How to Write a College Paper

Free AI web copilot to create summaries, insights and extended knowledge, download it at here

2507

Abstract

tell them. In the conclusion you tell them what you told them.</p><p id="33c5">Each part of the paper is broken up into paragraphs and each paragraph is also broken up into three parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. The same rules apply to each individual paragraph as they do to the paper as a whole. Each paragraph must have a sort of mini-thesis that somehow relates to the thesis of the whole paper.</p><p id="edf5">By dissecting a paper in this manner, you can reduce a five page work into only four or five sentences. These topic sentences become the components you flesh out in your paper. Anytime you get discouraged or run out of things to say, introduce an idea, say it, and then summarize it. Never hesitate to explain your idea to the point where it feels almost redundant. The academic audience likes to be led carefully by the hand, don’t make huge leaps with the hope that your audience will follow you.</p><h1 id="ee7a">Example</h1><p id="8faf">The following is a rough idea of how your paper should look:</p><p id="99a4">Title</p><p id="501b"><b>Introduction:</b> Start with a general remark that gives your audience an easy entry point into your topic. Get more specific over the next couple sentences, and steer your audience to the topic you have chosen. Briefly introduce the three points you will be making (or however many) to prove your point. The introduction is a mini-outline of your paper, it lets your audience know what is coming. End with a thesis (the statement you are trying to prove).</p><p id="c6e3"><b>Body:</b> Start with a broad sentence that is in line with the preceding paragraph but leads into an introduction of your first point. Introduce your first point. Prove your first point with sources, etc. Conclude the paragraph with an explanation of why you thought your first point was important and how it relates to the thesis.</p><p id="c15e">Start your next paragraph with a transition sentence that leads to the introduction of your second point (you can put transition sentences at the end of the preceding paragraphs if you prefer). Follow the same format for the previous paragraph and continue through as many paragraphs as you need.</p><p id="bb8e"><b>Conclusion:</b> Start with another broad statement that lets the reader know they have reached the conclusion, it should sort of remind your readers of the beginning of the paper. Briefly review the points you proved in the body of the paper focusing especially on your conclusion about each point

Options

. Show how these points build on each other to prove your thesis. Finally, feel free to make a more general comment that explains why your thesis was important in a broader sense than you may have addressed in the paper.</p><h1 id="8663">Good luck!</h1><p id="2ae5">Remember that this outline is a general situation and it is only meant to give you an idea as to what your professors are looking for. Feel free to diverge from it or make changes as your specific paper dictates. In order to get a good grade, the paper must be mechanically sound as well as coherent. But for most assignments, this outline will provide you with a solid foundation from which you can build your ideas.</p><div id="7c9f" class="link-block"> <a href="https://writingcooperative.com/gandalf-and-the-writers-journey-9f7bcfdccb13"> <div> <div> <h2>Gandalf and the Writer’s Journey</h2> <div><h3>Reflections on the wizard’s character arc</h3></div> <div><p>writingcooperative.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*vuTOOqY0FncNvuNa05jCfg.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="8a27" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/worry-about-writing-not-publishing-ddda3ee286c3"> <div> <div> <h2>Worry About Writing, Not Publishing</h2> <div><h3>Remove obstacles to your productivity</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*V1kMgLSNrA41vTyerhl3cg.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="a18d" class="link-block"> <a href="https://writingcooperative.com/my-novels-are-my-real-writing-909b205253b1"> <div> <div> <h2>My Novels Are My Real Writing</h2> <div><h3>But the internet is an important playground</h3></div> <div><p>writingcooperative.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*e-cSa4FA35wxv94wwBHbkQ.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

The secret formula that guarantees success

I wrote this essay in the spring of 2001 right as I was about to graduate from college. It wasn’t for an assignment. I wrote it because I thought it was annoying how college professors never actually laid out just what they expected in a college level essay.

The objective was to lay out a simple format that students could follow to have the greatest success. I hadn’t read this in about 20 years, and it was fun blast from the past.

For those of you who are students, I hope you find this useful!

The secret formula

Most professors will tell you that there is no specific format for a good paper; as long as it accomplishes its purpose, the paper will receive a good grade. This is not necessarily a lie, but it is not entirely the truth either. Although there is no single correct way to write about any topic, there is a specific format that most academic writing follows and which most professors have come to regard as “correct.” The purpose of this document is to give a quick overview of “the secret formula” as a sort of skeletal reference for writing your own papers.

Contrary to popular belief, college papers are not predominantly graded on the quality of the idea presented or the number of big words the paper contains. The number one thing that professors are looking for is an organized, coherent argument. Do not go off on random tangents. It is important to be willing to cut out good ideas if they don’t contribute directly to what you are trying to prove. You could figure out the meaning of life in one of your tangents and it wouldn’t help you, always remember: organization before profundity.

Organization

The easiest way to be organized is to break the paper up into three parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. In the introduction, you tell the audience what you’re going to tell them. In the body you tell them. In the conclusion you tell them what you told them.

Each part of the paper is broken up into paragraphs and each paragraph is also broken up into three parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. The same rules apply to each individual paragraph as they do to the paper as a whole. Each paragraph must have a sort of mini-thesis that somehow relates to the thesis of the whole paper.

By dissecting a paper in this manner, you can reduce a five page work into only four or five sentences. These topic sentences become the components you flesh out in your paper. Anytime you get discouraged or run out of things to say, introduce an idea, say it, and then summarize it. Never hesitate to explain your idea to the point where it feels almost redundant. The academic audience likes to be led carefully by the hand, don’t make huge leaps with the hope that your audience will follow you.

Example

The following is a rough idea of how your paper should look:

Title

Introduction: Start with a general remark that gives your audience an easy entry point into your topic. Get more specific over the next couple sentences, and steer your audience to the topic you have chosen. Briefly introduce the three points you will be making (or however many) to prove your point. The introduction is a mini-outline of your paper, it lets your audience know what is coming. End with a thesis (the statement you are trying to prove).

Body: Start with a broad sentence that is in line with the preceding paragraph but leads into an introduction of your first point. Introduce your first point. Prove your first point with sources, etc. Conclude the paragraph with an explanation of why you thought your first point was important and how it relates to the thesis.

Start your next paragraph with a transition sentence that leads to the introduction of your second point (you can put transition sentences at the end of the preceding paragraphs if you prefer). Follow the same format for the previous paragraph and continue through as many paragraphs as you need.

Conclusion: Start with another broad statement that lets the reader know they have reached the conclusion, it should sort of remind your readers of the beginning of the paper. Briefly review the points you proved in the body of the paper focusing especially on your conclusion about each point. Show how these points build on each other to prove your thesis. Finally, feel free to make a more general comment that explains why your thesis was important in a broader sense than you may have addressed in the paper.