Writing a term paper

The page was written by Jennifer Mitchell of the SUNY Potsdam Writing Center. It was designed for students taking the online Chem 395 course, but it contains useful advice for all.

Your Term Paper

We call it a “term paper” for two reasons: first, it is submitted near the end of the term, or semester. Second, we expect you to work on it throughout the term and thereby to learn more and, ultimately, to produce a better paper. A “term paper” is also a “research paper,” in which you gather the words of experts in order to present a well-informed discussion of a question about a topic.

Why is this an important form of learning?

Your teacher wants to see that you learn a lot about your research question and that you can understand what you learn well enough to communicate that information clearly to a general reader. You should also show your understanding of relevant course material. Just as important, the information you present must be high quality, from reliable sources.

See http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Rhetoric_and_Composition/Researching.

So you’ll learn a lot about your topic; you’ll learn how to research using reliable sources; and you’ll learn something about composing a long essay which presents information on a complex issue.

What’s easy about writing a term paper?

• Choose a topic of interest and gather information from informed voices.
• You have lots of time to research and to write it.
• Help is available in both researching and writing.
• Your teacher has shown you how to structure your paper: see assignment, paragraph two.

And what’s hardest?

• This project is not a “one-shot deal,” but an everyday project for the term.
• You will have to rewrite in order to make good choices.
• You will have to revise your thesis and introduction as you go.
• You will have to organize many, many kinds of information into one clear discussion.
• You will have to understand the information well enough to communicate it.
• Remember the “newcomer’s” view and revise to be absolutely clear for a reader who has not shared your research process. Think of your college teacher reader as a stand-in for general readers.