Brainstorm the
question/assignment:
- Restate key words in the
assignment with synonyms or
in your own words;
- Use these equivalent terms
throughout your paper to
keep focused.;
- Write down everything you
can think of that is related
to the assignment;
- Generate two or three
specific sentences that
answer a question posed by
the assignment;
- Write your introduction
last, after you've had a
chance to work your way to a
conclusion;
- Often it helps to take
your conclusion, use what
you've learned, and then
write the introduction in
the next draft.
Refine your focus:
- After writing your initial
"guiding sentence"
(thesis statement), write a
draft, then go back to the
thesis and perhaps re-write
it;
- Include in each paragraph
an explicit reference to the
language you use in your
thesis. If the paragraphs
are not an extension of
something in your thesis,
either re-write your thesis
statement, edit the
paragraph, or cut it. Often
you can revise the paragraph
by adding words that more
explicitly make the
connection.
Make sure that your
essay is developed out of your
close analysis of selected
passages found in the readings:
- Choose one or two short
passages from the text(s) to
help focus your paper;
- If using a quote,
elaborate on its meaning
using words from it. Don't
leave it up to the reader to
figure out how to interpret
the language quoted.
Think about how to
organize your paragraphs to create
an effective argument.
- Is there a
"scheme" you can use
to organize your thoughts to
help structure your paper?
- How will your examples
"build" upon each
other? Think of logical
possibilities:
less important to more
important,or vice versa;
similar ideas versus
contrasting ideas;
- Is there a central concept
or metaphor you can weave
throughout your paper to add
coherence?
For short papers, start
fast.
- Provide an immediate,
specific answer to a question
posed by the assignment.
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