How to Write the Perfect Term Paper

The most common writing requirement in upper-division courses is the term paper. The importance of the term paper tends to be neglected. Why is a term paper so important? The main reason is that it will make up a big part of your final grade. You might be deceived as to its importance because most teachers will not give much class discussion time to these papers. When your instructor does not give you detailed instructions for writing your term paper, it is up to you to become informed on your own.

The first step to writing the perfect term paper is analyzing the materials you already have. This means that you need to take a good look at all of the information you have on your subject, including your text-book materials, lecture notes, and course hand-outs . Your instructor will usually point out exactly what is expected of you. Students tend to neglect this and, as a consequence, their end product does not fulfill the task assigned. It is very important to discuss anything that you do not understand with your teacher as soon as possible. Sometimes students do not do this because they are afraid of appearing stupid in the eyes of the instructor or their fellow students. This is a huge mistake! Not only will a good teacher answer all of your questions but will also notice that you are genuinely interested in writing a quality term paper.

After you have analyzed your materials, you must decide on a thesis. Most often, a thesis is a question that you seek to answer in your paper, but this is not a hard rule. If your teacher does not tell you that your thesis must be a question, you may feel free to experiment. Why not make it interesting for yourself? Try searching for a topic that interests you - this will not only make your term paper easier to write, it will also make it more fun to write. Make sure your subject and thesis fulfill the necessary requirements and then analyze how long your paper will turn out. A term paper usually has page limits. With this in mind, be careful not to choose a subject that is likely to turn out too long or too short. For instance, you can not write a 10 page term paper about the evolution of music from Classical to Modern - the subject is much too broad to cover in such a short space. If you are in this position, you need to narrow your topic. Also, make sure that your chosen topic will have enough bibliography available and be sure that you understand your subject completely before starting your paper.

The next step that you need to complete is research. In most cases there is a specific bibliography assigned for your paper, but often it is a general list of suggested reading, rather
than a precise list of references. In this case you, the student, fist need to compile a list of appropriate sources. Many students fail with the actual writing because of improper researching during this phase. In some cases, this is because they attempted to conduct their research solely on the Internet at the expense of using the library. While it is true that the World Wide Web is a trove of information on most subjects, when writing a term paper, you also need to look for research materials in the library. You will surely find someone to point you in the right direction and aid you during your research in the library. Gather anything you might want to use from
magazine articles to books written by specialists on your chosen subject. While reading and gathering your materials, be sure that you take notes. Including quotations is necessary,
but be careful to not put too many in one term paper. Many students tend to include long quotes in order to finish more quickly and fill up the space. In fact, this is not at all productive and does not look good to your instructor. You should include only quotes that are necessary and relevant to your subject and, in your final paper, include only the necessary parts of the quote, the parts that are useful and directly link to your topic.

After gathering your notes, you need to outline your term paper. Once again, analysis is very important. Look at the research materials that you found and the notes that you took.
Create the main outline of your term paper by analyzing what you want to discuss and keeping on your subject. Follow the outline you have created and start writing the draft version of
your term paper. Unless your instructor has told you otherwise, you should use the simple essay format of:

1. Introduction
2. Body
3. Conclusion

Use the Introduction to outline what you are going to say, the Body to say it, and the Conclusion
to summarize your paper's points and the answer to your thesis question. After the first draft is finished, you need to polish it before it is a final paper. Proofreading is a must and should be done
aloud so that you can also hear the sense of your composition. This makes it easier for you to change what does not sound good. Analyze the grammar and spelling so that any mistakes
are avoided or corrected. Look at the quotes you have included and check to see if they are used properly or not. The actual polishing should be done at least two days after the first draft was finished. This will help you stay objective about it. If you know that you are biased, give your term paper to someone else to read and be sure to ask for comments and criticisms. Following these simple steps will help you to create the perfect term paper, but it is up to you to follow
through. Take your assignment seriously and do not treat it lightly. If you are mature and diligent, your term paper is bound to be perfect.

Article Resource