In assigning papers, professors often give specific questions which they want students to address. Sometimes the topics are long and involved, sometimes short and pithy, sometimes deliberately problematical. Often in their eagerness to get something down on paper, students will leap into a topic without looking. The result is a mish-mash.

When you receive a paper assignment, read it aloud once or twice; you'll be surprised how much more sense it will make. Then make a list of the questions you need to answer. Writing them down on a separate sheet of paper or note cards will help you see the assignment as yours, not simply as a regurgitation of others' ideas. This is especially effective if your marginal doodling have obscured the sheet.

You may find that the professor's questions make an outline which you can follow for setting down information and drafting ideas. Or the topic's questions may lead to one big question, problem, or definition which you may use as a focal point. Look for thematic words or phrases which you can use to help focus your paragraph. If you become enamored in questions and possible lines of approach, pick the one that makes the most sense and start there. It may be the real beginning or lead you to the right start.

However you arrange the questions, try to make the paper topic your own. Take some time to figure out what preparation you need before you start writing: a trip through class notes, some re-reading of the class material, some research in the library. Don't be afraid to draft a series of preliminary questions whose answers might give you a place to start. For example: if you've been asked to discuss why people joined the Crusades, you might ask why people join anything. What constituted medieval publicity? The speeches of Popes might suggest something. A snappy quotation from a primary source can often get a first paragraph going, where a large generalization ("The Crusades were important") stops you in your tracks.

   Using The Paper Topic
   Rough Magic
   Grocery Lists
   Up Against The Wall
   Paragraph Outline
   Building On Evidence
   Traditional Outlines
   Starting With Last Paragraph