Ally’s Term Paper Tips

Ally’s Term Paper Tips

The following are recommendations I would make for writing future term papers, even to myself:

- Research is paramount! Make sure your cited sources are of high academic value, but don't limit your initial research to academic journals or textbooks. Often, the most compelling media developments and research can be found in magazines, online articles, interviews, and other more 'casual' sources. Use these as springboards for theories and topics that you can then dive into, and support your thesis with the more solid scientific sources you uncover thereafter. Start early. 

- When deciding on a thesis for any of the topics given, I like to think of the most obvious or common answer to each question, and then try to find validation for the complete opposite opinion. While you might not agree with one end of the spectrum or the other, you may find a more unique perspective in the gradient between the two, and that will make for a paper that is both exciting and resonant.

- Whatever your thesis, ensure it is stated very clearly in your introductory paragraph. You will not be judged for having an opinion, even if your reader does not agree with you. You will, however, encounter difficulty with a hazy, undeveloped, or unclear viewpoint around which your whole paper is supposed to pivot. Your reader wants to know what you think, why you think it, and why it matters. It's best not to answer those questions with more questions.

- Try to be as succinct as possible in supporting your points. There is often a lot of 'fluff' that can be cut out after reading through your first draft, and you can be thorough while still being concise. Things to avoid include, but are not limited to: repeating yourself, sentences in long quotes that are not relevant to the point you are trying to make, passive sentences, etc.

- One strategy you can employ is distilling your thesis into the shortest, most active form possible, and writing it somewhere near the top of your rough draft. For example, if you believe that extremist groups should be censored on social media, you can jot down, "Censor extremist groups online" and refer back to it as you write in order to 'keep your eye on the prize' throughout the paper. 

- Don't use your conclusion solely to summarize your paper; rather, use that space to button up why anyone should be reading the paper in the first place, and how your thesis affects the field of study it inhabits.

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