A Programming Note

I realize that I haven't posted here lately, and I apologize for that.

The last month or so have been busy and exciting for me. In addition to chasing a now horrifyingly mobile baby around the house from morning to night, I've been working on a new tutor training system and tutor and student resources with my colleagues at the English Center at San Diego City College. I've also begun writing for the CMO Site and taking on quite a bit of freelance work for private clients.

I haven't forgotten this blog, and I'll be back soon with more tips and tricks to help you write better papers.

Wrap Your Essays Up with Strong Conclusion Paragraphs

Along with introduction paragraphs, conclusion paragraphs pose a lot of problems for students. In my last post, I discussed my simple system for writing strong introductions; here, I want to talk about writing good conclusions. If you have trouble wrapping your papers up effectively, take heart: conclusion paragraphs are easier to write than introduction paragraphs, and should take far less time. Learn how to write good conclusions after the jump.

A Simple System for Writing Strong Intro Paragraphs

When you're writing a paper, getting started is often the hardest part. Students often come to me ready to write--research in order, strong thesis in mind, well-organized outline ready to use--but also completely unable to begin. There's something about the pressure of a blank Word doc or sheet of paper that can unman even the most prepared writer. If what you have to write is an in-class essay that's part of a timed exam, even worse: now you have a time limit hanging over your head, too. Fortunately, there is a simple solution to the eternal problem of introduction block. Learn how to quickly write strong introduction paragraphs after the jump.

Study Tip: Increase Your Class Participation with a Reading Journal

Many teachers factor your class participation into your overall grade. This helps them not only to encourage discussion, which makes class more interesting for everyone, but also to keep track of which students seem up to date on their reading and engaged in the course material. You can turn this to your advantage. Improve your participation grades and impress your teachers by keeping a reading journal.

Keeping a reading journal, much like keeping the class note summaries I discussed in an earlier post, doesn't have to take much time. Don't worry about writing your journal particularly well. Unless your teacher specifically assigns a reading journal already, no one has to see yours but you. Just take a few minutes as you read, and right afterwards, to jot down your thoughts on the material. Some particularly useful things to record are:

• Any questions you might have about what you're reading
• Anything you're having trouble understanding (here, also try recording what you think the trouble spot might mean so that you can check your comprehension in class)
• How the assignment ties in to the rest of the class
• Your opinions about and responses to the material (no, not "this is boring and I hate this class" opinions, but rather "this writer seems to hate women" or "this seems poorly reasoned" opinions), and quotes or examples that support your opinion

Bring your reading journal to each class session.

This kind of reading journal can be a valuable tool. You'll never freeze up if your teacher calls on you for questions or responses. You'll always have something to contribute to class discussions. You'll impress your teachers, and you may just learn a little bit more than you would otherwise.

Revision Tip: Read Aloud to Easily Catch Awkward Phrasing

Sometimes when we read our own words on the page or the screen, we miss awkward phrasing that we could correct (for example, I'm sure there's plenty of awkwardness in this here blog). I think it's because reading to ourselves, especially reading things with which we're already familiar, encourages skimming. To catch awkward phrasing, I advise students to read their work out loud, slowly. This forces you to really hear how your sentences sound so that you can spot any areas that need smoothing. Try it the next time you revise any piece of writing, even an email. I bet you'll find at least one or two places you can improve.

Write Better Papers by Using Better Sources

As I mentioned in my last post, most--if not all--of your college papers will require you to do some research or outside reading. The Internet makes this much easier than it once was. The ease with which you can research pretty much anything online does comes with disadvantages, though. Not all sources are equally credible, and seasoned eyes--like your instructors'--can tell the difference. To write great papers, know which sources to use and which ones to avoid. Learn the difference after the jump.

Develop Your Ideas More Fully for Stronger Essays

Previously, I've talked about improving your writing by staying on topic and using transitions. These tips can strengthen almost any paper. They still won't help you much, unfortunately, if the actual content of your essays is thin or underdeveloped. To produce essays that earn As, you must make sure your essay is well supported and well developed. Learn how after the jump.

"I'm not an English major. Why do I have to write papers?"

Students I tutor often complain about having to write essays. They're not English majors, the thinking goes, so why do they have to write so much? It's an understandable complaint. I'm a lit person who will have to take some math classes to get my degree, so I can empathize. There is a point to writing papers, however, even if they're for classes in nursing, geology, or something else equally un-writerly. In fact, understanding the point of writing papers will help you write better ones. Find out how after the jump.

Fine-Tune Your Essay with Strong Transitions

Once you've got a decent draft of your essay written, it's time to make it even stronger. One great way to do so is to fine-tune your transitions between paragraphs so that your ideas flow smoothly together. Learn how after the jump.

Study Tip: Boost Learning by Summarizing Your Notes

Effective note-taking is a skill that will help you in every subject you'll study in school, and while I'm not an evangelist of any one note-taking system over another, I do have one simple tip that will help you boost your learning, no matter what style of notes you take. That tip is this: summarize your notes.

Why? Well, as anyone with pages full of notes that stop making sense the day after class knows, notes have limitations. The simple act of taking them doesn't always guarantee retention. That's why it's important to summarize your notes.

The way you do it is simple. For each class lecture or reading for which you've taken notes, write a brief summary of your notes. Write it as if you're explaining what you've just learned to someone who wasn't in class that day or didn't do that reading: be clear, and don't assume that your imaginary reader is familiar with the class material. The summary doesn't have to be any particular length, just long enough to clearly and thoroughly cover whatever material you need to learn.

This works because it forces you to think about what you're learning and to express it in your own words. Many times, simply hearing something isn't enough to make it stick. When you have to explain something, you learn it better yourself.

Don't Cite Wikipedia as a Source

Just don't do it.
   
For casual curiosity, Wikipedia's a great resource. I can spend hours looking up my favorite foods and cuisines on Wikipedia and always feel like I've come away with some new knowledge. For formal, academic writing, however, Wikipedia is not so great.
   
The reason for this is simple: Wikipedia is an open-source, user-edited resource. Technically, anyone can edit a Wikipedia page. The information you find there isn't necessarily written or checked by experts in the field, and there aren't enough experts to constantly police every single article to catch mistakes--or deliberate misinformation--when they appear. My favorite Wikipedia story has to do with the entry on butter. For several hours one day, this line appeared on the "Butter" page: "Butter is also used to rub on Kyle's belly."
   
Crazy, right?
   
Most teachers are aware of Wikipedia's weaknesses and won't accept it as a credible research source.
   
What Wikipedia can be good for, however, is giving you a start on your real research. If you look at a Wikipedia entry, you'll see links within the text leading you down to sources listed at the bottom of the page. These sources, used to verify the information in the Wikipedia entry, are generally more credible than Wikipedia itself. Follow those links, and you may come up with better research.

How to Improve Almost Any Paper

I've been an English tutor at San Diego City College's English Center for a year and a half now. In that time, I've helped countless students plan, write, and revise countless essays while going to school myself and working on my own essay writing skills. I've learned a lot about what makes a strong essay. In most cases, that "what" boils down to just a few simple things that just about anyone can use to make any essay stronger. Read my five-point plan for better papers after the jump.