UNIVERSITY LEVEL WRITING

How to be a better writer

Here is what curriculum looks like in the best writing courses, informed by decades of
research:

• Professors expect them to write frequently and extensively.

• Professors coach the process. We offer strategies and advice, encouragement and
critique, formative and summative assessments.
• Courses explore different genres and do different exercises to stretch the student’s
creativity and style.
• Courses use readings as models — and not only static models of form but also as
maps to be decoded as to how their writers might have proceeded, why, and to what
effect. As they say: A good reader is a good writer.
• Professors and students explicitly take notice of phrases and words that they like and
collect them in order to incorporate them into their own writing.
• Professors and students approach writing as a step by step process of continual
revision and improvement.
Writing Exercises

Brainstorming
In order to write a paper for a class, students need ways to move from the received knowledge of the course material
to some separate, more synthesized or analyzed understanding of the course material. For some students this begins to
happen internally or through what we call “thinking,” unvoiced mulling, sorting, comparing, speculating, applying,
etc. that leads them to new perspectives, understanding, questions, reactions about the course material. This thinking
is often furthered through class discussion and some students automatically, internally move from these initial
sortings of ideas into complex, logical interpretations of material at this point. But, for more students, their thinking
will remain an unorganized, vague set of ideas referring to the subject. Many will have trouble moving beyond this
vague sense or simple reaction toward ideas that are more processed, complex, or what we often call “deep.” We can
foster that move to a deeper understanding by providing opportunities to externalize and fix their ideas on paper so
that they may both see their ideas and then begin to see the relationships between them. The following activities will
help students both generate and clarify initial responses to course material:

• Free-writing. Find a clock, watch, or timer to help you keep track of time. Choose a topic, idea, question
you would like to consider. It can be a specific detail or a broad concept-whatever you are interested in
exploring at the moment. Write (on paper or on a computer) for 7-10 minutes non-stop on that topic. If you
get stuck and don’t know what to say next, write “I’m stuck and don’t know what to say next…” or try
asking yourself “what else?” until another idea comes to you. Do not concern yourself with spelling,
grammar, or punctuation. Your goal is to generate as much as you can about the topic in a short period of
time and to get used to the feeling of articulating ideas on the page. It’s ok if it’s messy or makes sense
only to you. You can repeat this exercise several times, using the same or a variety of topics connecting to
your subject. Read what you have written to see if you have discovered anything about your subject or
found a line of questioning you’d like to pursue.
• Clustering/Webbing. Find a clock, watch, or timer to help you keep track of time. Put a word you’d like to
explore in the center of a piece of paper and put a circle around it. As fast as you can, free-associate or jot
down anywhere on the page as many words as you can think of associated with your center word. If you
get stuck, go back to the center word and launch again. Speed is important and quantity is your goal. Don’t
discount any word or phrase that comes to you, just put it down on the page. Jot words for between 5-10
minutes. When you are finished you will have a page filled with seemingly random words. Read around on
the page and see if you have discovered anything or can see connections between any ideas.
• Listing. On a piece of paper list all the ideas you can think of connected to subjects you are considering
exploring. Consider any idea or observation as valid and worthy of listing. List quickly and then set your
list aside for a few minutes. Come back and read your list and do the exercise again.
 • Cubing. This technique helps you look at your subject from six different points of view (imagine the 6 sides
of a cube and you get the idea). Take your topic or idea and 1) describe it, 2) compare it, 3) associate it
with something else you know, 4) analyze it (meaning break it into parts), 5) apply it to a situation you are
familiar with, 6) argue for or against it. Write at a paragraph, page, or more about each of the six points of
view on your subject.
• Journalistic questions. Write these questions down the left hand margin of a piece of paper: Who? What?
Where? When? How? And Why? Think about your topic in terms of each question.
• What? So What? Now what? To begin to explore an idea first ask yourself, “What do I want to explore?”
and write about that topic for a page or more. Then read what you have written and ask “So what?” of the
ideas expressed so far. Again, write for a page or more. Finally ask yourself, “Now what?” to begin to
think about what else you might consider or where you might go next with an idea.
• Defining terms. Although this suggestion is simple and may seem obvious, it is often overlooked. Write
definitions for key terms or concepts in your own words. Find others’ articulations of the terms in your
course readings, the dictionary, or through conversations and compare the definitions to your own. Seek
input from your instructor if you can’t get a working definition of a term for yourself.
• Summarizing positions. Sometimes it’s helpful to simply describe what you know as a way to solidify your
own understanding of something before you try to analyze or synthesize new ideas. You can summarize
readings by individual articles or you can combine what you think are like perspectives into a summary of
a position. Try to be brief in your description of the readings. Write a paragraph or up to a page describing
a reading or a position.
• Metaphor writing. Metaphors or similes are comparisons sometimes using the words “like” or “as.” For
example, “writing is like swimming” or the “sky is as blue as map water” or “the keyboard wrinkled with
ideas.” When you create a metaphor, you put one idea in terms of another and thereby create a new vision
of the original idea. Sometimes it may be easier to create a metaphor or simile may help you understand
your view of an idea before you can put it fully into sentences or paragraphs. Write a metaphor or simile
and then explain to someone why your metaphor works or what it means to you.
• Applying ideas to personal circumstance or known situations. Sometimes ideas come clearest when you
can put them in a frame that is meaningful to you. Take a concept from your reading assignments and
apply it so a situation in your own life or to a current event with which you are familiar. You may not end
up using this application in your final draft, but applying it to something you know will help you to
understand it better and prepare you to analyze the idea as your instructor directs.

