Joe Giampalmi

Article / Updated 07-27-2023

Congratulations on earning your college admission. You’ve successfully fulfilled the requirements for 12 years of school, and you’re entering a world that defies the math you’ve learned. Grade 12 isn’t followed by Grade 13. It’s followed by an opportunity to change your life and your family’s life, and it begins with your first-year writing in college. You can become one of almost a third of adults who earn college degrees. But capitalizing on that opportunity will require an academic commitment that exceeds your efforts in the past. Your immediate challenge requires conquering your Writing 101 essay course, a challenge that destroys the dreams of almost 40 percent of first-year students who never become sophomores. What to expect in your college writing course Your admission to college entitles you to a classroom seat — anywhere in the classroom you choose to sit. You’ll also receive a syllabus — your last reminder of assignments due throughout the semester. A syllabus is a contract between you and your professor. On your first day of college class, you’ll recognize that you’re no longer in high school and your class size is most likely smaller than high school. Take a look around the room, and you’ll see unfamiliar people who feel equally uncomfortable. You may feel similar to how you felt the first day in first grade, but you now have your cell phone for security. The following sections identify what practices from high school English you won’t expect to happen in college writing, including a comparison to your college writing class. You can also find information about what your professor will (and won’t) do. It's not like your high school English class Here are practices common to your high school English class that you’ll no longer experience in your college classroom: Daily reminders: Your high school teachers saw you daily and reminded you of upcoming assignments. Your college syllabus is your one-time reminder of everything due for the semester. Flexible deadlines: High school deadlines for essays, text, and projects are carved in sand. College deadlines indelibly recorded in your syllabus are changed as often as a harvest moon during leap year. Grading with pity points: College grades are based exclusively on academic performance with no consideration of how well you organized the community-wide blood drive or how many times you were student of the month. Five-days-a-week classes: College writing classes generally meet for 75 minutes twice a week, maybe 50 minutes three times a week. Your college study day begins after classes end. Class interruptions: You won’t miss in-class announcements, calls to the office, late arrivals and early dismissals, assemblies, abbreviated schedules, and knocks on the door. Classes are the business of college, and the business is life-altering. Regular testing: High school tests provide numerous opportunities to stabilize grades and raise grades over a period of time. College courses commonly include three or four graded assignments, each one covering four times the content of your high school tests. Unaccountable readings: High school reading assignments frequently get lost in the wilderness and disappear from being required. College reading assignments have multiple lives, recurring in tests, writing assignments, class discussions, and final exams. The table below compares some other areas so you can see how high school and college writing classes differ. Differentiating High School and College Writing High School College Assignments Essays and research papers Essays, research papers, reaction papers, reports, reviews of literature, and media presentations Discipline Primarily English class Across disciplines Evidence Opinions and limited research Primary and secondary sources, surveys, and observations Length 400 to 500 words 650 to 700 words Revision Submitted as one daft Submission process includes multi-drafts. Drafts and feedback usually required to be submitted with portfolio Thesis Broad thesis adaptable to multiple sources of supporting information A thesis that identifies an arguable issue related to the assigned question You’ll never appreciate your high school teachers as much as you will when you walk into your first college class with the excitement of “Where do I start?” and walk out with the confusion of “How do I start?” Identifying what you're responsible for Growing up isn’t easy, and you’ve been longing for your independence since you first crossed the street alone. Congratulations, you’re a fully responsible adult with some, not nearly all, of the obligations. You were most likely a very responsible high school student, but more than likely you had a family support system that included providing food, shelter, and some clothing. Your responsibility will be tested in college as you exercise your new independence. Here’s a look at some of your new responsibilities as college student for all your courses, not just college writing: Attend all classes. Attending class is your number one priority as a college student. Professors design classes to follow a logical sequence and academic rhythm. When you miss a class, you break the rhythm. Classes are to college what the Internet is to your social life. Attending class also means arriving at least five minutes early and not leaving early or abusing restroom needs. You don’t want your professor to associate your name with arrival and departure times. You’re expected to remain grounded during class time. Plan for your success. Start planning completion of your degree by scheduling a meeting with your academic advisor