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How to write a big paper efficiently (and quickly)

Hey all! I know finals are over for a lot of us, but I still wanted to sit down and make a post outlining the way I personally write big papers (10-20 pages). This is the method that is most efficient for me, so I’m hoping it helps someone else out there! (This works best if you have at LEAST 3 days to write your paper. Hopefully you left yourself more time, but I get it doesn’t always work out that way).

My biggest problem when I write a paper is, well, writing. It used to take me HOURS just to finish a paragraph-- just sitting there, agonizing over sentences and clicking away to watch youtube or scroll tumblr every 10 minutes. If this sounds like you, you need a system!

   Let’s get started!

Step 1: Set up!

The first thing I like to do for a project is get a 3 prong folder. Put a chunk of loose-leaf in the middle, grab a pen and you’re set!

Step 2: Read your primary source!

I’m an English major, so most of my big papers revolve around a book. Still, many other papers have a primary source from which you get most of your information. Sit down with your folder and read your book. Working in the 3 day time-frame, this is day 1. As you read, note any quotes that stick out to you, highlight them and write them down in your folder, with page numbers (trust me, that’s important, you don’t want to go scavenging for the page numbers of all your quotes after you’ve written the damn paper and are ready to be done). Under your quote, be sure to note what stuck out to you. Was it theme, characterization, etc that caught your eye? Maybe just an interesting word choice on the author’s part? These little things are important in a strong paper!

Many teachers will say that to truly understand a book, you need to read it at least twice. Well I’m here to tell you that while that’s a nice idea, I had an assignment on Moby-Dick this semester and that s*** just ain’t happening. It’s much better in my opinion to mark down everything significant the first read around, and then if you need to you can go back and reread the  relevant passages. Don’t tell, but if I’m really desperate, I’ll just read the chapter summaries on Schmoop (oop) but trust me, it’s a lot easier in the long run if you read the book and get a feel for it yourself.

Step 3: Choose a paper topic!

Alright so you’ve read your primary source, gotten some good quotes. Chances are as you were reading, some ideas for a paper topic popped into your head. If your prof isn’t assigning topics (which most in college won’t) make sure to pick something you’re genuinely interested in. Even if they are, if you have a topic idea you’re really interested in, pitch it to them! 9/10 times I guarantee they’ll let you write that instead.

A good method I find in picking a strong topic for a research paper is to pair your idea with a pre-established field of study. Marxism, gender theory, queer theory, religious studies, feminism- all that good stuff. Doing this will help guide your research and also teach you a lot about something new!

If you’re having difficulty coming up with anything, there’s nothing wrong with going to a website like Schmoop and reading up on the book’s themes, analyses etc to get a better grasp on it. That’s what those websites are actually for.

At this point you may or may not be ready to write an actual thesis. I say go ahead and make a rough one, which can be amended depending on what you learn in:

Step 4: Research!

Aw hell yeah, baby it’s research day. This used to be the part I dreaded, but now I absolutely love doing research for my papers. Get thee to a library and start searching. And yes I mean that, you’d be surprised how much more productive and convenient it is to do research in an actual library. Start by searching your libraries database. I usually start with really broad terms, just my book and paper topic and see what’s available, then narrow it down from there. ALSO don’t be afraid to use books. Most academic books have very helpful chapter titles. Skim those and add a print source to your Works Cited (professors love that s***).

Print out all of the relevant sources you find and put them in your folder. The next step is much like the first: sit down, read through your articles and write down any quotes you find relevant with page numbers. Personally i give each source it’s own page and put the full title at the top to save time later.

Another good tip, during this step, make your works cited as you go! Most databases like j-stor and google scholar will even cite your source for you. Still, double check the formatting for these citations as I’ve lost far too many points to over-trusting automatic citations.

A rule of thumb I use is to have at least half as many sources as pages in your paper. Once you really get into the groove of researching, I guarantee you’ll find even more than that.

Step 5: WRITE. THAT. PAPER.

