i havent written a paper for about 10 years and now im back in college... help?

Question

i need to write a paper, but how the heck do you go about it? what points do i need to cover on the topic? in what order should it go? what are the basics to writing a paper?

Answer 1

Congratulations on going back to school! How you write your paper might depend on the subject or class that it is for. However, some general prinicples still apply regardless of the type of paper. First off, you need to research your topic and take notes. One of the easiest ways to stay organized is to write your notes down on 3 1/2" x 5" index cards. That way you can shuffle your notes around and put them in the order that you need to write your paper. You should have an introductory paragraph which explains the purpose or focus of your paper. From there your subsequent paragraphs should follow a logical sequence to support this central focus. At the end of your paper, you should have an ending paragraph--something to draw your paper to a close and summarize it. Books that might help you from a technical perspective are Strunk and White's The Elements of Style and the MLA Handbook. Most colleges and universities also have writing centers available to help students who might be struggling with writing papers. That might be a good resource to start with if it has been awhile since you last wrote a paper. Once you have written your paper, don't forget to spellcheck it and proofread it. It is always good if you can have a friend or classmate help you with this as well. Good luck!

Answer 2

i was an english major in undergrad, so i wrote LOTS of papers. what i used to do was start by making an outline of what you want to discuss in the paper. if you really cannot get started, just start somewhere, not necessarily at the beginning. you can always go back and do that. if i had more info on the topic i could help you further, because a science paper, for example, is much different than an english paper. good luck.

Answer 3

I was in the same situation last year. Usually a paper has a thesis which you state in the first paragraph. Then several paragraphs which explain/discuss the subject and support your thesis--Then the summation paragraph basically restates your thesis. If you think you'll be writing more papers, a good book to get is "The Everyday Writer" by Lunsford. I got a used one from ebay.
Good Luck!
p.s. It's not as hard as you think!!

Answer 4

It depends on the paper you're writing. I'm in law school so everything I write is persuasive. You're is either persuasive or informative. Informative is pretty cut and dry and persuasive will take more effort on your part.
start with a thesis. Tell them what you're going to tell them. An introduction is a good place to start.
Next, in separate paragraphs cover your points.
Finally, end with any conclusions or final thoughts.

Example:

Opening: I'm going to tell you about banana splits.
Thesis: Banana splits are difficult to make, but rewarding.
Paragraph one: Banana splits are made with three kinds of ice cream.
Paragraph two: Banana splits are made with bananas.
Paragraph three: Banana splits are topped with fudge.
Closing: Now you know how to make a banana split. Don't forget- they're best when shared with a friend.

Basically, tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, tell them what you told them.

Good luck!

Answer 5

If you're doing science type of stuff you need to write the paper in APA format. If it's English/History type stuff it needs to written in MLA. Guides on how to do either can be checked out at the library.

Answer 6

Begin writing now. Start by copying good writing (the Jack London method) and write it out, by hand. This is the best way to learn, and by copying good writers, you are learning what is and is not good writing . . . and remembering it.

Answer 7

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