Hello and good morning! Today’s article is about a very fun and educational project that I am putting together!
The path of my life took me towards tutoring. At this point I have tutored every grade and skill level when it comes to writing. From PreK – College and from beginner – advanced knowledge! (Hey! That rhymed!)
With this being said, my goal remains the same no matter the age or skill level. My goal is to help my students write in such a way that they could sit down and easily write a college level paper. So, in the new world post/mid COVID, a sudden surge in writing interest, and with our modern technology — I’ve decided to make a video lesson series to help YOU write a college level paper step-by-step!
Before I dive into a brief overview of each lesson and what I will cover: if you’d rather watch the intro video, you can find it here on YouTube!
OVERVIEW
Research –
Lesson one will deal with research! Specifically, HOW to research and WHERE (on the internet) to research!
You’ll learn the difference and proper usage of primary, secondary, and tertiary resources as well as different search engines and tricks on how to find exactly what you’re looking for!
Planning/Brainstorming –
Lesson two will be going through the steps of planning out and brainstorming for your paper! Research is usually synonymous with this step, so don’t feel like you’re stuck in a box researching everything before you start to plan out your paper!
I will go over different methods of brainstorming for each learning type! So make sure to discover your learning type before diving into these lessons! (If enough interest is expressed, I will also create a separate video on the learning types!)
Outlines –
Lesson three will deal specifically with outlines! During lesson two (planning and brainstorming) I will mention outlines in passing, but during lesson three I will go into detail!
I will show you how easy it is to outline what you’re going to say and how to USE that outline to help you write your paper quickly and efficiently!
Also, part of this lesson will involve creating an outline after you’ve already been writing for a minute and start to get lost in your own head and words! This is called a reverse outline and has helped me out of a tough spot more than once!
Thesis Statements –
Lesson four will deal with thesis statements! A lot of people will remember this term, along with “hook”, from highschool without ever being told specifically what it means aside from “the last sentence in your introduction paragraph.”
A thesis statement is the argument that you are making in your paper!
In this lesson, I will go over how to write a strong thesis statement as well as basic do’s and don’ts of writing thesis statements!
Introductions and Conclusions –
Lesson five will deal with both introduction and conclusion paragraphs. Both introduction and conclusion paragraphs are special in the way that they are both bookends to your paper! So, while EVERYTHING you write is important in your paper, special and different attention should be given to the beginning and the end!
Concerning the INTRO – I have developed an easy and foolproof method for writing your introduction paragraph that will have you shaking your head at how much time you’ve wasted staring at the blinking cursor and blank page in your Word document just trying to get started.
Concerning the OUTRO – Most people simply write a sum-it-all-up conclusion paragraph…which definitely has it’s place. But I’m going to teach you both WHY that’s not the best option and HOW to write a better ending! This section will involve some rhetorical theory so get ready to feel like the philosophers of old!
Body Paragraphs –
As wonderful as it’d be to only have to write and focus on our intros and outros to our paper, we still have to actually write the paper!
In this lesson (6), I will go over different ways to write your body paragraphs as well as touch a bit on quotations. (Which will, of course, have their own lesson!)
Again, knowing your learning style will be important as the methods I will share with you will match with specific learning/thinking styles 🙂
Plagiarism –
Lesson 7 will talk about plagiarism! Specifically, how to AVOID it and what it looks like.
Plagiarism isn’t just when a student copy-pastes a paper or sections of a paper from the internet. It is also not citing your sources, not using the correct formatting, and rewriting someone else’s research/points as your own.
You’d be amazed at the many ways plagiarism can accidentally be stumbled into! So, avoid it altogether in the first place by learning what it is!
Citations –
Lesson 8 is going to be all about citations, both in-text and in your Works Cited/Bibliography/Resources page at the end of your paper!
This will cover the basic idea of citations without delving into different ways to format (as formatting will be lesson 10).
Growing up, discovering the “why” of things was always very important to me! So, I hope to satisfy your curiosity as well when it comes to how and why we cite things in our papers!
Quotations –
Quotes will be lesson 9! Most students don’t understand why we use quotes or even how to use them properly. They find something that they think sounds good, slaps the minimum number they were assigned onto their paper, and call it a day! NO!
Don’t worry, young grasshoppers, I will teach you! Not only will I help, I am going to give you an EXACT method to use when incorporating quotations so that you won’t have to puzzle anything out on your own! I am here to help!
Formatting –
Along with quotations, citations, and structuring our paper content-wise…formatting plays a HUGE role!
There are three main types of formatting: APA, MLA, and Chicago!
APA deals with science subject papers, MLA deals with literary analysis, and Chicago is more of the Indiana Jones of formatting in the way that it is a lone wolf and gets the treasure in it’s own way!
It should also be noted that formatting rules change every couple of years, so knowing how and where to double-check yourself is crucial!
Lesson 10 will deal with different types of formatting, resources, and easy ways to digest the different kinds of formatting as well!
Modes of Persuasion –
Lesson 11 will go over Ethos, Pathos, Logos, and the underdiscussed Kairos.
Just like in the picture above, the way we present ourselves will make people feel a different way. The way we present our points will make people understand it differently.
Learning what each mode of persuasion is and how they are used helps SIGNIFICANTLY with making the points you want to make in the WAY you want to make them! This lesson will explain these in an easily digestible way and will provide structure for when you use them within your paper!
What they mean: Ethos – ethics/credibility, Pathos – emotions, Logos – logic/facts, Kairos – timing.
Revision –
The 12th and final lesson of this series will deal with revision!
Revision isn’t just making ALL THE CHANGES at once. It is also a process and SHOULD take an equal amount of time OR LONGER to complete than the actual writing of your paper!
This lesson will explain foolproof steps to take when revising your paper so that way you know, for a FACT, you have said everything you want to say how you want to say it and in a way that your readers understand your points!
CONCLUSION
These lessons are still in production but should be completed very soon! I will be providing these lessons on SkillShare as well as a purchasable package so that way YOU can learn these skills on your own time and in your own setting.
Stay tuned for updates on these lessons as well as how to obtain them for yourself!
Thank you for reading and I look forward to you all learning with me! If you ever have any questions, my inbox is open (via the Send A Letter… page) and I AM available for private tutoring!
Have a wonderful day and stay learning!
E. Lexi Abbott 