Tag Archives: college writing

Academics, Advice

The 5 Step Essay Writing Process That Will Help You Write Better Papers

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Whether you’re writing a 500 word paper or a 30 page paper, writing an essay can be challenging. Figuring out how to get your point across, the proper diction, paragraph organization, and more before a deadline can feel like a daunting task. Even if you’re a great writer, the writing process isn’t always going to be easy. Fortunately, I have a 5 step writing process that makes essay writing a bit easier, and that helps you write better papers:

Step 1: Determine your purpose for writing the paper.

This first step is probably the most important step you can take when writing a paper. Defining the subject of the paper will help guide you in what to write. It is much easier to research something and write about it when you know exactly what it is you’re trying to write. Look over the assignment carefully to gain a better understanding of what your professor wants from the paper. Ask yourself the following question: What do you want the reader to know after reading this paper? Remember: When you write with a purpose in mind, your paper will have purpose. Make sure you know the goal you’re trying to accomplish well and how you can convey the message to your reader.

Step 2: Write down everything and anything about your topic.

Before you can start to write or even outline, you have to have ideas. Ideas are the starting point of any paper. Think about the overall point you want to get across to your reader that you defined in step one. For example, let’s say you’re writing a paper on why business X is successful. Do research on the business and on what defines success for that business and dump thoughts, links, quotes, statistics, and anything you can find on the subject into a document. This doesn’t need to have any structure or clear reasoning behind it just yet. This is simply a chance for you to brainstorm and collect information. This will also help give you a better understanding of the topic of your paper and will be extremely useful when the time comes to start writing. 

Step 3: Organize your thoughts.

Step three is when you sift through the research from step two and find the most valuable pieces of information that you’ll want to include in your paper. This is the step where you can create an outline. Keep in mind that outlines don’t have to be extremely detailed and lengthy; just think of the main points you want to write about and underneath those points, include supporting information. While you may be eager to begin the writing process and want to skip doing an outline, I wouldn’t recommend it. Outlines are a great way to organize your paper in a logical way. Start with your introduction which should include your thesis (what you want the reader to know after reading your paper), then body paragraphs where you share information that supports your thesis, and a conclusion that ties the paper together and summarizes what you’ve written. It sounds simple enough, and you’ve most likely been writing papers with this structure for most of your life, but it can be easy to neglect the basics and let your paper go off the tracks. Create an outline to organize your paper and see how each element of the paper will work together to accomplish your vision.

Step 4: Start writing, then take a step back.

Step four is when the writing begins. It might sound a little late in the process to start writing the paper itself, but after you’ve done the first three steps, this part of the process will be made significantly easier. Use your outline as a guide for writing. It is also very important to make sure that you read all of your professors guidelines for the paper so you know you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing, as I mentioned in step one. If there is a rubric, make sure to look it over so that you know what you’re being graded on.

Remember that you can always go back to previous steps in this process and do more research or add things to your outline if you realize adjustments need to be made as you write. In fact, I strongly encourage you to do this to make sure your paper is exactly how you want it to be and satisfies the requirements. Refer back to your professors instructions regularly to make sure you’re on the right track. After you’ve written your paper, I recommend you step away from it for a while and do something else. This is so that when you come back to it, you can find mistakes that you may have overlooked before. It also gives you a mental break and prevents you from becoming overwhelmed.

Step 5: Grade your own paper.

This last step requires you to put yourself in your professors shoes. Once your paper is finished, read it over as if you weren’t the one who wrote it. When you’re done reading, write down what you believe the purpose of the paper was. If this matches the purpose you wrote down for yourself in step one, that’s great! That means you effectively conveyed what you wanted to to the reader. However, it’s always good to get a second opinion, so I would recommend having a peer, someone from the Writing Center, or even your professor look it over and give you their thoughts. You should also give yourself a grade and some feedback after reading it. It might feel a little strange to grade your own paper, but it’s very useful. If you feel like your paper was worthy of a B, think about what you could change to make it an A-worthy paper. What do you feel like was missing? What did you like about the paper? Was there anything you disliked about it? Being totally honest with yourself during this step will improve the quality of your paper. 

Try using this 5 step process for your next writing assignment!

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Academics, Policies & Procedures, Resources

Making a Writing Assignment Easy

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Writing isn’t always easy, especially if you don’t have to do it often. There are different styles and every professor has a unique way of grading essays. This can make it overwhelming and sometimes difficult to get a good essay. There are a few things to keep in mind when you go to write an essay that will make it easier and might help produce a good grade.

First you need to understand the question.