to anticipate courses your first two years of college. You may not know your major, but you should determine a general field of study such as humanities, sciences, business, communications, and so forth. Familiarize yourself with campus resources. During the first week of school, search your school’s website to determine locations and contact information for resources such as health services, writing center, career planning, academic skills center, recreation center, and public safety. Meet deadlines. Responsible people meet deadlines, sometimes a day early. Missing deadlines is the second easiest way to destroy your college dreams; missing classes and assignments is the first way. Stay healthy. A healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise, provides the stamina to meet the physical demands of classes and study. It’s sometimes described as a strong mind through a strong body. Begin career planning. Almost every college campus has a career planning center. They guide you through career interest planning, resume building, and interview preparation. You will learn life-altering information such as the workplace has no spring break and you have no cut days. Remember: College professors are nonnegotiable You learned which teachers in high school you could manipulate for hall passes, assignment extensions, or full class discussions of your favorite music. That was high school. Save your negotiating skills for your career. Professors don’t negotiate with terrorists or students. They only negotiate with their supervisors. Your high school teachers and college professors are as different as synchronized swimming and ballroom dancing. Therefore, you face a greater chance of drowning in a college class. Everyone has other courses and responsibilities High school students regularly complain to their teachers that they’re overwhelmed with work from other classes and that multiple tests fall on similar days. Say goodbye to the fantasy high school world and hello to the grown-up world where people you’re responsible to expect you to fulfill your obligations. As a first-year college student, you’re at the bottom of the food chain and responsible to everyone. Everyday responsible adults fulfill work responsibilities with family members sick at home, transportation problems, relationship issues, financial complications, personal health concerns — and many more serious issues. That’s the standard for responsible adults. Successful college students are adults who find a way to fulfill their responsibilities and utilize resources available when they need help. High school students shed their training wheels when they enter college. Older nontraditional students already learned to manage complex adult lifestyles that include full-time employment and full-time family responsibilities. Debunking writing myths When first-year-college students become seniors, they thrive on telling comp course stories, such as being assigned to read James Michener’s 868-page Alaska and write a 5,000-word reaction paper over the weekend. The Michener assignment exemplifies a myth associated with first-year writing. Here’s a look at other myths and their realities. Myth No. 1: My professor doesn’t like my writing style Professors don’t evaluate first-year writing primarily on style unless your interpretation of style includes faulty sentence structure, unintended fragments, inactive and weak verbs, vague nouns, and long sentences with delayed subjects and verbs. If that last sentence sounds like your style, your professor is correct and your writing needs a new wardrobe. As a general rule, professors accept any writing style that includes clear and somewhat concise writing. If you think a professor doesn’t like your style, talk with your professor to clarify the meaning of “writing style,” what the professor dislikes about the writing, and how you can fix it. Myth No. 2: Writing is just too darn hard Writing is difficult, but some students make it more difficult by not following what research shows are best practices for successful college writing. You’ve designed a plan to fail if you start writing assignments late, neglect to analyze the assignment, skip background reading and planning, and start to take the essay seriously two days before deadline. That approach is like typing your assignment on your phone wearing mittens. You can make writing easier by following the process of writing: prewriting, drafting, revising, and preparing for presentation. For the details on each of the prewriting, drafting, revising, and preparing for presentation phases, check out my book College Writing For Dummies. Writing doesn’t come easy for most people, including most professional writers. But writing isn’t an insurmountable task that only a few can master. Most people learn to write by following the practices of good writing, one of which is commitment. But it will never be as easy as skills you’re more interested in and more motivated to learn. Myth No. 3: Only problem writers need feedback All writers need feedback to tell them what works and what doesn’t work. Classroom instructors at all levels provide opportunities for feedback. The rejections of the classic books was feedback that told the authors their books needed revising. Feedback is to writing what ice is to learning to skate. You can’t move forward without it. Myth No. 4: I suffer from writer's block Picture this. You and your significant other are enjoying a romantic dinner at your favorite restaurant. You’re waiting patiently for your dinner as your server appears at your table and says: “I’m sorry we can’t serve you dinner. The chef