Cougar Mentor Program

Student Success Tips
 

Writing Papers

Reducing Writing Anxiety

• First, write down the due date for the paper.

• Review and revise this process after each paper.

• Be sure to know exactly what your instructor expects.

• Invest in a computer and learn to type your own papers.

• Do not depend on other people to bail you out – you will quickly learn that everyone has their own paper to deal with. Even paid typists can be unreliable.

• Don’t be afraid to express a unique opinion. The key is to document and support your ideas in an organized and cogent manner.

• When proofreading text, start at the end of your paper. Read one sentence at a time and work your way to the beginning. By reading from the end to the beginning, the pattern is broken and you will find more errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

• Don’t rely on spell check. Remember “principle” and “principal” are both correct spellings. Which word did you intend to use? Other biggies are “to” and “too”, “it’s” and “its”.

• Plagiarism means taking another person’s words or ideas as your own. Be careful to always cite your source, whether you quote directly or paraphrase. Remember, it it’s not common knowledge or your original idea, you must cite the source.

Library Tips

• Be sure that the topic is acceptable to the teacher and has sufficient available resource materials.

• Do not wait until your first research paper/project to scope out the campus library.

• Find out early what resources the library has.

• Learn how to use its computers to find books by subject or author.

• Where are copiers located? Does the copier require cash or some sort of copy card?

• Check out the local community libraries. They may house the one obscure article or book you need to earn that “A”.

Writing the Paper

• Make/use index cards, notes, bibliographies, summaries, reports, and reviews as part of your preparation process to organize your materials.

• Prepare a written outline:

  • Don’t make the mistake of keeping everything in your head.

  • Make your outline in the form of main headings or ideas with sub-headings fleshing out the flow of the paper. This will establish the paper’s content and conclusion.

• Write the paper:

  • Use the outline as a guide and stick to it.

  • Write in your own natural style.

  • Reread, rewrite, revise, and edit until the paper says exactly what you want to say, in the way you want to say it.

  • Use correct punctuation and grammar.