Constructing An Essay - Research Tips And Tricks: Fill & Download for Free

Your thesis statement, in a college undergraduate essay, should be in the form of an arguable assertion or specific statement of position, the validity of which you’ll demonstrate in the body of your essay by evidence, analysis and application.One of the key aspects of the essay as a testing device is that it challenges you to show that you work intelligently with ideas that are new to you — after all, the point is to learn something, as opposed merely to working with stuff you already have rattling around in your head. This means that means that, except in personal reflective writing, you’ll always have to do some research in order to have some ideas that are new to you.The trick is to narrow and clarify your thesis to the point that you can actually make a proper case for your position in the space you have available. Narrowing and clarity are always critical, but are especially so when you’re writing to a length requirement.

These tips came from the best writing professor I ever had: a short, stern Jesuit priest who was a journalist in Cambodia during the Vietnam War, and before that, a Green Beret. After he left the special forces, he went to Cornell to study journalism, and then went back to Southeast Asia to report on the conflict. Imagine the self-discipline that takes, and you will have a good picture of the man himself.My respect for him knows no bounds.I still keep this checklist on my desktop. Here it is, in case it helps you (and others) as much as it has helped me.Note to Moderators: I am posting it here verbatim, in block quotes, and take NO CREDIT for the below. So far as I am aware, it has never been published or distributed anywhere except for Boston College, where it is handed out like candy to incoming freshmen who have the fortune to take Fr. M’s class.Fr. M’s Writing Checklist.I. COMPOSING THE PAPER: from head to paper (subject, content, organization).1. Discuss the assignment with a classmate as soon as possible after the assignment is given. You know your classmates by name. Take advantage of it.2. Write an outline by hand. No matter how disorganized or jumbled, almost any outline will help. You think differently with a pen in hand than you do before a keyboard. Trust me on this: do the outline by hand! If writing an outline is pure torture for you, try walking around the reservoir and “talk” the outline aloud to yourself, as if you were giving a talk to a group of former high school classmates or younger siblings or cousins. Imagine an audience that knows nothing about this course. This forces you to keep it simple and make it clear.3. Introduction. Do not get hung up on it. Get right into the main topic or argument. Many good writers write their introduction last.4. Using the outline, write a rough draft. This, too, is best done by hand, but most of you will compose on a keyboard. If you do so, print out the rough draft and make revisions to your hard copy. Never do all your revisions onscreen. Please trust me on this! To revise adequately, you must be able to see more than one page at a time. (Hint: Look at the last paragraph of your rough draft. Do you have a sentence here—or maybe even a paragraph—that can serve as an introduction?)II. WRITING THE PAPER: from outline to rough draft (mechanics, format). When you finally do print out a copy, check the following:1. The paper is 8 by 11 inches with left and right margins of 1 inch and top and bottom margins of 6 inch. Both left and right margins are justified. ALL word processing software can do this. Ask if you need help.2. There is a single–spaced header on every page. It includes your name and the course and section number in the upper right–hand corner.3. Lines in the body of the paper are double–spaced.4. Font is 12 point, and it is something standard, such as Times Roman, rather than Courier.5. Page numbers are on the bottom of the page, centered.6. The paper is stapled in the upper left–hand corner.III. REVISING: from rough draft to final version (organization, style). Once you have what you think is a final copy, check the following:1. Does the introductory paragraph clearly and succinctly state the subject of your paper and your main argument? Avoid grand, universal statements: “Throughout human history...” or “This is the most interesting movie of the decade...” Such statements are usually unverifiable cliches and add nothing to your paper. You have not studied all of human history, nor have you seen all the movies of this decade, so why should the reader follow you down that path?2. Have you offered reasons to support your thesis, conclusion, or analysis. “Reasons” are statements that can be debated, analyzed, refuted or supported. Unlike personal opinions, reasons are not introduced with statements such as “I feel that...,” “I believe that...,” “Everyone knows that...,” “It is obvious that...,” etc.3. If the assignment asked a question, have you answered it? If asked, could you state why you chose to present your ideas in the particular order that the reader finds in your paper?4. Providing a description of a desired state of affairs—no matter how evocative—is not the same as analyzing, arguing, or providing reasons leading to a conclusion. Which have you done?5. Do the paragraphs flow well? Each paragraph should have one main idea and should proceed from the more general to the more specific. Repetitiveness is almost always due to a not well thought–out outline beforehand or insufficient revising and rewriting afterwards. Reading a draft aloud can often catch this.6. Prefer active to passive voice, concrete to abstract, and specific to vague language.7. Proofread the paper. Do not trust a spell or grammar checker on your computer. Beware of spelling errors, grammatical errors (especially