As the school year really starts to get into full swing, the assignments start piling up. Chances are, pretty soon you’ll have to write your first paper of the semester. Whether it’s your first college paper or your twentieth, no one really likes writing papers (though if you do, more power to you!). Paper writing tends to be an extremely stressful process that often involves struggling to know where to begin and staying up way too late the night before it’s due. But not every paper has to be this stressful. I’ve got some tips for how to write a paper with minimal stress.
Step One: Choosing a Topic
If you’re not assigned a topic to write about, this can be one of the most daunting steps. Take some time to really think about what you want to write about—you’re going to be spending a lot of time on the topic, so it may as well be about something you’re interested in. If you’re absolutely stuck, or trying to decide between two ideas, I highly recommend going to talk to your professor during office hours. After all, that’s what they’re there for! Professors love helping you pick topics, and often they can give you some tips on where to start your research. Which brings me to the next step…
Step Two: Doing the Research
Depending on your preferences, this might be your favorite part of the process or your least favorite. Personally, I do not like doing research very much. Still, try to focus on all the cool things you are learning. And definitely start the research well in advance of your paper’s due date. For a shorter paper (4-8 pages), I’d recommend starting research 1.5 to 2 weeks in advance of a paper’s due date. For one over ten pages, you may want to start even earlier. That way you don’t have to do it all at once. If research is daunting for you, break it up into a few days. Trying to read and take notes on two sources per day is far less stressful than having to research ten sources all at once. And if you don’t know where to start finding your research, your professor and the librarians are both great resources. Professors are experts in their field, so they’ll have great suggestions for important scholars you should read. And the librarians are research experts. Plus, there are subject-specific librarians who can be amazing resources for finding relevant information. Our library is a pretty spectacular resource—definitely take advantage of it.
Step Three: Make an Outline
Once you’ve gotten a bunch of research done, I highly recommend creating an outline for your paper. Some people can write wonderful papers without them, but for me, they make writing a huge paper seem much less daunting. Use the outline as a chance to organize all your thoughts into a structure that makes sense. And write down as much as possible. If you’re writing an English paper, make notes of the quotes you want to analyze, and write a few bullet points about what you want to say about each one. If you’re writing a history paper, make note of which sources you’re going to use where and write down some ideas of what you’re going to say about them. The more detailed and organized you can make your outline, the easier writing your paper will be.
Step Four: Draft the Paper
After spending so much time making an outline, this is often the easiest step for me. If you’ve created a good outline, writing a paper should be nothing more than putting all those thoughts into complete sentences and making sure they sound right in the order in which you put them. This is also just a first draft of your paper—it doesn’t have to be perfect. I know some people who write papers slowly to make sure that they’re perfect and only go through one draft. And that works for them! However, if you’re struggling to get a draft you’re happy with, I recommend not trying to write just one version. Knowing that you’re going to edit the paper later can allow you to let go of some of that stress and just focus on getting words on paper. I find that once the words are out there, it’s far easier to go back and edit them to make them sound better.
Step Five: Edit, Edit, Edit
That brings me to my final step: editing. I often go through several drafts of papers before I’m happy with the final product. That’s where it really helps to start your paper at least a week and a half in advance of when it’s due. I recommend printing out each draft so you can really tear it apart with a pen, though if you work well editing on your computer that can work as well. I also highly recommend going to the writing center. It is a fantastic resource full of great editors who will look over your paper and give you some helpful suggestions. Sometimes, it’s just helpful to have a second set of eyes on your paper, to make sure what makes sense in your head is properly conveyed on paper. You don’t have to take every suggestion, but it helps you figure out what you still need to focus on to make your paper the best it can be.
Writing a paper is never fun, and here at Kenyon, we have to write a lot of them. Hopefully some of my suggestions will help make your next paper a bit less stressful though. Good luck!
Image Credit: Feature, 1, 2, 3
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