Essays - How To Write A Winning Paper

By Author: Wade Knoxville
Total Articles: 18
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You're sitting in class and your teacher breaks the quiet of the Friday afternoon with a request for essays from everyone by the next Friday. That's just great. Here comes another writing assignment to ruin your week. This time, however, he isn't going to give you the subject, he's going to let you chose your own topic, within reason. What to write about is enough to make your young blood run cold. Well, you won't sweat the details, after finding out how to choose a winning subject.

While your instructor may want to toss you to the wolves, he will usually provide you with a bit of protection, or at least a chunk of raw meat. Remember to ask him about any and all details for the assignment that he can give, and make sure that you take notes. When writing essays, it is very important to start with a stable foundation and follow the guidelines that have been provided by your instructor. Remember to ask if any additional assistance that the instructor can give you will be available. Often, you can speak to the instructor before the assignment is due and he can lend his assistance in making sure that your paper is within ...
... the parameters of what he is looking for. Prior to leaving the class, make sure your notes include the subject guidelines, expected due dates, essay length and format.

Writing essays without subject guidelines is like trying to sail from America to England just by heading east. You may make it, or you may find your trip has landed you off the coast of Africa. You should ensure that what you are going to write about is acceptable for the paper. A paper about how World of Warcraft has changed your life or the things that make your girlfriend the hottest girl in school, may be nice to write about, but something related to the subject you are studying may resonate closer with the instructors desires. You really don't want to get to the end of the week and find out that the subject at you chose is not acceptable, and you run out of time to start a new paper. This can also occur when the expected due dates are not made clear to the students. Time management on assignments is very important so that you can schedule enough time to get the paper completed and also allows time for revisions to your work. A good rule of thumb is to allow for at least 25% of the time allocated for the assignment to be held in reserve for revisions and editing.

Finally, ensure that the format that you follow for submitting the paper is acceptable to the instructor. Standard formats for essays can usually be followed which will be acceptable for most assignments. One of the uniform formats that's acceptable consists simply of a header with the author's last name and page number, right justified, the body of the text, double spaced and a one inch margin on all sides of the document. This makes for an easy-to-read format that saves a weary instructor additional eye strain and may keep him in a good mood at grading time.
Wade Knoxville
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