Help with paper writing!!!

andilynn67

andilynn67

Cathlete
I'm taking Psychology this semester and will have to write to papers, I'm not very confident with writing papers at all.Anyone have any advice or know books I could purchase etc. that could help me? Thanks for any help in advance!
 
Are these research papers? Depending on the course level, you may be required to write in APA format. Check with the professor on the format required. There are manuals you can purchase that can help with the APA format. If APA is not required, I'd suggest you schedule an office hour with the prof and determine what s/he is looking for ... it can be good to get in with the prof early in the semester before problems arise. Good luck and remember, you are a student ... that means you are learning and arent' expected to have all the answers right off the bat! Deb
 
Thx , it's a little nerve wracking for me because I'm 41 and my brain feels so stiff and rusty! Although thanks to Cathe the rest of me is great!
 
I'm a bit older than you and in grad school after decades away from academia. I'd just offer this advice. First: Relax! You probably have way more to offer than you give yourself credit for. (That's what one professor told me after I was freaking out my first semester.)

Second: Talk to your professor. Check to see if he/she has office hours and ask for some time to consult. You'd be surprised how much they might be able to help. I've found that some instructors are very open to looking at early paper drafts and offering advice and constructive criticism. Good professors appreciate serious students! I think more than anything the professor would welcome your sincere effort to benefit from the course and do well.

Third: Enjoy being back in school! I've found that it's actually more fun to learn later in life because you can appreciate it more. ;)

Don't stress; use your professor because that's what they're there for if they're worth their salt, don't worry about grades etc., and just take it all in and enjoy. :D
 
Hi

Usually the professors are very understanding when you go to them ahead of time and explain your anxiety. I would write the paper as early as I could manage and ask the professor to review it. This way she/he can give you feedback, you will have a chance to modify your paper based on her/his critique and your final version of the paper would be written exactly the way your professor expects it.

Good luck.

Penny
 
Hi Andilynn - ITA about talking to your professor. Also, see if your school has a tutoring program/writing clinic. These would be people who help critique students' papers and should be free of charge.
 
Just a thought, and this may be more than you actually need, but there is a program called Dragon Speak that you can purchase for your computer that will type what you speak into it. It's great for people you have output issues, such has thinking faster that you can type, and then losing you train of thought. If it's the formating that causing anxiety, I'm sure the "Dummies" series must have a book on college paper formating that show you just how certain research papers should look.
 
Thanks everyone for all the great advice! I know I need to relax a little, I make myself more upset from stewing about things. Last semester I did the same thing and ended up with a "A" at the end, but I have alot of test taking anxiety etc. (what a basket case)!
 
I'm sure your professor will be more than happy to go over a draft if you get one ready ahead of time, or if not that, at least a partial draft or an outline so you can at least show her your plan for organizing and developing your content. Also, as mentioned, most campuses will have some sort of writing resource center.

Is your concern more grammar related? If so, you might want to pick up a handbook, which can be useful for any class you write in. These will include info about grammar, as well as styles for formatting your paper (MLA for your humanities classes, APA for psychology and maybe other social science stuff as well). I use a McGraw-Hill handbook and I've also used Simon and Schuster Handbook for Writers in some of my classes. A lot of times too, at least for composition (what I teach), the textbook will have a mini handbook section in there somewhere.
 
Don't worry, you will gain confidence as you write more papers. We tend to be our own worst critics and agonize over trivial things that don't matter. I am 49 and will be graduating with my bachelor's degree in June. I like writing papers so much that I decided to go to graduate school (lol). Hang in there, it's worth it!

Sarah
 
Hi Andilynn,

You've already gotten great advice, and I just want to re-emphasize that you should not be shy about talking to your professor during her or his office hours. Take advantage of that one-on-one time, and explain any worries or fears you have. I'm an English professor at a community college, and I'm always happy to alleviate any fears that students have, esp. those that have been out of school for awhile.

You might also ask your prof if she or he can recommend a good grammar handbook for you that has APA format in it. I personally really like all of Diana Hacker's handbooks (published by St. Martin's Press), but there are many great handbooks out there that should contain a section on how to properly format research essays in APA format.

Also, several people suggested contacting your school's writing center, and that's a great idea. Most writing centers offer free tutoring, and many have free workshops on writing research essays. You can bring in rough drafts of your essays, and have them look them over.

As another piece of advice, it's probably too late to sign up for another class, but I'd recommend taking a writing class (English composition) as soon as possible. Even though your comp class will most likely focus on MLA format, you will learn really useful info about writing essays. One of the biggest things I focus on in my comp classes, in fact, is breaking down the writing of essays into several steps so that they become more manageable and, hence, less stressful.

That's great that you did so well last semester! Hope that this helps! :)
 
I think that I'm just not creative that way at all .I really need a checklist to sort of use to get my info together and figure out what I want to say. It's really a bit of a confidence issue also. I found a couple of good links on my blackboard website with examples of APA style( I'd never even heard of it!) so I think I'll get a early start on these so I'll have time to really go over and maybe talk to my prof. and get her take on what I should be doing.I sure never though that at my age I would be starting over , it's sort of exciting in a scary way!
 
A VERY simplistic overview of writing.
1. Decide what point you are trying to make with your paper. Introduce this point in the first 1-2 paragraphs and reiterate it in the last 1-2 paragraphs.
2. How are you going to prove your point? What 3 - 333 things make what your point is correct? Each of these points should be their own 1 - 5 paragraphs with a good transition between each point "Since I just covered X, Y is the next letter of the alphabet"
3. Remove all of the rabbit trails that came up in your writing that had nothing to do with your point.
See the above that I just wrote? I told your what I was going to cover, made my three points, and then summarized what I just told you. Works for any length of writing.
 
dragonf1y said:
A VERY simplistic overview of writing.
1. Decide what point you are trying to make with your paper. Introduce this point in the first 1-2 paragraphs and reiterate it in the last 1-2 paragraphs.
2. How are you going to prove your point? What 3 - 333 things make what your point is correct? Each of these points should be their own 1 - 5 paragraphs with a good transition between each point "Since I just covered X, Y is the next letter of the alphabet"
3. Remove all of the rabbit trails that came up in your writing that had nothing to do with your point.
See the above that I just wrote? I told your what I was going to cover, made my three points, and then summarized what I just told you. Works for any length of writing.
Click to expand...

Good example! I'm think I can I think I can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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