Post by Christopher Martin on Sept 28, 2016 14:46:38 GMT
Step 1: READ THIS ENTIRE DOCUMENT CAREFULLY!
Nobody can save you from your own negligence and/or ignorance.
2- Find an idea.
This may sound harder than it really is. Remember those talking points with which we begin every class meeting? Well, those are ideas . . . things worth talking about . . . things about which we can construct an argument and/or ask and answer questions.
You need to find an idea around which you want to construct your paper. Ideally, it's something that you find particularly interesting and/or poignant so that you can maintain your enthusiasm for the project throughout the process of writing, drafting, and polishing your paper.
3- Give yourself some "tinkin" (thinking) time.
After you've settled on an idea, you mentally figure out what you might want to say/write about that idea. This can be done in a number of ways, none of them exclusive to the others:
-writing a rough outline of your paper in which you lay-out ideas, concepts, and/or structure/construct an argument
-sit down with the texts and allow the material to inspire your creative process (e.g., you might find evidence to support your potential argument, or find yourself striking out in a slightly different direction after reviewing the text)
-write a zero draft (basically just a document where you write down everything you can think of relating to your paper just to get it recorded). This is an especially good idea for slow-starters who find it difficult to do serious work on a paper until after some work has already been done and there is something from which to build.
-write the paper! (not recommended) Sometimes you just need to see a part of the finished product before you can judge whether you like the direction your paper is headed. This, however, is problematic for a number of reasons. First, it usually takes longer to write the paper without having organized your thoughts beforehand. Second, it is easy to lose where you are going if your ideas aren't organized beforehand. Third, if you or your instructor decides that you're off-track, you will have spent far more in wasted effort than if you had employed some other form of "tinkin time."
4- Write a good thesis statement
I cannot stress this enough: THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE PAPER-WRITING PROCESS. Writing a good paper is all about describing the challenge, and then successfully meeting that challenge. But how is your reader supposed to know WHAT challenge you set up for yourself (and therefore whether you successfully met it) unless you adequately describe what the challenge is??!!! Nobody will be getting an "A" on a paper who does not have a good thesis statement. Period. End of story. Not gonna happen. Lucky for you, I'm going to be very clear in what you have to do.
For your thesis statement, you will include these three sentences in your paper exactly as they appear, and in consecutive order, with nothing in between them. Obviously you'll have to tailor the "fill-in-the-blank" areas specific to your paper, but otherwise, I want to see them in your papers exactly as I offer them to you here:
1- "In this paper, I will argue that __________________________________.
2-"I will do this by ______________________________________.
3-"This significance of this argument is that __________________________.
Probably, it will not be easy to construct your thesis statement, so as with any stage of writing your paper, please please please feel free to contact me for help/assistance!
5- Organize your paper.
Every paper should have three sections:
1-An introductory paragraph which explains the subject matter of the paper as if the reader is a total noob. This paragraph also explains what will happen in the paper, and thus should include the thesis statement.
2- The body of the paper which, in several paragraphs, make the argument of the paper. Each section of the paper's argument should have its own paragraph.
3- A concluding paragraph which briefly re-states what the paper set-out to do, summarizes the argument(s) made, and thus demonstrates how the paper set out a challenge and then successfully met it.
6- Organize your paragraphs.
With the exception of the introductory and concluding paragraphs, each paragraph should:
-focus on proving a single, distinct point
-somewhat vaguely introduce that point with a topic sentence (the first sentence of the paragraph)
-prove that point with arguments supported with examples and/or quotations from the texts (note: examples and quotations are NOT self-explanatory . . . explain the quotation/example immediately before its placement, and then also explain its significance immediately after its placement.
-conclude and capitalize on proving the paragraphs point with a concluding sentence (the last sentence of the paragraph)
For reference, I have included an example paragraph below:
First of all, it seems that Colcock Jones considered William Jones to be the trusted recipient of sensitive, historical materials for the Society. This seems clear not only because he sent the roster to directly William Jones, but also on account of the comments which he included in the letter: "my hope is that the publication of the Roster will materially enhance the circulation of the Society's Publications. It appears to me that it is a matter in which many Confederates will be interested." This not only verifies William Jones' role as the designated recipient of historical materials, but also demonstrates a certain expectation by contributors like Colcock Jones that William Jones would certainly publish them.
7-Check your grammar, spelling, formatting, punctuation, and diction.
