Posted by on Mar 18, 2010 in
Academic & Commercial Writing Every fall, hundreds of thousands of students sit in tens of thousands of lecture halls across the world waiting to receive what might as well be a death sentence: the assignment of a term paper. It doesn’t matter what course it is, what level of study it’s for, or even what major the student has chosen, because the research paper has come to be the ultimate way compile their learning. And unfortunately, the term paper is, at the same time, one of the most dreaded assignments students receive. Well, I am here to tell you that the term paper does not have to be the monster in the closet.
Just as quadratic equations can be solved using a systematic approach, so can term papers be written. Perhaps the most important step is the first: choosing what to write about. This might seem like a no-brainer, but in fact, a good solid topic is very difficult to come up with. It can be neither too narrow nor too broad; it must reflect the coursework readings and lectures; and it should be something in which the student is interested, at least a little bit, so as to sustain motivation in the writing process.
Next, the student needs to compile sources. This is another daunting term that means something quite simple: to look around and determine what materials are out there. By “materials,” I mean scholarly articles, books, newspaper items, even top-quality websites, even qualified professionals in a given field, anything that contains facts, ideas, and concepts that can be be added together to write the paper. It’s critical at this point to stick to the topic. It is all too easy to grab whatever comes up first that’s remotely related to the subject, but what that does is leave the student with hundreds of pages of printed materials s/he will have to wade through later, often having nothing at all to do with the chosen topic.
It should probably go without saying, but the next step is for the student to read and take notes on all of the materials s/he has collected for the paper. Once this has been done, an outline should be created to structure the paper. Yes, make an outline! We all hate to do it, but it makes life so much better. Then the writing of the paper is simply a matter of filling in the blanks of the outline. Once the paper has been written, the student needs to go back, put in the proper citations, and of course perform a solid proofreading on the text.
If you are still having trouble, contact a professional writer via an academic writing and research company. There, you can receive an excellent model paper which you can use as a guide for your own work.
And that’s it! Again, be methodical and follow the steps; after a few papers, you’ll wonder why you ever dreaded them!
Tags: Easy, Follow, Guide, Paper, Relatively, term, write
Posted by on Mar 18, 2010 in
Research Term Papers Term paper is one of the major vehicles of judging a student’s grasp on a particular topic or subject. Instead of being busy day and night writing a term paper if the student pays attention to a few simple tips he can excel in writing it. If writing is not perceived as a daunting task but a way of putting forward one’s viewpoint in paper then writing the term paper can be a highly fulfilling experience.
Term paper writing becomes easy if the student has the habit of reading. Until and unless one is a good reader, his thought process cannot have the maturity level that is required in writing a term paper. If the thought process were clear then it would not be difficult to choose a subject and make a list of ideas surrounding it. Once the list of ideas is ready, the main or the strongest idea should be chosen as the thesis of the term paper.
The term paper’s introduction or the beginning paragraph should elaborate on the thesis statement. The first paragraph makes or mars an impression about the entire piece of writing. If the student falters here, there will be less scope of improvement later. Also, the reader or the instructor would loose interest in the very beginning itself. This will adversely affect the overall grade of the term paper.
In term paper an easy to follow and consistent flow of information matters the most. Hence an intelligent way of presenting different ideas in self-sufficient paragraphs plays the trick. Therefore, after writing the introduction of the term paper the next move should be to present the other ideas from the prepared list of ideas in a consistent manner. All the paragraphs should be strong in appeal.
Term paper’s conclusion also has lots of weight in the grade that the student earns. Many think that conclusion is not so important and in a hurry to finish up the work write the conclusion unsatisfactorily. This is not a right approach. Every term paper demands a perfect introduction, body and conclusion. So the conclusion is as important as the introduction and the student’s efforts in writing a conclusion should always be similar to the effort he has put in churning out the introduction.
