Writing "A" Papers
High, Middle, and Low Concerns
Mar 19, 2009 Elisabeth Sharber
Writing an "A" paper requires the right battle-plan, which tackles the bigger issues before the smaller ones.
When writing, revising, and editing papers for school, addressing the higher order concerns first is a more efficient way to improve the paper. If the grammar and punctuation are checked and perfect, but the thesis is unclear and the information is unorganized, then the paper has not served its purpose, and all the perfectly punctuated sentences must be rewritten anyway. Here is a list of the most important aspects of a paper to get right. All of these issues must be considered for a paper to work, but the fundamental issues should be top priority.
Higher Order Concerns
- Thesis--Papers need to convince the readers of a statement. It does not have to be at the end of the "intro paragraph" in the traditional "five paragraph essay," but it should be undoubtedly clear, and it should be the backbone of the paper which every statement supports.
- Purpose--The thesis comes out of the purpose, as does everything else. Everything needs to work together to accomplish the purpose. Thus, audience, vocabulary, tone, depth, and momentum should all be taken into account.
- Unity--One of the most difficult parts of writing a paper is keeping a narrow scope. Many things have a connection with a paper's topic, but not everything supports the paper's thesis. If there is a brilliant tangential sentence that is not necessary for the strength for the thesis, it is time to bite the bullet and delete.
- Clarity--Clarity is probably the area most affected by another set of eyes, because while the writer knows exactly what the paper is saying, that doesn't mean the reader knows. Getting a paper peer-edited will clear up some ambiguities and make sure it's fit for the average reader of the desired audience.
- Organization--While thoughts don't come to writers in organized packages, they are stored in the mind in an organized way. Thus, they must be presented in a planned arrangement, with points separated by paragraphs, so that the reader can remember what is being said.
- Structure--Much like organization, structure deals with the location and presentation of the information. A structured paper knows where the stronger statements belong (at the beginning of an idea) verses the smaller details (at the end of an idea).
Middle Level Concerns
- Paragraph development--As a part of structure, paragraphs should flow well from opening statement to closing detail. The movement should follow a logical thought pattern, with each sentence serving as a more detailed support to the sentence before it. Paragraphs are like reverse math problems: start out with solution and end with the steps.
- Tone--Be aware of the emotional effect of words, and the emotional effect you want to convey. If a paper is addressing an urgent problem, make the language urgent. The form must always emphasize the content.
- Audience--Papers should target and speak to the interests of their audience. If the paper is about a development in punk music, and written towards fans of punk music, folk music culture/references/humor may not be understood.
- Transitions--To help the flow of a paper, transitions help the readers see the connection from one idea to the next. Transition words/phrases include: "however," "another way," and "in addition."
- Word choice--Rereading papers and peer editing can show the writer spots where the wording is ambiguous or does not fit. Like clarity, a writer may know what his/her phrases mean, but if a reader does not know, the wording needs to be revised.
Lower Concerns
- Grammar--Subject-verb agreement, forgotten words, and complete thoughts are all part of grammar, which needs to be sound to be readable.
- Punctuation--Commas and semicolons are some of the most repeated punctuation errors in papers. Peer editing helps to catch these errors.
- Spelling--Even with "spellcheck" on Microsoft Word, words like "they're" "their" and "there" can be misused. Spellcheck also underlines correct words, so check an online dictionary to make sure a word is correct.
Spend most of your time fine-tuning the thesis, unity, and other higher concerns of the paper. After those, work your way down the list to create a tightly focused, potent, and polished paper.
The copyright of the article Writing "A" Papers in Academic Writing is owned by Elisabeth Sharber. Permission to republish Writing "A" Papers in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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