In this video, I'll give you some tips on organizing and outlining your writing assignment. Please subscribe and leave comments below!
**** A full transcript can be found at www.marblejar.net. ****
Hi, everyone. This is Lara Hammock from the Marble Jar channel and in today's video I'll give you some tips on organizing and outlining your writing assignment.
I did a video a little while ago that shows the step by step process of writing a research paper, but what I don't cover in detail, is how to outline and organize the paper itself. This video may not structure your paper for you, but it should provide some tips to get you started.There are really two types of writing: creative writing and analytical writing. Most of the assignments that you will receive fall into the category of analytical writing. When I was in undergraduate, I used spend A LOT of time working on a really creative introduction, literary writing, and snazzy transitions between concepts. It turns out, I was spending my energy in the wrong place. This is my second time going through graduate school, but during my first master's, I had my husband read and edit some of my writing. He gave me some blunt advice that was distilled from several years of brutal writing training in law school. Be clear, be concise, and make your organization super obvious. I remember thinking "What? Where is the magic in that?" And the answer is -- there is no magic. And in most cases, the more "magic" you put in your writing, the less clear and straightforward it is -- and therefore, the less good a paper it is. I will talk a little more about HOW to be clear and obvious in a minute. But first, why is it important? Well, turns out teachers and professors are human too. And they do not live inside your head, nor are they mind readers. So, if you have some brilliant analytical argument, you need to spell it out as clearly and bluntly as you possibly can, so that your professor understands it. In addition, flowery language and run-on sentences only prevent easy understanding. Professors generally have a rubric that helps them grade the paper with certain points that you have to cover. DO NOT DO ANYTHING TO HIDE THESE POINTS. In fact, the more signposts that you can use to make it clear that you are covering those points, the easier it will be for the professor to give you a good grade. And what is the best way to ensure you have covered all of those points? Using an
Outline
Making an outline is crucial. Unless you are a crystal clear thinker who can offer an off-the-cuff well-reasoned argument without taking a breath, you shouldn't attempt to write without an outline. Why? Because without one you will ramble, you will write in stream of consciousness, and you will miss major points that are required in the instructions. How can you make your organization structure obvious, if you don't have an organization structure at all? The outline provides you with one and keeps you on task. It's really just a listing of all of the things you will be discussing in the order that you will cover them. So,How Do You Make an Outline?I can think of 4 ways.
* Instructions - The first thing to do is look at the assignment. Usually, the bones of your outline are already embedded in the instructions. Say your instructions are this:
* You can see the professor has already basically structured your paper for you. So, since you will always have an introduction and conclusion, your initial outline might look like this:
* Introduction - 1/2 pg
* Definition of term - 1/2 pg
* Biopsychosocial Spiritual Framework - 1 pg
* Definition
* Relevance to SW practice
* Understanding a specific population or social problem - 1 pg
* Conclusion - 1 paragraph
* Now you just need to fill in the details of this outline before you start writing. If your instructions are more detailed, I would paste all of that directly into your outline. What if you don't have such detailed instructions? Then you may want to try the 2nd method, taking your outline from an
* Exemplar - I'm pretty new to this idea, but lots of classes seem to use these. These are examples of outstanding papers written by past students that the professor is willing to share with the class. I don't like to read the papers all the way through since I don't want to unwittingly influence the content of my paper, but what I like to do is use their organizational structure. After all, the professor seemed to think this was an excellent paper, so the organization must have been pretty good. So, I will note paragraph by paragraph what the writer is doing and then use that structure for my own paper. Okay, so you have no detailed instructions and no exemplars? You can always search the internet for the 3rd method . . .
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