How to Get an A on Your Next Paper

Chances are, you are going to have to write quite a few papers during your time in college.  Everyone knows the basics before turning in papers:  check your grammar, have a friend look over the final product and do not procrastinate.  These all help, but next time try some of these less common tips that you might not have considered in order to get that “A.”
 
1.  If you do not know what a word means, do not use it.  You might think it makes you sound more intelligent and scholarly, but if you misuse it, your professor will not be impressed.  Microsoft’s ability to give you automatic synonyms seems like a godsend, but those words often have a different connotation (the implications and associations of a word) than what you’re going for in your paper.  For example, if you want to write that someone is thin, you could use the words slim, scrawny or svelte.  All of them have the same meaning but very different connotations.  Be very cautious of the words you choose.
 
2.  Make sure you do not ramble.  Your professor says to write five pages but you only have three.  You are running out of things to say, so you decide to ramble.  This is going to lower your grade for sure.  Instead, go back and re-read what you have already written.  Is there anywhere where you could add more information or further clarify your thoughts?  Add!
 
3.  Make sure your paper flows.  Do not jump from topic to topic.  Make sure one topic leads directly into the next.  You should always introduce information before presenting it and then analyze that information afterward.
 

4.  Read your paper backwards.  Seriously.  After writing and reading over your own paper a few times, you will become so used to what it says, that you will read over mistakes without picking them up.  Read it backward, one sentence at a time, and you will see your paper in a new light.  You will be much more likely to catch mistakes that way.
 
5.  Talk to your professor.  Do not leave anything to chance.  As about margins, spacing, page requirements, number of words and anything else you can think of.  Be that annoying kid in class who asks too many questions.  It sucks to have points taken off just because the formatting of your paper was wrong.  Plus, some professors will read over your paper before it is due during office hours.  If you can get their thoughts about your paper before you turn it in for a grade, you can change what they did not like, emphasize what they did like and figure out exactly what they are looking for.
 
6.  Use Campus Resources!  There are plenty of places around campus that are open to help you with your papers.  The Writing Center can help you with grammar, organization and other things for papers and assignments for all courses.  These resources are free and can really help boost your grade.  Do not be afraid to get a little help!
 
http://www.lib.vt.edu/help/writing.html
 
 
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