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How to Write Better College Essays and
Termpapers
Anyone can write a college essay or term paper, but not
everyone can do it correctly. Even the best students can find
themselves paralyzed by writer's block or unaware that their
essay or term paper is too difficult to read or follow. My
eight tips will jumpstart your essay writing
process.
1. TIMING IS
EVERYTHING.
Leave yourself plenty of time to write, edit and rewrite. Plan
to complete your essay one day, or one week, whichever is fits
your schedule, in advance; then you can run it through a
spelling and grammar checker - and ask someone else to read it.
You term paper or essay may look and sound perfect to you, but
will other readers agree?
2. CHOOSE THE RIGHT
TOPIC.
Choosing the right topic or approach to an assigned topic
counts for a lot. Find something you know well and love. Be
sure you understand the assignment; if not, ask questions until
you are sure you do.
3. MAKE YOUR WRITING
UNIQUE.
Make your writing unique. Let your "why" shine through.
Communicate why you chose to write about this topic; why you
love this topic; and why your topic is important - not in so
many words, but put your passion into your writing.
4. WRITE FOR A DIVERSE
AUDIENCE.
Write for the widest audience. If you are writing to your
professor because he requires you to do so, then your writing
style will show it. Imagine a real-world audience, one that
wants to hear what you have to say, and write for them. Your
audience might include employees reading a training manual, a
foundation's Board of Directors reading a grant proposal,
newspaper or journal subscribers, and so on. This will give
your writing purpose, focus and clarity.
5. USE RESEARCH TO AID YOUR
WRITING.
Learn how to find and use popular academic search engines such
as the Academic Index, Ebsco Host, Virtual LLC, or the Wilson
Web. Ask your college librarian to assist you.
6. ALWAYS
PLAN.
Plan what you are going to write before you type the first
word. Say it as briefly and clearly as you can. Figure out and
outline the purpose of your paper, and decide how you plan to
substantiate your claims. Then flesh it out. Writing more words
isn't necessarily better, so write what you think is necessary
to get your points across.
7. PAPER
AESTHETICS.
Break your paper into reasonable-length pieces. Keep your
paragraphs short. Use subheadings.
8. DON'T COPY FROM OTHER
PAPERS.
Don't plagiarize; when in doubt, cite your source. Ask your
professor if he prefers a certain citation method. Otherwise,
use in-text citations if your essay is relatively short; use
footnotes in longer papers.
If you are using the Internet, know your sources well. The
Internet breeds a lot of rumor, opinion and plagiarism. If you
are writing your own ideas or what is common knowledge, then
you don't need to cite, but you do if you are paraphrasing.
Read sample essays and papers to understand the concepts of
theme, approach and writing style, but don't copy an entire
essay and submit it as your own, as this is plagiarism. Not
only will you deprive yourself of learning necessary writing
skills, but also most professors know how to check for
plagiarizers. It's never worth the risk.
Armed with my eight tips, you can shake off writing paralysis
and submit that masterpiece essay or term
paper.
by Brian Scott - 16th September 2008
Back
to Top
Brian Scott is a contributing writer for http://www.LousyWriter.com
, a free website on how to write better. He recommends college
students visit http://www.MasterFreelancer.com
for manuscript formatting software to help format your
essay or term paper.
Article Source:
http://www.creativewriter.me.uk
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