Guide to Writing

Writing for college can be daunting. College itself can be a bit daunting! If I had to take a guess on the percentage of students who overly stress about a writing assignment, be it a research paper, a comparative essay, or a blog, I'd have to say it's about.... well I can't be exact but I'm sure it's pretty high!

I've learned a few things from my college experience when it comes to writing and I'd like to share some of them. The first and foremost item of importance is to Understand your assignment! If you are unsure, it would behoove you to seek advice, if not from the professor directly, from a trustworthy peer. It proves true time and time again, that if you are confused, you can be sure that other students are as well! I've made this mistake before, and it did not end well. It was my first English class after taking several years off from one good ol' college try to the next. The prompt given left me confused and rather than giving an analysis of a very difficult read, I summarized it. And I got a big, fat D. Talk about feeling defeated. From there on, I made every attempt to seek further instruction if I did not understand. I can say, that I didn't make that mistake again. Did my grades go up? Eh, a little, but if I'd had a handy writing guide filled with wisdom from upperclassmen, I probably would've done a bit better.

So, now that we are clear on our assignment, what next? Depending on the type of writing assignment this step could change. Chances are it will require some research. For the sake of this guide, I'll say our assignment is a research paper on the "Underlying causes of the current Guatemalan Famine". Sounds scintillating, yes? I think it is safe to assume that one will need to do some pretty extensive research for this paper. Posing a question first will help guide you in your research. The research has started, hours have passed. You're up to your ears in books, post-it flags, index cards, loose leaf papers. Might I suggest you take a quick break, clear your head, and then create your outline.

An outline is a fantastic way to organize, prioritize and stay on track, once the paper writing has commenced. Outlining, personally, allows me to step back, and really take a look at how the structure of my paper will flow. For example, the outline for the paper on the Guatemalan Famine, could work well in a chronological format, as dates are significant when exploring past causes for a said event. Now that the outline is complete.....its time to start writing!

Writing. Here is where trouble can appear. It is extremely useful to know your audience. Awareness of this will allow you to write in the appropriate tone. There are many, many styles of writing that we all do, every day. Blogging about your social life, instant messaging with your friends, emails to and from your boss, etc. Tone and audience changes go hand in hand. A required book I had in English, titled They Say/I Say, suggests that you should write as if it were a conversation into which you were entering. I like this idea. It engages your reader. Engagement is good. We've all been there before, reading something exceptionally boring, zoning in and out, thinking about anything else other than what we're actually supposed to be focusing on. Remember a bit ago, when I got that big, fat D? Yes, not only did I not understand the assignment, I also didn't care for the reading I had done for that paper. Evolutionary Psychology. I mean, come on! I would start reading and almost straight away, my mind would wander....to laundry, to food, to what the cat was doing, to ANYTHING but evolutionary psychology. With that said, engaging your reader is paramount for a successful paper. And to do this, write as if it were a conversation! So, what are you waiting for? Start writing!

Strong writing is easily recognizable by most. To have strong writing, you must have cohesion. Cohesion allows your reader to follow your argument, and if you want to generate an impact, you must make sense! Ideally, armed with your research, your research question and your outline, this should not be a problem. However, little problems crop up, and often at the most inopportune time.

Little problems can wreak havoc on papers. It is safe to assume there is some sort of deadline with any given writing assignment. At some point you'll be expected to hand something in for evaluation. How do we go about lessening the hazardous affects of these little problems? One way is to make sure you've given yourself plenty of time to complete the assignment. Procrastination is an A-paper killer and should be avoided at all costs! Procrastination will also take away the much needed time you'll need for.....REVISION!

If you take anything away from this writing guide, revision should be it. Revision doesn't just mean to run your spell-checker, peruse for the occasional grammatical error, or whip out your thesaurus, though a fellow classmate wrote an excellent paper this semester regarding this matter. Perhaps the thesaurus is a good tool for revision, but its certainly not the only one. Revision is bigger. This is your chance to really make sure the overall concept is in there, not hidden or obstructed by silly little meaningless sentences. But in there. Organized, researched, cohesive and ready to make your paper pop! Now is the time to make changes. They can be big or little changes. No worries if you scrap an entire paragraph or even page for that matter. Revision allows you to pull out the weeds that have infiltrated your garden.
Nancy Sommers, though I found fault in her article, had some good points from writers identified as "experienced". One experienced writer emphasized that the concern is whether the concept is clear and cohesive, over word choice. This is a good concern to have.

Your concept is clear. You've taken a stance. Your paper has a flow that allows for easy and enjoyable reading, yet it is deliberate and focused. You've run your spell-checker. Everything is coming up roses. It's now time to hand in your assignment and pat yourself on the back. You've given the paper the good ol' college try, and quite possibly, the beginning of your collegiate writing career was victorious!