« September 2006 | Main | September 2008 »

January 8, 2008

Managing Term Papers

Whelp... were back from Christmas break and ready to get another semester/term started, right? I'm not sure about your but I'm not sure if I am ever ready to hit the books, it usually takes me a good week of procrastination before the work stacks up so high that I have to study and begin writing the papers I'm assigned. Yesterday was my first day of class and it was nice to walk around campus and feel like I had the time to stop and chat with some friends if I wanted to. I'm just about to finish my Junior year at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah and in my vast experience there are a few things that I've picked up on that have really helped me in my paper-writing.

Paper-writing is largely about managing information and then communicating that information effectively, here are some pointers to help you do that:

• The first bit of information that needs to carefully be picked apart is the topic or base question. Often students quickly read through the topic or base question and begin writing about the first thing that comes to their mind. Take the time to analyze what needs to be written and be sure that your writings completely answer the assigned topic or question.

• Throughout the semester keep a list of essential statistics, dates, or other very specific information, these should be separate from your class notes. These specifics build credibility to your argument and information.

• Use tools to validate your learning and research such as www.wikipedia.com, www.webster.com, and search engines. These may not be the best sources to use for your paper, but they can point you to primary research as well as help you formulate a stronger paper.

• Start early, even if it’s just sitting and pondering about it. There’s nothing more paralyzing than realizing that you have a paper due tomorrow and you haven’t yet started on it. If you know when your paper is due and you give yourself plenty of time to think about it you’ll find that writing the paper will be much more fluid.

• Lastly, just relax and make sure you make time for your social life and having fun.

I've learned that school has taught me more than anything to manage my time and priorities and I've realized that if my priorities are right and I make sure I make ample time for my papers and tests that I usually do well. Also, there are many other tools that are very helpful. When you get a moment you can check out www.monsterspapers.com, they have helped thousands of students write all kinds of papers.

Well, I hope you have the best semester and please let me know if you have any questions or need any advice... advice about school that is, dating is a whole nother thing I'm still trying to learn, but once I get it down I'll be sure to blog about it.

Posted by cmanscill at 9:15 AM | Comments (0)