Oops! Not even an all-nighter could help anyone pull this off for tomorrow morning. This person needs some organizational and time management skills, not to mention some practice narrowing down research topics.
In Academic Writing in Suite 101.com we will deal with these and other issues relating to the complex process of writing successful research papers and theses: choosing a suitable topic, finding the right research sources, planning and organizing the paper, bibliographies and referencing, writing style, and much more.
Procrastination can be a student's worst enemy, especially with an assignment like a research paper looming over one's head. Here, college students can learn how to break the task down into more manageable chunks, and how to chip away at it bit by bit until it's ready for submission.
Each column will focus on one of these "chunks", and offer some internet links to more information about them. Graduate students, too, have to master the kind of paper expected in graduate school.
The old "introduction-body-conclusion" format is no longer enough. A thesis or dissertation must be written in a particular style, with special chapters for literature reviews, descriptions of the data collection process, and analyses.
There's also the task of dealing with a book-length assignment, and one that will be carefully scrutinized by a team of peers and scholars. Usually there will be a need for several revisions before the student's supervisor will finally accept the thesis.
If this isn't stressful enough, grad students often have to juggle their study and research with work and family responsibilities as well. Future columns will deal with these pressures, too.
Today: Choosing Your Topic The topic is the starting point of a special journey called a term paper. It's important to get started on the right "foot" in order to end up at an A+ destination! In some cases, an instructor will simply assign an essay topic. Your job is to take it from there, and off to the library you go. In many other cases, though, the instructor will offer a list of choices. This sounds easy, but it's amazing how many students can be overwhelmed by the choice. "I can't choose!" is a common lament.
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