WRITING FOR WINNERS: 7 WAYS TO MAKE TERM PAPERS NOT-SO-SCARY


College admissions are increasingly competitive. Learning effective writing skills can give your child a winning edge in applying for college and scoring coveted jobs. Not only is it a good idea to have your child practice writing at home, but students also can develop strong writing skills through school assignments. Though sometimes dreaded, term papers are an excellent way to help them acquire writing skills. Here are seven tips for making the writing process easier.
  1. Understand the topic. Before beginning to write, your child should understand the essay topic and what the question asks her. For example, make sure your child knows if she needs to analyze as opposed to summarize. If asked to come up with her own topic, help her to narrow the topic’s focus as much as possible.


  2. Thoroughly research the topic. Gather all of the information before writing. “The writing process begins when you start reading,” says Chris LeCluyse, training specialist at the Undergraduate Writing Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Thorough research also will save time in the end. Get your child to exhaust all resources before trying to start the paper. This will ensure the best approach is taken and will help your child avoid scrambling at the last minute for missing pieces of information.


  3. Develop a clear thesis statement. Unless otherwise specified, most teachers require students to develop thesis statements. The thesis statement is a clear and concise sentence indicating the topic and the point of the essay. If your child is having trouble with this, help your child write everything she knows about the topic for 10 to 15 minutes to prompt ideas, LeCluyse suggests.


  4. Write a detailed outline. Making an outline will be a valuable time-saver when it comes time to write the paper. With enough detail, the paper should write itself. Also, it is much easier to rearrange an outline than it is to rearrange entire paragraphs.


  5. Stay organized. Write each important piece of information on a separate index card, including citations for the bibliography and important points to include in the paper. Help your child create her own system for staying organized.


  6. Use the correct bibliography format. Many instructors have specific formats that they require when sources are cited. Make sure your child knows the format and feels comfortable using it. The most popular format is the Modern Language Association (MLA) style. The “MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers,” 5th ed., gives directions on how to cite everything from Internet sources to magazine articles.


  7. Follow the instructor’s directions. Make sure your child knows, and follows, all of the directions given by the instructor. Must the paper have a title? Is a bibliography or works cited page needed? It is easy to get wrapped up in writing and forget these details, so it is a good idea to review the directions before turning in a completed paper to the instructor.


By Kara Murphy