BITE-SIZE ESSAYS

By: Simone Feigenbaum

Like many students, I'm a procrastinator. The thought of having to write a paper often ends up seeming like a Herculean task, so I avoid it until the last minute, and need to do everything at once, which just reinforces my avoidance of it. 

What I have found, though, is that breaking the paper up into smaller, easier to digest tasks can greatly ease the process. 

This is how I break down projects for a research paper:

Step one: Research

This is my favorite part. Find an aspect of the topic that interests you, and look into it. The library research desk can be a great help with this part. Make sure you keep track of the things you've read and what you've learned from them. It will make the following steps far easier.

Step two: Find a question

Now that you've done some research into your topic, what questions do you have? What did you find most interesting? That's your topic.

Step three: Outlining

When you were in high school, your teachers probably taught you how to make a basic outline, and you probably ignored them. I did too. But they do help. They don't need to follow any specific format; play around and find what works best for you. I usually decide what I want to talk about in each paragraph, and write down my support for each point, along with where I found the information to make citations easier. My outlines are handwritten: informal, messy, and covered in arrows from moving points around. Yours may be typewritten with neat bullet points. It's up to you.

Step three: Write the essay!

Look at your outline: it's basically your complete essay. Follow your own instructions, and add an introduction and a conclusion. 

That's it! You're done! Proofread, write your bibliography, turn it in, and get yourself a treat! You've earned it! 

Asking for Help

By: Matt Ehlenbach

Being seasoned students, many of us feel as though we have the gig down.  We get the assignment, we do it, and then we turn it in, right?

While often enough things work as planned and we’re able to be pretty self-sufficient, it’s important to realize that sometimes everyone gets stuck.  Whether we don’t understand the assignment, don’t know how to get started, or are having problems understanding why something about our work just isn’t panning out, sometimes we need to reach out and ask for help (or at least a second pair of eyes).

To a lot of people, reaching out for help can feel like failing.  A lot of students don’t feel comfortable turning to professors or friends in time of need because they’re afraid they might look “stupid” or “incompetent.”  Sometimes we even worry that our problems might feel like a burden to others. 

Would it surprise you to know that asking for help can actually make you seem smarter, though? Or that many people actually like being asked for help?  According to research by professors at Harvard Business School and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, participants asked for advice were more likely to think positively of their colleagues and to rate their colleague’s performance positively. In the same study, participants reported a boost to their self-confidence when asked for help.

While asking for help can still seem like a scary thing to do, keep this in mind next time you’re not really sure where to go with one of your papers.  Reach out to your professors, talk to your friends, and most importantly keep University support services (like the AU Writing Center) in mind when you need a little extra support. 

Remember: Not only are you helping yourself, but you’re doing them a favor.

Thinking Before You Write

By: Kangsen Feka Wakai, a 2^nd year MFA student  

At the Writing Center, part of our role is to guide writers along the way as they make the choices and moves that will lend meaning to their papers.  Part of our role is to help writers think.

Thinking about the writing process is as fundamental to the process as the writing itself; it is a way of teasing out ideas, and creating that bridge between the Professor’s expectations for an assignment, and the moves you are supposed to make to meet those expectations. 

Therefore, thinking before you write is essential because it helps to assemble your thoughts, while ridding your mind of some of the clutter that can get in the way of writing.

Imagine the mental clutter that governs the freshman college writing student’s mind as he or she juggles academic expectations, acclimatizing to a new environment, and the social pressures that come with both!

Thinking enables strategizing, which in turn provides the kind of distance that can facilitate not only a seamless entry way into an otherwise confusing assignment, but can also guide the writer as he or she engages a particular subject.

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/673/01/

For the freshman college writing student, thinking about the assignment can make the difference between understanding and misunderstanding the task at hand.

Brainstorming, I say, is a virtue.

Planning Ahead to Prevent Paper-Writing Stress

By: Rachael Groat

Sometimes it feels like your professors had a super secret conference in which they maniacally planned to have multiple major writing assignments all due the same day or week.  This influx of writing assignments can be overwhelming and potentially panic-inducing depending on how soon the due dates are looming.  But instead of last minute paper writing while stress eating pints of ice cream, let's think in advance this semester.

I know when I find myself with a heavy work-load but without an assignment due right away, I typically get nothing done at all and find myself on Netflix, only making the problem worse.  But those far away due dates are deceiving, especially when it comes to multiple papers.  So here's some tips on how to stop binging on the Walking Dead and logically tackle your papers with plenty of time to spare.

STEP 1

Plan ahead.  Early in the semester, map out your semester schedule in a calendar or planner.  Write down all the major assignments for each class.  Highlight or star them to make them stand out. Now you have a visual feel for your semester so those due date ridden weeks can't creep up on you.

STEP 2

In addition to my planner of major assignments, I take 15 sheets of notebook paper, one for each week of the semester, and write down the date of each class and the readings and assignments due that day.  I typically do this in pencil so I can easily make any changes that come up.  It's satisfying to cross them off and helpful to think of the semester structured in weeks.  There are eight weeks before spring break and seven between break and finals.  What should you be doing in each?    

