Deep in the archives of ttie I Iniversitv of Hologna in Italy the
world’s < )!dest university—is a stack ()f'preei( >us ricxuments.
Contained within them are the1 brilliant the njghtsand theories
of elevenths eiitury s< liolars.
In esseiK e. they’re pa|X‘rs alx nit hi.stc >rv. mathematies,
tho 11f/ * * 1 Me I \i \\’t *
Agonized and lalxired over, written and rewritten, these
(kx ument.s have pndound historical importance. Hiey arc
[ )f( x )f | k >sit ivc t hat The Pa| x.*r I us I xzen t he 1 rane < )f <'(>llege
life, practically fr<>m the loginning < >1 at ademk time.
Hut we’ve learned a lot in the nine hundred warn ^
since. Here are some of the Ixast tips on how to get ™
your ideas down on pa|xar in a |x )lished, ^ 4
[ iresentaf )le f()rt n and gan ier 11 te great grat les
v< >ur ideas deserve. ^
"For term papers and other complex
assignments, you may want to use a
program called HyperCard. It lets you
create a set of electronic index cards.
They work a lot like traditional 3-by-5
cards; the difference is that they stay
in your Macintosh, which means you’ll
never lose them. You can write and
draw on these
I use my
Macintosh
to help keep
track ot alt
the material
I find about
a topic, I keep
quotes, facts,
and opinions
in a word
processinq
document
I also include
information
about the
source the
material came
from. As I’m
writing, I can
easily find
quotes that
support my
arguments.”
'>{.*** I.»l tfMMfcs to CW.tfiAir ' HMr • . • i v iJ *»'<•
l-oml • tor b .t itfi ' .»r li t M«. • «>(WNt .r. nrt li
If you d M»w to *M>r if ■ d i ' 3
‘You don't need very much to
get started. All you need is a
Macintosh and a word processing
program. All Macintosh word
processing programs are easy to
use. They come with built-in
spelling checkers. Most of them
even let you create footnotes
automatically. And they let you
use a variety of fonts, so your
papers get noticed.”
Graham Spencer,
Sophomore
• Of ////s'/. //"//"/
1
11k- m<m im|xman! pan < >l getting started is t< > get
started I.xjx'il.sagin IX >n I pro I’.MinaK At the very
least make sure vnu reudovei thetopn assignment
well in atIvam e men if yt hi di wi t get a c haute
ti i rest-art h or write until ih Ii later I et v >ur mitx I
j« inderthetopu wIak hi iedoingotlter things
As stxxi ns you have time, turn>w the K >pt<
II ;< nigh them are emIk’ss vaneties <i! pa|vi\ t! ev
divide into tw<i major ty|vs assignments where
tle piofessoi'i In x r-es the topu fix vi hi and
.issu'.nments when- \< h, net '■1 < Is * >sethe ’i 1 1
In the (ase < >1 the f< >rmei. it s vital that \ hi
undeistand the '|uesti< xi posed m i r hi t an answer
it (lira tl\ I x >n t hesitate u > g< > see v< nil [in>lesy »r
il \ixidt m. t understand ix nen i < lanlkatuxi
(retting to cIh « mV H ii' own l< ipit [xises the
op|* NIC problem Vm ma\ understand vour topu
hut vi xii pn ifessi »r might ,n< »t lake time to find an
appn ipriate topu
Some advice
on selecting a topic:
. i hoc** something that's relevant to youi course
11us LS not .1 free-for-all IVk ,1 topK that integrates tin
material yt hi ve lieard in left lire with what y< hi \v
leanxd outside of i lav1'
• i •,h that s i:• u!>ie I hat is, make sure
it's not ti * i turn )\s ot t< x > (dsn ire or to<) broad
Vm six nml lx-able u> address the topic in the
nunilxT i >f pages vixive ken assigned
• Sde< t a it a >i< yt x.i're interested in Passit in ant I
enthusiasm are the two nx>st imjx >n.int ingrolients
foi si h i ess 'lliey'li lead mu tolx-tu t [U|vrs Pick a
t<>pi( that will six>w what yihi know, what ythi think
alxHit, and what interests y< hi
Klim tin mi!ho t I! \< ui tl< >n t, tesean h it
like .1 itun:I lauver living u > Imikl a on
u ui n try-ini’ it i assemble the relevant tarts,
dates, m Kin es. and t jin Xcs that will make
a (om|X*Iltng argument
Some advice:
• (ave - ;ivj | >!' • it\ ■ ■! (mu t< ■ ■ In 1 ">er
gniit m uni es llte releunt tip here n ti > all' n\
ent nigh time it ulo a tin >n High n >1 > as mix It
as five < ii' six houtN lot a slit ui pa|)ei. anti as
much as filt\ hours foramajot tennpa|>ct
• Man by (aerusingthe lilunry I tependingt>n
the uipn , \<hi mav want too uni)tho nigh
Ix* iks. a<aileinu |i initials. news|xipet\
magi/JfK's transt nptsol s| xax lacs, or vitlo i
footage ami new si asts
• Don’t stt >p with conventional s< nines, though
V hi may clu* iso to interview cx|X‘rtson the topic,
Like .1 js ill, or look in less obviously related plai os
ti) line! the fat ts (>nginal vvi >rk (iftcn comes In im
d( iingonginal resran h
• Be neat and stay < nganized. Y iu’11 want t<) lake
notes. and leave a t tear "rescan h trail as v< >u go
Be choosy Take notes on the most relevant and
ini|x>rtant information And keep all ol v< >ur rescan I
in one plat e yi inr computer.
