Academic Writing: how to write a Successful Paper
Your writing acts as your representative in the field of academia. A professor who may have very little one on one interaction will at some point be face-to-face with the words you have written. To ensure that these words show you in the best light possible, take the following steps to ensure that your papers are written successfully.
- Choose the right topic
- Divide it into its major parts
- Add in the details
- Use proper citations
There may be times when your essay topic is given to you so that the burden of coming up with a topics does not rest on your shoulders. At other times the level of choice you have is between a few preselected topics so your goal is merely pick the one that is right for you. If, however, you have full control of the direction of your paper, devoting time to a thorough brainstorming session can set a good foundation for your paper.
Every good piece of writing has a central theme and around this theme you will find the ideas that support it. Get a clear idea of which ideas each part of the the paper will convey and separate them from early on so that you do not write redundantly or miss out anything vital.
Having already divided up your sections you can easily refer to any available research material to fill in evidence that makes your points stronger. For a more balanced sounding paper you can also include some opposing views but there is no need to demolish your own thesis statement.
Other forms of writing may not pay as close attention to this but a lack of citations can transform and otherwise perfect piece of witting into unusable plagiarism. It is good practice to cite the sources of any information you include in your writing. Even if the source is a piece of work that you yourself have written. There are many websites you can go to to find the rules of whatever style of reference is expected of you. When in doubt, ask for clarification from other people taking your course or your lecturer as to what the preferred style is so that you do not end up having to redo citations at the last minute.
These simple guidelines can take your writing to a whole new level when applied consistently so keep trying and eventually you will be writing successfully with ease.