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Writing College Papers: Step 8

This guide helps students write effective college papers, essay exams, and paragraphs. It was produced in fulfillment of a Designs for Learning grant at Anne Arundel Community College by Professor Paul Gabriel-Tucci and Professor Janice Lathrop.

Help Is Available

Anne Arundel Community College offers free writing help to students who are enrolled in classes, through The Writing Center and through Smarthinking.com.

Need help citing your sources correctly?  Check the site at the Owl at Purdue or the AACC Citation Guide for help.

These sources will not write your papers for you or proofread your work, but they do offer invaluable assistance.

Research Assistance

More ways to get help:

Double-Check Your Paper's Organization

Once you have a draft of your paper, it is a good idea to recheck the overall structure.

First, for yourself, find the main point of your paper (usually found at the end of the introductory paragraph).

Ask yourself: 

  • Is the main point of my paper as clearly and precisely worded as possible?
  • Does the main point of my paper help me accomplish the goals of the Assignment?  (You may want to double-check by rereading the Assignment once more.)
  • Is the main point of my paper a complete, grammatically correct sentence?

 

Next, find the main point of each support paragraph (usually found at the start of each body paragraph).

Ask yourself: 

Does each support paragraph in my paper help to prove my paper’s main point? 

  • Is the main point of each of my support paragraphs clearly and precisely worded? 
  • Is each main point of each of my support paragraphs a complete, grammatically correct sentence?

Library photo courtesy of Barry Halkin Photography