Term papers are not just judged on the ideas that have been presented but also the manner in which the presentation has been made. Faulty parallelisms, misspelled words and grammatical errors are some of the factors that degrade even the best of the term papers. So each and every aspect should be thoroughly scrutinized before submitting it to the instructor. The paper should also be free of plagiarism. Plagiarism can have the worst effects. Even if the student has not intentionally indulged in plagiarism wrong way of citing the sources make him liable of this offence.
Term paper requires lots of efforts on the part of the writer. This painstaking process can be made a highly enjoyable activity by following the above-mentioned tips and treating it an art rather than a boring way of pleasing the instructor.
Tags: Paper, term
Posted by on Mar 18, 2010 in
Essay Paper “Here we go again”, I think every time that a new pile of turned in essay papers falls onto my table. I’ve been teaching English in this university for ten years, and still there are only a few students that surprised me with their essay writings. The rest of them seems to discover new and extremely exiting ways to irritate me and turn essay paper reading into a nightmare.
I take the first paper. Go thought it. No, I’m not reading yet. The reason I’m not doing it is because it’s not labeled. I mean, there is not even a small attempt to tell me who this unknown author is, what class he belongs to, and what his topic is. And I’m sitting here, staring confused at the paper…. I start feeling like that Greek hero trying to solve Sphinx’s puzzle. If you want to get an unsatisfactory grade, this is the perfect beginning for it. I’m not even going to read this paper. It’s not like something is going to pop up to make me understand who the ultimate genius of this eternal writing is.
I take another essay paper and realize that my happy essay checking evening has only just begun. A wonderful mixture of fancy typefaces looks right at me, and there is no way I’m going to understand something (or at least a heading) from all these italics and bolds. I bet that even Picasso’s paintings are easier to comprehend. Whatever this essay paper is about, I don’t feel like pretending to be Sherlock Holmes: “It’s simple, Watson! This essay paper is about monkeys that love bananas. How did I come up with such a smart conclusion? Because I’m one smart guy”. Give me a break.
Even though I gave this paper a chance, it failed on the next stage – plagiarism check. And this is something I’m not able to forgive under any circumstances. Every student has a chance to make several essay drafts. Is it so hard to come up with something that can be called “personal opinion”? Why do so many students prefer to take quotations, but don’t feel like providing references? And here’s one more thing about quotations – an essay paper that is made of them on more than a half can not impress any professor. I’m not an exception.
Next essay paper goes to a trash bin, too. No, not because I’m “cute and cuddly”, but because it is full of slang and contractions. Never, please, never use contractions and slang (the last one especially) in your academic writing. Do I look like a jolly uncle that comes to visit and asks his nephews about their trip to Rollercoaster Park? If I do, than… I don’t know what to say.
And here’s one more thing that makes me want to cross an essay paper over with a red marker. A page-long Introduction that is written to impress me and make an essay paper look bigger is worse than bad breath and republicans. If you don’t know what to write about to fit into my requirements for amount of words, try to use your head for a change.
Similar to long Introductions are vague explanations. You probably wanted to make a point. But after that you felt tired, or had to go and water the flowers, or you work as a Superman and have to save the world at nights instead of writing essays for my class… whatever it is that stopped you from writing good explanations, it doesn’t make me feel happy. Maybe, your intentions were different, but I got it this way, and this is the way I grade it.
Why do students want to use the word “believe” instead of “agree”, or “think”? Believe means to have faith, to hold something true on the basis of feelings, without evidence. You are writing as a scientist, so you think, argue, accept, and hold on the basis of some evidence. The rest concerns your religion and believes.
Another thing that irritates me is using “we” instead of “I”. Did Madonna help you on writing this essay, and you feel like giving credit to her? Unless it is a group activity, please use “I”.
And finally – why do you use “its” as possessive, when you mean “it’s” in the meaning it is (which is a contraction, remember)? Can’t you be just a little more attentive?
With respect,
Your grumpy professor.
Tags: Confession, Essay, Professor, Unhappy, Writing