By Jacob Hallman

Today I’m going to show you how to write an academic paper quickly and effectively. This technique works great for getting 2 letter grades better in your writing assignment.

Chelsea Mandler nailed this technique even though she hadn’t been writing for 20 years.

And in this case study, I’m going to break down the approach she used to start boosting student’s grades by two letters.

 

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Meet the hero of our story (and her one big problem)

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Chelsea is the daughter of a Hollywood prop man, a free spirit from Los Angeles who was looking to polish her writing chops.

Like many extremely smart people, she didn’t have the greatest grades in school. In fact, she graduated 520 out of 540 students in her high school graduation class.

But that didn’t stop Chelsea. She wanted to become a better writer and help others too. She had always loved writing, and she knew the techniques necessary to write great content.

Her problem?

Breaking down her ideas into simple terms.

So in 2016, after nearly moving to Germany, pivoting to Iowa, AND nearly going bankrupt, Chelsea decided to get back to the basics.

 

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How Chelsea upgraded her skills

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Before we met, Chelsea always wanted her words to be exactly how she imagined. But that was impossible. So she did some Google searching and found my writing class on Udemy.

After 2 weeks, she started freelancing online with SimpleTense, an education organization designed for Chinese students studying in the US. When she let go of perfection and focused on excellence instead, she was able to write on nearly any subject in any genre.

A year later, Chelsea landed a job teaching writing in Des Moines, Iowa. Today, she interacts with 100s of extremely ambitious students as well as those who are barely getting by.

Their common thread? All of them want to get better at writing.

Fortunately, Chelsea gives them a safe space to become better writers. And she helps them succeed using the techniques taught in my Udemy course.

The best part?

I’m going to share those same techniques with you here.

It isn’t rocket science and many people teach it. My spin on it?

I keep it simple.

Keep reading..

 

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5-paragraph essays: Your favorite enemy (mine too!!!)

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Most people in school know what the 5-paragraph essay looks like. And just about everyone hates it, myself included.

But writing 5-paragraph essays gives you a foundational approach for learning what to write, where to write it, and how to find your own style.

Here’s the deal:

Good writing doesn’t strictly require following form. But all good writers understand form before they start breaking the rules.

In this approach, you want to define your thesis statement (basically, your point of view) and then fill it in with supporting ideas. Instead of writing straight from the beginning to the end of the essay, you’ll define your core ideas and argument before piecing everything together at the end.

Then you can sandwich this content with an introduction and conclusion when you’re finished.

Step#1: Find great sources with pre-writing research

If form matters most, why is pre-writing research the first step?

Glad you asked!

Your research sets the tone for how strong your paper will be. So if you use Buzzfeed as your main source, that’s awesome if the fact is relevant to your overall point of view. Just consider who will be reading your paper.

For example:

If it’s an editor for Buzzfeed, great! They’ll probably love that you reference them. If it’s your teacher, they probably won’t be impressed.

(Speaking of audiences, Clifford Stumme [AKA the Pop Song Professor] offers some great ideas on respecting audiences. You can read it here.)

Good papers start with relevant sources from recognized authorities

Your sources won’t make or break your paper. But they will make at least a 1-letter grade difference in how your work gets graded. Here are some good sources to use that will meaningfully contribute to your topic:

 

• Google Scholar (fastest and easiest option)
• Books (Google Books)
• Academic journals
• Mainstream news publications (NY Times, Washington Post)
• Paid subscription databases (EBSCOHost, JSTOR)
• Free databases (Library Genesis, Scihub)
• A college / high school library (#1 option for quality)

 

Oh, and this is the truth about Wikipedia:

Avoid it unless stated otherwise. However, you can use the CITATIONS within Wikipedia articles as references. Just make sure the secondary source fits within the one of the bolded categories above and does not reference some black hole on the dark web.

If you need to cite, it’s a good idea to use the Google Scholar Button to generate citations. Bibme.org also works where the GSB will not. However, you’ll need to manually fill in the required information such as years, article titles, numbers, volumes, author names, etc.

Make a thesis statement people will talk about

You found interesting sources that are relevant to your topic and know what experts are writing about it. What angle will you take?

The answer to this question is your thesis statement. And I’m going to show you exactly how to write one.

Here’s the deal:

If your paper was a building, your thesis is the foundation. Write a hasty thesis statement and your paper will die a quick and boring death in your reader’s trash.

Write a good thesis statement and your supporting ideas/body paragraphs gain cohesiveness.