Organizing
Once students have something on the page to work with, they can begin the decision-making process crucial to
developing a coherent idea or argument. At this point, students will choose which ideas most appeal to them, which
ideas seem to fit together, which ideas need to be set aside, and which ideas need further exploration. The following
activities will help students make decisions as they shape ideas:

• Drawing diagrams. Sometimes it helps to look for the shape your ideas seem to be taking as you develop
them. Jot down your main ideas on the page and then see if you can connect them in some way. Do they
form a square? A circle? An umbrella with spokes coming down? A pyramid? Does one idea seem to sit on
 a shelf above another idea? Would equal signs, greater or less signs help you express the relationships you
see between your idea? Can you make a flow chart depicting the relationships between your ideas?
• Making charts or piles. Try sorting your ideas into separate piles. You can do this literally by putting ideas
on note cards or scraps of paper and physically moving them into different piles. You can do this on the
page by cutting and pasting ideas into a variety of groups on the computer screen. You can also make
charts that illustrate the relationships between ideas. Common charts include timelines, author’s around a
dinner table, and comparison/contrast charts.
• Scrap pile. Be prepared to keep a scrap pile of ideas somewhere as you work. Some people keep this pile as
a separate document as they work; others keep notes at the bottom of a page where they store scrap
sentences or thoughts for potential use later on. Remember that it is sometimes important to throw out
ideas as a way to clarify and improve the ones you are trying to develop along the way.
• Shifting viewpoints (role-playing). When you begin to feel you have some understanding of your idea, it
sometimes help to look at it from another person’s point of view. You can do this by role-playing someone
who disagrees with your conclusions or who has a different set of assumptions about your subject. Make a
list or write a dialogue to begin to reveal the other perspective.
• Applying an idea to a new situation. If you have developed a working thesis, test it out by applying it to
another event or situation. If you idea is clear, it will probably work again or you will find other supporting
instances of your theory.
• Problem/Solution writing. Sometimes it helps to look at your ideas through a problem-solving lens. To do
so, first briefly outline the problem as you see it or define it. Make sure you are through in listing all the
elements that contribute to the creation of the problem. Next, make a list of potential solutions. Remember
there is likely to be more than one solution.
• Theory/application writing. If your assignment asks you to develop a theory or an argument, abstract it
from the situation at hand. Does your theory hold through the text? Would it apply to a new situation or
can you think of a similar situation that works in the same way? Explain your ideas on paper of to a friend.
• Defining critical questions. You may have lots of evidence or information and still feel uncertain what you
should do with it or how you should write about it. Look at your evidence and see if you can find repeated
information or a repeated missing piece. See if you can write a question of a series of questions that
summarize the most important ideas in your paper. Once you have the critical questions, you can begin to
organize your ideas around potential answers to the question.
• Explaining/teaching idea to someone else. Sometimes the most efficient way to clarify your ideas is to
explain them to someone else. The other person need not be knowledgeable about your subject-in fact it
sometimes helps if they aren’t familiar with your topic-but should be willing to listen and interrupt you
when he or she doesn’t follow you. As you teach your ideas to someone, else you may begin to have more
confidence in the shape of your ideas or you may be able to identify the holes in your argument and be
more able to fix them.
• Lining up evidence. If you think you have a good idea of how something works, find evidence in your
course material, through research in the library or on the web that supports your thinking. If your ideas are
strong, you should find supporting evidence to corroborate your ideas.
• Rewriting idea. Sometimes what helps most is rewriting an idea over the course of several days. Take the
central idea and briefly explain it in a paragraph or two. The next day, without looking at the previous
day’s writing, write a new paragraph explaining your ideas. Try it again the next day. Over the course of
 three days, you may find your ideas clarifying, complicating, or developing holes. In all cases, you will
have a better idea of what you need to do next in writing your draft.