STEP 3

Now that you've been proactive and know what's coming, do something about it.  Block off time, especially in less busy weeks, to begin working on one of the assignments.  Even if you don't write a paper far in advance, you can get started on research.  I find that by committing to doing something small, even writing a single paragraph, can be less daunting and help you get started.  If your goal is too overwhelming, it's much harder to begin.  Also, the reward system works well when you're having trouble finding that motivation to start!

STEP 4

Notice the smaller assignments due around a particularly busy time.  I often try to get ahead in my reading or short assignments, so I can exclusively focus on the major assignments in a due date filled week. 

STEP 5

Take some time off while working on a project.  Spreading out your work rather than powering straight through allows you to clear your mind and return with a fresh perspective.  So take breaks by watching the Walking Dead, but try to forge a more balanced semester through organization and thinking ahead.  Spreading writing assignments through all fifteen weeks reduces stress, and you'll be grateful you planned and acted ahead when finals week comes around.

So, this semester, let's work on preventing those paper writing frenzies and instead logically plan out our work!

Spring Semester Has Started

By: Emma Lister

Wait a second, where did my winter break go!?  I was so happy and cozy on my couch binging on Netflix and napping at my leisure. 

It ended, along with the four Netflix series you crushed.

Now I have these classes… with homework? 

Yep, every day.

Whatever, no need to worry, it’s syllabus week, there’s plenty of time to dip my toes in these academic waters… 

Syllabus week is over.

Wait, we’re going into our third week of classes?  I have a paper due next week?  What is going on here?!?

If you’ve had a similar internal monologue/panic attack… you’re not alone.  The start of Spring Semester is always a rough transition and brutal drop back into reality in a post-holiday-freezing-rain-it-gets-dark-too-early kind of way.  I’ve found what is helpful in dragging yourself out of this lazy and self-pitying hole is to get ORGANIZED - simple baby steps to make your schedule much more manageable and to keep your anxiety at bay.

First, get a calendar… Then, yes, USE this calendar (some sort of assignment book works too).  Mark down when assignments are due and cross those bad boys off when you have finished them.  Nothing is more rewarding that crossing things off your To Do list.  More importantly though, you must mark when you are going to START bigger assignments projects, papers, etc.  If you have a paper due in two weeks… choose a book by Monday.  Make an outline by Friday… If you get stuck, come and brainstorm with someone in the Writing Center… If you’ve written and rewritten your draft and can’t look at it anymore?  Not sure if your thesis makes sense?  We’re happy to help you at that point, too!  We love to organize at the Writing Center (seriously ask anyone there… we get a strange high from helping you get your thoughts down in a sequential and logical way)! 

BUT, we can’t help you if you’ve waited to start eight hours before the assignment is due and you’re sitting in the library at 2:00am ripping your hair out and hating the start of your semester… So, take a baby step, figure out what’s coming up, and come see us in the WRITING CENTER!  Where our obsessions are strangely helpful!

Working with Peer Feedback

By: Sarah Sansolo

So your paper has been peer reviewed. Now what? It can often be difficult to sort through what your classmates have to say and figure out what and who to listen to. A lot of students put peer comments aside and don’t use them at all. What do your classmates know, after all? They’re not the professor. Obviously the professor has the final say, and most of us try to tailor our writing to what he or she wants.

Great writers, though, look to their peers for help. Some creative writers spend years in writing workshops to hone their craft. They recognize the importance of multiple viewpoints and you should, too.

·      Using your test audience. Anyone who reads your paper—a classmate, your roommate, a writing consultant, your mom—is a test audience for your work. This is the one thing that a writer can’t do for him or herself. It’s impossible to know how others will react to your writing unless you ask them to read it. You know what you meant when you wrote that sentence, but can somebody else understand it?

·      Your classmates are experts. “No,” you say, “I’m pretty sure my classmates don’t know much about marine biology or Jane Austen or politics in Taiwan.” Maybe not, but there is one thing they’re experts in: your class. They’ve done the same homework and sat through the same discussions. They’ve spent as much time as you have reading the assignment sheet and thinking about how to respond to it. They remember what your professor said when she clarified what kinds of sources to use. A peer might not know all about your topic, but he or she knows the class and the assignment.

·      Find trustworthy voices. While your classmates are a great resource, not all of them will be helpful. Some readers will simply not be interested in what you have to say or will misunderstand your point in a way that reflects more on them than on your clarity. But there will be someone in your class who understands what you’re trying to do and gives you great suggestions to improve your writing. This peer is a great resource to have. Ask him if you can swap your next drafts or if you can meet up to chat about ideas.

·      Trust yourself. In the end, it’s your paper. You should take in peer comments and think about them carefully, but you don’t have to use them. You know what you want to say and what you don’t better than anyone.

If you’re not sure how to incorporate your peer comments or which reviewers you should listen to, bring your paper and your peer review materials to the Writing Center. Our consultants can help you sort through feedback in a way that will make your paper stronger.