This is the hard part, huh? But look, while you were doing all that research and reading, I bet you got plenty of ideas for what you wanted to write about, which you hopefully jotted down as you went. With all the preparation in the last 4 steps, writing the actual paper is a breeze. If it helps, you can make an outline, but I usually don’t.

Your paper is an argument for why your thesis is true, and each paragraph should support that thesis. A simple formula: each paragraph should focus around a direct quote/ instance in your primary source that supports your thesis. Introduce that quote then explain how it’s supportive, even if you think the quote speaks for itself. Then use your secondary sources to back up the conclusion you came to with that quote. You must have secondary sources to support each point you make!!! Same with those, hug your citations with an introduction and explanation. This not only ensures your argument is well supported and expounded on, but adds word count! Finish your paragraph up with a mini conclusion and a lead in to the next paragraph, then rinse and repeat till the page count is met or you have fully defended your thesis.

Lastly, I know we scoff at rough drafts, but I’ve found that telling myself I’m only writing a rough draft and just need to get words on the page pushes through the paralyzing aspect of my perfectionism. And you’d be surprised by how good what you write actually ends up being. Then even if it’s not, revision is your friend!

Step 6: Revision and final touches!

Double, triple, quadruple check those sources and citations. Read your paper aloud. Leave it for a few hours and come back. If you have the time, take your paper to your professor to get their opinion or to the writing lab for help if your school/university has one available. Polish that paper to perfection, baby!

I hope this helps anyone who actually bothers reading! I think these are some really valuable tips that I personally wish I’d been told years ago. Some (or all I guess) of them may seem obvious, but to someone with as much executive dysfunction and perfectionist tendencies as me, having a plan that isn’t just “write a paper” has been ridiculously beneficial.

As cliche as it sounds, getting started is the hardest step, so sit down and get started!!!

[newrd1]

Bring it on, 2018 ✊🏽✍🏽

[newrd1]

[newrd1]

Process of Submerged

…………………………..

Music was composed by video game and film composer Ryan Camus.

http://www.ryancamus.com

twitter: @ryancamus

instagram: @rycamus

[newrd1]

enough about big moods,

what the small mood???

[newrd1]

hey uhh if anyones still confused theres nothing nsfw about being gay there are gay kids and if you think puppy love between straight kids is cute but puppy love between gay kids is gross then you are in fact homophobic

[newrd1]

Salgoo Lulu aka Lulu Salgoo aka 살구 (Korean, South Korea) - 그 밤 (The Night), 이상한 밤 (A Strange Night), 2015  Mixed Media

[newrd1]

i miss summer nights when it wouldn’t get fully dark outside until really late

[newrd1]

Source.

[newrd1]

9:30 AM.

[newrd1]

stop believing that you ran out of time to shape yourself into who you want to be! stop believing that its ruined! stop believing you don’t have potential! you are not a fixed being! you have endless opportunities to grow.

[newrd1]

Source.

[newrd1]

Tips To Make Your College Experience Cheaper

Textbook websites

List of websites where you can find free ebooks, specified by subject.

Slugbooks.com (to compare textbook prices)

Thriftbooks.com  

Bigwords.com (price comparison)

Chegg.com

Abebooks.com (offers textbook editions, like unbound ones, that are cheaper than retailers)

directtextbooks.com

studentbooktrades.com

Bookrenter.com (shipping is free, as well as the shipping back to the warehouse)

gutenberg.org (free e-books)

campusbooks.com

textbooks.com

Allbookstores.com (searching shows the lowest price for a book)

textbookrecycling.com

bookscouter.com (find the highest buy back site for a book)

ecampus.com

bookbyte.com

bookdepository.com (Good for English majors, discounted books shipped around the world)

gen.lib.rus.ec (free digital copies of books)

HERE is a huge list of textbook PDFs.

Textbook tips

ALWAYS check to see if textbook websites have online coupons. Check outside websites like RetailMeNot.com but also sign up for their email listing. They often send you a coupon for just signing up and will continually send you other coupon deals.

Amazon has good deals on books sometimes and they offer college students temporary free membership. Here’s a link explaining some of the details.

Amazon and other retailers, like Barnes and Noble also offer textbook rental. You get the book for a certain amount of time (30 days, 60 days, 90 days, etc., then mail it back to them.) Much cheaper than buying.

