Brainstorm the
question/assignment:
- Restate key words in the
assignment with synonyms or in your own words;
- Use these equivalent terms
throughout your paper to keep focused.;
- Write down everything you can
think of that is related to the assignment;
- Generate two or three specific
sentences that answer a question posed by the
assignment;
- Write your introduction last,
after you've had a chance to work your way to a
conclusion;
- Often it helps to take your
conclusion, use what you've learned, and then write
the introduction in the next draft.
Refine your focus:
- After writing your initial
"guiding sentence" (thesis statement), write
a draft, then go back to the thesis and perhaps
re-write it;
- Include in each paragraph an
explicit reference to the language you use in your
thesis. If the paragraphs are not an extension of
something in your thesis, either re-write your thesis
statement, edit the paragraph, or cut it. Often you
can revise the paragraph by adding words that more
explicitly make the connection.
Make sure that your essay
is developed out of your close analysis of selected passages
found in the readings:
- Choose one or two short
passages from the text(s) to help focus your paper;
- If using a quote, elaborate on
its meaning using words from it. Don't leave it up to
the reader to figure out how to interpret the language
quoted.
Think about how to organize
your paragraphs to create an effective argument.
- Is there a "scheme"
you can use to organize your thoughts to help structure
your paper?
- How will your examples
"build" upon each other? Think of logical
possibilities:
less important to more important or vice versa;
similar ideas versus contrasting ideas;
- Is there a central concept or
metaphor you can weave throughout your paper to add
coherence?
For short papers, start
fast.
- Provide an immediate, specific
answer to a question posed by the assignment.
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