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.


1: Have a point.
The easiest way to kill an essay is to forget that you need to have a point. This is crucial for argumentative/persuasive essays, of course, but it also applies to research papers. You should never just throw a bunch of facts and ideas together and call it a day. Every paper you write needs to either make a clearly stated argument, also known as a thesis, or inform the reader on a clearly stated topic. Before you start writing, know what your point is. This has the added benefit of helping focus your research and your writing, ultimately saving you time.

2: Stick to your point.
Once you know your point, make sure that every paragraph, every sentence, and every bit of research in your paper supports your point in some way. Writing an essay that argues against the implementation of a national ID card? That interesting fact you stumbled across in your research showing the rise of credit card use among the preteen set might be fascinating, but it won't fit. Putting together a research paper on the religions of ancient Sumeria? Unless you need or want to compare them to the animism of modern aboriginal tribes, leave the aborigines out of it.

3: Make sure each of your paragraphs has a point and sticks to it, too.
Paragraphs are essays in micro form. Each should have its own clear topic and stick to that topic. Follow the advice in the above two steps for each paragraph to sharpen their focus.

4: Get another pair of eyes.
We all have blind spots when it comes to our own writing, especially when we've been working on a paper for so long that every time we look at the .doc, our eyes start glazing over. It's easy to miss not just little typos or grammatical glitches, but big-picture issues like weak organization or a lack of focus. If you can, get someone else to read your paper. That someone else doesn't have to be knowledgeable in the subject you're writing about. In fact, often it's more helpful to show your paper to someone who isn't familiar with the topic: their reaction will help you gauge whether you've written your paper clearly enough. All you need from your reader is honesty. A fair grasp of English usage and a sharp eye for misspellings doesn't hurt, either.

5: Revise!
Almost every paper needs at least one revision. If time permits, let your paper sit for at least a day before going back to it. The break will refresh you and help you catch any mistakes or other problems you might have missed the first time around.