1. Choose a topic you’re already knowledgeable about or seems the most interesting to you.
-It is much easier to write about something that you are familiar with, or excited to learn about. This will reflect in your work.
2. Always, ALWAYS use Microsoft word ONLINE even if you own a MAC.
- Computers are intelligent but highly unpredictable in nature. Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. Using word online will automatically save your document in the event that something happens. If your work is deleted and you have to start over, I guarantee you that it will not be as good as your first version. If you own a MAC, most professors generally do not accept documents written using the pages software, don’t take the risk of having points deducted for late work.
3. If you find writing to be particularly grueling for you, find an essay of a similar topic and use it as your guide only.
-Be extremely careful if you decide to use an example as you will be tempted to copy and paste, or steal parts from it. Read it only once and do not revert back to it. Plagiarism is a serious offense in all walks of life, and it is not worth your class grade.
4. Start Strong and Finish even Stronger.
- Write your introduction first, it sets the tone for the entire paper. It is important that you set a goal for your paper (in your thesis statement) before you begin to write so that it can be used as a guide to ensure your paper does exactly what it’s supposed to. People usually find 2 things most memorable about a conversation, the introduction and the conclusion.
5. Write using Word’s built-in thesaurus alongside you!
- I often change my words to make them sound more catchy in transit of writing my piece. If you are not as experienced, use it in the proofreading stage as it makes the task of ‘sound’ much easier. You can easily replace a word like ‘big’ to a much more advanced one like “gigantic”.
6. Always type your document in single space.
- Quality over Quantity always. This way you focus more on the content rather than how long the document is. You can format the document to double space at any time after you’re done but don’t forget!
7. DO NOT PAUSE your writing for any reason.
-When you attack your paper head on with no distractions you get much more done and your thoughts transfer from your head to the paper with no delays or confusion. Usually when you pause you sometimes forget your thoughts. When you sit down to write, ensure that you have everything you need within reach.
8. To this end, write down your ideas in advance before you arrive at those parts of the paper.
- For example, if while writing you get a spark of genius and you know what you want to say next, press enter a few times and write it down to remind yourself. The teacher can always tell when you had more to add but you ran out of time or lost your train of thought.
9. Just write it exactly how you think it at first.
- You can always adjust the document in whatever manner needed whether it be editing, spelling or grammar checks. The most important part is ensuring that you arrive at all the objectives of your paper first. Worry about “does this sound right?” later on.
10. Let your friends proofread your work!
-Before you finalize and submit, get an extra pair of eyes to review it. They may see something that you didn’t or can give you sound advice on how to make the piece better. Word allows us the opportunity to highlight an aspect of the text and make a comment in the Review Tab.