Academic Papers | How to Stop Flunking Your College Classes

Writing a good college paper is EASY, . . . IF you give yourself plenty of time to write it. Some college students can write a paper the morning it is due, and those same students MIGHT even get good grades on their papers. However, the name of this site is How to Stop Flunking Your College Classes, so I am guessing you are NOT one of those people. According to our syllabus, a paper is due on July 9. Today is June 27, so that gives you plenty of time to write an A+ paper as long as you start today.

Please do it (don’t wait five more minutes)!

Steps to writing a good paper (the cool thing about being a student in 2013 is that you can pretty much do all of the following steps without getting out of bed):

1. Make sure your printer has ink and paper (I am serious, do it, NOW).
2. Follow the professor’s directions (read the assigned reading, use the writing format she requires, etc.).
3. Form your opinion (thesis) and gather information to support it (quotes from experts).
4.Write:

5. Have someone read your paper and circle the mistakes.
Note: Someone who understands grammar and punctuation rules is best for this task.
6. Correct your mistakes.
7. Cite your sources.
8. Print.
9. Turn the paper in.

Anatomy of a five page college paper:
Assignment: Read Eating by Joe Smith. Write a five page paper analyzing the article.
Click to enlarge.

To Review:

Introduction:
Introduce key ideas.
State your opinion (do not use “I” use “one”). One’s opinion in one’s introduction is one’s thesis statement.

Body
Use quotes from articles to elaborate on each idea.
Refer to studies that may or may not support the key ideas.
Analyze what experts and studies say using your own words.

Conclusion
Restate introduction and thesis using different words.

Remember to cite your sources and include them in a bibliography at the end of your paper. Professors will tell you how they want you to cite your sources and which style of bibliography they prefer. If they do not, the Son of Citation Machine is a great resource. Just plug your information in and they will format your bibliography for you.