English papers

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SarkneySpy

Cadet
I am terrible at writing english papers. i can read great, and can write anything that isnt structured, like stories. but if you ask me to write a structured paper that follows all these rules, i simply cant do it. I dont know what the key is to writing a good paper? Help!
 
ORGANIZATION!

I have to say im horrible at writing papers but last year i had one of the hardest teachers in my school and she helped me improve my writing sooo sooo sooo much. (i absolutly loved that class... even if it distroyed my average)

Organization is such a huge part to writing a paper, also make sure you have a very strong thesis and make sure that it's backed up well. A lot of teachers are very picky about making sure your thesis is backed up. Making up an outline is a HUGE help.

Another big point is to write it at least two or three days before hand. You need at least one night to devote to editing. You need to let the paper sit for a while so you can look at it later and catch mistakes easier.

Remember every teacher is different and they each want you to focus on different things in the paper. some teachers only look at the information you have where as others focus more on grammer and how the paper is written. So you have to be careful about that.

Hope that helped (though i'm sure you've heard that all before)

(((im not sure why i'm giving tips, my essays are felgercarb but thats because i leave them for last minute.))
 
Also make state your point clearly. It's nice to have all these pretty flowery words, but if it doesn't make sense, it's bad. Always back up your point. If you can't back it up, dont' put it in. Don't try to diverge too far from your thesis, your body paragraph should always, always always be about/support/prove your thesis. It's always nice to have someone else edit it for you if you can, and maybe you in return can do the same for them.

--Mandy :angelic:
 
I found this online a while ago, i have no clue where but it makes good points.

Rules For Writers

1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.

2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.

4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.

5. Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat.)

6. Be more or less specific.

8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.

9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.

10. No sentence fragments.

11. Don't use no double negatives.

12. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out or mispeld something.

13. Eschew obfuscation.
 
aliasobsessed89 said:
I found this online a while ago, i have no clue where but it makes good points.

Rules For Writers

1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.

2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.

4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.

5. Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat.)

6. Be more or less specific.

8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.

9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.

10. No sentence fragments.

11. Don't use no double negatives.

12. Proofread carefully to see if you any words out or mispeld something.

13. Eschew obfuscation.
Click to expand...


Oh, hah, I looked at it the other day too and whoever wrote that? Brilliant.

At the beginning of the year I had trouble with writing argumentative essays and expositories, but ever since I concocted The Magical Formula for them, I've been doing well in my essays and such. So what is The Magical Formula?

1. Support, support, support. Always support your points with evidence, making sure that the evidence actually links back to your points clearly.
2. Link your points to your main thesis and/or stand clearly as well. "[point here], thus it leads me back to my main thesis, that [main thesis here]"
3. Don't start writing immediately after getting the question. Spend a good 2 - 3 minutes organising - in a flowchart, tree diagram, fish-and-bone diagram: whatever floats your boat - and these minutes? Help in the long run indefinitely. My teachers hated the poor organisation (or at least I deduced) at the start of the year, but once you can show that you have got a clear track of thinking that flows coherently, and your marker doesn't have to go "Wait, what is this candidate talking about?", then all the better.

I know I had more, but I, uh, kinda forgot. Will edit/reply when I think of them. :D
 
Don't you the same word three or four times in the same paragraph. vary your words. Also, some teachers love sentence variety. avoid using the passive voice too.
 
my biggest thing that i have ever used i was given in grade 8. The pyramid and reverse pyramid.

pyramid-
1- thesis
2-supports
3-examples of supports
4-broader thesis

reverse pyramid-
1- Broad thesis
2-supports
3-examples of supports
4- thesis

i live by it
 
don't get caught cheating!
Click to expand...

^ :lol: always helpful

if you have to analyse something, read it and think of something it reminds you of and then try to fit that into the story, even if ur really talking aloada bull****, the teacher gets ded impressed and marks you high, lol
 
Basically there are four areas to really concentrate:
1. Focus - Never sway too far from you topic.
2. Organization - Make sure that your reader can easily read the paper and MAKE PARAGRAPHS.
3. Support - Always, always provide GOOD support for whatever you are saying. Make it sound valid and add in examples and personal experiences if they are on topic.
4. Conventions - Spell things correctly, use proper grammar and just don't mess up - especially in English.

Hope that helps,
Ri.
 
All the above tips help, but... with papers do you mean papers are general? Or a certain type of paper... For example, responsive and argumentative papers will be two completely different things... and generally, there is a certain way to approach each type of paper.

Writing Tips: Essay Builder - WritingDEN

That site there is where our school textbook is derived from (I think) and it's a really good explanation on how to write any type of essay ^_^
 
When someone posted "Revise, revise, revise," I just got an idea.

Revision is actually "Re - vision" if you think about it. You're re-visioning what you had in mind. It's hard work slaving over a piece of writing. But once you're done pouring over every sentence, it's worth it. ^_^
 

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