is experiencing culinary block.” Being blocked, or the inability to perform creativity, has been attributed exclusively to the art of writing. Electricians, teachers, chefs, pilots, and so forth don’t experience suffering from the block. Writers and creative innovators experience regular challenges that are addressed with problem solving and decision making. You can always do something to move your writing forward: read about the topic, question your organization, rethink your opening sentence, and so forth. Writing requires completion of a series of complex processes that results in successful drafts. No student with a respectable work ethic can be blocked 360 degrees. Myth No. 5: I can revise in ten minutes Without feedback, writers wouldn’t know if their writing is good or bad. A rejected novel tells Stephen King his book is unsuccessful. A Pulitzer Prize tells Ernest Hemingway his writing is good, and similarly academic writers who think they can revise in ten minutes not only confuse revising with editing, but also underestimate the influence of revising on improving writing. Here’s a quick overview how editing and revising differ: Editing: A form of revising, editing is usually associated with correcting. An editing session may be completed in ten minutes, but it’s like the first step of a morning run. Revising: Revising is the process where writers see the biggest improvements in their writing. It ranges from rethinking structure, organization, focus, development, and flow to correcting rules of grammar, usage, punctuation, and spelling. Revising isn’t correcting writing, but clarifying the writing message. Good writers are good revisers. Myth No. 6: Writers are born Is anyone born with polished skills in any field? This line of thinking implies a fixed mindset; the belief that you’re either a college student or not or a confident person or not — and you can’t do anything to improve. Education and self-fulfillment result from a growth mindset, the belief that improvement results from hard work. Writers become good when they work hard developing the skills needed to become a writer, such as information gathering, planning, organizing, drafting, and revising. First-year writing courses offer a venue to improve writing. Students who work hard at it, and get help when they need it, succeed.

Article / Updated 07-25-2023

Research papers are like a six-hour energy drink for your grade. They’re usually weighted a higher point value than other assignments because they require more work. And writing a few successful research papers each semester helps to boost your grade point average — and your academic confidence. In addition to energizing your grade, here’s a look at the benefits of research papers and why they matter. They: Broaden your knowledge base: New knowledge produces new questions to answer and new answers to questions. Research papers broaden and develop new interests. Develop your scholarship: Research papers are the primary academic activity of scholars-in-training like you. More than any other academic assignment, research papers show your depth of understanding a topic. Focus your expertise: If your research writing reveals patterns of interests, such as an analysis of workplace issues, you may be developing an area of focus for career exploration. Trace your research topics from middle school through college and analyze what they reveal about your interests. Develop problem-solving skills: Solving problems develops your problem-solving skills. Researching and writing are endless marathons of solving problems. Expand career opportunities: Research papers and grad school are a given. A research background also qualifies you for many business careers, including entrepreneurialism. Each paper you write represents an opportunity to explore a new career. Show your skills: Research papers demonstrate a variety of academic skills such as synthesizing, analyzing, organizing, summarizing, and paraphrasing. They also show skills such as creating research questions, developing an argument, and drawing conclusions. Before the age of mass computers, research was like locating a lucky flake in a family-size box of cereal. The research process included locating the library’s one copy of the Readers Guide to Periodical Literature, searching your topic, recording periodical biographical information, submitting your source requests, and returning in a week to see if your requests could be fulfilled. Occasionally, an overzealous peer would irresponsibly rip out the periodical page you needed for research. Gathering scholarly sources today lacks yesterday’s drama, but not yesterday’s importance. Sources may not be as significant to you as your phone and Wi-Fi, but without research skills to locate them, your academic life will crash like an overheated device. Put on your academic game face, alert your friends you’re taking a short sabbatical from social media, and commit yourself to the type of research that decreases the distance toward your college graduation goal. For more on how to start your college research paper, including formulating the all-important research question and gathering sources, check out my book College Research Papers For Dummies. What makes a good research paper topic? Let this idea live rent free in your head: As a college professor who has graded more than 10,000 research papers, I assure you the most important grade-influencing decision you make — before you write word one in draft one — is identifying the topic. Innovative topics encourage your professor to reward your initiative with a grade of B or better, and it’s usually better. Innovative