If it's not clear, if it's not clean, it's not right.
Formatting first: In the top left hand corner of your paper, I want to see:
Your Name
Class Title
Instructor Name
Date
ONE SPACE DOWN AND THE ALL-CAPS TITLE OF YOUR PAPER, CENTERED
Papers should be double-spaced, with 1" margins at every edge. THIS IS THE BARE-MINIMUM FOR FORMATTING, so please don't muck-it up
Grammar and diction: read it to yourself, aloud, and also have others read it!
For your edification and entertainment, I have included several examples of what can happen when you fail to use proper grammar, punctuation, and/or clear diction:
EXAMPLES OF BAD GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, DICTION, ETC.
#1: HUNTERS PLEASE USE CAUTION WHEN HUNTING PEDESTRIANS USING WALK TRAILS (punctuation)
#2: The Average North American consumes more than 400 Africans. (diction)
#3:Toilet ONLY for DISABLED ELDERLY PREGNANT CHILDREN (grammar, diction)
#4: NO, Popcicles! (punctuation)
#5: ALL FIELDS ARE CLOSED. NO TRESPASSING VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED. (punctuation)
#6: don't wear black people (punctuation)
#7: Time to eat children (punctuation)
#8: Violators will be towed and find $50. (spelling)
#9: Buy bed free 1 night stand (diction, grammar, punctuation, spelling)
#10: . . . over 10 billion severed. (spelling)
#11: "Come" "worship" with us at the "gazebo" (punctuation)
#12: Barack Obama reveals how he popped the question to Joe Biden. (diction)
#13: Rachel Ray finds inspiration in cooking her family and her dog. (grammar)
Basically, bad grammar, diction, etc., is simply unforgiveable. Do your research, pay attention in grammar class, and even brush up on common errors with easily read online articles such as THIS ONE.
As always, the most important thing you can do to improve the grade on your paper is to ask me for help! The two drafts you turn in before the final draft are merely the bare minimum: you are welcome to ask me for more help than that.
Good luck!
PLEASE NOTICE THAT AN ORIGINAL FORM OF THIS DOCUMENT IS ATTACHED BELOW. Some of the formatting and citations were lost in copy pasting the document into the forum, so please feel free to look at the original document.
HOW TO WRITE A PAPER.docx (18.04 KB)
Nobody can save you from your own negligence and/or ignorance.
2- Find an idea.
This may sound harder than it really is. Remember those talking points with which we begin every class meeting? Well, those are ideas . . . things worth talking about . . . things about which we can construct an argument and/or ask and answer questions.
You need to find an idea around which you want to construct your paper. Ideally, it's something that you find particularly interesting and/or poignant so that you can maintain your enthusiasm for the project throughout the process of writing, drafting, and polishing your paper.
3- Give yourself some "tinkin" (thinking) time.
After you've settled on an idea, you mentally figure out what you might want to say/write about that idea. This can be done in a number of ways, none of them exclusive to the others:
-writing a rough outline of your paper in which you lay-out ideas, concepts, and/or structure/construct an argument
-sit down with the texts and allow the material to inspire your creative process (e.g., you might find evidence to support your potential argument, or find yourself striking out in a slightly different direction after reviewing the text)
-write a zero draft (basically just a document where you write down everything you can think of relating to your paper just to get it recorded). This is an especially good idea for slow-starters who find it difficult to do serious work on a paper until after some work has already been done and there is something from which to build.
-write the paper! (not recommended) Sometimes you just need to see a part of the finished product before you can judge whether you like the direction your paper is headed. This, however, is problematic for a number of reasons. First, it usually takes longer to write the paper without having organized your thoughts beforehand. Second, it is easy to lose where you are going if your ideas aren't organized beforehand. Third, if you or your instructor decides that you're off-track, you will have spent far more in wasted effort than if you had employed some other form of "tinkin time."
4- Write a good thesis statement
I cannot stress this enough: THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE PAPER-WRITING PROCESS. Writing a good paper is all about describing the challenge, and then successfully meeting that challenge. But how is your reader supposed to know WHAT challenge you set up for yourself (and therefore whether you successfully met it) unless you adequately describe what the challenge is??!!! Nobody will be getting an "A" on a paper who does not have a good thesis statement. Period. End of story. Not gonna happen. Lucky for you, I'm going to be very clear in what you have to do.