noun and pronoun agreement, run-on sentences, sentence fragments), awkward phrases, colloquialisms, and cliches. Avoid contractions: write “it is” rather than “it’s.” Remember: the standard of clarity in academic writing is higher than in ordinary conversation or e–mail.8. Look at every single comma in the paper. Can you say why you used it?9. Look at every use of “and.” If you put a comma before “and,” is what follows a complete sentence? If not, do you have a run–on sentence or compound subject or verb? Ask the same question about “but,” “for,” “or,” “nor,” “yet,” and “still.”10. For any dash, colon, or semicolon, can you state why you preferred that to any other possible construction? (For first semester, use only periods and commas.)11. When you have finished, read the paper to yourself out loud. If it sounds awkward, revise and rewrite.12. Find the longest sentence in your essay? Can you read it straight through, slowly, without stopping to take a breath? If not, it must be revised. Repeat the process for the next longest sentence, and the next, etc.13. For any sentence beginning with a pronoun, can you name the referent?14. Have a classmate read the paper, putting a check mark before any sentence that had to be read twice to be understood. Each checked sentence must be rewritten. If you cannot get someone else to read it, read it out loud, in a monotone, to yourself. Why a monotone? Because that is how a reader’s mind works when reading silently: the page is silent, with only punctuation and syntax to suggest tone of voice and inflection. The goal is to achieve such clarity that a reader rereads a sentence to savor it, not to hunt for its meaning.15. Bring your outline and your rough draft to class with you when you hand in the final copy of your paper. In each class several students will be asked at random to hand in an outline and rough draft along with the final copy. This is a requirement of every writing assignment in this course. Bring an outline and rough draft to class! It makes absolutely no sense to write an outline and rough draft after your “final copy.” Using an outline and rough draft will save you time in the long run, and it will improve your writing. You may not enjoy the process, but you will be happy with the result.16. Always make a backup copy of your work on a separate disk.17. Two general, long–term suggestions that will help your writing: (a) turn off instant messenger, and (b) reread all emails before sending them. Yes, I am actually suggesting you write emails using complete sentences! Writing is a habit; good writing is the result of good habits.

This article provides answers to all your queries right here!SAT is a multiple-choice, offline test created and administered by the College Board. It is an entrance exam organized by different colleges and universities to get admissions abroad.Now, here you will find some of the most effective tips and techniques to prepare for the SAT so that you all can come out with the best in you and fulfill all your dreams regarding your future by cracking this entrance test.Check the Tricks and Techniques to prepare for the SAT test from the following points:Get the exam like feel beforehand: This can be done by attempting a full-length SAT practice test. It is one of the foremost ways to draw up for your SAT. The College Board makes several full-length practice tests accessible for free Official SAT Practice. Going through a practice test that follows the same timing parameters you will get a lot of experience and the tests that judge your efficiency and would work as a foreshadow of your marks that you would receive in the actual test. A few pieces of research depict that your score on an official, full-length practice test taken after studying is highly predictive of the score you’ll receive on the actual SAT. These results also act as the greatest guide as you get to know your weak points. You get an opportunity to improve wherever you are lagging by overcoming your mistakes so that you do not repeat it in your test. These test papers also help you analyze yourself most effectively. Each full-length practice test that you give should be taken by you like your final SAT. This boosts up your confidence as it shows how it feels to take an SAT.Concentration and being optimistic is the key: This means having a proper state of mind and awareness during your class i.e. you have to attend your classes seriously and listen to your mentors who guide and explain to you. Apart from this, being optimistic i.e. being confident or positive is the key to success. Never panic, take proper breaks as we all know that a sharp mind is useless if it’s in a lethargic state. You should do things which keep your mind active and pleasant. For instance - You can go for a walk in the garden, gaze at pleasing landscapes, etc. and return to your books once you are refreshed. Do not take stress for the test. To reduce the tension or stress listen to your favorite songs and drink a lot of water so that your body remains hydrated.Build up your strategies: Before going to give SAT you should learn about the structure of the test and different ways you can apply to your strategy to improve each section score. It is very important to make your strategies rather depending on that what others are doing because no one knows you better than you know yourself!General tips for effective and efficient scores:· To build the confidence first answer easy questions, then answer difficult questions. After reading a question, you will have to decide that if you want to answer it or skip it. When you get back to the hard questions, you will find them easy to answer.· The writing section requires you to decide if there is any grammatical mistake in the passage or not. Read each line vigilantly and decide if it needs to improve by changing words, punctuation, or sentence order.