Writing Tips

Writing Tips Why is it important to be able to write well?

One of the skills that a student at MCS needs is the ability to communicate well. Training for Ministry is all about communicating, whether it’s preaching a sermon, sharing a talk with a group of people, writing a letter to the people you’re in ministry with or writing an article about your ministry for the local paper, communication is key to being successful in ministry.

At MCS, we encourage you as a student to be a good writer because this will help you to be a good communicator.

Tips on Writing a Research Paper

Whether it’s a research paper on a certain topic in a course or a major project that encourages you to use the knowledge you gain in class by applying it to a real setting, what you choose to write on will determine how much information you will be able to access.

Choosing a Topic

Almost always, it’s of great benefit to you to consult your professor concerning topics that are useful to research and write on. Taking something that is very narrow in terms of information available to you will set you up for frustration when you actually do the research. It’s always good to visit the library data base and search your topic to see what materials are available. This will give you a good indication as to whether there is sufficient material on the subject. Don’t pick a topic that everyone else wants to write on. If the topic is popular and there a lot of people writing on it, the availability of materials will be limited because so many are accessing resources from the library. Make sure you pick a topic that you are personally interested in. When it comes to crunch time and you have to get the essay done, you will be motivated to finish because you actually are interested in what you researched.

Forming a Thesis Statement

One of the common mistakes made by students is failure to form a clear thesis statement or argument for a paper. A thesis statement is a statement that outlines the purpose of the paper in one sentence. Without a clear thesis statement, a paper can be very frustrating for the person who will read it. It also comes across as unfocused and poorly researched and thought out.

If you want to write a good essay, form a thesis statement that is clear to you and incorporate it into your introduction. Let the statement sit a while and then go back and read it again as if you’re the one marking it. Does it make sense to you? Does it give you a sense of where the paper is going in terms of the topic its addressing? Is the statement interesting enough to make you want to read the whole paper? Have other people read the statement and ask them the same questions. You will find that this exercise will help you a great deal in writing a paper that is interesting and rewarding.

Well Organized

A well organized paper is always a pleasure to read. Make sure that you use categories and headings to divide up your paper. If there are 5 important aspects to your paper, then divide your paper into five sections with a section at the beginning for an introduction and section at the end for a conclusion. This helps keep you organized as you write the paper. Sometimes it’s helpful to collect your research according to the 5 aspects of your paper. This will have you thinking in those categories the entire time you put it
together.

On Citing Your Resources

One of the important features of a good paper is using quotes and resources in a way that supports the points you are trying to make in your paper. A common mistake by students is to hi-jack the paper by over quoting from books and resources. A good rule of thumb when wondering whether to quote or not to quote is whether what is said is written in a way where you could not do better in your own words. If this is the case, then quoting is good and should be done according to whatever style of writing you are using. Sometimes you want to use the words of an authority on your topic and that is another good reason to quote an author.

Most MCS professors are flexible concerning style of writing and accept papers that use MLA, Turabian, Chicago and other styles. Although MCS refers students to MLA, what is more important to a professor is a paper that is consistent in how it is organized and arranges citations of resources in the body of the paper. Most word processing software has an “endnotes, footnotes” feature that helps you consistently organize your quotes through your paper. It’s recommended that you confirm the style that your professor prefers.

Sometimes ideas are borrowed and used in a paper to help build the paper’s argument. The words in a resource are taken and put into a summary of your own words. This is called paraphrasing. Citing these paraphrases is also important. Even though you are not setting the text apart in quotations, what you are writing in essence came from one of your resources. It is customary to cite [or footnote] this paraphrase in the same way that you would for a quote except for the quotation marks in the text.

Finally, sometimes you want to indicate to your professor that you are aware of other issues connected to what you are writing but beyond the scope and length of your paper. This is another good reason to enter a footnote or endnote that explains in one or two sentences that you understand that greater issues at play that are beyond the scope of your paper.

Less is More

Use no more words than are necessary to get your point across. Papers that are wordy tend to be difficult to read. Using big words that are complicated in meaning can distract the reader from what you’re trying to say. Some use big words to come across as scholarly and studied but there is no match for the simple and direct route. Papers at the undergraduate level are no more than 10-12 pages. There is no way that you will be able to say everything there is to say about the topic you have selected so you will need to focus in on themes from that topic that answer your thesis statement. Keeping it simple is always a good way to go.

Have Someone Read your Paper

Part of the task of making your paper simple and direct is having others read the paper and give you feedback on how to improve it. At MCS, there are tutors that are available at no cost to you who will read through your papers and give you good constructive feedback. Part of the challenge of this is getting your paper written in time to have someone else read it. Too often, students write their papers the night before it’s due and there is no time to have anyone review it. It is only a few people who can pull off an “A” paper by writing it over night. Rest assured as well that such people have done their research homework as well. For the rest of us, we need to work at being good writers and so having others read the paper is an important exercise that can help you hand in a good paper.

Technology always Helps

The average word processing software comes with spelling and grammar checks. This is another way of having someone “read” your paper. Taking the time to have the word processing program check your paper will avoid the embarrassing remarks from an instructor who has underlined all the words you spelled wrong and the awkward sentences that were difficult to read.

Feedback

Always make sure you are satisfied that your professor gave you significant feedback on your paper that will help you the next time you write a paper for him/her. This really closes the loop on the whole paper writing adventure. Feedback from a professor is valuable in any future paper and/or project that you write.