Some professors put textbooks on reserve in the library so you can check them out for an hour or two instead of actually buying them.

If your class textbooks are at the library and you need them for longer than allowed, you can always photocopy them.

Look for Facebook pages/groups with your school name and year, people are always posting online to get rid of their textbooks.

If your books are older/literature type books they are often available as e-books for free or easy to find at used bookstore or thrift stores.

Ask your professor after hours if you can borrow and make copies of the class textbook.

Many colleges use the Link+ library sharing program or something similar. If the textbook you need isn’t offered in the library, another school within the program can deliver the book for free. Ask you school’s librarians about it.

If you have a class that requires a “reader,” which is just a bunch of articles, you can usually find them at the school library or online.

Keep your textbooks in the best condition possible, so they sell for higher when you no longer need them.

If you can access your class list and the emails of your classmates early, ask if anyone would like to share a textbook. Split the price and share it or just ask to copy the chapters needed.

General tips

If you get financial aid, set it up to deposit into your own checking account because FAFSA ATMs are frustrating.

Check out the dollar stores for some college supplies. They have pens, notebooks, planners, etc.

Find upperclassmen who are moving out of their dorms/apartments, they often sell/give away items they are no longer going to be using.

Find out if your department offers free printing to undergrads. If yours doesn’t, find a friend whose department does.

Pretty much every school offers a MS Office license to students for free. It may not be well advertised but make sure to find out before paying for the programs on your own.

Bulk supply stores are usually cheaper.

Use your phone’s planner and alerts for assignments.

If you need energy boosts, it’s definitely cheaper to brew your own coffee and tea, then use a travel mug. But if you need to go to places like Starbucks, sign up for the Starbucks card so you can get free refills on certain items and get discounts for members only.

Find out what free courses your school offers and go to them instead of paying for a tutor.

At many universities there are conferences and talks almost daily, which often offer free lunches and dinners.

Some colleges offer free cab services so make sure to look into that.

Most school health care places give out free condoms and they are often given out at events too.

Besides math, older editions of textbooks are usually just fine and much cheaper.

Thrift stores are great if you need items for your dorm or apartment, they have appliances and offer testing areas in a section of the store.

Specific to Seattle: There’s a place called Seattle ReCreative and you can get school supplies for extremely cheap.

Check when stores offer back to school sales and get supplies then for cheaper than usual.

Get your syllabus as soon as possible so you can photocopy all the needed pages in textbooks.

Look for websites that offer similar information in the textbook, sometimes it’s explained better online, gives examples, or just generally better worded.

Buy school supplies during tax-free weekend.

Apply for as many local scholarships as possible and do it every year in college, not just freshman year.

Ask absolutely every place you go if they offer student discounts. Many places don’t advertise this, but will offer some kind of discount if you show your student ID.

Find out if your school has assistance options for lower income students.

HERE is a list of food budget tips, recipes, and websites to help.

Some classes have extra fees for whatever reason, for example they will charge more if certain equipment will be used. If it’s not a course you need, sometimes it’s better to find cheaper elective classes.

Consider community college to save money, and then transfer to a 4 year school. Or attend community college classes during the summer but make sure to always check if the credits transfer.

If you need to use a credit card, try to get on with cash back rewards. Also check which banks offer perks for students, like free checking or a no-free policy for low minimum balances.

Check out your college newspaper and signs around campus. You will often find information about free events or find coupons with discounts on near by businesses.

School supplies that don’t sell at stores like Walmart and Target are extremely discounted during the last week of August.

Always check if stores price check.

[newrd1]

rb if ur a studyblr

pls reblog/like/reply if ur a studyblr! i’m brand new and i need some blogs to follow xx (i’ll be following w my main)

[newrd1]

sage moon

[newrd1]

some people were asking me about the tea from last night so here it is! this is my depression day go to (and i put wip cream on top ahah)

[newrd1]

Hey chemisty didnt kick my ass, I made it out with an a 💪

Chemistry is going to kick my ass, I can already tell.