· For essay writing, all you need to do is brush up your grammar well and take care of your writing style to score well.The Elimination Rule: If you don't know the right answer to a question, think of the wrong choices. This technique considerably improves your chances of getting the right answer. When you work on an easy question, the answer that seems to be right is almost always correct. Whereas, the answer to a hard question that seems to be right is always wrong. Random guesses should be avoided in SAT exams as you are penalized for incorrect answers.Practice a little each day: Don't get burnt out. However, don't procrastinate either. The best way to prepare is to practice each day. Remember to practice on relevant material which will eventually help you get comfortable with all types of questions.Step-Wise Methodology followed in EduQuest:EduQuest provides personalized preparation for all the students, which means they prepare a roadmap for every student and keep in mind their strengths and weaknesses. And then provide them with the best suitable coaching. Thereafter, for every student, they have formulated a stepwise step “improvement ladder” that will be marked in their sheet. This will help them analyze their growth rate. Their courses are properly bifurcated in order to have a concise knowledge of everything, and for this, they follow module based preparation to facilitate better learning for our students. EduQuest also provides the students with section-wise assessments, highlighting their area which needs improvement. This will help them to know where they stand in their preparation. They end their courses only when all the students reach their potential level; otherwise, they continue making them learn more and more. EduQuest courses also include many online tests and which are beneficial for students. The best part of these online tests is that they are based on Artificial Intelligence techniques. After the online test is completed and students get a chance to see their mistakes and hence test generation facility is also provided by us.EduQuest is a verified "Adaptive model" of coaching, and our work is based upon the "Diagnostic Test Framework". This helps the students in their unremitting assessment, and in turn, continuous enhancement can be seen. All the courses are flooded with a meticulous testing segment to prepare our students well. EduQuest provides students with all the relevant books and study materials.Mentors should understand the learner’s position on the learning curve, and the learning system has to be Adaptive so that it adapts with the current ability of students. So a flexible and spontaneous learning system has been invented by EduQuestWe have defined three levels of teaching1. Introduction of concepts2. Concepts application and accuracy3. Efficiency and accuracyStep-Wise Methodology followedSTEP 1-In the beginning, the whole first week is dedicated to student's analysis class to find out more about them. This activity is done either individually or in a group of 3-4 students accompanied by a Warm-test to authorize the analysis conducted.STEP 2-The modules are customized based on the strength and weaknesses of the students, and this is done by making the students go through a warm-up test or a mapping test. These tests will help in the better formulation of the modules for the students.STEP 3-After this, EduQuest focuses on individual students and identifies their micro gap areas. This one-on-one session and giving special privileges to all the students help in designing the course according to the requirements of the students.There are three groups-Platinum- Those who are fast-paced with a strength of around 1300-1500+ studentsGold- Those who are medium paced with a strength of around 1100-1300+ studentsSilver- Those who are slow-paced with the strength of around 800-1100+ studentsThe main aim of the EduQuest is to prepare all the students to secure their position in 1500+; they encourage unlimited sessions for their betterment, and the training hrs is a minimum of 90.STEP 4-Students are given the flexibility to choose their test based on the difficulty level, topic, or the number of questions.STEP 5-EduQuest provides the students with full-length test paper to help them get a better understanding, and at least 15 tests are to be attempted by each. They have around 5000 papers of these types.STEP 6-Each student is provided with a profile assessment of their, a career counseling session for everyone accompanied by a psychometric test, and the reports of the same will be shared with their parents.STEP 7-EduQuest also offer profile construction activities for each student in cases where we find that there is a gap or weakness in a particular subject areaSTEP 8-The facility of profile matching is also provided to each of the students, and this is done keeping in mind the silhouette and interest of the students.STEP 9-Also, the technique, and writing of Statement of Purposes, essays, LOR would also be duly done by us.STEP 10-At last, the application for the scholarship is also provided to all the students.How Can we help you?The expertise of the Eduquest is discussed below in the given points:· A full acquaintance of the Admission processWe have developed a deep understanding of all the international admission procedure with our years of experience in this field. This becomes important in order to remit the cultural gaps between the students and the international institutions.· Personalized CounselingWe provide personalized counseling and training to every student and help them discover their worth and confidence. This is because every student has a different level of understanding, and the strengths and weaknesses of them also differ.· Team foundation approach