Well, collegiettes, the middle of the semester is fast approaching, and we all know what that means. Midterm exams, midterm projects, and, perhaps most daunting of all, midterm papers. For some reason the word “essay” just seems to send college students into a tizzy. But have no fear; Her Campus WPUNJ is here, and we’re going to help you write that paper. The right way.
1. Don’t wait until the last minute.
If this step sounds obvious, that’s because it is. But, no matter how many times we’re told not to, we just can’t help procrastinating! There’s no motivator quite like an impending deadline, but what you submit in this last-second frenzy won’t be your best work. Writing takes effort and time and multiple drafts. Yeah, not just “rough” and “final.” You’ll likely need to go through at least three drafts of your paper before you get to a final product. Make sure you have enough time to do it – and to do it the right way.
2. Gather all of your information before you actually begin.
Make sure you have your professor’s syllabus in front of you before you start writing so that you know what the assignment actually entails and when it’s due. Keep your class notes handy so that you can use those, too. If you did any research for your paper, you’ll want that with you, too. It’ll make it easier to pull quotes and to reference the text. Some people prefer to gather all of their quotes and resources before they do any writing, while others prefer to wait until they’ve finalized a thesis. Whichever you decide to do, that’s your prerogative. But make sure everything is within reach when you start working so that you’re not tempted to get up for one of those four-hour “breaks.”
3. Just write.
Another obvious tip, we know. “Of course I’m going to write it,” you might be saying. “It’s an essay; duh.” Well, writing the actual essay is easily the hardest part. (Duh again.) You don’t know where to start. You don’t know how to end. You don’t know how many supporting paragraphs you need (no, five is not always the answer). You don’t know whether your thesis connects to the rest of your paper or not. Well, slow down there, buddy. First things first, you need words on paper. Can’t start at the beginning? Then don’t. There’s no rule saying that the first thing you write needs to be your introduction. In fact, wouldn’t it be easier to write the intro afterwards? Ultimately it’s up to you. But your first step should be to free-write your paper. Jot all of your ideas down, and maybe try to get them to connect. Once you have words on paper (or in Word document, as the case may be), then you can start turning it into an actual paper.
4. Familiarize yourself with the basic rules of grammar. And MLA (or APA) formatting.
Now this doesn’t mean you need to spend all night studying and memorizing a grammar textbook. But you need to at least know the foundations of English grammar in order to write a solid paper, even if you’re not an English major. Some things you’ll want to look into include the following: prepositions, subject/verb agreement, verb tense, comma splices, and those typical your/you’re and their/they’re/there errors. Practice editing older papers to get better with it and to see if you can catch the mistakes in your own writing. Having a solid knowledge base for English grammar can really help make you into a better, a clearer, a more succinct, and a more correct writer.
And since you’ll undoubtedly have to cite something or other – this is college, after all – make sure you know how to use MLA (or APA or Chicago or whichever your professor prefers) formatting – or that you at least know of some resources that do.
5. When you edit, read it aloud. Or have someone else read it out loud to you. Ideally, both.
You’d be surprised how many more mistakes you’ll catch when reading your paper aloud than just glancing over the words on a computer screen. Reading them aloud lets you hear the structure of your sentences. This will help you notice issues (especially with subject/verb agreement and changes in verb tense) that you might otherwise have skipped over. And having a friend read your paper to you is even better. Your friend won’t know the “idea” you were going for when you wrote that one sentence, so s/he will be less likely to subconsciously correct mistakes as s/he reads it. And that will help you to pick up on all of the little things you missed when you read your paper.
BONUS: Visit the Writing Center.
You know where the Writing Center is, right? You’ve been there before? No? Well, take a walk over to the Atrium (you know, that big building near the Shea Center that you went to for your College Writing professor’s office hours that one time) and look for a sign in the hallway for the Writing Center. Bring with you the essay you’ve been working on so that you can just walk inside and request a tutor. The Writing Center is full of helpful English majors who will help you to really flesh out your paper and make it better. Whether it’s helping with little grammatical things or helping you improve your weak thesis, the Writing Center is a great resource to utilize when you’re writing a paper. And there’s even a Writing Center on the Valley Road campus for all of you Business majors there, so there’s no excuse not try it out. Besides, you’re already paying for it through your tuition, so why not go?
Good luck on those papers, collegiettes! And remember: the word “essay” is really just French for “try.” That’s what writing is all about.
Sources:https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/http://citationmachine.net/…