Office of Academic Support

  Breaking Down Big Papers:

  How to Avoid Writing Papers the Night Before the Due Date

By Matt McCluskey, Coordinator of Academic Support

  mmccluskey@stlawu.edu, x5678, Whitman 161

An Overview:

Right now many of you are looking at a syllabus wondering how in the world you are going to approach that 10-15 page research paper.    On its own, such a long paper probably seems incredibly intimidating.   An end-of-the-semester writing job is often harried and might receive only a cursory proofreading job.  Such a rush-job will leave little time for the all-important revision process and may result in a poor grade. Therefore, I want to encourage you to divide large papers into smaller ‘chunks’, which will ensure that your paper goes through all of the important steps listed below.   If you have questions about this process, feel free to ask me.     

 The Step-by-Step Process: (Check Off Each Task)

Think about a few ideas for the paper.  Jot down a few problems or questions that you would find interesting enough to research for two or three months.  _____

Do a few free writes to share with fellow students, the professor, or just to look over on your own.  ______

 

Think about…..

 

 

 

 

Visit your professors within the first month of classes.   Such an initial meeting is a perfect opportunity to discuss research paper ideas.    _____

Meet with research staff around campus.  The library staff is ready to help you use every conceivable database and search engine known to humanity (well, most of them anyways).   They can also give you guidance on the sources you’ll need, what’s reliable, and in what new directions your research might take you.  _____

Complete primary research.   This will take some time.  Make sure to use a wide variety of reliable sources (beware of the internet!!!).   Also, be sure to take good notes while reading through sources (this will be important when it is time to make citations). _____

Create a working thesis and make an outline:  Once you’ve completed your primary research you’ll probably have a pretty firm idea about what you want to achieve with this paper.  When you have this working thesis down on paper, you will also want to create an initial outline.  _____

Write the first draft.   Follow your outline, have your research notes accessible, and document your sources (footnotes, in-text citation) as you go.  Visit the Word Studio if you have questions about style, format, substance, etc.  _____

First revision:   The revision process is very different than proofreading (which will come later).  Revision means thinking deeply about a paper’s objectives and overall aims.  ______ 

You might ask yourself: 

Is there extraneous information I should remove?

Am I using good evidence to back up my points?

Do I have a friend, classmate, or professor who would look over my work?

Am I writing with precision, force, and concision?

Do I need to take out, add, or re-organize a section?

Do I need to tweak or change my thesis?  

Do additional research and make adjustments as needed:  You may need to re-visit the library one more time for required additional information.  _____

More revising:  Professional writers often revise their work a half-dozen times or more.   A second, shorter period of revision would be very helpful in making sure your adjustments worked.  ______

Ensure that your citations and bibliography are complete:  You always need to give credit to other people’s work.   If you have questions about this process, you can ask your professor or the library staff. _____

Proofreading:  Many typographical and grammatical errors will be addressed during the revision process, so you should leave formal proofreading to the end.   I recommend reading your entire paper out loud to ensure that no errors have snuck through.  You can also consult the Word Studio about any nagging grammatical or structural questions. _____

Handing it in:  Why not print the paper off a day or two early?  It would be a shame to go to all this effort and lose points because of a faulty printing cartridge or alarm clock. _____