The Crash Course

Term Paper Survival Guide

We are once again at that fantastic point in the semester where residents pull all-nighters, spend hours in the depths of Koerner, and pray that their TA’s will show mercy on their hastily written work, otherwise known as term paper season. Fear not: through my years of experience writing papers as a history major (well actually two years); I have compiled the crash course survival guide to writing a successful term paper. Not only will this fail-proof method almost guarantee a good grade, but you won’t have to stay up all night, in a caffeine induced rush, to finish the paper.The first step to writing a successful term paper is to read the assignment carefully. Ask your professor or TA if there are specific guidelines to be followed. The last thing you want to do is spend arduous hours on a paper and discover that you have not addressed the topic. Equally important – pay attention to the deadline. Ensure that you have allowed yourself enough time to create a term paper worthy of your intelligence. It may not be a popular concept but it works: spend a portion of each day – yes, every day – working on the term paper instead of leaving it to the stressful hours prior to the submission date.

After defining the purpose of the paper, it is time to start your research. Utilize academic sources either in physical print in one of the libraries on campus, or if you are feeling lazy, through the UBC library online database, Google Scholar, or other online academic journals. After that it’s time for the next step: create an outline. Use a method that works best for you. For example, if you are a visual person, write your outline on a whiteboard or on sticky notes on a door. It is easy to move the notes around into an order that seems logical as the topic develops. Now that you have a chance to see the evidence, form the thesis question. With the evidence gathered, support the thesis question and consider if the question need to be reworked. Then use the answer to your thesis question to form your thesis. Once you have a thesis, your outline will form the framework of the term paper. When you start writing the paper, pose the thesis question and each subsequent paragraph will utilize the evidence to support your thesis statement.

When writing, continually go back and reread the assignment and ask: am I meeting the needs as specified in the assignment? Check the outline frequently: am I including the evidence I have collected; does it support my thesis statement? The first paragraph, introducing the thesis and the final paragraph, summarizing the paper should in essence be the same. The first paragraph indicates specifically what your thesis is for your paper, making sure your thesis is clear and debatable, and each following paragraph has an argument that utilizes your evidence to support your thesis and lastly a concluding paragraph that summarizes what has been presented and restates your thesis and how you have proven your thesis. Your introduction and conclusion should be very similar!

Appearances do matter in term papers. Sources need to be acknowledged properly: citations need to be correct. Editing is time consuming but valuable. Go back and read your paper for punctuation only; reread for grammar; and finally, reread it aloud to determine if it sounds good and flows together. Then, submit your work and get ready for the “A.”