For your thesis statement, you will include these three sentences in your paper exactly as they appear, and in consecutive order, with nothing in between them. Obviously you'll have to tailor the "fill-in-the-blank" areas specific to your paper, but otherwise, I want to see them in your papers exactly as I offer them to you here:
1- "In this paper, I will argue that __________________________________.
2-"I will do this by ______________________________________.
3-"This significance of this argument is that __________________________.
Probably, it will not be easy to construct your thesis statement, so as with any stage of writing your paper, please please please feel free to contact me for help/assistance!
5- Organize your paper.
Every paper should have three sections:
1-An introductory paragraph which explains the subject matter of the paper as if the reader is a total noob. This paragraph also explains what will happen in the paper, and thus should include the thesis statement.
2- The body of the paper which, in several paragraphs, make the argument of the paper. Each section of the paper's argument should have its own paragraph.
3- A concluding paragraph which briefly re-states what the paper set-out to do, summarizes the argument(s) made, and thus demonstrates how the paper set out a challenge and then successfully met it.
6- Organize your paragraphs.
With the exception of the introductory and concluding paragraphs, each paragraph should:
-focus on proving a single, distinct point
-somewhat vaguely introduce that point with a topic sentence (the first sentence of the paragraph)
-prove that point with arguments supported with examples and/or quotations from the texts (note: examples and quotations are NOT self-explanatory . . . explain the quotation/example immediately before its placement, and then also explain its significance immediately after its placement.
-conclude and capitalize on proving the paragraphs point with a concluding sentence (the last sentence of the paragraph)
For reference, I have included an example paragraph below:
First of all, it seems that Colcock Jones considered William Jones to be the trusted recipient of sensitive, historical materials for the Society. This seems clear not only because he sent the roster to directly William Jones, but also on account of the comments which he included in the letter: "my hope is that the publication of the Roster will materially enhance the circulation of the Society's Publications. It appears to me that it is a matter in which many Confederates will be interested." This not only verifies William Jones' role as the designated recipient of historical materials, but also demonstrates a certain expectation by contributors like Colcock Jones that William Jones would certainly publish them.
7-Check your grammar, spelling, formatting, punctuation, and diction.
If it's not clear, if it's not clean, it's not right.
Formatting first: In the top left hand corner of your paper, I want to see:
Your Name
Class Title
Instructor Name
Date
ONE SPACE DOWN AND THE ALL-CAPS TITLE OF YOUR PAPER, CENTERED
Papers should be double-spaced, with 1" margins at every edge. THIS IS THE BARE-MINIMUM FOR FORMATTING, so please don't muck-it up
Grammar and diction: read it to yourself, aloud, and also have others read it!
For your edification and entertainment, I have included several examples of what can happen when you fail to use proper grammar, punctuation, and/or clear diction:
EXAMPLES OF BAD GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, DICTION, ETC.
#1: HUNTERS PLEASE USE CAUTION WHEN HUNTING PEDESTRIANS USING WALK TRAILS (punctuation)
#2: The Average North American consumes more than 400 Africans. (diction)
#3:Toilet ONLY for DISABLED ELDERLY PREGNANT CHILDREN (grammar, diction)
#4: NO, Popcicles! (punctuation)
#5: ALL FIELDS ARE CLOSED. NO TRESPASSING VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED. (punctuation)
#6: don't wear black people (punctuation)
#7: Time to eat children (punctuation)
#8: Violators will be towed and find $50. (spelling)
#9: Buy bed free 1 night stand (diction, grammar, punctuation, spelling)
#10: . . . over 10 billion severed. (spelling)
#11: "Come" "worship" with us at the "gazebo" (punctuation)
#12: Barack Obama reveals how he popped the question to Joe Biden. (diction)
#13: Rachel Ray finds inspiration in cooking her family and her dog. (grammar)
Basically, bad grammar, diction, etc., is simply unforgiveable. Do your research, pay attention in grammar class, and even brush up on common errors with easily read online articles such as THIS ONE.
As always, the most important thing you can do to improve the grade on your paper is to ask me for help! The two drafts you turn in before the final draft are merely the bare minimum: you are welcome to ask me for more help than that.
Good luck!
PLEASE NOTICE THAT AN ORIGINAL FORM OF THIS DOCUMENT IS ATTACHED BELOW. Some of the formatting and citations were lost in copy pasting the document into the forum, so please feel free to look at the original document.
HOW TO WRITE A PAPER.docx (18.04 KB)