Drafting
As students have been working with their ideas, they have been making a series of choices about their ideas that will
lead them to feel “ready” to put them in a more complete, coherent form; they will feel “ready to write” their ideas in
something closer to the assignment or paper form. But for most, the tough moments of really “writing” begin at this
point. They may still feel that they “have ideas” but have trouble “getting them on the page.” Some will suddenly be
thrust into “writing a paper” mode and be both constrained and guided by their assumptions about what an
assignment asks them to do, what academic writing is, and what prior experience has taught them about writing for
teachers. These exercises may ease their entry into shaping their ideas for an assignment:

• Clarify all questions about the assignment. Before you begin writing a draft, make sure you have a
thorough understanding of what the assignment requires. You can do this by summarizing your
understanding of the assignment and emailing your summary to your TA or instructor. If you have
questions about points to emphasize, the amount of evidence needed, etc. get clarification early. You might
try writing something like, “I’ve summarized what I think I’m supposed to do in this paper, am I on the
right track?
• Write a letter describing what the paper is going to be about. One of the simplest, most efficient
exercises you can do to sort through ideas is to write a letter to yourself about what you are planning to
write in your paper. You might start out, “My paper is going to be about….” And go on to articulate what
evidence you have to back up your ideas, what parts still feel rough to you about your ideas. In about 20
minutes, you can easily have a good sense of what you are ready to write and the problems you still need to
solve in your paper.
• Write a full draft. Sometimes you don’t know what you think until you see what you’ve said. Writing a full
draft, even if you think the draft has problems, is sometimes important. You may find your thesis appears
in your conclusion paragraph.
• Turn your ideas into a five-minute speech. Pretend you have to give a 5 minute speech to your classmates.
How would you begin the speech? What’s your main point? What key information would you include?
How much detail do you need to give the listener? What evidence will be most convincing or compelling
for your audience?
• Make a sketch of the paper. Sometimes it helps to literally line up or order you evidence before you write.
You can do so quickly by making a numbered list of your points. You’re goal is something like a sketch
outline-first I am going to say this; next I need to include this point; third I need to mention this idea. The
ideas should flow logically from one point to the next. If they don’t-meaning if you have to backtrack, go
on a tangent, or otherwise make the reader wait to see the relationship between ideas, then you need to
continue tinkering with the list.
• Make an outline. If you have successfully used formal outlines in the past, use one to structure your paper.
If you haven’t successful used outlines, don’t worry. Try some of the other techniques listed here to get
your ideas on the page
 • Start with the easiest part. If you have trouble getting started on a draft, write what feels to you like the
easiest part first. There’s nothing magic about starting at the beginning-unless that’s the easiest part for
you. Write what you know for sure and a beginning will probably emerge as you write.
• Write the body of the paper first. Sometimes it’s helpful NOT to write the beginning or introductory
paragraph first. See what you have to say in the bulk of your draft and then go back to craft a suitable
beginning.
• Write about feelings about writing. Sometimes it’s helpful to begin a writing session by spending 5-10
minutes writing to yourself about your feelings about the assignment. Doing so can help you set aside
uncertainty and frustration and help you get motivated to write your draft.
• Write with the screen turned off. If you are really stuck getting starting or in the middle of a draft, turn the
monitor off and type your ideas. Doing so will prevent you from editing and critiquing your writing as you
first produce it. You may be amazed at the quantity and quality of ideas you can produce in a short time.
You’ll have to do some cleanup on the typos, but it may be well worth it if it allows you to bang out a
draft.
• Write in alternatives (postpone decision-making). You may need to test out more than one idea before you
settle into a particular direction for a paper. It’s actually more efficient to spend time writing in several
directions i.e. trying out one idea for awhile, then trying out another idea, than it is to try to fit all of your
ideas into one less coherent draft. Your writing may take the form of brief overviews that begin, “If I were
going to write about XYZ idea, I would…” until you are able to see which option suits the assignment and
your needs.
• Write with a timer. Sometimes what you need most is to get all of your ideas out on paper in a single
sitting. To do so, pretend you are taking an essay exam. Set a timer for an appropriate amount of time (1
hour? 3 hours?) depending on the length of your draft. Assume that it will take you approximately 1 hour
per page of text you produce. Set a goal for the portion of your draft you must complete during the allotted
time and don’t get up from your seat until the timer goes off.

