What you'll learn

Learn tips for successful academic writing

Obtain guidelines on how to use questions to do research

Have on hand a selection of common topics for college papers

Identify a specific issue to research and write about

Do productive research on a chosen topic

Generate content for a paper and start writing the first draft

Requirements

If you are writing a paper for a college course, and you need help choosing a topic, finding resources, collecting information, generating content, and writing the first draft, the resources in this course can help you.

Description

This collection of writing resources is intended for college students who are assigned papers on common (not specialized) topics. One resource provides tips about academic writing. Another one gives guidelines on how to use research questions productively to do research and generate content for a paper. The rest of the resources contain research questions on topics such as an important experience, career choice, and academic goals as well as questions that can help you develop content on a variety of academic genres such as case study, annotated bibliography, and literature review.

Each resource contains questions and suggested resources. The questions--which are research questions and questions to think about--are designed to spark your interest in the topic and to jump-start your research and your thought process. The questions can also help you find an angle so that you can channel your thought properly and aim them in a specific direction. In the process of doing research to respond to the questions, you will be collecting valuable information, gaining clarity on the topic, and generating content for your paper. The ultimate goal is to start writing your first draft.