Understanding the assignment instructions:

The first step in any successful project is having a clear picture of what you have to accomplish. This sounds easy, but there are several points to consider.

Expectations

When professors give a writing assignment, they are generally looking for you to demonstrate:

• Your understanding of the material: This means that you have to show that you have read and understood what has been assigned, whether it is class readings or research material.
• Your involvement with the material: In other words, you are expected to react to what you find and form a defensible argument about it, not simply report on it. Do this by using your critical thinking skills to question the topic and weigh its importance and validity.

The purpose of the assignment:

The way a professor words a question will tell you quite a bit about the type of paper she or he expects to receive. Pay special attention to the verbs in the instructions, as they indicate the purpose of the assignment and the requirements.

Narrowing Down the Topic:

Define the scope of your paper by focusing on one specific area. Ask questions (who, what, when, where, etc.) about your topic to help you narrow it down. Determining beforehand what you will and will not cover in your assignment will help you come up with a thesis, ideas for your outline, and will greatly facilitate your research.

Establishing a preliminary thesis:

The thesis is the central, organizing idea that is supported and proven in the paper. It is a point of reference that gives the essay its direction and coherence.

A strong thesis must be:

• Specific – Your thesis should argue a specific part of the topic, and should be focused enough so that you can fully explore it in the scope of your paper.
• Argumentative – Your thesis must be debatable. It must take a stand and say something relevant that requires proof.
• Explanatory – Your thesis must contain some reasoning or explanation for the position it holds. It must justify your position.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is another step where you need to ask questions about your topic (or your narrowed down topic). It will help you generate and gather ideas that you could incorporate in your assignment. In addition, brainstorming is a great way to think about what you need to explore in your research, as well as to find ideas to put in your outline, and arguments to help support your thesis.

Creating the outline:

Once you have found and gathered your ideas, you need to organize them into an outline that will become the structure of your paper. You may work on a preliminary outline before, or while you do your brainstorm and your research.

Goal of the (preliminary) outline:

• To organize the ideas and arguments in a logical manner;
• To focus the research;
• To avoid gathering irrelevant information;
• To follow the thesis statement;
• To provide a framework for the assignment.

Once you have done your research and your brainstorming, and you come up with your thesis statement, you might have to re-work your outline to make sure that you are still on track, and that you are missing none of the information you will need.

The importance of structuring your paper:

A strong, logical argument will demonstrate your understanding of the material and your critical thinking skills.

The elements of a sound structure include the following:

• A solid thesis that is defended coherently from the beginning to the end of your paper;
• A clear introduction and conclusion, which present and wrap up your arguments;
• An argumentation presented in the body of your paper in which each of the points you make leads to the next in a logical way (chronological, cause-and-effect, etc.);
• Clear paragraphs that are limited to one main idea each;
• Transitional words and phrases between ideas and paragraphs.

Research:

You will probably need to do research at different times during the writing process, at first to know more about your topic, then to help you find arguments, ideas, and evidence to support your thesis.

How to find research material:

• Consult the library’s online catalogue or databases
• Consult the library subject librarians’ web pages
• Find a good general book or article on the topic and use it as a starting point
• Read a few different sources and take note of your topic’s major authors and major debates

Evaluating sources:

When it comes time to conduct research for an academic paper, not all sources are created equal! You will not only need to determine the type of sources are required for your assignment, but also make sure that you select scholarly, or academic sources.

Tip:

As you do your research, take the time to write down the necessary bibliographic information you might need later on should you decide to refer to a specific source in your assignment. This will save you time once later when you create your outline or write your paper.

Writing:

When you are ready to write, always remember to follow your outline, and make sure that each argument relates to your thesis. Also pay attention to the following as you write:

Vocabulary and language:

• Use formal language when writing for your classes. This means using full words instead of contractions (“cannot” rather than “can’t”, “it is” rather that “it’s”), and avoiding colloquial expressions that you would normally use only in conversation. For example, use “much” or “many” instead of “a lot” ,and “such as” or “for instance” instead of “like”.
• Be sure that the language you use is clear. Using complex words does not necessarily improve the quality of your writing. In fact, long or unusual words may be confusing for the reader, particularly if there are many of them in the same sentence or paragraph.
• Be careful when replacing words with synonyms from a thesaurus. Because there is no such thing as an exact synonym, always check the meaning in the dictionary before using a new word.

Referencing and avoiding plagiarism

Academic writing relies heavily on the understanding and the use of other authors’ ideas. In your papers, you will often draw arguments, evidence, concepts and theories from other sources to support your own argumentation. Like all academic writers, you are required to give credit for the information you use by providing proper references. Failure to do so results in an act of plagiarism, whether it is your intent to plagiarize or not.

Anything that is borrowed from another author must be referenced, including, but not limited to:

• A direct quotation, summary or paraphrase
• Another author’s idea, concept, theory, chart, image, etc.
• Information that is not “common knowledge”

There are three ways to use source material: quoting, summarizing and paraphrasing. Each has its own purpose. Ensure that you are using each appropriately and not excessively.

Every time you incorporate information taken from somewhere else, you must reference it properly, both in body of the text (in-text reference) and at the end of the paper (bibliographic reference). You must do this by following a specific referencing style (e.g. APA, MLA, Chicago Manual, McGill). Always check in your syllabus or with your professor to know which style you should use, then use it consistently throughout your paper.

Revision:

Once you have written your paper, read it over a few times, focusing on a different element each time.

Ask yourself:

• Are my arguments clear?
• Did I include clear transitions between each one of my paragraphs?
• Did I check the whole text to find errors in grammar, punctuation, structure or vocabulary?
• Have I referenced all of my borrowed material?

A note on your grammar and spell checker:

Many word processing programs, such as Microsoft Word and WordPerfect, come equipped with features designed to catch your grammar and spelling errors. Most of these are fairly unreliable and will frequently miss errors or identify correct constructions as errors. The best way to ensure that you are not making mistakes is always to learn what is correct and apply it yourself.