¶ … stressful if one is not properly prepared. Writing a paper can be a stress filled time-consuming event or it can be learning and growing experience depending on how the student approaches the task. Writing a paper for school can be done with ease and calmness if certain steps are followed along the way. There are several important factors that can be applied to every written paper that will insure a better grade, a more thorough learning experience and a less stressful outcome.
Writing a paper involves several steps that must be built upon each other (Palmini, 1996). The first step to writing any paper is to choose a topic to write about. Often time's teachers or professors will assign a topic but even within an assigned topic the search can be narrowed for a more focused and more well written document. A topic such as healthy eating can be narrowed to eating to lose weight, or what vitamins are found in which foods, but they both are in the general area of healthy eating as the topic. So the first step is always to determine what the actual topic of the paper is going to be (Palmini, 1996). It is a good idea to clear the topic with the teacher to be sure that it fits with the teacher's expectations.
Once the topic is chosen it is a good idea to develop a rough outline of how one wants to approach the paper. Putting down a few ideas in an outline form can...
The outline should provide a general idea of what things are going to be covered in the paper and in what order they will be presented. This will help determine the flow of the paper before the paper is written and flow is an important aspect of any well-written paper.
Following the topic choice and the rough outline to use as a blueprint for the paper, the next step is conducting the research. In years gone by research was limited to a trip to the local library. Today, however, research can include visiting not only the local library, but also worldwide libraries through the use of the Internet. It also can include trips to various websites and chats with experts in the field through the use of emails and chat rooms. It is important to document where the research came from and who the author was so that the proper in text citation and bibliography can be utilized. The research can be conducted in several ways but it is important to remain focused on the topic chosen and not get to general. A good paper uses only information that is pertinent to the topic and does not encourage rambling or getting off topic. The research should be placed in folders and on online files so that the writer can have easy access to it as the paper is being composed.
The next…
