Comments on: The Art of BS: How to Succeed on Papers and Essays http://www.collegeandfinance.com/the-art-of-bs-how-to-succeed-on-papers-and-essays/ Financial and General College Advice for Students and Families Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:16:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: gnomic http://www.collegeandfinance.com/the-art-of-bs-how-to-succeed-on-papers-and-essays/#comment-1742 gnomic Sun, 09 Dec 2007 03:00:04 +0000 http://www.collegeandfinance.com/the-art-of-bs-how-to-succeed-on-papers-and-essays/#comment-1742 I teach for state university and am generally appalled at the level of writing and BS I receive. Not that some of this isn't good - much of its common sense - but some more tips I'd include: Don't every write in 1st person. I know its you writing. "in my opinion" is just poor filler. Especially in every paragraph Lead to a point and get to it. Tell me what you are going to prove and do so in short order. Write your paper in bullet points. If you can stop, do so, other wise go back and turn it into sentences. Remember, the teacher has to read all of these. Make your point quick and make it easy to read. Don't presume everyone understands the acronyms and jargon. Speak plainly. I write audit reports on highly complex issues for a living for senior executives and these tips work for them as well. I teach for state university and am generally appalled at the level of writing and BS I receive. Not that some of this isn’t good - much of its common sense - but some more tips I’d include:

Don’t every write in 1st person. I know its you writing. “in my opinion” is just poor filler. Especially in every paragraph

Lead to a point and get to it. Tell me what you are going to prove and do so in short order.

Write your paper in bullet points. If you can stop, do so, other wise go back and turn it into sentences.

Remember, the teacher has to read all of these. Make your point quick and make it easy to read.

Don’t presume everyone understands the acronyms and jargon. Speak plainly.

I write audit reports on highly complex issues for a living for senior executives and these tips work for them as well.

]]> By: j http://www.collegeandfinance.com/the-art-of-bs-how-to-succeed-on-papers-and-essays/#comment-1681 j Thu, 06 Dec 2007 08:50:08 +0000 http://www.collegeandfinance.com/the-art-of-bs-how-to-succeed-on-papers-and-essays/#comment-1681 I almost always do well on essays, and my method is basically like yours... 1. rough outline 2. write the draft single-spaced (also so I can more easily read what I've already written... I hate having to scroll up to refresh myself on an earlier point) 3. talk about what I know, stay away from what I don't where I differ from you is 1. I'm fiercely anti-thesaurus, as I think using the thesaurus encourages most people to use words they don't fully understand in ways that are sometimes hilarious but mostly just embarrassing. also, I rarely see a reason to use a word other than "said." for reasons, flip open nearest novel, replace all instances of said with a more exciting word, and reread... 2. I believe in the short, simple sentence. making sentences long is stupid because... 3. I write to entertain. and long, convoluted sentences may give you page-length, but I find they put me to sleep, and will probably put my prof to sleep too. the entertained reader is the one I want grading my paper. being a few inches short on page-length is much better than writing a dull paper, imo. I almost always do well on essays, and my method is basically like yours…

1. rough outline
2. write the draft single-spaced (also so I can more easily read what I’ve already written… I hate having to scroll up to refresh myself on an earlier point)
3. talk about what I know, stay away from what I don’t

where I differ from you is

1. I’m fiercely anti-thesaurus, as I think using the thesaurus encourages most people to use words they don’t fully understand in ways that are sometimes hilarious but mostly just embarrassing. also, I rarely see a reason to use a word other than “said.” for reasons, flip open nearest novel, replace all instances of said with a more exciting word, and reread…
2. I believe in the short, simple sentence. making sentences long is stupid because…
3. I write to entertain. and long, convoluted sentences may give you page-length, but I find they put me to sleep, and will probably put my prof to sleep too. the entertained reader is the one I want grading my paper. being a few inches short on page-length is much better than writing a dull paper, imo.

]]> By: kassie http://www.collegeandfinance.com/the-art-of-bs-how-to-succeed-on-papers-and-essays/#comment-1676 kassie Wed, 05 Dec 2007 17:54:30 +0000 http://www.collegeandfinance.com/the-art-of-bs-how-to-succeed-on-papers-and-essays/#comment-1676 if you need a word count, not a page count. try this trick- not guaranteeing you won't get caught but it worked for me. take the space left over at the end of each paragraph on the last line, and fill it with a copy/paste of something else you wrote. then- change the color of it to white. you can't see it, but it counts toward the word count. enjoy! if you need a word count, not a page count. try this trick- not guaranteeing you won’t get caught but it worked for me.

take the space left over at the end of each paragraph on the last line, and fill it with a copy/paste of something else you wrote. then- change the color of it to white. you can’t see it, but it counts toward the word count. enjoy!

]]> By: kmc http://www.collegeandfinance.com/the-art-of-bs-how-to-succeed-on-papers-and-essays/#comment-1663 kmc Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:53:15 +0000 http://www.collegeandfinance.com/the-art-of-bs-how-to-succeed-on-papers-and-essays/#comment-1663 I'm a TA for tiny composition classes. My students write multiple drafts, and I read all of them. Perhaps I'm an exception to the general rule. The 10 tips are mostly good, but I'd like to emphasize that teachers remember being students themselves, especially if your teacher is relatively young. In fact, being able to BS is what got me here in the first place. We can smell our own. An addendum to the "know what your teacher wants" tip: Ask for a grading rubric. As students, you should be able to find out what the standards are for each grade. Good teachers have at least a tacit sense of what constitutes an A, a B, etc. for their classes. Finally, in the classes I teach, the brass ring is the intriguing thesis statement, a thesis that is clear but it is not immediately obvious how the student will support the claim. Of course, then you have to support that claim with evidence, perhaps a little more time consuming. I’m a TA for tiny composition classes. My students write multiple drafts, and I read all of them. Perhaps I’m an exception to the general rule. The 10 tips are mostly good, but I’d like to emphasize that teachers remember being students themselves, especially if your teacher is relatively young. In fact, being able to BS is what got me here in the first place. We can smell our own.

An addendum to the “know what your teacher wants” tip: Ask for a grading rubric. As students, you should be able to find out what the standards are for each grade. Good teachers have at least a tacit sense of what constitutes an A, a B, etc. for their classes.

Finally, in the classes I teach, the brass ring is the intriguing thesis statement, a thesis that is clear but it is not immediately obvious how the student will support the claim. Of course, then you have to support that claim with evidence, perhaps a little more time consuming.

]]> By: alex http://www.collegeandfinance.com/the-art-of-bs-how-to-succeed-on-papers-and-essays/#comment-1662 alex Tue, 04 Dec 2007 15:32:19 +0000 http://www.collegeandfinance.com/the-art-of-bs-how-to-succeed-on-papers-and-essays/#comment-1662 lol my 7th grade teacher is making us read this and everytones like "what does BS stand for?" ignorant children. lol my 7th grade teacher is making us read this and everytones like “what does BS stand for?” ignorant children.

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