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jus970616

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Hi everyone! In my women's and gender studies class, I got an 88 and 87 on my essays, and I ended up with a B in the class (I don't know what I got on my final paper). I went to office hours to discuss my paper content with the professor, and she said that she generally liked my ideas so it might have to do with how I organize them and outline?? Since many med schools have a 1-year English requirement, I still have to take an English class in the future, so I was wondering if anyone had any advice on getting better scores on essays. Thank you in advance!


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Outline your paper before hand. Have a clear and focused thesis. Organize the paper around the thesis. Write the paper. Proofread it. Does your paper make sense? Does every sentence in the paper play a defined role? Are you making an argument but providing no close textual analysis (the equivalent of raising a claim in science with no evidence)? Are you merely skimming over the text or are you really digging into the meat of the text that relates to your question? Are you merely summarizing the text as opposed to analyzing it? Does the organization of the paper present the argument in the most logical and understandable way? Cut out fluffy words, use less words, and use the most descriptive words without having to resort to arcane language. Don't think about the paper for a day. Proofread it again. Read it out loud. Does it sound clunky?

9/10 times the biggest problem with a paper is that the thesis is not tight and focused enough for the writer to produce an outline that 1) makes sense 2) is sufficiently rigorous / substantial and 3) is not just bull**** passing for "analysis".

Read Lewis Thomas' style guide for punctuation in my sig.
 
I utilize the writing center for all my papers
 
3member said:
This may not be a quick fix, but I have learned that reading (novels, classics, any kind of literature) has helped me write better. Definitely think it will help in the long run.
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I second this!
 
3member said:
This may not be a quick fix, but I have learned that reading (novels, classics, any kind of literature) has helped me write better. Definitely think it will help in the long run.
Click to expand...

Was going to suggest that. The two best ways to get better at writing are to read a lot and write a lot.

As for quicker fixes, outlining helps a lot of people, but it isn't for everyone. I find that outlining doesn't work for me. The more you write and experiment with techniques, the better you'll get.

It may sound counterintuitive, but writing fiction helped with my academic writing. Write some short stories. You can find prompts all over the Internet that direct you to write on a certain topic, and there are plenty of online and in person resources to get your writing (fiction or academic) critiqued, which is key to improvement.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Was going to suggest that. The two best ways to get better at writing are to read a lot and write a lot.

As for quicker fixes, outlining helps a lot of people, but it isn't for everyone. I find that outlining doesn't work for me. The more you write and experiment with techniques, the better you'll get.

It may sound counterintuitive, but writing fiction helped with my academic writing. Write some short stories. You can find prompts all over the Internet that direct you to write on a certain topic, and there are plenty of online and in person resources to get your writing (fiction or academic) critiqued, which is key to improvement.
Click to expand...
I will second the reading. Find stuff you like. I wasn't the best writer in undergrad, but it did improve by my senior year. I approached my problem a different way that not many others can. I was never a fan of the stuff I read in my English classes, so I decided to take more German and Spanish literature courses. I enjoyed them a lot more, and I would be writing almost every week.
Also, adding to the writing, if your friends ever ask you to read trough their papers, do it! You'll see different writing styles and you can learn things in your writing. You may have some components that are strong, others that are weak.
 
Always stay on topic, and see if everything fits your thesis.
 
sehnsuchtsermedico said:
I will second the reading. Find stuff you like. I wasn't the best writer in undergrad, but it did improve by my senior year. I approached my problem a different way that not many others can. I was never a fan of the stuff I read in my English classes, so I decided to take more German and Spanish literature courses. I enjoyed them a lot more, and I would be writing almost every week.
Also, adding to the writing, if your friends ever ask you to read trough their papers, do it! You'll see different writing styles and you can learn things in your writing. You may have some components that are strong, others that are weak.
Click to expand...

Yep. I actually came into my own with my writing after reading a ton of different authors from different cultures and time periods.

One of the biggest things to keep in mind is that writers write! You can't hone your writing if the only time you write is for papers.
 
Matthew9Thirtyfive said:
Yep. I actually came into my own with my writing after reading a ton of different authors from different cultures and time periods.

One of the biggest things to keep in mind is that writers write! You can't hone your writing if the only time you write is for papers.
Click to expand...
It was also fun writing in other languages 😉 it made me focus on how I write in English. There are so many grammar rules that I had to learn, that I never focused on in English courses because I don't think I was ever taught English grammar. It just happened
 
I'm a liberal arts major who loves writing so maybe my advice isn't the best, but generally my papers are good when I'm writing about something I really, really care about. Hopefully for your next class you will have the freedom to select the topic you choose to write about. Do stuff you're interested in! sounds like you're exploring your literary voice by reading different stuff already.

Writing centers can also be super healthful as previously mentioned.
 
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