Secrets to Writing Great Papers

STEP 6. Chart Your Course

STEP 6 Chart Your Course You've already spent fifteen minutes or more on your paper, and all you have is one idea. Now we're going to ask you to spend some more time working up an outline before you start writing. You're probably wondering how all this will help you find more ideas. Unless you're a natural-born talent (in which case you don't need us), hang in there. You've also probably never written two sweat-free grade-A papers in a row. The key to generating ideas is to make an outline, so grit your teeth and follow along. Way back in third or fourth grade, the Mrs. Smiths of this world taught us all how to outline. They insisted that we outline every lOO-word paper, predicting that outlining would be useful all through school. But lOO-word papers really didn't need to be outlined, except perhaps in our heads, so as we sailed through the rest of elementary school and maybe even junior high, we forgot outlining along with such similarly useful skills as how to make a city out of wooden blocks. 42 Chart Your Course 43 Your inability to start a paper without sweat and procrastination is Mrs. Smith's revenge. If your paper is just a paragraph, you still don't need to write down an outline. If you're writing less than 300 words, you can probably outline just by jotting down a few facts that prove your main idea. (If you've got a good memory, you may be able to outline in your head.) But if your paper is to be more than 350 words, a formal preliminary outline is the quickest, easiest, and most effective way to organize all the thoughts that ought to be rattling around in your heador to prod loose some thoughts from your unwilling brain. If you're adept at outlining, you can choose any form that's comfortable for you. If you haven't done much outlining , start with the same formal letter-and-number outline your Mrs. Smith probably preferred: Formal Outline Format I. Subtopic A. Fact 1. example 2. example B. Fact 1. example 2. example 3. example C. Fact 1. example 2. example II. Subtopic A. Fact 1. example a. subpoint b. subpoint 2. example (etc.) 44      Whichever way you outline, follow these four guidelines: l. Write legibly, and on paper that's large enough and permanent enough that it won't get lost. You're going to need to refer to the outline as you write your paper, and to check against it before you hand in your work. 2. Leave plenty of blank space on the page so that you can shift around the order of your points or substitute one for another as you write. 3. Be sure to write down a few words to remind you of each subtopic that you intend to deal with in your paper. Remember, subtopics are always ideas. Also jot down, in a word or two, every fact that you'll use to demonstrate, explain, or prove that idea. Since all ideas are a matter of opinion, they're going to have to be defended. You defend with the facts: examples, statistics, and so forth. Notice that the standard outline form shown above reminds you that you're going to need those facts. In addition, some ideas need to be explained in more concrete language, with examples of what you mean. Keep in mind that if a fact is not generally accepted (at least, not by your grader), you're going to have to prove that, too, in your paper. You can prove it by citing the steps in your own research, or with a quick citation from an authoritative source (book, journal, or person of authority). 4. When you outline, keep in mind the length of your paper and don't take on too much. The chart on page 45 will help you gauge whether or not you're trying to tackle too many ideas. (These are not hard and fast numbers, just guidelines.) As you can see from the chart, a good paragraph-length assignment contains only one idea and has no other space for unproven facts or opinions. So once you've got your idea Chart Your Course 45 Average Expected Number of Ideas and Facts for Papers Word length 50...