You need to understand whether the essay is supposed to be a compare or contrast essay, analytical essay, maybe an evaluation of something or someone. There are different kinds of essays and you need to be aware of what kind your professor wants from you. Basically, the wording of the question is how you will know what the professor is expecting from your essay.

Second you need to plan and schedule.

Most people underestimate the amount of work and time it takes to produce a good essay. Setting up a schedule with deadlines for the different parts of writing an essay will help you in the long run. Here is an example of a schedule:

Third step is make sure your sources relate to your content.

When trying to find sources it is a good idea to read over the abstract or summary. This will let you know whether it is worth it to read the entire source or if it isn’t going to be what you need for your essay.

Don’t forget that you should always find reliable sources that work for your essay. Try the McNairy Library search page to find good sources. We may not be able to be on campus, but the electronic resources and services will remain accessible to students and faculty.

The fourth step to writing a good essay is be critical.

Most studies, arguments, and theories you research have some sort of flaw to them. Instead of just summarizing what you read, try being critical. Point out what works and doesn’t work in the research. By using critical thinking as the approach to your essay you show that you are not simply repeating what you read. Instead it proves that you have thought your topic through.

The fifth step is structure, flow and focus.

It is imperative that your essay be structured in a way that flows and makes sense. Throwing an essay together can lead to it not making sense to the reader. We all know where the intro and conclusion go, but the body paragraphs are important to organize as well.

Sixth step is to write academically.

It is common, especially for first and second year students, to write in an informal way. When writing an essay you should always try and use more formal and academic wording. It should not sound the way you would text.

Finally, do not plagiarize.

This should be obvious by now, but you never want to plagiarize someone else’s writing. Millersville University has rules about plagiarism which are important to know and understand. They also provide tips on how to avoid plagiarism.

You should always have someone look over your work as Millersville University has resources to help you. In the library you can find the Writing Center. Here they will help you revise and edit. Even though the campus is closed the Writing Center is still offering online help.

Even though Millersville has gone completely online, there are still services that you can use to help with your writing. Don’t be afraid to use the Writing Center’s online help or use the library’s online resources.

Academics, Lists, Resources

Five Tips for Writing in College

At this point in the semester, you may have written a paper or two.  If you haven’t you may be preparing to write a final paper for a class.  (End of the semester is just six weeks away.)  Here are five tips from a past writing major to keep in mind as you work on your papers.

Writing 1

  1. Pace Yourself

It is too often the case that students wait until the night before to start a paper.  They’ll stay up all night, writing right up until the time it’s due.  Don’t do that!  Start at least a couple weeks in advance.  Take your time to formulate your thoughts and find your resources.  If you spend an hour a night writing you’ll find that in a couple weeks you will be done with time to spare.

  1. Outline

Now that you’ve decided to start sooner than the night before one of the first things you should do is outline.  Here are the basics: The intro paragraph, the body, the conclusion.  The intro should be no longer than half a page.  It should have a topic sentence that introduces the main idea of the paper.  The rest of the intro should quickly outline each point you hope to hit in the body.  The body will follow the order of the points you outlined in the intro.  Finally, the conclusion is not just a summary of your paper.  The conclusion should be the place where you explain your findings.  It is the culmination of your paper’s viewpoint or argument; it should be the resolution to the problem or topic.

Writing 2

  1. Don’t know how to start?

Sometimes writing the intro is the toughest part of the paper.  If this is the case for you then skip it!  Start with the meat of the paper.  Once you get the ball rolling on the body you’ll find it will be easier for you to go back to the beginning and write the intro.

  1. Draft and Edit

Your first draft should never be what you hand in.  Make sure to re-read and re-work.  Do you need an apostrophe here?  Did you use the wrong word there?  Always draft and edit!

  1. Careful Sourcing

Double check your sources.  Are they reputable?  Or are they some random Tumblr blog?  Don’t use Wikipedia as your main source.  And DO NOT plagiarize.  If you are quoting someone else, make it obvious.  If you want to summarize what someone said, make it obvious.  The best way to do this is to follow the in-text citing guidelines of the style of writing you are using.  Whether it is MLA, APA, or something else there will always be a specific way to cite.  Save yourself a headache. Don’t mistakenly plagiarize by not following style rules, and don’t outright plagiarize.

If you need some help with your writing check out the Writing Center in the Francine G. McNairy Library and Learning Forum here at Millersville University.  They opened in their new Library location on September 18th, and have many tutors to help with all your writing needs.

The Writing Center in McNairy Library.  Photo courtesy Millersville University.

Other Graphics and Photos courtesy of Canva.

Kristi Shorter is an Intern for Millersville University’s Housing and Residential Programs.  She is currently pursuing her Master of Education in Student Affairs in Higher Education at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.