With all the things you have going on as a student, writing a paper can seem like a daunting

task. Many students opt to put off that daunting task, which ultimately leads to bad grades on
papers that would otherwise have been easy A’s. On top of that, papers often make up a
large portion of a student’s overall grade in any class, which makes them even higher risk
ventures.

Here, we’ll walk you through the most important aspects of making a paper, from beginning
to end so you won’t have to whip up a paper in an afternoon, plagiarize, or neglect to do the
assignment.

This image and list-based, step-by-step tutorial is the closest thing to writing a plug and chug
paper you can get. In this tutorial you’ll learn:

 Techniques to clearly understanding assignments and what

professors want to see in your writing

 Techniques for managing your time while you work on a long term
research paper or short term writing assignment

 Approaches to generating solid topic ideas that will make your

paper interesting and engaging

 Tips for crafting a strong thesis statement that can be sustained

throughout the whole of a long assignment

 Tips for crafting transitions between ideas, sentences and

paragraphs

 Techniques for revising and editing your paper before you hand it in

So, are you ready to ace this paper of yours? Get out some paper and a pencil and let’s get
started!
 
 
How do I Know What My Professor is Looking for?

The answer to this question is easy: look at the materials the prof gives you. But, it’s
important to get started the exact same day that the prof hands you the assignment, and it
will only take 30 minutes. There’s no time to waste.

Let’s deal with the first one right now: Looking at what the prof wants you to do.

1. Write to the Rubric

The first important step in writing a paper is taking some time to understand what the
professor is looking for. If you know that, you can write to the rubric and pick up easy points
along the way.

Universities mandate that professors given students rubrics or some form of assessment
guideline. Remember, the rubric for the course on the assignment sheet you’ve been given,
you will find a general rubric in the class syllabus, or the professor will include a rubric with an
assignment sheet.

If the professor does not provide these things to you, don’t be afraid to ask for them. It’s
completely unfair to assess a student if the student doesn’t know what’s expected of them.
When you ask, be courteous.

2. Begin with the End in Mind

Once you have that rubric and assignment sheet in hand, you’re ready to discern the things
your prof will look for when grading the assignment. This means you can begin with the end
in mind, crafting the paper around what you know the prof wants to see. To begin with the
end in mind, you need to follow three simple steps:

– Look at the Assignment With a Critical Eye

Take a few moments to review the assignment and rubric with a pen and highlighter, making
notes and underlining key elements the prof wants to see.
– Write an Anchor Sentence

Once you know what the prof wants, you can write a one sentence reference that you can
refer to whenever you feel like you’re going off course.

– Assess your Gaps

Make a list of three strengths and weaknesses you have as a writer. Be mindful of the pitfalls
and confident about your high points.

All this should take you no more than 10 or 15 minutes.  It may seem counter-intuitive, but
using time to get organized saves you time later, and makes the writing process so much
simpler. So, here it is, step-by-step:

3. Look at the Assignment Critically

Now, let’s take a look at a sample assignment. Say you have to write a paper for your
Linguistics class. Take a look at this assignment from an actual college professor:
Yow! Even with bullets and commands that’s a lot of text. Let’s take it section by section, one
directive at a time.

First, let’s start with the macro. Go through and find the concepts the prof wants you to cover
in the paper.

This prof is doing what profs do: pontificating. Lord love ‘em, but professors are notorious for
giving more information than necessary or saying more than what needs saying, so do your
best to boil the assignment down to the essentials with your highlighter:

Take note, these macro concepts are often suggestions, not commands. They are the prof
telling you how to be impressive, clear, or to raise your grade through a demonstration of
your wits and knowledge.

Your profs know when you don’t take time prewriting, and they know when you’re being
wishy-washy or only reading to reinforce your opinion. This is your prof letting you know that.
Second, go micro. Go through and underline actionable items. These are the items that must
be included in the paper for you to get a good grade. Usually they are very specific:

Clearly, if your paper uses first-person pronouns, it will irk the person giving you the grade—
probably best to stay away from that. Also, you should be using scholarly research, which
means no random Googling and picking the first things you ping.

Take a look at the first section of the assignment sheet. See where the prof tells you exactly
what your paper should be?

Also, take a look at the section at the “Requirements” section. This paper better be formatted
in a particular way!

