A Detailed Guide on How to Write a Good Term Paper
Ah, the good old high school, college, or university term paper! What else can make students hang down their heads in anticipation of the horrors of their upcoming work? Have you ever seen a student jump up and cheer when hearing about a new term paper? Worse, students today are facing down a record number of term papers as colleges and universities assign more than ever before. There are a number of reasons for this. First, schools are placing more emphasis on writing. Second, the shift to quantifiable grading and rubric-based grading prioritizes essays because they are the easiest to quantify. Additionally, the paperwork requirements and need for alternative assignments associated with more creative projects that may not be accessible to all students can discourage instructors from venturing too far from term papers. All told, students are writing more term papers—and having a harder time with them.
Today’s article is designed to provide assistance to those students who are faced with this challenge and feel like they have been left to fend for themselves. We know that most high schools didn’t adequately prepare students for writing college-level term papers, and we know that the majority of students are required to take courses to learn how to do it, courses that don’t always leave students feeling comfortable with term paper writing. Our step by step term paper writing guide will give you tips to help you to organize and write a good term paper and achieve great academic results. This is just a sample of the amazing advice and assistance we provide for each and every type of academic assignment.
Step One: Review the Assignment
Obviously, the very first step in writing a term paper is to review the assignment and make sure you understand it. If you have any questions or aren’t sure what you need to do, you should contact your instructor for clarification. You will want to be sure you are familiar not just with the topic of the paper but the requirements of the assignment. Another area to review is the grading rubric. A grading rubric contains all of the criteria you will be evaluated on. It’s essentially a cheat sheet telling you not just what to do but how to do it in a way that will impress your instructor. Be sure to review the rubric and make sure that you fully address all of the requirements and guidelines that your instructor provided.
Step Two: Set a Schedule
Working step-by-step and in stages is often more effective than trying to power through an essay in one late-night writing binge. Just after you are assigned to write a term paper, it’s time to prepare a schedule. Do not miss a day of work! Instead, set a well-organized and proper schedule to ensure you achieve a little bit each day until you have met your goal. Usually, students have the time they need to complete their term paper if they structure their time correctly, but have you ever seen a student who starts writing right away? We do not ask you to write the very day you receive your assignment, but we would advise you to make a schedule. Find at least an hour each day to keep yourself focused! You know the best hours during the day for you to work. For most students, they are freshest and most alert in the morning, though most students tend to work late at night, when they are too tired to focus correctly. Take this into account when creating a schedule. Set milestones for when you plan to finish each part of the paper - the outline, the abstract, introduction, the body, etc.
Step Three: Your Topic
When planning your term paper topic, the most effective set of guidelines we can offer is to advise you not to add work for yourself! This is the main principle in choosing a topic for any academic paper. Very often students find obscure or complicated topics that make it unbearably hard to find even a small amount of information. Your topic should try to achieve a balance between interesting and easy. If you have found such a topic, you can rest assured that your work will be simple and successful! First of all, your topic should be really narrow. Why add additional work for yourself by choosing a topic that can be simply divided into five subtopics? The next requirement is that it be well-known so there will be lots of information. Remember, your goal is to get a good grade, not change the world with groundbreaking obscurity.
Step Four: Compile Research and Notes
Do not miss a day! Make sure you write something related to your term paper every day, even if it is only notes for the title. The best way would be creating special notes to categorize research for each section of your paper. When doing research work and digging in the literature, write some quick notes with the most important ideas. Make sure you cite the source for every sentence you write. It is quite important to write your ideas somewhere close to the notes with information so you can quickly trace the source when you write your paper. The best practice is to create the reference list or bibliography entry for each source as you use it. This way, you will have your entire reference list completed before you even begin writing your paper and won’t have to spend time retracing your steps at the end of the writing process to compile your reference list.
Step Five: Thesis Statement
Before writing your first drafts, compose a good thesis. The thesis statement is the sentence that should provide the main idea of the whole essay, midterm, or final exam for the reader. This is actually what you are going to write about and discuss. Creating a thesis statement should be a very easy task. Ask yourself this: “What haven’t I learned on this topic yet?” Then make sure there is no previously published answer related to your question. Then, try to find some evidence that can support the most possibilities from your point of view. If you have found about five points that support your thesis, you are pretty close to creating an awesome thesis statement. Your thesis statement should include both parts, the question and the possible answer. By writing a thesis this way you set out the purpose of the term paper. In the remainder of the essay, you simply support the thesis.
Step Six: Craft Your Draft
Before starting to write a term paper, develop an outline and then use that outline to create a rough draft. The more time and effort you put into the outline, such as selecting each supporting detail, the easier it will be to turn it into a full essay. Write everything the way you want it to be in your term paper and then read it at least three times. This will let you see what parts work and what you need to change. Present evidence and support your thesis statement with different examples and facts. Discuss each piece of evidence in a separate paragraph and complete your paper with a logical conclusion that ties everything together clearly.
Our guide on how to write a good term paper will definitely help you with your assignment. Give it a chance and follow the steps and you will see how easy term paper writing can be!
