When writing an essay, there are several steps that must be kept in mind. Since this document is worth a significant portion of the student's grade, it must be well-written. Students must spend time carefully researching and writing their paper if they expect to get a good grade on it.
Read the Prompt
Amazingly, many students will forget about the writing prompt as they start their paper. Although students may initially read through the prompt, they often forget what it said as they near the completion stage of their writing. Rather than change everything at the last minute, students should post the prompt next to their laptop. As they write, they should refer to the prompt to make sure that they are actually following the teacher's directions. To make sure that everything is in order, students should check the writing prompt right before they submit their paper.
Brainstorming
There are thousands of different topics and ideas that could work for each student. Instead of using the first idea that they think of, the student should spend some time brainstorming potential topics. By carefully looking through the list of possible ideas, the student will be better able to choose a thesis that they are excited and willing to do.
Plan Out the Process
Setting goals is one of the traits of successful people. When it comes to writing, goal setting is one of the most important things that the student can do. The student should set deadlines for each step of the process. After the initial research and outlines are complete, the student should set a word count goal for each day. By breaking up the writing into 200 to 500 words a day, the student makes it easier to complete their project on time.
Research Early
Many students wait until the last moment to begin researching and writing their assignment. By putting this step off, the student reduces the quality of their finished essay. As soon as the student is assigned the paper, they should begin researching the topic. Even if the thesis changes later on, the initial research can still be used as background information. In addition, researching the topic early will help the student to reduce their stress and improve the quality of their finished document.
Read the First Draft Carefully
The first draft of a research paper should never be turned in to the teacher. This draft is merely an overview of what the student will ultimately turn in. Often, the first draft contains grammar problems, awkward phrasing, spelling errors and logic issues that make it impossible to submit immediately. Initially, students should read through this draft and look at their argument. Does each topic sentence support the main idea of the paper? Is the research adequately presented? Are there extraneous details or ideas that are unnecessary? Students need to ask these questions and edit carefully before they can move on to the next draft.