What is the Secret to a Well-Written Paper?

Question

Is there a time-tested, proven way to earn an A on almost any type of writing assignment given? What if there was a guide to keep you on task as you navigate the treacherous terrain of the evil essay? Well, there certainly is and those who know it save themselves valuable time, effort, and mental energy.

Answer 1

Hey there!

In my experience, yes. As someone who has experience writing all types of papers (essays, peer reviewed research articles, blog posts, business reports, etc.), I'd say there are few things you can do to ensure an 'A'.

1. Understand your assignment. Talk to your professor / teacher about the topic. Even a quick office hour meet up discussing the task at hand will do you justice. It's kind of like directing yourself with a broken compass if you don't truly understand. With a broken one, you'll be going in the wrong direction from the start.
2. Create a legitimate outline. As a student, I always felt like outlines were...pointless. I felt as if they harbored unnecessary work. But the reality is that if you put the time and effort into creating an outline, your paper's organization and structure should be 'A' material. Additionally, this is the time when you hone in on your thesis, opinion, stance, etc. Polish it so that when you get to writing, you know exactly what you're writing about. p.s. secret tip: complete the outline and check in with your professor / teacher. They may not read your paper but they'll look at your outline and check you on your argument and/or structure.
3. Don't procrastinate. Yes, this is an obvious one but the faster you put words on paper, the faster you can identify your mistakes and polish up your writing. Mentally, I think it makes us feel better as well. It feels good to be on top of your work. It reduces stress. Takes off some pressure. Makes us direct our energy away from worrying and instead to the task at hand.
4. Find passion. In any writing assignment, there has to be some sort of interest. If there isn't, well, you just haven't found it yet. With that will come passion, and with passion comes words. The best papers aren't always the ones that are best 'written' (sounds funny, but I think you get what I mean!)

These may not be the secrets you've hoped for, but, at the very least, if you take the above into consideration, your chances of getting an 'A' will increase more than you'd like to believe. Sure they're common pointers that you may see on a trendy blog post, but they have merit.

Stephen H.

University of Cambridge (UK)

Masters in Management

Answer 2

Hello,

Thank you for posting on Wyzant. I am a certified English teacher and would be happy to answer your question.

Yes, there is. That is the good news. It takes just knowing to develop these skills.

Example Assignment: Write 8 sentences about your experience overseas. (You only have 10 minutes.)

Note: Don't use long sentences and make your essay pages long. Add a couple of short ones to ease the time and complete with an A.

Essay: Japan is quiet a place that I have experienced and fell into a world of awe at the sight of it. What kind of place is Japan? It isn't quite like those who think it as a communist nation. Or an enemy back in World War 2. It is much more, much kinder, much respected, and a lot easier to live in than one may find as even America, which is the leader country in our current times. Japan is very peaceful in some sense. You don't have people getting into your business, or loud noisy disturbing your thoughts, and simply don't have empty pockets by the end of the day. Certainty a world of wonder!

There are different skills for different assignments. Like, write a 500 word essay, etc... I would be happy to teach anyone these skills within even just one or two lessons, so that you may be able to spend less time writing and still get good grades.

Please let me know if you are interested. Feel free to contact me at anytime.

Good luck!

Sincerely,

Niki