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What To Do when You're Writing
1. Make notes as you read
Some people make notes in the margins as they read (this isn't
a good idea unless you own the book or photocopy you're marking).
Some like to make notes in a separate notebook or on a computer
file (like a Word document), noting the page and paragraph number
of the text they are responding to, and some like to use sticky
notes; some like to use all three. It doesn't matter which method
you prefer - just make those notes!
2. Gather your notes and sources together
This may seem obvious, but it can't be overstressed how important
it is to have everything conveniently at hand as you write.
You can't concentrate on your writing if you have to get up
from your desk every few minutes to ransack your bookbag or
shelves to search for that book, photocopy or note that you
need; arrange all your books and notes within reach.
Consider printing out your critical articles; printouts can
be underlined, highlighted, written on; it's often hard to get
the same sense of "ownership" of a text in a computer file.
Cutting and pasting quotes can be done later based on the decisions
you have notated on your hard copies.
3. Talk to your texts
This is not necessarily an expression or a metaphor; It often helps to read
at least portions of your primary, secondary, and self-written
texts out loud at all stages of the writing
process, and respond aloud or in writing. Writing a paper is
in many ways like engaging in a highly disciplined conversation,
and reading/responding aloud may help to clarify that process.
Also, reading aloud has other benefits: it forces you to slow down,
and articulating the texts and your responses to them encourages parity of diction;
you may begin to sound as careful and erudite as your authors
(hopefully) are.
4. Cite as you go - not later
If you believe that a critic, for example, is being particularly
wordy, obsure, or just plain wrong in a particular section,
you have the freedom to either explain or refute their ideas
(or do both) after you quote and cite the passage. Or,
you can paraphrase and cite that passage, writing it
as clearly as you think it should have been written in the first
place. Conversely, if some scholar's idea seems particularly
astute or well-put, quote that idea and praise it while adding
further elucidation of your own. In all cases, let the
reader know of both the original idea and its creator.
5. Write down your quotes, paraphrases, responses and connecting
text - in other words, your paper
Committing your conversation with your texts to paper (or, more
likely, Word document), constitutes writing your paper, and
it is where you include that third participant in the conversation
- your reader. If you put enough material from your textual
conversation into this first draft, there may not be much more
raw material to add - just reordering and refinement. But no
matter how many drafts you put your paper through, you need
to consciously engage your source material every time you draw
from it.
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Plagiarism
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