Steps On Writing a Strong Paper

Steps On Writing a Strong Paper

            Inside “The Everyday Writer” there are tips and steps on how to write an effective paper. Some of these steps you would think everyone knows but some of them are completely out of the ordinary and those seem to be the ones that work the best and improve the paper the most.

The first thing one must do to write a good paper is to brainstorm. Come up with as many ideas as you possibly can. It doesn’t matter if you end up using them or not because you may think of something that works extraordinarily well. After brainstorming comes free writing. This is where you write all those ideas you just brainstormed only your putting them into complete thoughts on paper. Pictures and drawings are another helpful tool to get the mind thinking along with sources on the Internet or even books. The most helpful tip that I saw in the section was when it suggested asking a peer. This would work well because they know you better than any book and will be able to provide ideas and examples based off who you are.   

After brainstorming and getting an ide about what you want to write about narrow your topic down, work on the thesis and make it strong and able to support your argument. You should organize your points chronologically and make a storyboard or an outline. Creating drafts help with building ideas because it gives you a visual to work with.

The next thing to work on is the main idea of your paper. Main ideas always need to be supported with facts and details. The paragraphs within the body of your paper should be equal in length, not too short and not too long. There needs to be a steady flow throughout the body. Transitions are possibly the most important piece of the paragraph. There needs to be a smooth transition and not a rough one. Repeating key words and phrases help the reader understand what you are talking about and helps get the point across. After the body is completed it is easier to work on the introduction and the conclusion. For an introduction it is a good idea to open up with a quote or an anecdote. For a conclusion always restate the thesis and end the conclusion and paper with a quote, question, or a vivid image to leave the reader with something to think about.   

            One may think that format is not important but it is crucial to getting the paper right. A good idea to draw the reader’s attention is to use some sort of color, but the key is to use color that is still visible because some colors can be very hard to see. Papers should always be double-spaced in MLA, APA, Chicago, or CSE format in eleven or twelve-point font. Visuals are a great way to keep the readers attention and keep the audience involved. Only put visuals that your audience would want to read and always place them alongside the text. Examples of good visuals are pie charts, bar graphs, table graphs, diagrams, maps, cartoons, and photographs. There are many more than just these put these seem to be the most effective.

After the paper is completed, it is now time to revise it. In the first draft don’t look for little things like grammar and spelling but rather focus on the ideas and meaning of the paper. Look to see if it is clear and if the focus of the message makes sense, meet all the requirements in the prompt, and will it catch the audience’s attention. After you review your work, let one of your peers review it. Peer review is one of the best tools offered to us because letting someone else read your paper allows for them to catch something you may not have caught. Highlighting is a good way to point out mistakes. Have a different highlighting color for spelling mistake, grammar mistakes, what was effective and what was not; what didn’t make sense and material that doesn’t need to be used. This makes the correcting easier and does not cause such a mess.

After reviewing comes the final step, which is revising. Here is where you look to see if your thesis matches the essay and vice-versa.  As a whole, is the paper organized? Look to see if the title, introduction, and conclusion all make sense. After revising comes the editing part. This is where you strengthen the structure of sentences.

Combining all those steps together will make for a well-written paper. It takes time and a lot of hard work but these steps will make for a more effective paper and they will help get your point across. As long as these steps are followed there is no reason for failure.