Preparing the Final Paper

Chapter 4
HOW TO WRITE TERM PAPERS AND REPORTS (L. SUE BAUGH)

References

Prepare the References before revising your final draft.

Citations on the text. Citations are used to document:

(1) Ideas or concepts develop by author (s) and used in your paper.
(2) Facts and statistics not common knowledge.
(3) direct quotations, whether only a few words or an extended
excerpt taken from a published work.

**As the writer, you are responsible for providing your reader
with enough information to locate the correct source.

Five Secrets of Revising Your Paper

Checking the logical development of your ideas.

Know how to create well-developed paragraphs.

Begin at the true beginning.

End with a bang, not a whimper.

Checking for Logical Development

Logical development means not only the flow of main

points throughout the paper, but the development of each
main idea within each paragraph.

Your first step is to make sure your main point follow

logically from your thesis statement and build on one
another the final conclusion.

When you are checking for logical development of the

main points in your paper, use the following rules:

Background information comes before analysis and opinion.

Minor points come before major points

Explanation comes before discussion of consequences

Arguments and reasons come before conclusions

The Well-Developed Paragraph

A term paper or report is nothing more than a series of

connected paragraphs.

Few basic elements make up an effective, convincing

paragraph:

Each paragraph discusses only one main point.

Each paragraph contains a topic sentence that introduces or
summarizes the main point.
Each paragraph provides examples proving or illustrating the
main point.

Introductory Paragraphs- Begin at the

beginning

The purpose of your introductory paragraph is to:

Introduce your subject.

Preview the organization of the paper by presenting the major
points in the order they will appear.
Come to the point of your paper or report.

Middle Paragraphs Getting from One Point

to Another

Middle or body paragraphs serve two purposes:

They develop each point in support of your thesis statement.

They build toward the strongest point before the concluding

paragraph.

Transitions within Paragraphs

The connections between paragraphs are called

transitions.
Smooth transitions lead the reader from one point to
another and clearly show the relationship between your
main ideas.
They unify your paper and give coherence and flow that
make it pleasure to read.

E.g. Although, admittedly, however, in addition, the result,

thus, and others.

Some of the Most Common Transitional

Words

Admittedly
Although
And
As a result
Assuredly
Because
But
Certainly
Clearly
Consequently
Furthermore

Further
However
In addition
In conclusion
In fact
Moreover
Most important of
all
Nevertheless
No doubt
Obviously

Of course
On the other hand
Still
Therefore
Thus
True
Undoubtedly
Unquestionably
While

Concluding Paragraphs- end with a Bang

Remember that the function of the concluding paragraph

is to begin with the thesis and end with a broad general
statement about your subject.

The conclusion resembles a pyramid the opposite of

the introduction with its shape.

A Final Word

Ask yourself the following

questions:

Is my thesis statement clearly

stated in the introductory and
concluding paragraphs?
Do my main points fully support
the thesis?

Have I organized the main points

so they flow logically from the
least important to the most
important arguments?
Have I supported my statements
and opinions with evidence,
examples, or illustrations?

Are any transitions within

between paragraphs smooth?

Does any conclusion rephrase,

summarize, and interpret the
thesis statement and main points
in my paper?

Have I cited all facts, other

peoples ideas or opinions, and
direct quotes in the paper?

Does my References list contain

complete information for each
reference?

Grammar and Style Tips

Chapter 5
HOW TO WRITE TERM PAPERS AND REPORTS (L. SUE BAUGH)

Lively Writing- Recommendations

Use action and the active voice

Eliminate there constructions
Keep your structures parallel (grammatical structures)
Eliminate clichs, wordiness, slang

Structure Parallel

Articles and prepositions

E.g.

Nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs

E.g.

Clichs

Clichs are trite, worn-out expressions that have been

chewed and rechewed until they have no substance left.

Common clichs include the following:

Dead as doornail
Getting in touch with
Up to your ears
Oldies but goodies
Quiet as a churchmouse
On the tip of my tongue
Too good to be true

Wordiness

Excess verbiage and redundant expressions that clutter

your writing.
Wordy

Concise

At this point in time

At this time

In spite of the fact that

Although

Refer back to

Refer to

During the course of

During

Until such time as

Until

Very necessary

Necessary

Due to the fact that

Because

Slang

Slang words lower the tone of your writing and cause the
reader to question your knowledge and credibility as a
writer.

E.g. loser, like the guy, failure, and others.