I suck at essays

[Anonymous No.14075055]

Just received a 30/50 for my essay (masters). How do I improve grades on that?

One of the feedback was:
1. You introduction need to give a more specific outline your structure rather than stating in general what territory you will cover.

[Anonymous No.14075060]

>>14075055
Well, for starters You introduction need to give a more specific outline your structure rather than stating in general what territory you will cover.

[Anonymous No.14075095]

How long was the paper?

[Anonymous No.14075098]

I don't want to help you.

[Anonymous No.14075105]

>>14075060
Right, I simply touched on the concept of the study, not the depth of the paper

>>14075095
3k words

[Anonymous No.14075275]

>>14075055
>going for masters degree and have still have no idea how to write an essay

>>14075105
>3k words
That's what, 12 pages double spaced?

Honest response: It literally says what you need to do. I would be surprised, but you did get a failing grade on your essay. I think the main problem is that you didn't know what you'd be covering so you had to be general. Seems that you lacked structure entirely and didn't have any planning at all.

[Anonymous No.14075857]

>>14075055
It sounds like you had a general idea for the paper and then you found your real point along the way.

That’s normal, but not final draft material. For a basic trick, just incorporate a “grocery list” into your thesis statement. After you state your argument, list off the different methods and/or sources you will use to prove your point. Your intro isn’t just “tell them what you’re gonna them” it’s “tell them HOW you’re gonna tell them” by directly stating the methodology. The big thing in academic writing is to never waste your audience’s time or make them guess at what you’re getting at.

[Anonymous No.14075932]

>>14075857
>It sounds like you had a general idea for the paper and then you found your real point along the way.
Yep. Abstracts must be always the last thing you write. Nobody cares about what you're set out to do, the summary is about what you did, just in less words.

>tell them HOW you’re gonna tell them
Don't overdo this, the epistemology should be pretty much condensed to single word jargon in there.

[Anonymous No.14075978]

>>14075060
fpbp
honestly OP I'm over here laughing my ass off at this thread, are you ESL? maybe that's your problem

[Anonymous No.14076754]

>>14075055
>one of the feedback was

learning how to write might help too

[Anonymous No.14076783]

>>14075055
>(masters
masters and only now starting to think about how to get better grades.
Are you retarded?

[Anonymous No.14076885]

>>14075055
I suspect you are not actually a masters student, but I'll bite.

Given that you haven't shown us your work, I'm going to make some assumptions about the criticism you received. I think what it is referring to is that you may not have outlined (very briefly) what the different sections of your essay will cover. This should be accomplished in a few sentences or even just one. You should write this at the end of your introduction, after you've stated your hypothesis/argument. You are essentially saying how you are going to argue the argument you had just given.

Also follow this general rule: say what you're going to say, say it, then say what you've just said. Use sub-headings as well so it's easier for the marker to read.

[Anonymous No.14076915]

Post a sample OP, we can't help until we see what it is you're writing.

[Anonymous No.14076926]

>>14075060
>>14075095
>>14075098
>>14075105
>>14075275
>>14075857
>>14075932
>>14075978
>>14076754
>>14076783
>>14076885
>>14076915
Not OP but I am an 18 y/o senior graduating in may. Is there a book or course I can take that will help me write better, more cohesive papers?

[Anonymous No.14076934]

>>14076926
Seconding this.

[Anonymous No.14077034]

Just write, you cunts. The more you write - the better you'll get at it, if you pay attention. The first 100,000 words you write will be irredeemable crap, but then it'll start to get better.

[Anonymous No.14077237]

>>14076926
I don’t have a bunch of time here, but check out the book They say/I say. It’s very helpful in integrating sources and creating a “dialogue” in your essay.

[Anonymous No.14077345]

>>14076926
>>14076934
Forget everything they taught you in school, the “five paragraph essay” is meant to be easy to grade but it’s terrible to read. Start with an argument, a simple modus ponens or similar, A implies B. Set the stage, then discuss the issue A, then discuss B, then demonstrate your proofs that A implies B, maybe take some time off to address counter arguments, now you’ve got an essay.

[Anonymous No.14077406]

>>14076926
mass reply posters will never make it

[Anonymous No.14077488]

>>14075055
>>14076926
How can you not look up a fucking syllabus or do a simply library, or you know, fucking google it, and quickly find the best suitable book about writing better essays
Aside from math and basic literacy, that is the single fucking worthwhile skill you go to school for

[Anonymous No.14077497]

Just read advanced papers in your subject that are said to be well written and clear. You’ll learn from association really.

[Anonymous No.14077773]

>>14076926
They Say/I Say

[Anonymous No.14077851]

>>14075055
https://asciidoctor.org/docs/asciidoc-recommended-practices/#one-sentence-per-line
this might be difficult to work into your word documents or whatever, but
just compose your prose
with a line break, at least every sentence.
(Assuming the parser will ignore those line breaks, as in html, md or asciidoc)

I assume you know how to use Pandoc though, turning the text into word or pdf is no biggie...

[Anonymous No.14077887]

>>14077851
if you want to get really autistic about it,
. insert tabulation characters too.
My Markdown parser ignores those, as well as the line breaks. Pretty cool

[Anonymous No.14078251]

>>14076926
Try looking up argument diagrams. They take some time to set up, but can really make things easier.

[Anonymous No.14078339]

>>14075055
How can you being doing grad work when you don't know how to write a thesis and make horrible ESL grammar errors in every sentence? Is the degree in another language?

[Anonymous No.14078349]

>>14077345
That's literally the five-paragraph model for a short paper. Are you high?