/paragraph and reading it. Why? It allows me to see the paper with fresh eyes and catch more mistakes. When you're been engrossed in something for a long time, such a writing something for hours, it can be hard to make out the details so this has helped me a lot!
5. Take advantage of the resources your school provides you. Many departments have services where someone can help edit your paper!
Joseph Aseo
Writer
3
Answers
Fremont, California
Updated
Joseph’s Answer
A well-structured essay or research paper should be organized like this:
1. Thesis or Purpose Statement: This is the main idea of the paper. For example, "The main point of this paper is to explain the basics of paragraph structure."
2. Supporting Statements: These paragraphs provide important details that support the thesis. For example, "A good supporting paragraph explains key points that back up the thesis."
3. Conclusion: This wraps up the paper by showing how the thesis and supporting paragraphs create a focused and organized paper.
1. Thesis or Purpose Statement: This is the main idea of the paper. For example, "The main point of this paper is to explain the basics of paragraph structure."
2. Supporting Statements: These paragraphs provide important details that support the thesis. For example, "A good supporting paragraph explains key points that back up the thesis."
3. Conclusion: This wraps up the paper by showing how the thesis and supporting paragraphs create a focused and organized paper.