i have a really difficult time writing papers!! any suggestions?

Question

everytime i have to write a paper for a class, especially english, i get really nervous/anxious/scared since it seems like a big task for me. This causes me to get writers block, which furthers my anxiety because it will take me like forever to write a paper (it literally takes me the whole day to write a 4 page essay)! Grr RR. does anyone have any useful suggestions?

Answer 1

Yep, before you sit down to write you MUST organize your thoughts. You panic because you don't know where to start, and when you start you don't have a road map of where you are going and you don't know when to end. It is always frustrating. Easy way to break this problem is to sit down and write an outline. This helps you to focus on The MAIN IDEA of your paper so you do not stray, or get lost. A logic course or book might help. It will help you formulate ways to approach subject and make arguments. Bottom line, research your subject, select a main topic, and write an outline--and you know something PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!! Try reading about a subject you enjoy. Sit down on a quite Saturday and write a short paper about it. NO GRADES. Then start writing a diary, with thoughts, ideas, an occasional story. Writing will come naturally, and sooner or later you will enjoy telling the story about your "writers bloc" and smile!!! Good luck and happy writing.

Answer 2

The reason you are writing papers in the first place is so that you'll get comfortable doing them.

I know you can write a paper because your question doesn't have a single misspelling or grammatical error. Look around Yahoo Answers. Tell me how many questions are written this good? (Your sentences could be shorter, though, but that's a minor thing.) A paper is just like a question, only longer.

Try to relax. -Think- about the paper first. Take your time thinking. What is it about? What are the ideas you want to present? How will you explain those ideas?

Has you learned how to do an outline first? that's really a big help. You should play with the outline. Take your time. Fiddle with it until you're really happy with it. Doing the outline is easier than writing a paper, and if the outline is -perfect- the paper almost writes itself!

Now put the outline in your word-processing program. You can write the paragraphs of the paper right between the lines of the outline.

I always used to have trouble getting started. That's Writer's Block. I used to have that a lot. The thing is, you don't have to start at the beginning. Look around the outline for a part that you will find easy to write and write that part. Go around the outline like that, writing the easy parts first. This gets you going, it gets your brain going, and then you can write the harder parts.

Now go around again and make sure everything matches, like it was written all in one try. Proofread everything one last time. Finally, delete the outline lines and there you are!

The more success you have, the better you'll feel about writing, and you will get over those anxiety attacks.

Meanwhile remember, the way to get over anxiety is to DO SOMETHING! 8^) Decisions terminate panic.

When I was in school we didn't have computers. This was back when TV was black and white, when all cars had V8s, and pay phones cost a dime. I used to sit on the couch with my electric typewriter on my lap and type triple-spaced, starting with the easy parts. I'd write as fast as I could. Then I'd go over the pages and make corrections with a red pen. Then I'd physically cut up the pages and arrange the pieces in order on the dining room table, then physically tape them together with scotch tape. Then I'd use those to type the final copy. It was a complicated process but it worked okay. Computers make it so much easier!

Answer 3

This is what I do: I spend about a week just reading, and taking notes of course, but basically just gathering information. As I read I tend to come up with good ideas about where I want a paper to go, those I jot down, or file mentally. I don't write anything, except notes, while researching. This works for all sorts of reports, even for english. Once I'm sick of research I sit down at my computer, with an idea in mind, and I just type. I don't look at my notes for this part, I just jot down what I remember and want to include. This is how I get the creative juices going, no pressure, because in my mind I'm not actually writing anything yet, I'm just letting all that research fall onto the page. Once that is done, and it doesn't take long for that part, I usually have a much better idea of where the paper is going, and what I need to do with it. Using the favorite info I remember, cuz that is what you will remember, I decide on my thesis. Then I supplement what I wrote from the notes, making sure to start each paragraph with a topic sentence, and finally I go do the conclusion. Then I leave it for a day, I go back and read it with a fresh mind, and make final adjustments. Of course, timelines aren't always this long, but I like to leave at least a day between writing and final reading so I catch any mistakes.
EDIT: Be wary of the thesaurus, lots of people turn to them and end up misusing words they are unfamiliar with. It also ruins the flow of your own language. Use in moderation, and appropriately, then it can be a very good thing.

Answer 4

First, gather all of your 'notes' on your essay and 'spread them out' far enough in front of you for your 'paper' to fit (unless you are using a computer ... then you may need to 'pin them' to the wall around the monitor. Next, write an OUTLINE (gee, THAT is why you had to learn to do that!) ... it doesn't have to be a 'formal' outline and you won't be turning it in, but it should have a 'number' for each of the 'points' you want to make, and you should be able to 'cut it up' (easy to do on the computer) and move each point until it MAKES SENSE to you. AFTER you have done that, write an 'introductory sentence' and a 'climactic sentence' ... I don't know what the essay is about, and assume you want 'general instructions' and not 'line by line' help, here. Then write the whole outline (or print it out at this point) again. Put that just to the LEFT of you if you are right handed, and to the RIGHT if you are left handed. Take a fresh piece of paper (or a fresh 'document' in your word processor) and 'head it' the way your teacher wants ... then put the TITLE in the middle of a line, either in ALL CAPS or Capitalize the first letters of EVERY WORD except for 'the, a, and, of. Skip a line. Write your 'introduction' (including the 'best parts' of that introductory sentence) in the first paragraph. If you are 'discussing an idea' it's in this first paragraph that you will put 'what you want to find out' ...
Then, using your outline, write one paragraph for each 'point' (number) on your outline. End with your 'conclusion' (the 'climactic sentence') and include soemthing about whether you did or did not 'find out' what you said you wanted to find out in the introductory paragraph.
PRINT IT OUT if you used a computer. Take your 'first draft' to a 'comfortable chair' with a 'clip board' or something to 'stiffen' your paper and 'read it straight through once, then read it through again and make 'notes' on what you need to 'correct' or 'change.' Go back to your desk and using that 'first draft' write your 'second' draft ... and do it really WELL so that you will have a paper that you can 'turn in' with PRIDE when the assignment is new.
Guess what? I am a 'professional writer' and even I 'double check everything (thank God for 'check spelling')' when I am writing here. I've been doing this for YEARS so I don't need to 'write' an outline, but as for your feeling nervous, anxious, and scared ... hey, I still feel like then when I am even just 'writing answers' ... including this one. I want to HELP YOU to learn the 'proper way to write an essay' and I want you to 'want to follow my rather long answer' ... and maybe this isn't a 'useful suggestion' but if you do the paper this way, you will be on your way to getting 'straight A's' on every paper you write!

Answer 5

Just sit down and write freely. Realize that, at first, you don't have to show anybody what ends up on the paper. Then start refining it. Take out a thesaurus to find the words that better convey what you're trying to communicate in your paper.

Also, try reading more books and absorbing a lot of information. The more you read, the more you know. The more you know, the easier it is to express yourself -- in writing or otherwise.

Answer 6

Is China a potential threat to the United States? LOTS of books and editorials written on it. China Rising: Power and Motivation in Chinese Foreign Policy Rising To The Challenge: China’s Grand Strategy And International Security

Answer 7

Writing freely only works if you are a comfortable writer. My advice would be to create an outline of what you want to prove, how you want to prove it, and what you have to support your assertions. Make bullet points and, if you have enough of them, they will turn into paragraphs.

Answer 8

drink some cold water, take a deep breath, do some research and write the paper....

Answer 9

take notes on your topic and use a dictionary and thesaurus!!! that way you know what you want to write about, what you want to say and different word to use and describe what you mean.