Also, watch for specific requests about format changes and due dates. Circle them!

These are no-nonsense statements/compromises that the prof needs you to abide.

Why would a prof do this? Well, the answer is simple. Your profs aren’t trying to bust your
chops (they do, in fact, have other things to do than make you miserable)—they’re trying to
streamline the grading process. Imagine you have 75 papers to grade written by your 75
students.
Imagine just how much variation and diversity would occur between those 75 people and
their papers if the prof left it all to chance—all of these students like different fonts, would cite
things differently based on their preferences, and would hand in widely varied papers, at least
doubling the time it would take to read those papers.

So, don’t you want to help that prof out? Make that prof love you by following these
directions. If you follow the directions, this prof will direct their ire elsewhere.

Now that you understand why profs are such format sticklers, take a look at the rubric:

The rubric is a list of direct touch points that will be examined by the professor as they grade
your work. Take note, they’re specific and they break down your potential performance. In
this case, you can see five discrete categories, each with its own stakes, and the number
value that corresponds to your performance:
The prof will take the rubric and keep it within reach while grading. Along with making notes
on your paper, the prof will also check off your performance in each category—summarizing
your performance in that category:

If you have a hundred-point paper, each one of these categories is worth 20 points. The prof
will add up the categories and multiply that number by 4 to get your grade: 4 + 5 + 5 + 4 + 5 =
23 x 4 = 92.

To get an A on this paper, you have to perform with excellence in 3 categories and above
average in at least 2 of the other categories.

Now you have a goal. Which three categories are you going to absolutely kill in?

At least one of them—formatting—is a gimmie. All it takes is attention to detail—Microsoft

Word has all the tools you need to score perfectly there.

Focus on Development and Body Paragraphs for your other two. They’re simple—almost
completely made of a thesis statement and transitions.
Now that you have that figured out, let’s move on to the next step: Crafting a reminder that
you can revisit while you write.

4. Writing an Anchor Sentence

It might seem like a silly thing to do, but an anchor sentence is as vital as a thesis statement.
It’s essentially a thesis statement for the paper writing process. With this sentence you will
remind yourself about what the prof wants and how you’re going to give it to them.

– Summarize the Elements

It’s clear from the highlighting and underlining that the prof wants an argumentative paper
that’s well-organized and thoughtful. Note that there is nothing about originality in this rubric.

The prof isn’t asking you to reinvent the wheel or come up with something that will change
the field of Linguistics forever—they’re simply asking you to take some important ideas from
your linguistics class and apply them to something that you like.

– Understand the Concept

It’s also clear that this prof wants you to synthesize the research in the field of linguistics, not
conduct new research.

This goes back to the originality idea—demonstrate you’ve been listening and can apply the
concepts of the class to the practices and concepts in another field of study or personal
interest.
 – Create the Anchor

Now that you have an idea of what’s needed, go ahead and write one or two sentences
combining steps 1 and 2:

In this paper, I will demonstrate my understanding of a linguistic concept I learned this

semester and how it relates to my field of study. I will demonstrate this knowledge by staying
organized, using relevant research, and sticking to my thesis statement.

Yes, it seems a bit silly. But now you have an anchor. If you get stuck while writing, pull out
this sentence and see where you’ve gone astray, or where you go to get back on track.

5. Assessing Your Gaps

You know what the prof wants, you know how you’re going to give it to them. Now all you
need to know is where it could all fall off the rails. In this step, you name your strengths and
weakness so you know exactly where you stand walking in.

It’s super-simple—all you do is answer two questions, making a list of two or three things for
each:

1. As a writer, I know I’m not so great at… developing a thesis,

staying organized, and conducting research.

2. As a writer, I know I’m great at… coming up with interesting ideas,

articulating my thoughts clearly, and using good grammar.

Simple as that. Now all you need to do is play to those strengths and be cognizant of the
weaknesses. You’re ready to move on to the next step, so get to it! Let’s talk about how to
execute.

How do I Organize my Research Paper?

1. Sit Down
Ernest Hemingway famously said that “the hardest part about writing is getting your ass in
the chair.” And he’s absolutely correct. If you can sit down to write, you’ve got 90% of the
work behind you already.

Completing this second step immediately—before you go to bed on the day you get the
assignment—is essential to acing this paper.

That said, you should go back to your room, get out your calendar, and start looking at s