BEFORE You Begin Writing/Typing:

1. Understand the topic. Read through the question thoroughly. If there is any part of it
you do not understand, consult the instructor.

2. Gather evidence. Your response to the question will be persuasive only if you can
support it with evidence from the text. For a comparative history paper, gathering evidence
will entail a close reading of the assigned documents/pages/sections on the given topic.
Highlight, copy out, or otherwise note or record passages that are related to the topic, so
that you can cite them in your paper.

3. Decide what you think. After examining the evidence, formulate an answer to the
question, based on your interpretation and class discussion of the evidence. At this point,
you should also be able to argue the basic points upon which your paper will
be based:

i.e. What did you find in examining the documents?
What is your evidence to support those findings?

4. Write an outline of the paper. Your outline should contain:

A. Introduction: brief statement of your thesis. The rest of your paper should
demonstrate this thesis.

B. Body: illustrates the validity of your thesis. Will contain several well developed
paragraphs, each will be devoted to a specific topic/sub-topic. Use the outline to decide
how many paragraphs to devote to each. Also at this point, decide which passages you are
going to cite as evidence.

C. Summation/Conclusion: Try to avoid simply repeating your thesis statement here.
Try to reiterate your judgement /main points in an interesting way. This is difficult, but
it is much better than just stopping and ending your paper.

 A good outline will take quite a bit of time to construct, but it is the most vital part in
developing your paper. By constructing your paper around an outline, you will be more
likely to stick to your main points because it is all mapped out in front of you. After
completing your general outline, let it sit for awhile.
 

 NOW You Can Begin Writing!

 2. Let it rest a day or so, then re-read and revise. Have a roommate or friend read it and
make suggestions. Better yet, submit a draft to a tutor or the instructor for suggestions.
This will give you feedback about your ideas, style of writing, and strong/weak areas.

3. Proofread carefully. A spell-checker is a good place to start, but many common errors
(like confusing there and their, your and youire, etc.) will slip through. After all errors
have been corrected and you are comfortable with what you have written, print a clean
copy. Use one inch margins all around, clean white paper, black ink, and an easy to read
font type (typically Times New Roman, or Courier is used). Read over your paper one last
time and congratulate yourself on a job well done.

 If you follow these simple steps, the actual time spent writing the paper is practically
nothing! Do a little bit at a time.
 

 AFTER You receive your paper back

1. Expect criticism. Most of us get papers back marked for lots of correction. Nobody is
ever immune from this criticism; even professional writers, novelists, poets, etc. get their
work marked up by editors. Do not take it personally. Think of writing as a joint enterprise;
all of us need an outsideris eye, ear, and judgment to write our best. Learning to write well
is a process that takes years, decades, lifetimes.

2. "Why is the instructor such a hard grader?" Partly because a recent poll of employers
found that the skill they value most highly in potential employees is the ability to
communicate; your ability to communicate effectively in writing will probably be the most
important thing you get from your university education. Employers ranked GPA sixth as an
important consideration in employment decisions, so if youire worried that a less than-great
paper grade is hurting your GPA, take comfort in the fact that youire acquiring a skill thatis
more marketable than your GPA. The truth is, unless youire planning on some kind of
graduate education, nobody really cares whether you got a 3.7 or a 3.2. Employers do care
whether you can write an effective memo or business letter!

More broadly, however, writing a good essay is an exercise in clear and organized
thinking something that most of us need to practice!