Tips for Writing at the College Level
Let鈥檚 face it – in college, you will be writing often. Becoming a good writer doesn鈥檛 happen overnight, but mastering grammar rules and vocabulary tools are crucial. Writing is a process, and there is always room for improvement. Elevate your writing over time with these tips and guiding principles!
Start Early
Procrastination is the bane of a college student鈥檚 existence, especially when multiple assignments for various courses pile up over time. That being said, it is never a bad idea to start early. In fact, it鈥檚 one of the easiest things you can do to help ensure success in your writing! Pencil in due dates, and jot down intermediary deadlines for important steps in the writing process. Allow yourself time to choose a topic (if it鈥檚 not already provided to you), conduct research, organize your thoughts, create a rough draft, revise, and so on. Remember to keep the goals realistic so that you are more likely to stick to them.
Identify Your Audience
There are a plethora of factors to consider before writing. Who will be reading what you write? What is the topic or subject at hand? Depending on the assignment, you may even need to research, interview people, and collect data to back up your points. The first step to writing a strong article is knowing your audience. From there, you can decide the appropriate tone to use. In most cases, it doesn鈥檛 hurt to err on the formal side when it comes to college writing. Save the everyday slang, abbreviations, and overuse of punctuation for texts and emails with your friends.
Organize Your Thoughts
Once you鈥檝e identified your audience and established the tone you鈥檙e going to use, it鈥檚 time to gather your thoughts and make an outline of the points you鈥檒l be discussing in your paper. Unless otherwise instructed, it鈥檚 safe to start with an introduction, followed by a body consisting of a couple supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion. The more detailed you make your outline, the easier the writing process will be later on because you can easily reference to make sure you鈥檝e included all your important points.
Another thing to keep in mind is, plagiarism is a big no-no in college. You can get in big trouble if ever caught, and it鈥檚 just not a good thing to do! Research papers in college require proper citations. As you do your research and create your outline, be as specific as possible with these so that you don鈥檛 have to fumble around trying to find the source of your findings later on. Create a system of easy referencing for yourself, so that your writing process remains smooth and efficient.
Write Succinctly
Use 鈥渂ig鈥� words when appropriate, but avoid stuffing the paper with them as that can get overwhelming and come off inauthentic. You want to deliver your point in an intelligent and straightforward way. Complicated sentence structure may not only deter you from making your point clearly, but it also doesn鈥檛 improve your paper if the reader can鈥檛 understand what you are trying to say. In addition to keeping grammar in check, it鈥檚 crucial to be mindful of structural errors. If you are having trouble getting started with your paper, don鈥檛 hesitate to just write what鈥檚 on your mind for the sake of getting going. It鈥檚 totally okay if your first draft isn鈥檛 perfect. That鈥檚 what editing is for, once you鈥檝e got a rough draft done!
Revise, Revise, Revise
After finishing your first draft, the editing process begins. Work on revising paragraph by paragraph, fixing any grammatical, spelling, run-on sentences, and other structural errors and inconsistencies. It may help to read what you鈥檝e written out loud to ensure that everything sounds right and makes sense. Don鈥檛 rush this process, and feel free to take a break and get back to the paper in an hour or even a few days. Reading a paper with fresh eyes can help you detect errors that you didn鈥檛 catch before.
Get a Proofreader
So you鈥檝e put in your very best – now it鈥檚 time to have another set of fresh eyes to read your masterpiece! This is a fantastic way to get a third person鈥檚 point of view and perspective on what you鈥檝e written. Perhaps there was something you wouldn鈥檛 have caught if someone else didn鈥檛 bring it to your attention. While this step isn鈥檛 totally mandatory, it can really help you hone in on your writing skills and find areas of improvement. If you finish an essay or research paper early, it鈥檚 always smart to get a proofreader to read it once through before you turn it in. This could be a trusted family member, a roommate, or even your teacher鈥檚 assistant! Getting feedback will provide you with the opportunity to make final tweaks and know what to improve on next time.
Believe in Yourself
The most important thing in writing, and college in general, is to be confident in your abilities to succeed. Self-doubt never feels good, and believing you can do it is half the battle! Often, students don鈥檛 give themselves enough credit for simply doing their best.
Final Thoughts
As with anything in life, practice makes perfect. This means that the more you write, the better you will become at it. So, don鈥檛 be discouraged if you struggle in the beginning. College writing can be tough! But by taking the initiative to start early, organize your thoughts, write thoughtfully, revise several times, and get feedback, you鈥檒l be surprised at how quickly your writing improves.
