Papers and Essays

Try pre-writing then doing research

This will re-earth thing you didn't know about the topic

This will create questions and arguments

Creates more focused research

Writing the Paper

Brain dump

Lets you put down ideas onto paper or document

Pull everything that is related to the topic on to the paper

List

Main points that is important to cover

Specific external resources

Research process

Does not create a coherent paper

Students get stuck in this phase forever

Research recursion syndrome - Constantly looking for another source

Find your sources

Google Scholar, EBSCO, school library, Notes and Bibliography in popular science books

Create personal copies

Annotate the material

Highlight sections that are relevant to arguments and might assist in details of the arguments

At least two sources for the main point in the thesis, at least one for non-crucial points

"Write drunk, edit sober." - Based off of Peter De Vries', Reuben

Let initial act of creation be free of scrutiny and restraint

The paper doesn't have to be perfect the first time

It's okay if the first draft is terrible

Because there will be heavy editing in the future

Try to write the first draft in something completely different that what the final draft is in

Ex. Write first draft in Evernote and create the final draft in Google drive

Edit in two different stages

Content Editing

Technical Edit

Looking at the paper and asking

Does each Argument support the thesis?

Does the paper have a good narrative flow?

Is each Argument properly fleshed out and backed up with research or external sources?

What can be removed or written in a clearer simpler way?

Look for if the paper conveys the point to the reader in a simple concise way

Ready to identify problems that contain syntax

Spelling and grammar mistakes

Poorly structured sentences

Formatting errors

Sentences that just don't sound right

May be easier to edit the paper by hand

Read it out loud

Also allows to stop editing on the fly

Forces you to slow down and prevent skipping over words

Also helps find sentences that don't sound good

Have other people look it over a give feedback

People can only read your paper only once

Be explicit about the feedback you want

They will naturally look for spelling and grammar errors

Print out the paper and look it over one more time