We’ve all been there—slumped over our desks, trying to squeeze out the next few sentences, phrases and even keywords that would bring us closer to finishing our writing assignment—but the Word document still shows a barely developed idea or worse: a completely blank slate.
Fear not! This is completely normal, and it happens to more people than you realize. Almost everyone reaches that stage of writing where they feel like their topic is too underdeveloped or too broad or plain silly—and naturally, the temptation to give up and start over seems overwhelming.
For you, though, the time crunch you face as a college student will hardly let you “start over” on a paper topic that’s due in the next week (or the next few hours). So what should you do when you find yourself slumped over your desk on the verge of surrendering to the late penalty and eventually still submitting a subpar paper?
Here are a few helpful suggestions:
Ask Yourself Questions
Frame your paper in the form of self-directed questions that you have to answer and write it all down. If you already have your thesis, a good question to start with may look like this: “Why do I think that [thesis]?”
For example, a few questions you can ask yourself when brainstorming an En 101 paper about the benefits of working an after-school job are—
- How has having to go to work after school benefited me?
- What have I learned from working at my job while balancing school assignments?
- Have I gained any skills?
- What are some examples of these skills?
Talk about Your Topic
Don’t be afraid to ask the people around you questions about your topic. Make it like an interview or even a discussion session. You stimulate your brain when you are presented with so many perspectives and ideas, and apart from becoming more knowledgeable, you might even come out of these sessions wanting to rethink or reframe your topic. If you have a bit more time to brainstorm or revise your ideas, definitely talk to your friends, family, cat, dog, ferret, etc.
Ask the Internet
Copying wholesale from a website (or two) is definitely not allowed, but apart from the legal issues of copyright infringement, you’d be missing the whole point of this writing assignment: to learn! The internet is a wonderful place to get ideas that could help in your brainstorming process, like an appetizer that whets your appetite before the main course—your ideas. Google things. Get ideas to play around with and develop. Expand your knowledge—you might get extra points for the insight.
Write!
A few words can go a long way. Even if your ideas at this stage are underdeveloped and may look completely different from how your paper eventually turns out, these words are proof that your brain is moving, thinking and bringing you closer to your goal—be it your thesis, main points, subpoints or examples.
Written by junior Phebe Chew for the Academic Resource Center