Revising
As students use language to shape ideas, they begin to feel the need to test their ideas or move beyond their own
perspectives. Sometimes we have ideas that make good sense to us, but seem to lose or confuse readers as we voice
them in conversation or on the page. Once students have a complete draft of a paper, they need ways to share their
ideas to learn points where their ideas need further development. With feedback from an audience, students are better
able to see the final decisions they still need to make in order for their ideas to reach someone. These decisions may
be ones of word choice, organization, logic, evidence, and tone. Keep in mind that this juncture can be unsettling for
some students. Having made lots of major decisions in getting their ideas down on the page, they may be reluctant to
tackle another round of decision-making required for revising or clarifying ideas or sentences. Remind students that
ideas don’t exist apart from words, but in the words themselves. They will need to be able to sell their ideas through
the words and arrangement of words on the page for a specific audience.

• Talk your paper. Tell a friend what your paper is about. Pay attention to your explanation. Are all of the
ideas you describe actually in the paper? Where did you start in explaining your ideas. Does your paper
match your description? Can the listener easily find all of the ideas you mention in your description?
 • Ask someone to read your paper out loud to you. Ask a friend to read your draft out loud to you. What do
you hear? Where does your reader stumble? Sound confused? Have questions? Did your reader ever get
lost in your text? Did ideas flow in the order the reader expected them to? Was anything missing for the
reader? Did the reader need more information at any point?
• Share your draft with your instructor. If you give them enough notice, most instructors will be willing to
read a draft of a paper. It sometimes helps to include your own assessment of the draft when you share it
with a teacher. Give them your assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the draft, as you see it, to
begin a conversation.
• Share your draft with a classmate. Arrange to exchange papers with a classmate several days before the
due date. You can do so via email and make comments for revision using Word’s comment function.
• Look at your sentences. Often you will need to analyze your draft of the sentence level. To do so, break
your paper into a series of discrete sentences by putting a return after each period or end punctuation. Once
you have your paper as a list of sentences, you can more easily see and solve sentence level problems. Try
reading the sentences starting with the last sentence of the draft and moving up. Doing so will take them
out of context and force you to see them as individual bits of communication rather than familiar points.
• Discuss key terms in your paper with someone else. After you have completed a draft, it’s sometimes
helpful to look back at the key terms you are using to convey your ideas. It’s easy, in the midst of thinking
about an idea, to write in loaded language or code in which certain key words come to have special
meaning for you that aren’t necessarily shared by a reader. If you suspect this is the case, talk about your
key terms with a friend, and ask them to read your draft to see if the idea is adequately explained for the
reader.
• Outline your draft. After you have a complete draft, go back and outline what you have said. Next to each
paragraph write a word or phrase that summarizes the content of that paragraph. You might also look to see
if you have topic sentences that convey the ideas of individual paragraphs. If you can’t summarize the
content of a paragraph, you probably of multiple ideas in play in that paragraph that may need revising.
Once you have summarized each paragraph, turn your summary words into a list. How does the list flow?
Is it clear how one idea connects to the next?
• Underline your main point. Highlight the main point of your paper. It should probably be (although it will
depend on the assignment) in one sentence somewhere on the first page. If it’s not, the reader will likely be
lost and wondering what you paper is about as he or she reads through it. Your draft should not read like a
mystery novel in which the reader has to wait until the end to have all the pieces fit together.
• Ask someone without knowledge of the course to read your paper. You can tell if your draft works by
sharing it with someone outside of the context. If they can follow your ideas, someone inside the class will
be able to as well.
• Ask a reader to judge specific elements of your paper. Share your draft with someone and ask them to
read for something specific i.e. organization, punctuation, transitions. A reader will give more specific
feedback to you if you give them some specific direction.