Six Tips for Writing Great Academic Term Papers

Academic papers are a large part of anyone’s education, and largely responsible for the grade one receives at the end of the term. Writing a great term paper requires a variety of skills and having knowledge of a topic is not enough on its own. You will need to combine that knowledge with good technique and writing style to end up with a great paper. Follow the six tips below to make sure your next paper is right on the mark.

1. Research First. Order is important in academic term papers, so don’t get ahead of yourself by starting to write before you have all of your information collected. As a rule of thumb, try to collect about 50% research documentation than you think you will need. Inevitably, you will decide some of the research doesn’t work in the paper and leave it out. Rather than being forced to go back and look for more, collect a little extra in the first place to make it easier on yourself during the writing process.
2. Make an Outline. This is a key step. After collecting research, take the time to write up a detailed outline that you will follow closely while actually writing the paper.
3. Start Early. Nothing kills a good term paper faster than running up against a deadline. Give yourself plenty of lead time so you aren’t rushed towards the end of the project. You want your brain to be able to think clearly, free of the distraction that a due date can cause.
4. Write Freely. Once you start writing, just keep going. Don’t stop to edit, revise, or adjust the writing in any way. Just keep typing and save the corrections for later. It is easier to form coherent thoughts when you are uninterrupted.
5. Revise Content. Once the body of the text is complete, read back through it for content only. Make sure all of the sentences make sense, and that the overall message is delivered clearly. The most important part of a term paper is having a clear thesis statement, so make sure that point is not lost in the text.
6. Clean Up the Details. When you are pleased with the content, go back through one last time looking for technical mistakes such as spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Even a great paper can be marked down for these basic errors, so spend the time to make sure your paper is clean and ready to be presented.