So here is the breakdown to writing thesis statements:

1. They tell the reader your message in a focused and concise manner.
2. They may be either argumentative—which suggests there is something to prove—or expository, which describes a subject.
3. There are two basic formats to a thesis statement.
   1. While X is true, Y is more true.
   2. Because of A, B, and C, Z happens.

These aren’t the only two formats for thesis statements, but these two are simple and approachable.

Here are some examples of them in action (in color!):

You can use both formats to take an argumentative or expository angle. Can you guess which thesis statements take which angle?

To have great body paragraphs, make the sentences work together

The breakdown for each body paragraph section is pretty straightforward:

1. Topic sentence
   • Sometimes referred to as a mini-thesis for its specificity, the topic sentence tells the reader what the paragraph will be about.
2. Background information
   • Shares context concerning the body paragraph at hand. It could also explain how or why this mini-thesis correlates with the main thesis.
3. Nucleus
   • The core of the paragraph. It imports essential information in the form of either a quote or paraphrase that validates the mini-thesis. It should be used sparingly.
4. Nucleus interpretation
   • Analyzes the nucleus and connects it with the mini-thesis. It justifies the the previous statement by answering the questions “why is this relevant?” and “how does it contribute to the argument?”
5. Broad context
   • The information is then placed within the broad context of the paper and related back to the thesis statement. In this way, the body paragraph is oriented with the main argument of the paper.
6. Transition
   • Finally, the writer inserts a transition at the end of the paragraph by foreshadowing the subject material in the next body paragraph. This 6-step process repeats itself until the conclusion.

Check out some more color-coded examples:

First impressions (and introductions) count the most

Once the foundation and walls of your essay are complete, it’s time to add some doors and windows so people can see what’s inside. It’s time for your introduction!

Now, you might be thinking:

Why am I writing the introduction at the end of this process if it’s the beginning of the paper? Glad you asked!

It’s important to understand where you’re going to take the reader before you begin. Once the thesis and body paragraphs are up, it’s easier to lead your reader to those points. Otherwise, you’re more likely to write unclear content.

Now’s the time to write an awesome introduction!

Here’s how to do it (the intro, I mean):

1. Introductions begin with an interesting statement to capture your reader’s attention. Some writers call this a hook. Here are some examples of how to do this:
   • Ask a question (open-ended questions work best)
   • Make a relatable statement
   • Call out the reader for something relevant to your topic (this is the most powerful option on this list because it is an emotional trigger)
   • Tell readers what you’ll give them (this is the one I used for this article)
   • Add a simile or metaphor
   • Offer a surprising statistic (my personal favorite)
2. Build interest with specific details like time and place to give context. In a business analysis, more details might contain information about the company history and headquarters.
3. Supply background terms and concepts, leading the reader to understand precisely what issue or topic the writer will address.

Together, these three approaches build energy into the last part of the introduction: the thesis statement.

In general, academic introductions start broad and get more specific as momentum builds into the thesis statement. This is exactly the opposite of what a journalist or blogger would do, which is to state the main point at the beginning.

Now, I’m not going to lie to you..

Especially at the top, DON’T BS your reader with unthoughtful content. Not even your dear mother is going to read that flaky content at the beginning. Just like a bad thesis statement, a weak introduction WILL DISCOURAGE her from reading your paper at all.

With that dire apocalyptic warning out of the way, it’s time for the last part of your essay.

Wrap up your article with a conclusion

A conclusion ends your paper and puts a roof on the house. Unless you are the second coming of J.K. Rowling, most people prefer your paper to end fast. So try to keep it quick.

Here’s how:

1. Good conclusions work backwards compared to the introduction. They begin with a paraphrase of the thesis statement that reflects the acquired learning in the body paragraphs.
2. Tell the reader where you took them. Mini-theses remind the reader of the main points in the paper.
3. In principle, your writing should be as objective as possible. The concluding paragraph is usually the only appropriate time to share some personal insight. So if you wrote a paper about the president and want to share your distaste for red MAGA hats, this is the place.
4. The paper ends with an essential element succinctly summarizing the essay message. This is the last thing the audience will read, so make it either simple or witty.

Conclusion (for real this time)

Using these five steps, Chelsea upgraded her writing chops (which were already pretty impressive) and found work helping her students improve their writing by 2 letter grades. Our big takeaway? She took a seemingly complicated process and made it simple.

And whether you’re an aspiring writer, a student, or already a teacher yourself, you can improve your own writing chops to help others and make more interesting papers. Just start with the steps above.

Now it’s time to hear from you. Have you used any of these paper writing techniques before? Did I miss something? Leave me know either way by leaving a comment below right now.