learninghowtopasta: Hi y’all! Last semester I took a class that culminated in a 20+ page paper
learninghowtopasta: Hi y’all! Last semester I took a class that culminated in a 20+ page paper worth 50% of my final grade. I ended up doing really well on it (in fact I think it was my first A+ I got on an a paper in uni!) and I also learned a lot about how to plan, organize, and synthesize a paper of a reasonably long length. Since some of you ( @nymeriastudies, @1pjhs, @spanish-and-code) asked me to, I thought I’d share a few tips/strategies that helped me throughout the writing process! If there’s one thing you should take away from this post it’s the importance of planning ahead! Although it should go without saying, writing a 20+ page paper is something that requires a great deal of time and effort—i.e. it’s not one of those papers you can start the day before it’s due. If you don’t allocate enough time for each aspect of the writing process, not only will your final piece be clearly rushed and underdeveloped, you might not even end up completing it! Most 20+ page papers will take at least 3 - 4 months to write and edit, which means you need to start thinking through and planning your paper ASAP! It might seem like you have a lot of time and it’s okay to put it off for a little bit, but I can guarantee you’ll never regret starting a paper too soon but you’ll definitely regret starting it too late.If you have the option of choosing a topic for you paper (as I did), it’s really important to critically think through your paper topic. Given that you will have to write 20+ pages, you won’t want to choose a topic that is too specific. Not only will this limit what you can say, it will also lead to a lot of redundancy (i.e. repeating the same stuff over and over). At the same time, fight the temptation to pick a topic that is too broad just so you can meet the minimum page length. Although this may seem like a good idea at first, you’ll more than likely end up with an unclear and non-concise paper that is all over the place—not to mention your instructor will see right through it!Just like it’s never to early to start planning your paper, it’s never too early to start getting feedback on some of your ideas/early drafts. Make an effort to go to your instructor’s office hours or schedule time to meet with your instructor outside of class to discuss your paper’s thesis, organization, approach, etc. Likewise, make sure to consider who the audience of your paper will be. Is it for a general reader or an expert in the field? Where on that spectrum does your instructor lie? It’s important to consider these as it will determine the level of detail and background you will need for your paper as well as the amount of leeway you have in making a convincing argument. Getting early feedback on your work will also give you the greatest flexibility if you need to adjust your overall thesis (spoiler alert: you most likely will). When I was writing my paper, I ended up having to refocus my thesis to better fit the evidence I was working with and also make a more convincing argument to my professor. Had I waited until near the end of the semester to get feedback on my paper, it would’ve been way more difficult to rework my thesis and still turn out a good paper by the deadline. Depending upon the nature of your paper (e.g. literary analysis vs. literature review), you may need to reference outside sources within your paper (particularly peer-reviewed publications). Here are some general tips about compiling sources:Many of us have used or heard about Google Scholar, which is a great tool for finding publications in academic journals. One of the lesser known (but so useful) features is its “cited by” tool, which lets you see what other articles reference a specific article. If you find an article that you really like and is perfect for your paper, this is a great way to find other articles that can also be a good addition to your paper! If you’re enrolled in a college/university, your institution’s library will also most likely have an online database that allows you to search for and read academic publications. Part of your tuition goes to funding your institution’s access to these publications so use it! The library in general is also great resource for finding sources and consulting with people who can help you find sources.If your institution doesn’t give you access to academic journals, there are still some great resources online where you can find articles for free! Some of my favorites include:PubMedPLOSDOAJEBSCO Open DissertationsJSTOR (gives you a limited amount of articles you can access for free per month if you sign up)Once you find sources you want to include in your paper (which will definitely be a lot because of the length), you’ll want to keep track of all of them so you can access and reference them easily. My favorite way to bookmark and organize all of the sources I use for various papers is through Evernote. If you guys would like a more in-depth tutorial about how I use Evernote to organize my sources, I can definitely make another post about that!Keeping track of your citations is also something you will want to do throughout the writing process instead of waiting until the very end. If you have a lot of sources that you’re referencing in your paper (which you most likely will!) I definitely recommend investing in a reference management software/tool. My institution has a partnership with RefWorks so that’s what I personally use, but I know a lot of people also use EndNote, which should be free to use. Before you start getting down into the nitty-gritty of writing your paper, you’ll definitely want to establish a course of action. Do whatever works best for you in terms of organizing your thoughts and what you want to cover—whether that be coming up with a bullet outline, a mind map, a flow chart, etc. One thing I found to be particularly helpful in coming up with an outline for my paper is deciding how much of my paper length I wanted to devote to specific areas (e.g. 1-2 pages on an introduction, 2-3 pages on background, 4-5 pages on methods, etc.). These designations don’t have to be set in stone and they can change once you actually start writing your paper, but it’s still good to have somewhat of a guideline for how you much you’re writing for each aspect of your paper.Once you are satisfied with the outline you have, write your paper. No seriously — WRITE IT! I know, I know — this is a lot easier said than done, but there’s really no other way around this step in the process is there? It can be a pain, but hopefully with all of the preparation you’ve done ahead of time, as well as the amount of time your allocating for the assignment, it hopefully shouldn’t be too painful. What I find helps makes things easier is breaking down how much of my paper I want to write per day (e.g. I’ll finish writing my introduction today, tomorrow I’ll write half of my background, the next day I’ll finish writing the rest of the background….). Thinking of your paper as separate pieces of a whole pie can make writing a 20+ page paper less scary and motivate you to get it done!When it comes to editing your paper, it’s important to recognize that editing is part of (not separate or subsequent to) the writing process. This is true for every paper you write, but it’s especially true for a 20+ page paper. If you end up waiting until the very end to start editing your paper, you’ll more than likely end up wanting to give up and turn it in as is. Instead, editing as you go can really help strengthen the quality of your final product. Likewise, if you college/university has a writing center, I would definitely recommend using it as a resource. If not, even getting a few friends and fresh eyes to take a look can definitely make a difference!So this ended up being a super long post but I hope y’all found some of it useful! Feel free to add on any tips you have for writing longer papers and let me know if you have any questions, need me to clarify anything! Also, let me know if y’all have any other requests for other topics I might be able to give some tips on!Good luck and Godspeed! -- source link