If there’s one thing that every college student needs to know, it’s how to write well. After all, it doesn’t matter what you’ll be doing once you graduate because in nearly every profession on the planet, you’ll need to know how to write and communicate with others. In fact, this is a skill that is starting to become harder and harder to find but it is still a very important one.
You’ll be writing a lot of essays in college and even when you use a top-notch essay writing service for some of those essays, you’ll still learn a little bit about writing that is beneficial to your skills. Just as with any other skills, good writing takes practice and you’ll be getting plenty of practice over the next four years. Still, there are things you can do to make your writing a bit easier and better. Below are some tips to do just that.
1. Practice, Practice, Practice
Even keeping a daily journal is a good way to practice your writing skills. Keep in mind that the very first paper you write is not going to be perfect. In fact, the first few papers may be a little awkward and may even bring you a grade that is not what you wanted. Don’t worry, though, because the more you do it, the better you’ll get at it. Just give yourself some time and keep practicing.
2. Make Sure That You Research Thoroughly
One of the first things you’ll learn when writing essays is that proper research is crucial. You have to learn how to use databases, search engines, and other tools to make sure that the information you use in your paper is 100% accurate. Most professors will require that you cite your sources, which means that you’ll have to do your due diligence to ensure that those sources are used properly throughout the paper.
3. Become Familiar with Different Writing Styles
Most college professors will require that you follow a certain writing style and the two most common are the APA (American Psychological Association) and MLA (Modern Language Association) formats. These formats are simply ways to produce consistency between one essay and the next. They are easy to find and easy to follow so you might as well buy yourself a copy of each of these at the beginning of your college career.
4. Hire a Writing Service for a Few of Your Papers
A professional essay writing service like Homework Help Global writes college papers for students on any and all subject matters. They are perfectly legal and easy to use. They can usually develop a great paper for you in a matter of hours, although the more time you give them, the less the service will cost. They hire experts on all subjects so you’ll always get a well-researched paper in the end. After using their services, you can then replicate their writing style. Learning from experts is a valid way of improving yourself. Further, many essay writing services provide proofreading services that you can use to increase the quality of your assignments.
5. Count on the First Draft Not Being Your Last!
If you hate to write, you’ll want to write your paper all at once and then forget about it; however, it rarely works out that way. Instead, most papers end up being draft after draft until you get it right. Just get used to it because even the best writers will use several drafts before they come up with something that they consider good enough to turn into their professors. This is just the way it is when you’re in college.
6. Make Sure That You Use Proper Grammar Every Time
Regardless of which class you’re in, your professors expect excellent grammar and an error-free paper every time. If you have to, go back and revisit some of your old grammar and English textbooks or look up this information online. Your paper has to be grammatically correct, free of typos, and cohesive in thought. In other words, it has to be perfect if you want to get that “A” you were expecting.
7. Remember the Most Important Traits of Writing Well
To help your paper flow the way it should remember the six characteristics of a well-written paper that every professor looks for. They include ideas, voice, organization, sentence fluency, word choice, and conventions. You not only have to use proper grammar and spelling but your paper also has to make sense, flow well so that it is easy to understand and be placed in the proper order so that the reader understands what you’re trying to say.
8. Never Forget the Importance of an Outline
They may seem old-fashioned but an outline will help keep you organized from start to finish and is likely to save you a lot of time as you write. Although some people are good at just jumping in and starting to write, most people need a starting point so that they remain organized every step of the way. Outlines don’t have to be perfect but they go a long way in helping you collect your thoughts and keep them organized until you complete the paper.
9. Remember to use quality sources
Most university and college professors frown upon essays and assignments that have too little sources to back up your claims and thesis. Many new students tend to use anecdotal evidence to back up their statements which will almost always result in deductions. Further, remember to use varied sources. The best arguments are supported from different sources including books, research papers, websites, etc. Do not simply use Wikipedia as a source. It is also important to use a good quantity of sources. Using a single book for your entire assignment for example will generally result in mediocre papers. Lastly quantity is important as well. Depending on what kind of assignments you have, you should be citing your sources several times a page. A normal assignment should have around 2-4 sources a page whereas a research paper will need much more.