or outlier topics show your audience, and your professor, that your thinking surpasses the status quo and recognizes the importance of engaging writing and interesting content. Here’s a look at creative topics that professors want to see more of and are willing to reward you for: Culinary trends in Shakespeare’s plays: What they say about nutrition at the time Nineteenth century literary characters who would blow up Twitter — and today’s First Amendment implications Is a “good” dictatorship better than a bad democracy? These topics combine unexpected elements: Shakespeare themes and nutrition, literary characters and the First Amendment — and arguing against the grain (a good dictatorship). Your initial topic, research questions, and thesis are called working because they usually require revising during background research and early writing of the assignment. Professor-pleasing topic elements In addition to novel and uncommon approaches, elements of professor-pleasing topics include the following: Addresses assignment question: Professors design research assignments to allow you broad interpretations of the topic, but not limitless approaches. Professors expect your topic to fulfill the major purpose of the assignment, usually a form of argument. Connects to course content: Connect your topic to course content by surveying your syllabus, reviewing tests, perusing notes and readings, and recalling class discussions. Identify major themes of the course and determine how one of them connects with the assignment. Contains a debatable issue: Be certain that your topic has an element of disagreement. If you’re arguing that government should partially repay student loans, be sure to address reasons for disagreement. Appeals to scholarly audience, including your professor: Connect your topic to the scholarly audience by analyzing it through an academic discipline, such as economics, health, psychology, sociology, and works of literature. Also consider integrating interests of your professor who represents that audience. Identifies with your academic interest: Within the context of the assignment, choose a topic that will sustain your interest for three or four weeks. Consider a topic in your major field of study, a topic you want to explore, or a topic you think about and talk about. Includes available research: An early red flag to abort your topic is lack of easily available research. If you can’t locate 15 to 20 sources on your first search, and if the reference librarian can’t direct you to topic sources, reboot your topic. How to find research paper topics Topic ideas surround your everyday academic life. Here are some resources for developing your research topic: Background reading: Read extensively and deeply on the topic. Read for who, what, when, where, how, and why. Read for ideas explained, implied, understated, and omitted. Your professor and other faculty: Talk with your professor about your planned approach to the topic and ask about other professors who may be a source for your research. Content from other courses: Professors value interdisciplinary thinking. Consider topics from another course that apply to the assignment. Library resources: A walk through the library or a scroll through the library website may generate topic ideas. Note displays and special interest exhibits and consider their connection to your topic. Campus and community issues: Consider campus and community issues that may connect to the assignment such as campus resources that can address community problems. Your phone’s AI: Ask your phone’s artificial intelligence for a suggested topic. The answer may surprise you. Social media: Is a topic trending on social media that’s academically applicable to the assignment? What topics are going viral? Identify a working topic within hours after analyzing your assignment and completing background reading. Avoid topic paralysis that bankrupts your time-management budget. Topic indecision is the enemy of a successful assignment. Topic pitfalls to avoid Your goal as a student is to fulfill your professor’s expectations for the assignment, which includes researching scholarly evidence to argue a thesis. Avoid topics that present unnecessary obstacles for achieving those objectives, such as the following: Too intricate: Steer clear of complex topics that exceed assignment length and increase difficulty of the assignment, such as the following: Causes of declining GPAs among first-generation college students who commute and work full time, reducing available study time All about AI: Uses and abuses, position in the workplace, and potential to replace college writing Non-arguable: College students thrive on defending a belief. But when a belief lacks defense, they’re speechless — or wordless. Here are examples of topics that lack a logical argument: Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and needs a cure. Colleges that have large endowments offer more resources to students than colleges with smaller endowments. Values: College students feel strongly about their personal values (honesty, authenticity, compassion, service, and so forth). But research papers and most other college assignments (except in a course that studies values and ethics) aren’t the platform to defend them because they’re too difficult to argue with scholarly sources. Defend your values with how you live your life and argue them in dorm-room discussions — with the door closed tightly. Here are a couple of examples of a values topic difficult to write a research paper about: Too technical: Avoid topics that exceed the technical knowledge of your audience and