3. /ts f
An oigam/cd mint I pitxlui es otgani/t • i wilting
|i»m*t vuur mind < irg.int/ed, (mtline voui pa|X‘i
( i minu'v to wiiat m 'ii might think, there's no out
right w.n toontlini-a i«|X’i lliereare.u tually main
useful i Hit hi K‘ formats
What '' mitst im|x mant is that w hi d< > wlutevei
u m need to do to get voui thoughts in on ler some
students create very detailed tnillmes. (itlieis write
down onk the skeleton of then pa|x*i
Whether \t hi choose the former methixl, the
latter, or s<imething in Ivtwivn. v< hi sin mid break
vour outline into three main pans, whit h reflect the
three main pans >1 a p,t|x-r the lntrtxlunn m iwliere
you'll state \i nir thesis, or opinion alxHit the ti ipit i.
i he Ixxh iwliere uni'll explain ami I mild a ease for
voui uigument i, ami theeont liision iwliere vou II pull
everything a igether and summaive v< mr aigument i
Tips:
• Stan1fonnt ilating voui tliest-s the main i >pink mi
you haw, i >r the |x rsitu>n w hi II take alxmt the K>j>u
'Hit-re wall lx- plentv ol time to [X dish vi mr thesis later.
Init vou should determine the Ixlsk argument you'll
likt to make What s the point of youi pa|xr And why
J I! ill ! iiU i illi'i J! t •'
• Then k x>k ihn>ugh .ill the restart h yriti've d< >ne
Thisisthepruil lorvour |U|xt see how [lietacts
relate ami whiclujui nes and sour es help to siip| v >n
youi argument You may want to create a new file on
\i an 11 Miiputet that contains |usl the quotes and lads
v< in'll use in \t)ur final pa|>er
• Write an t lutline, being as detailet I as you think will
lx.* useful You II want to break up the bul\ ot the
: \i| vr into several sultsei lions that ileal with dilferent
.isjx*i tsol thetopu ekIt suhseitumean build<m
the one lx lore < ir i an intnxlucea new idea that
prove >voui thesis statement lather wav you should
dei ii le w hu lu|u< itesor fai ts to use, and w here thev II
go. In vour outline, include the first lew lines ol the
qu< >te, orthe name
i »t the source or the
|ierson whoviitl it
lluit wav. when yihi
liegin writing the
[xqiei, you'll km >\\
whu h quities to
paraphrase or j >hu e
in vour final pa[xr
I use a word processing
program to outline my
papers. I rarely complete
a full outline for short
papers, rather I'm more
interested in formulating
my main arguments and
determining where I'll
use quotes.
Same word processing
programs for example,
If you’re up against a particularly
long or complicated paper, you may
want to use an outlining program.
Symantec MORE, for instance, lets
you create an outline, effortlessly
arrange and rearrange points, and
otherwise organize your thinking so
you can produce the best writing
possible."
Vf. , • i
M U)
- < Kftl«it«a fi» f'aJWJ
«. r» r*. «« »-«.»!»*»* -i *•* i « •«» «• • r*
' ■ . -u .
outlining capabilities that
make the process really
easy."
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