I’ve had quite a few international students and friends sheepishly ask how they should start a paper. We often say there is no such thing as a dumb question, but I know it might be embarrassing to ask basic questions in an academic English course. I sometimes think this part is skipped over because teachers don’t want to seem patronizing or they assume all universities assign writing assignments in the same way. I struggled to understand the process myself after relocating from the US to the UK, so I hope this blog entry saves you some trouble.
What is the assignment? How will I know what to write about?
At the beginning of your class, you will be given a ‘course guide’ or a ‘syllabus’ which will explain the topic of each class and list what you should read to prepare for that class period. During class you will take part in discussions and write notes about the lecture. In undergraduate classes, you may be tested on these materials several times. This is especially true if you’re going to an American college. British universities usually just have one exam or paper for each class. American classes have more assignments, exams and group work than British classes.
Towards the end of the semester, the teacher will usually release several essay questions and you will be asked to pick one or two to answer. Occasionally you will get lucky and find out the essay questions the first day of class. The questions will be related to previous in-class lectures and discussions, so you will need to go through your notes to see which questions you feel the most confident about answering.
Review and create an outline based on the recommended reading
Do not just dive into writing. Read through your in-class notes, get an idea of how you would like to answer the question and then re-read all the required reading for that class. Get to the library early so you can check out the materials you need. Your teacher may suggest a certain number of articles or books they expect you to cite for each paper. Your notes from class and the recommended reading should help you create a basic outline and direction for your paper.
Expand from the recommended reading
Now this is the part that will set you apart from other students. Look up books and journals mentioned in the original recommended reading and read them as well. If you don’t know how, ask your university librarian how to search for academic articles within the library system. Using the library system is much more direct and easier than just using Google Scholar. For example, you can search for articles from only the last five years or from certain reputable journals in your field. This will also help protect you from citing an untrustworthy source.
I really recommend Web of Knowledge. If you have a good article that was recommended, you can find similar articles with this database. Please ask your librarian if you have trouble logging in to this database or other academic resource websites.
Ask for previous papers
Many international students are unaware that they can ask to see previous papers from their course. It’s really difficult to start a paper if you don’t know what it should look like in the end. Ask your supervising professor or academic department’s office for help.
Type your research question / thesis statement on top of your notes and the rough draft of your literature review
It’s easy to lose focus when taking notes or preparing a literature review. Remember, the literature review is there to understand the context and background of the research question. It is not there to include everything that has ever been said on this topic. Your paper’s discussion should fill in a gap in the research that was revealed by the literature review. Writing your goal on the top of your paper will help you stay focused.
Know where you can go for help
Sometimes professors aren’t able to discuss essay questions with students. In that case, you should direct questions to:
- Your class representative
- A librarian
- The university writing lab