require too much terminology to explain. For example: Unfair advantages of high-tech swimwear in collegiate competitive swimming The energy efficiency of an HVAC system is directly related to its air exchange capabilities Personal obsessions: Avoid topics focused on personal obsessions you’re passionate about, such as politics, religion, and personal health. The emotional “you” will overpower the logical “you,” and your argument usually includes personal opinion rather than scholarly sources and a thesis based on logic. As soon as you begin accumulating information for your research project, back up files and back up your backup. Universities usually provide adequate student storage. Self-emailing represents another form of back up, in addition to an external hard drive backup. Avoid embarrassing yourself with the excuses almost all professors will decry: “I lost my files” or “My computer crashed.” How to create a thesis statement Your most important sentence as an academic writer is the thesis statement, which states the position your paper will take and the direction it will develop. It’s like system settings on your devices, controlling every function of your research. If one part of your thesis malfunctions, your research assignment is toast. Think of the thesis like sentence ground zero. The development of every idea in the assignment flows through the thesis statement. In research writing, thesis statements are called claim statements because they claim or assert the argument of the paper. Thesis statements require more thought than any other sentence you write. And when the thesis fails, the assignment fails. These sections explain the what and how of writing thesis statements and illustrate five steps for drafting a research paper thesis. Focus your thesis on a problem within the topic After analyzing the assignment and background reading, identify a problem related to the topic. Here’s an example on the topic of earning college degrees: Almost 60 percent of first-year college students neglect to graduate within six years. The topic’s problems include millions of students who fail to achieve their college dream and the financial opportunities that accompany it and drop out of college with approximately $15,000 in student-loan debt. The thesis offers a research-supported solution to the problem. When thesis statements neglect to focus on a problem, they lack reader drama and audience interest. How to write a thesis The thesis identifies the purpose of the research paper and references the argument the paper will defend. Here’s an example of a thesis: The college admission process should include students’ demonstrating an understanding of at least three classic books. The sample thesis asserts that students should demonstrate critical reading skills before admission to college. The thesis argues that the almost 60 percent college attrition rate six years after enrollment is attributed to poor reading skills. It will be supported by research showing that reading is a fundamental skill for success in college. As a general rule, a thesis statement is completion of the sentence, such as: "The purpose of this research paper is to argue that …" Here’s a look at theses that complete that sentence: The cost of producing electric vehicles often exceeds energy saved over lifetime operation of the vehicle. Music improves the benefits of exercising. Colleges bear some responsibility for the student loan crisis. Here’s a look at some successful thesis statements: Responsibility for the student loan crisis should be shared by borrowers and colleges, especially the college admission process. Female characters in Shakespeare are representative of today’s “Me Too” movement. NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) has had a positive influence on college academics. The most common error writing thesis statements is writing sentences too narrow or too broad. Here are examples of those errors and their revisions: Too narrow: College students’ academic performance is limited by eating unhealthy snacks. Revised: College students perform better academically when they exercise and develop good nutrition habits. Too broad: Everyone should go to college. Revised: Everyone qualified and motivated should attend college, but many other routes leading to career success and financial stability are available, such as the trades and entrepreneurialism. Drafting a research paper thesis in five easy steps Thesis statements preview the argument the research paper supports. Here are five easy-to-follow steps for writing a thesis statement for research papers: Determine your topic. After analyzing the assignment and reading background information, list the topic that interests you, which includes an argument and support by available research. (See the section “Identifying What Makes a Good Topic” earlier in this chapter.) Identify a problem. Identify a major problem related to the topic that the research paper will address. Interrogate your topic. Identify a variety of meanings of the problem by asking questions such as: Whom or what is affected by the problem? Who benefits and who doesn’t? So what? and What if? What do the answers suggest about content needed to address the topic? Write a research question. The question you write is answered by the thesis. Here’s an example of a research question: How does NIL affect college athletes? Convert the question into a position statement. A thesis statement takes an arguable position that offers a solution to the problem, such as: NIL provides college athletes with the same social media financial opportunities as non-athlete students.