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Writing essays: how do you do yours?

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  • 01-01-2004 11:53pm
    #1
    DadaKopf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,731 ✭✭✭


    I've spent the last three weeks or more preparing for an essay my department gave me as a wonferful Christmas present. It's a Master's course so you've got to take your time, I suppose.

    I've been having a lot of trouble getting down to it. I've been banging away at the keyboard now for a week and I'm having terrible trouble organizing my thoughts from my massive bibliography (required) and saying what I want to say.

    I've tried a load of different approaches but none of them have made me any better at getting it finished. And I'm desperate to get a high mark for it.

    I have a loose plan, I have 60-80 pages of notes made out but I just can't do it!

    So... who here has the best essay writing strategy? Share your thoughts, advice, answers, whatever.


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    #2
    sunbeam
    Registered Users Posts: 1,813 ✭✭✭sunbeam


    I'm not convinced that there's a single strategy that will suit everyone.

    Most of the literature on overcoming writer's block at postgrad student level seems to emphasise freewriting to get one's thoughts down in some shape or form before refining them. I just tend to write around in circles when I do this without any planning.

    I usually brainstorm my thoughts in a concept mapping/outlining program called Inspiration (and sometimes a mind mapping one called Mindmanager, though it has limited outline editing functionality). Once I have a working outline I add my main quotations as text notes, then write a ‘zero draft’ paragraph for each section. I suppose those zero draft paragraphs are a focussed form of freewriting: I concentrate on getting my thoughts down in some form rather than painfully perfecting each sentence. From then on it’s a matter of expanding, refining and chopping/changing until I’m reasonably happy with what I’ve written. :)


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    #3
    DadaKopf
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,731 ✭✭✭DadaKopf


    I'm sort of doing that, but not 'mapping' or anything. Just adding and adding - REEELLYYYY SLOOOWWWLYYYY. It's painstaking.

    5,000 word essay, already got 4,700 and I'm half way there.

    Got any references ro diagrams for your note taking and writing strategy? Sounds good.


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