How to become a superstar student, part 9

In our last installment, Michael Geisen offered ideas about research. This week, we will examine some of his ideas about writing well about the research you found.

Good writing is simply making clear your ideas to someone else. Regardless of your learning style, clear writing is essential. Thus, the words you use have not only literal meanings, but also emotional impact on the reader. Words like “war,” “secret,” “love” “home” and “prickle” evoke moods, memories, and physical sensations. Choosing the right word can increase the impact of your argument on the reader.

Good writers learn to use words well by observation – that is, reading. They also learn by practice – writing and letting others read their writing and getting feedback. You already do much of this in your classes in school – you share your writing with others, you listen to others read their writing, and you give peers feedback on what worked well in their writing.

Imagine a human body without a skeleton – just a blob of goo unable to function. An essay with no structure is the same thing – it’s just a pile of facts and anecdotes with no meaning. Geisen suggests that how you order and organize your sentences and paragraphs makes “an enormous difference in how well you get your point across.”

Typically, a research paper or essay begins with the thesis in the first paragraph, followed by supporting paragraphs that supply full details, examples, arguments to follow, reasoning and the like. The last paragraph provides a conclusion to the paper without restating the thesis sentence itself. Thus your paper will have a beginning, a middle and an end. This is the standard form of most essays and research papers, regardless of the page length required. The same holds true for what you are expected to do in college.

If you are writing a persuasive or argumentation piece, remember to include some opposing arguments in the body of the paper. Present solid, honest arguments from the other side and then dispute them with evidence and data that prove your point.

Remember, a draft is just that – a work in progress. It is not a final copy until after you have edited and proofed the draft, probably several times. Each time you make a change, you have a new draft. Do not convince yourself that because you wrote the draft, it is perfect. Revision takes time and patience, so allow yourself plenty of both.

Geisen suggests that first you read for overall ideas, the arguments, evidence and flow of ideas. On your second revision or re-read, look for word choice, spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes. On the third time through, look for places where you can make better transitions between the paragraphs or sections of the paper.

Writing a good paper shows that you care about your topic and your reader.