How to Write an Essay or Paper. Anne2000 and others
Dear Anne,
Yes, to write a good paper does take effort. It takes effort for people like me
, too.
Nothing flows smoothly for me without revision. Here's how I do it. Begin by
writing down all your ideas and information. Do it as though you are explaining
it to a friend. It will be like a narrative. Don't worry about the quality of
your language. You may even want to begin with notes in Chinese. Don't worry
about the order in which you write them. Just get every bit of your information
and your research down. Now you have it all captured and it can't get away from you.
Next, you may need to translate it from Chinese to English. Don't worry about styleyet. Just get it done as you can without losing anything.
I literally like to cut and paste next. By this I mean to use a real pair of scissors and a lot of clear sticky tape and cut the rough information apart so I can paste it back together again in much better order. I may end up with a strip
twelve feet long laid out on the floor. Who cares! Now I have a very rough paper.
After that, it is a case of putting it into its true order. I key it into my computer so I have a clean copy to edit.. Now put it into reasonably good English
. Add descriptive words. Do anything you need to fill it out and adjust it.
Note: no matter how simple or how long and complex your essays or papers are they all have the following in common, and so this is how to proceed from here:
INTRODUCTION
All papers, essays, articles begin with an introductory paragraph in which you
describe the problem briefly and outline what you propose to prove in the body of your paper. For an essay this may be only one or two paragraphs. In more advanced papers it may become a whole first section with headings and sub-headings.
BODY
Next comes the body of your paper. In logical order you explore, one after the
other and in full detail the problems, how you proceeded to find solutions, what
routes you may have contemplated and discarded, why you recommend certain solutions. This may be one paragraph each, or it may be a number of chapters with headings and sub-headings.
CONCLUSION
When you have finished the body to your satisfaction and presented your work the
last thing to do is to write a strong conclusion. Point out that you did everything you promised in the introduction and wrap the whole thing up in your conclusion which should finish with a final strong sentence. Be sure to use fresh and different words from those you used in the beginning.
If you used quotations from other people be sure to number each and foot-note reference it on a separate page at the end.
Spend a good deal of time editing your work so that it will be as good as you can make it. Check that each paragraph and each section is internally organizedso that it begins with its topic, and ends with a lead-in to the next paragraph
orsection. If you do this you will have a totally internally coherent paper that
willflow smoothly from start to finish.
Make a cover page for your report. Centre the title of your essay half-waydown, in the centre of a blank sheet. Put your name and other information in the lower right corner. The name of the professor and the course titleto go in the lower left corner. Staple the whole thing together, or place or bind it into
a folder -- whatever i,s expected of you. Presentation means a lot, so make sure everything is pristine and there are no smudges, spelling errors or anything
like that. Hand it in.
If you need to discuss this further here, please do. And note that I reworked and reworded this several times before sending. I rarely just write here and send without checking and revising. It does take effort, but it's worth it.
Best wishes, Mary
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