With the mid-term period for the spring semester around the corner, many college students will be busy working on writing assignments that will count for a significant portion of their grade. As an undergraduate instructor who has assigned a variety of writing assignments for eight years, I offer the following five tips to help you improve your writing, reduce your stress, and earn your best grade on your assignment. Tip#1. Start planning the tasks for your writing assignment well in advance of the due date. This step is probably the most important (and often the most neglected) task of writing a paper. Depending upon the length and content requested, many instructors give anywhere from two weeks to a month or more for students to prepare and submit major writing assignments such as essays, research papers, and literature reviews. However, many students frequently underestimate the amount of time it takes to research, compile information, analyze, and write a paper. In some instances, the article or book you need is not readily available and you must wait for an inter-library loan request to process. If writing is not your strong suit, being pressed for time means you will likely make more writing errors and/or have little time to proofread. To manage your time effectively, give yourself a self-imposed deadline of at least a week before the actual deadline of the assignment. For example, if the actual deadline is February 28, 2018, give yourself a self-imposed deadline of February 21, 2018. By doing this, your writing will benefit in at least three ways. One, you will have given yourself time manage the tasks to prepare and write your assignment. Two, you will have time to edit and proofread your assignment. Third, if an emergency or delay arises, you will have at least gotten a running start on the paper and you can use this to your advantage (see Tip #5). Tip#2 Ask your instructor if he or she can show you examples of well written papers so that you may review them for content and writing quality. Some instructors save copies of well written papers from former students (they make make them available on an anonymous basis). Or, you can access sample papers available from formatting and style guide websites such as Owl Purdue Writing Lab. In either case, these papers can be valuable resources to help you with your writing, especially if you are not certain of what your instructor is expecting. Tip #3 Review your last graded writing assignment and correct the writing errors marked by your instructor. Did you notice that you were missing punctuation or used it incorrectly? Or, perhaps you last paper was filled with spelling errors? While it is preferable to address all of the errors before submitting your next assignment, commit to consistently correcting at least one of the errors. For guidance, check out these 10 writing tips from On Writing Well by William Zinsser. Tip#4 Make sure your title page has a descriptive, informative title that gives a hint to the topic and/or disciplinary focus of the paper. The title page often sets the tone for the quality of the entire paper. For example, instead of a nonspecific title such as, "Research Paper," try, "An Analysis of Poverty and Educational Outcomes for Middle-school Aged Children in an Inner-city Detroit Community." Of course, proofreading this page as well as the entire paper is a must. When you are ready, check out my FREE #ihaveadreamwriting offer to review your paper! Tip#5 Regarding emergency or delay situations, consider requesting an extension to write your paper. Be warned that this is not something you should do simply because you didn't give yourself enough time to write your paper (see Tip #1). You should only take this step AFTER you have read the policies outlined in your instructor's syllabus regarding late assignments. Be ready to accept any point deductions or other penalties for late submissions. Contact your instructor or meet in person BEFORE the deadline (preferably NOT the day before). As you talk to your instructor, explain your situation with the understanding that you have already begun researching and writing your paper, and due to your emergency, you are requesting an extension so that you can write a better quality paper. And make sure you deliver! In summary, preparing your best paper involves managing your time effectively and taking advantage of resources that can help you write well. Make the midterm period a little easier and earn a grade that will put a smile on your face!
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AuthorYvette Williams, Ph.D., is the Writing Coach for The College Wordsmith, a writing coaching service for undergraduate students. Dr. Williams is dedicated to helping college students excel academically and professionally with their writing. She offers copy-editing and proofreading services as well as workshops to give students the guidance and support they need to achieve A+ writing for college and beyond. Archives
April 2018
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