It’s the second half of the semester and final projects are looming. Introduced on the first day, clearly printed on the syllabus, maybe your professor was kind enough to remind you, but with November only a few days away, the end of the semester feels closer than ever.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but in my time at Doane, final exams have never been my worry; the group projects and multi-page papers have been.
It’s easy to look at instructions for a paper/essay and think: There’s no way I’m getting that done in time. Well, yes, actually you can. In fact, I don’t think it’s that hard.
Now, look, I’m writing this in a college newspaper, so, yes, maybe I’m a bit biased. But I too get the feeling of dread and hopelessness upon seeing the one-sentence prompt for a paper that will need to turn into multiple pages.
In my experience, writing is as easy as connecting the dots. All you need is a concept (helpfully provided by your professor in this case) and an example. Multiple examples are preferred, but start with one.
First you will need to set a scene. Explain the concept, introduce the topic, start the story- whatever the paper demands of you. Then you introduce the example. And an example can be a lot of things: a narrative, a commercial, a news article. The best example? Another paper. Why write your own thoughts or come to your own conclusions when smarter people can do it for you? Before any professors start to get nervous, I promise it’s more nuanced than copying someone else’s work. A college research paper is basically a red thread connecting a bunch of different sources in order to further whatever sleep-deprived, half-baked argument the student dreams up. You are Dr. Frankenstein and the paper is your monster. Tomorrow the townsfolk (your professor) will burn and spear it (grade it), but tonight in the light of the moon (computer screen) you’ve played God, and it’s alive.
See, every essay needs to start with the conviction that you are blazing some fascinating new trail. Have people covered this topic before? Doubtless. But have they used your same examples, the same wording and connections? No.
And the most beautiful part of it all? You can do whatever you want. Well, besides all the instructions and guidelines. But I mean more so you are free in the creative spirit sense. Don’t know how to start your paper? Don’t. So many Owl articles I’ve written have begun with the final line, not the first. The most important part is to start. The pieces will all fall into place, but only if you’re brave enough to blaze that trail.
Speaking of starting, start right now. I’m not kidding, it’s almost November, which means it’s almost dead week, which means it’s almost finals. Why do you think I’m writing this article? I’m obviously procrastinating on the essay looming in my periphery. So, it’s time to take my own advice, wrap this up and get started.
Oh, and before I go, a quick word about citations. I cannot save you. It will be awful. The great downfall of many well-thought-out and carefully crafted examples is the three-page bibliography. Use Citation Machine and pray.
