TERM PAPER WRITTING

TIPS ON WRITING AN EXCLUSIVE TERM PAPER
*understand the topic to research on
*Research. It's pointless to launch into writing before you've done the research. You need to understand the background to the topic and the current thinking, as well as finding out what future research is considered necessary in the area. While it may be tempting to rehash information you already know really well, avoid doing this or you learn nothing from the research and writing process. Go into research with a sense of adventure and an openness to learning things you've yet to grasp, as well as being ready to discover new ways of looking at old problems. When researching, use both primary (original text, document, legal case, interviews, experiment, etc.).
* Refine the statement. After you've done the research, reflect back over the chosen topic. At this point, it's essential to pinpoint the single, strong idea you'll be discussing, your assertion that you believe you can defend throughout the paper and that makes it clear to a reader what they're about to learn about and be given a sound conclusion on. Your thesis statement is the spine of your essay, the idea that you'll go on to defend in the paragraphs that follow. Serve it up half-baked and the remainder of the paper is bound to be flavorless. Construct a thesis that your research has proven is interesting to you – that way, backing it up won't be such a bore. Once you're satisfied that your topic is sound and clarified, proceed to writing your first draft.
*Create an outline for the paper. Some people can work on a term paper skipping this step; they're a rare and often time-pressed breed. It is far better to have an outline sketched out so that you know where you're headed, just as a road map helps you to know where you're going from A to B. Like the entire paper, the outline is not set in stone but subject to changes. However, it does give you a sense of structure and a framework to fall back on when you lose your way mid paper and it also serves as the skeleton of your paper, and the rest is just filling in the details. There are different approaches to developing an outline and you may even have your own personal, preferred method. As a general guidance, some of the basic elements of an outline should include:

• Introduction, discussion paragraphs/sections and conclusion or summary.
• Descriptive or explanatory paragraphs following the introduction, setting the background or theme.
• Analysis and argument paragraphs/sections. Using your research, write out the main idea for each body paragraph.
• Any outstanding questions or points you're not yet sure about.
• See How to write an outline for more detail. 

*Provide relevant points in your introduction. The introductory paragraph is challenging but avoid turning it into a hurdle. Of all the paper, this is the part often most likely to be rewritten as you continue working through the paper and experience changes of direction, flow and outcome. As such, see it as simply a means of getting started and remind yourself that it's always revisable. This approach allows you the freedom to mess it up but rectify it as needed. Also use this as an opportunity to help yourself come to grips with the general organization of the term paper by explaining the breakdown, something the reader will also need to be aware of from the start. Try using HIT as the means for getting your introduction underway:

• Hook the reader using a question or a quote. Or perhaps relate a curious anecdote that will eventually make absolute sense to the reader in the context of the thesis.
• Introduce your topic. Be succinct, clear and straightforward.
• Thesis statement. This should have been clarified already in the previous step.
  • Don't forget to define the words contained in the question! Words like "globalization" have many differing meanings and it's important to state which ones you'll be using as part of your introductory section.
  *Convince your Readers: Make sure each paragraph supports your argument in a new way. Not sure your body's up to task? Try isolating the first sentence of each paragraph; together, they should read like a list of evidence that proves your thesis.
• Try to relate the actual subject of the essay (say, Plato's Symposium) to a tangentially related issue you happen to know something about (say, the growing trend of free-wheeling hookups in frat parties). Slowly bring the paragraph around to your actual subject, and make a few generalizations about why this aspect of the book/subject is so fascinating and worthy of study (such as, how different the expectations for physical intimacy were then compared with now).

*  Conclude with strength. Try using the ROCC method:

• Restate your thesis statement.
• One important detail which is usually found in your last paragraph.
• Conclude – wrap it up.
• Clincher – where you give the reader something left to think about.

*Provide appropriate reference: Using outside sources? Find out which citation style your instructor prefers, MLA or APA (or other style if you're not in the USA). Each has a precise notation system, so if you're unsure of the rules, check the manual (online versions are available at owl.English.Purdue.EU). Peppering quotes throughout your text is certainly a good way to help make your point, but don't overdo it and take care not to use so many quotes as the embodiment of your points that you're basically allowing other authors to make the point and write the paper for you.

• Avoid cutting and pasting from other people's arguments. By all means use eminent thinkers in the field's thoughts to back up your own thinking but avoid saying nothing other than "A says... B says...". The reader wants to know what you say ultimately.
• It's helpful to sort out your bibliography from the beginning, to avoid having a last minute scramble: How to write a bibliography, How to write an APA style bibliography and How to write a bibliography in MLA format.