3. Getting started: The paper
topic
Read the assignment and make sure your
paper addresses it
Find your focus
Ask questions to guide you to form a tentative
thesis
Write down preliminary answers, but don’t hold
to them if your evidence proves otherwise
4. Turn your ideas and thoughts into notes
Sort them out and begin to organize
Come up with an interesting title that captures
your theme -- NOT “History Paper”
5. WRITE!
When to write an introduction
To organize thoughts
Start writing something
Perhaps write last, but in any case revise
DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU
6. Put it aside for a day or two, then read it aloud
Begin revision
Imagine you are the reader, not the writer
Make sure your ideas are supported by evidence
7. Editing
First, backup your work
Ask yourself:
is this readable?
persuasive?
supported by facts and evidence?
8. Cross out excess words - concise and
clear is ALWAYS better
Rewrite unclear sentences
Correct anything that bothers you -
this might be some fact you really l
but that doesn’t work in the paper
Get rid of repetitions and redundancy
of words or ideas
9. Edit for spelling, punctuation, grammar
and typos
Make sure you use the ACTIVE voice
and forceful verbs as often as
possible
Make sure you have used a consistent
citation style for footnotes
Use Chicago Manual of Style footnotes
10. Examples:
First citation from a book:
Jane Doe, A Brief History of the World
(Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 2005), p. 1586.
Second citation:
Doe, Brief History, p. 2431.
11. From an article:
John Doe, “The Significance of Lentils in the Agricultural
Revolution,” Journal of Medieval and Early
Modern Studies 26 (2003), p. 65.
Second:
Doe, “Significance,” p. 72.
From the web:
http://whatever.whatever
WHEN TO CITE MATERIAL:
Exact quotations or paraphrases
Original ideas
12. Make what you think will be
the
final copy
THEN PROOFREAD IT AGAIN
and make final revisions
13.
14. The Introduction
Start out with a quotation that captures
the theme of the paper
or an anecdote or vignette from your
sources that makes the reader wan
more
The introductory paragraph will set the
tone for the entire paper
15. Writing your introduction
Capture reader’s attention
Do NOT tell the reader what you are going to
do - just start doing it
Do not use “I” unless you cannot avoid it
Present some background facts about the
subject of the paper
It’s acceptable to ask some questions you
hope to answer
State thesis clearly
An introductory paragraph should be roughly
2/3 of a page in length
16. How not to start
BAD:
“The environment that surrounds a person from
an early age tends to be a major factor in
determining their character.”
“This essay will study the satire of Monty
Python.”
DUH! Do NOT use conjunctions in formal papers
17. Paragraphs:
A good paragraph has
Unity
Organization
Coherence
Begin with a strong topic sentence that
covers the theme and evidence of the
paragraph
18. Conclusions
Do not restate the introduction
A good conclusion rounds out the paper, beginning
with a few summary remarks
Then it goes further - with an inference
or an idea or statement that
enriches what you’ve already said
19. Some possible ways to conclude:
End with a quotation that amplifies your thesis or
something stated in the introduction
End with an idea or detail from the introduction and
bring it full circle
End with an allusion, putting topic in a larger
framework
THE GOAL: Round out your paper
21. Extra words and empty words
Eliminate extra words as well as vague or empty
words or phrases
EXAMPLE:
Wordy:
“The economic situation of Miss Moody was also a
crucial factor in the formation of her character.”
Concise (and stronger):
“Anne Moody’s poverty formed her character.”
PRACTICE: Print out an old essay and cross out
every word that doesn’t add anything
22. Reword the following
The use of setting is also a major factor in
conveying a terrifying type atmosphere.
It creates a better motivation of learning
when students can design their own
programs involving education. This way
students’ interests can be focused on.
23. Weak Intensifiers and
Qualifiers
At that time I was [very] idealistic.
We found the proposal [quite] plausible.
The remark, although unkind, was [entirely]
accurate
It was a [rather] fatuous statement.
