Sunday, October 9, 2016

Term Paper hack

In college, I had a professor who changed the way I wrote term papers forever. After his class, I never had problems writing papers, and, in fact, enjoyed doing them.

He gave this formula to our class: If, for example, you have an eight-page paper to write, that means you need to write roughly 16 paragraphs. If you write an introductory paragraph and conclusion, that leaves 14 body paragraphs. Write down 14 ideas that support your thesis, rearrange them to make sure there is a natural thought progression, and before you know it, you’ll have an 8-page, well-structured essay.

I hope this helps!



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2 comments:

  1. Thank you, Skip. It's 3 a.m. and I'm in one of those 'tell your heart out' moods, you know, which I actually enjoy as a writer--the constant, steady (sometimes turbulent though controllable) stream of consciousness as the words flow out and onto the paper or through my hands quickly tapping over the keys like a mad Mozart-inspired concerto of one's creative imagination brought to life!!

    So, in short: Thanks. Not just academically, but this is beautiful for personal essays, for any preparation as I'm not one for pre-drafts, revisions, rewrites, &c. and I'm the 'edit/format' as I type writer which terribly affects my train of thought, that flow I just mentioned, and as a result--well, my home study is a perfect example of what happens: saved files confined in stacked folders inside of my computer, or hidden within an endless collection of half-full notebooks scattered about in random piles, very rarely 'read over', if ever. Definitely doesn't sit well with the fiancee, as she's a neat freak and so, yeah, let us hope this awesome process remedies the writing issues I have in unfinished prologues and first chapters, or the fact that I'm 32, in 2016, without a blog, website, or a YouTube (active, I mean)!! It's becoming an irritation & I needed something, so badly, anything, to help focus my mind on 'the task'. You don't understand, or maybe you do, and I'm sorry for turning you into a therapist for an evening but this tiny paragraph of words, unbelievably is a MASSIVE and TREMENDOUS push-up. Thanks again, Skip. I apologize for the huge comment and near-tangent rant. I am a bit theatrical when it comes to expressing myself.

    P.S. - I randomly discovered your blog, and also, I love the name, bro. Sincerely, Trip.

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  2. Thanks for the feedback, Trip. Glad you enjoy the blog!

    Tell a million of your closest friends!

    S

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