What is graduate level writing? This is writing that reflects the epitome of good grammar, syntax and tone. It is essentially writing whose voice is unbiased, high level and evidence based. Graduate level research will employ a significant scope of sources that are current, authoritative and recognized within a particular area of study.
Below are a few tips for writing graduate level papers:
1. Establish your topic and be proactive
You should start by understanding the assignment, getting clarification about the topic and expectations. You need to establish your topic. You will need to look for sources of information on your topic and read while taking notes. In the course of your writing you will come across more information, or find that you have more or different questions.
Beginning with the end in mind entails thinking about the topic of research and letting the ideas flow in your head. You need to start with a research question and what you want to know. You need a schedule for when you will work on each part of your graduate research papers.
2. Organize and draft
Once you have analyzed all that you collected in the course of your research, the next step is organizing it. Create an outline or graphic organizer to see how ideas relate to each other. Write down the most important information followed by all other information collected.
Drafting all your ideas and the information collected helps put all in perspective. It gives you an outlook of all your ideas all on the canvas. It helps you in sorting and organizing your work for presentation.
3. Revise
It is the most important and most difficult because you have to be willing to make big changes. This entails you being ready to let material and ideas you have become attached to, to go. You may have to cut sentences and paragraphs you may have worked so hard to construct. Approach this part of the process with a clear and critical mind.
A clear and critical mind is needed as the smaller details might need checking. This includes the transition words, phrases, sentence fragments, paragraphs and the sentences conciseness. You also need to ask whether the conclusion offers a new perspective or insight into the topic.
4. Use your resources
Academic writing for graduate students tends to not reach the peak due to the lack of resource use. There are various resources to choose from but for today we will delve into the other person’s perspective. You invest most of your time into your research and into writing that your perspective ends up being compromised.
Having someone else look through your work for any unclear sentences or ideas may not be such a bad idea. Asking for help too during your research from librarians or people in the same field may not be so bad. Helping fellow students with their research assists in improving writing skills for graduate students.
Note: Asking for help does not make the work any less yours. It just ensures that you used the resources at your disposal to bring forth the best information.
5. Edit and Proofread
Editing the paper for any grammatical errors and punctuation is a final step in the completion of your research. It helps in catching those small mistakes that might have otherwise gone unchecked. Proofreading to find any missing or wrong words or punctuations helps clean up your work.
As you edit and proofread make sure to check whether you have met the requirements of the assignment. Check the word count, page length, correct type and the number of sources.
Final Note
The above if followed would be great graduate level writing tips. They will help you plan, conduct and execute your research in the most effective way possible. They are simple guide to getting your skills at per with the rest of the graduates.