The scene was [extremely] typical.
The death scene is [truly] grotesque.
Etc.
24. Circumlocutions
I came to the realization that
She is of the opinion that
The question is supportive of
Concerning the matter of
During the course of
For the period of a week
In the event that
Regardless of the fact that
For the simple reason that
If the case was such that
At that point in time
25. Wordy Beginnings
Reword:
“By analyzing carefully the last lines in this stanza,
you find the connections between the loose ends of
the poem.”
[Better: “The last lines of the stanza tie the poem
together.”]
“What the cartoonist is illustrating and trying to get
across is the greed of the oil producers.”
[Better: “The cartoon illustrates the greed of the oil
producers.”]
26. Empty Conclusions That
Say Nothing
“’Those Winter Sundays’ is composed so that
the reader can feel what the poet was saying.”
Being the first in my family to go to college was
quite a learning experience.”
27. Wordy uses of “to be,” “to have” and “to make”
“The rising price of oil is reflective of the spiraling
cost of all goods.”
[“The rising price of oil reflects the spiraling costs of
all goods.”]
“The stanzas make a vivid contrast between Heaven
and Hell.”
[“The stanzas vividly contrast Heaven and Hell.”]
“The friar has knowledge that Juliet is alive.”
[“The friar knows Juliet is alive.”]
28. Instead of Use
Is taking Takes
Are indications Indicate
Are suggestive Suggest
Has drunk Drank
Is eating Eats
NOW - Can you think of even stronger verbs to
use in some of these cases?
29. Examples: “Drank” - compare different
Meanings of
guzzled
imbibed
consumed
sipped
threw back
gulped
Each implies something different about
your subject
31. Get rid of words in the following phrases:
Throughout the entire article
A conservative type suit
His own personal opinion
Elements common to both of them
Emotions and feelings
Shared together
Falsely padded expense accounts
32. Negative Constructions
“After reading the second paragraph
you aren’t left with an immediate reaction
as to how the story will end.”
“Housing for married students is not
unworthy* of consideration.”
*The second sentence can work under certain
circumstances -- say it out loud and you will see why.
33. Use of subordination
WORDY:
“The Book of Ruth was probably written in the fifth century BC. It
was a time when women were considered the property of
men.”
CONCISE:
“The Book of Ruth was probably written in
the fifth century BC, when women were considered the
property of men.”
34. WORDY:
“The first group was the largest. This
group was seated in the center of the
dining hall.”
CONCISE:
“The first group, the largest, was
seated in the center of the dining hall.”
35. Revising for Clarity
“Good writing is clear, not because it
presents simple ideas, but because it
presents ideas in the simplest form the
subject permits. A clear analysis doesn’t
falsely reduce a complex problem to a
simple one; it breaks down into its simple,
comprehensible parts and discusses them,
one by one, in a logical order.”
36. General Rules
Use the simplest, most exact, most
specific language your subject allows.
Put together what belongs together,
in the essay, in the paragraph, and in
the sentence.
Keep your reader in mind,
particularly when you revise.
37. Using the Right Word
Use the word with the right denotation
(explicit meaning) Look at examples:
Friend, boyfriend, young man, lover
Dine, eat
Underdeveloped nations, developing nations,
emerging nations
Upbringing, conditioning, brainwashing
Emigrate, defect, seek asylum
Intelligence gathering, espionage, spying
38. Be specific
VAGUE:“The clown’s part in Othello is very small.”
SPECIFIC:
“The clown appears in only two scenes in O.”
“The clown in O. speaks only thirty lines.”
39. Passive vs. Active Voice
Passive:
The student was kicked by Professor X.
Active:
Professor X kicked the student.
40. Last but not least…
Don’t use slang or colloquialisms
Vary sentence structure
***Give appropriate and interesting quotations
as evidence -- it is your proof
Make sure paragraphs are neither too short or
too long
NEVER hand in a first draft - we know ;)
