When writing academic essays, it may help to keep the following in mind:
- Does the essay address all parts of the assigned question?
- Does the essay have a title that is imaginative and gives the reader a sense of the essay's contents?
- Is there a clear argument (a statement about reality that must be proven true)? Be sure to test thesis statement by assessing whether or not someone could plausibly take the opposite point of view.
- Does the essay's introduction lead the reader from the general world to the specific topic and end with the thesis statement? Does the conclusion begin with a thesis restatement and lead the reader back to some general possibilities for future exploration?
- Does each paragraph begin with a topic sentence explaining to the reader how the paragraph's content supports the main idea of the essay?
- Is there an appropriate balance of my own writing and concrete examples drawn from other sources?
- Does the essay flow logically and smoothly from one idea to the next? Could the paragraphs be rearranged into a more logical order? Do the transitions between ideas and paragraphs need to be more explicit?
- Is the essay's tone sufficiently formal and objective for academic work?
- Are references to other people's ideas acknowledged with proper citations?
- Have I read the essay aloud to alert myself to redundant statements, convoluted sentences, grammar and spelling errors, and other rough spots?
- Has a friend read over the essay and pointed out unfamiliar ideas that need to be clarified for the general reader?
Last Updated (Friday, 30 April 2010 09:15)
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When grading assignments in my classes, I strive to return them about a week after the due date. Why one week and not overnight?
- There are almost always late papers. Since I like to grade all assignments at once to ensure equal treatment, I end up waiting a few days for papers to arrive.
- One week is a natural cycle. It is much easier to find time for major tasks in a week than it is to fit them into a particular day.
- Returning assignments in one week allows a bit of emotional distance from the work and more objectivity in its evaluation.
If we allow at least a week when making commitments, life is much more manageable. Last Updated (Friday, 26 March 2010 21:51)
Talking to several students who are studying Japanese in Tokyo reminded me of the first time I came to Japan eighteen years ago.
I had taken some Japanese language classes in college and thought I was doing pretty well until... I got to Japan and had a really tough time talking to people. After a month, I thought I was never going to improve and felt really frustrated.
My self-esteem had become too dependent on my language abilities. I finally realized that mastery of a skill was not nearly as important as the friends I was making along the way. They were delighted to share their language and culture with me and didn't really care how long it took me to catch on. Last Updated (Friday, 26 March 2010 22:00)
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I was talking to someone the other day about choosing a topic for the senior thesis he will write next fall. My advice:
Let the Paragraph be Your Guide
- Often the biggest hurdle in a major project is just getting started. Some people take forever to choose a topic. Others read and read and read and never write anything.
- The key is to break the project into manageable tasks. Few can write a fifty-page paper all at once, but anyone can write one paragraph after another.
- To get started, commit to writing a single paragraph outlining your tentative argument. Read two or three sources on your topic and write the paragraph. You can always change it later in light of new evidence, but the paragraph will serve as a guide as you do further reading.
- With your tentative argument clearly in mind, your research will be much easier because you will be able to focus more readily on the data needed to prove the points in your guiding paragraph.
It's only one paragraph. Just write it! Last Updated (Saturday, 27 March 2010 09:25)
I often tell students that nobody can write a paper, but anyone can write one paragraph after another. Recently, I felt overwhelmed by a writing project and didn't know where to begin. Breaking it up into paragraph sized chunks and focusing on just one at a time really helped make it seem more manageable. Sometimes we need to listen to our own advice! Last Updated (Friday, 26 March 2010 21:54)
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