Before you begin:
1. Think critically about what you will be discussing. You must know exactly what you think before you can begin writing about it. Take the time to brainstorm and develop your ideas rather than waiting until you are already in the middle of a paragraph.
2. Find quotations from all the texts—primary and secondary—that you will be incorporating into your paper. Type them into a document so you have a bank of quotations that you can copy and paste directly into your paper. It is better to have more than you will need than to spend precious time searching for the perfect quotation while you are working on the paper itself. Doing so will help you hone and develop your thesis before you even start and will make the writing process much faster, smoother, and easier.
3. Make an outline to make sure you know what to say in each part of your paper. Break each paragraph down into its topic sentence, supporting arguments, and relationship to your thesis as a whole. This process will help you see if you have just enough, too little, or too much to say and whether your ideas mesh together into a coherent whole.
Writing with style:
1. Be concise, clear, direct, and precise.
a. Never remind your reader that he or she is reading your essay or that the opinions are yours. Doing so is redundant, wordy, and distracting. Turn such statements as “It is my opinion that . . .” into direct assertions of what you know.
b. Never use words implying doubt in your argument. Your goal is to persuade your reader that you are correct, not that you are merely making an educated guess. Avoid such words and phrases as “seems,” “appears to be,” “could be,” and “possibly.” Instead, make a bold claim and support it.
c. Use words that say and point to exactly what you mean. If using the word “this,” make sure it precedes a noun so your reader knows what “this” is. Rather than saying “things,” explain precisely what. Instead of saying “you” or “we,” tell your reader exactly whom you mean. Avoid first person.
d. Avoid long, convoluted sentences. Be brief and concise, saving longer, complex sentences for especially intricate ideas. Watch out for run-on sentences.
e. Discuss primary and secondary texts in the present tense, even if the author is dead. Make sure you do not switch to past tense.
2. Use proper, professional, academic language. Your goal in an essay is to prove that you are an authority on your idea. As such, your language should give the impression that you are a scholarly person. Treat your paper as if it were a business report, not a casual conversation with a friend. Never use contractions, slang, or cute language.
3. Use quotations to illustrate your points. Without direct textual analysis, your paper will be (at best) vague and full of generalizations. If the text is the artifact you are discussing, it only makes sense that you should directly draw it into your paper to prove that what you are arguing is correct. Furthermore, incorporate your quotations into your discussion; never simply plop them in mid-paragraph. Your reader should never be left wondering why a quotation is present.
4. Turn questions into direct statements. When your reader encounters a question in the middle of your paper, it distracts him and casts doubt on whether you are knowledgeable about the subject. Instead, turn questions into statements that can lead into a discussion. For example:
Does poetry have to be written in the language of the common man in order to be good?
It remains uncertain whether poetry must be written in the language of the common man in order to be good.
5. Speak in active voice rather than passive voice. Passive voice (when the verb acts upon the noun) sounds wordy and vague. Active voice (when the subject acts upon the verb) is direct and powerful. For example:
That good poetry is written in the language of the common man is argued by Wordsworth.
Wordsworth argues that good poets write in the language of the common man.
6. Learn how to use commas. They have very specific uses. If you do not know how to use them, look it up or ask someone who does know. Not knowing how to use a comma in a paper is like not knowing how to add in a math class.
After you finish:
1. Proofread thoroughly. Reread your entire paper carefully, searching for awkward wordings, spelling errors (remember to double-check your quotations!), incomplete thoughts, or other issues that will result in your losing points from your final mark. If you need to, ask a friend to read it over before handing it in. If revisions are necessary (which they probably will be), proofread again after you finish.
2. Your name and the page number should appear in the upper-right corner of every page of your paper. It takes two seconds. Do it.
3. Double-spacing is pretty standard for academic papers. Make sure your paper is double-spaced; it will leave room for more feedback from whoever is grading.
4. The font should be size 12 and one of the standard, professional fonts, ie., Arial, Times New Roman, Courier New, etc. Never use such fonts as Comic Sans or Gothic.
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