Making Your Way: Tips for Starting a Writing Project

We’ve all been here.

We’re assigned a paper. We generally understand what we’re supposed to write about. But how do we write about it? What importance or substance can we add to the conversation? Why are we doing this in the first place? Why doesn’t the professor just give us a test on this so we can prove what we know?

I’m going to tell you something that blew my mind the first time I heard it, back when I was taking a class with Professor Chris Justice: Universities don’t exist to teach students. Universities exist to produce research.

This may deepen the existential crisis you’re having about your paper, but hear me out. If you’re a student at a university, you are not just a passive receptacle for the information. You are a participant in the university’s production of knowledge. This is why the name of the institution is included on the cover page of formal APA style papers. This is how universities get funding through research grants to stay open. And so, whenever you sit down to write a paper, you contribute knowledge to your university, your discourse, and the way we all think.

This is why we write, and this is why professors ask you to do more than select the right answer on a Scantron. So let’s return to your computer screen, where the cursor at the top of the page blinks impatiently as it waits for you to start writing. Here are some brainstorming prompts that might help you make that first keystroke:

Ask yourself how and why the topic interests you. You can always intersect a seemingly boring assignment with something that actually interests you. I once I had to write a paper about viruses for a gen-ed biology course. I’ve never considered myself very adept at the sciences, and I was sure that my paper would simply regurgitate all the information from my textbook, which utterly diminished my interest in the paper. But something that does interest me a lot is history. So, I decided to interweave the required information with examples of viral epidemics from history, using them to demonstrate the nature of viruses

Talk to your classmates. Now, I am not telling you to talk to your really smart classmate and steal all their ideas for your own paper. What I mean is engage in a conversation about the course content with a friend, discuss what you do or do not understand, or even just vent about any frustrations you have with the class. Sometimes a casual conversation like this can spark inspiration for a topic or a research question.

Return to your class notes. Try to remember a lecture that particularly engaged you. Or maybe it was a class debate that got you really fired up. Maybe you learned about a concept or philosophy that you either really agreed or disagreed with. Channel those moments when you felt enthusiastic about the subject–in a good or bad way–and use the paper as an opportunity to express yourself.

Formulate a research question, not a thesis statement. Because we’re taught that thesis statements appear at the beginning of a paper, many think coming up with the thesis statement is the first step to writing. Sometimes this makes the paper harder to write. Say you come up with a thesis statement for your Health Systems class that reads: “Safe injection sites are not effective solutions to opioid addiction.” Then you begin to research the topic and find that the opposite is true, or that the truth is much more nuanced than you previously thought. Now you have to completely change your approach to the paper. But, if you start by asking “Are safe injection sites effective solution to opioid addiction,” then you don’t lock yourself into a stance before you have all the facts.

So at this point, I hope that you’ve decided what you will write about, but maybe you’re still not sure how to write that first sentence. Here’s are some tips and strategies to get that proverbial pen moving:

Freewriting. As a creative writing student, freewriting is an exercise I’ve been recommended time and time again. This might sound a little artsy, but this method frees your mind from the doubts, worries, and judgments writers often inflict on themselves. To start, grab a notebook and pen, or open a new document on your computer if you prefer to type. Then, start a timer for five minutes. For the entire duration of those five minutes, write about your topic without pausing. Don’t think, and don’t edit yourself; just write. When the timer goes off, stop and read what you’ve written. It might be messy, or incoherent, but you might also find an idea that you didn’t know you had, or a sentence that sums up your thoughts really well.

Planning. Some people like to give themselves a map to use when they’re writing a draft. Planning what you will say and the order in which you’ll say it can help you keep your train of thought. These plans can look like highly-structured outlines with tiers and numerals. They can look like a list of bullet points. They can look like notebook sketches. These are all okay, as long as they help you make a logical progression from one idea to the next.

Drafting. Maybe you just want to dive right in and do away with the monolithic blankness of a new Word document. That’s great. But when you’re writing a first draft, focus on writing only. Finish the initial idea. Then focus on addressing all of the assignment requirements in your second draft, and supporting your ideas on the third, and organization on the fourth, clarity on the fifth, editing on the sixth, and so on. It’s okay if your first draft is a paragraph. It’s okay if it’s nine pages. The writing stage of the process is one step–everything that comes after is revision. And it’s really hard to write and revise at the same time.

Some of the most exciting consultations I’ve had in the Writing Center have been with a student who walks in and says, “I don’t know where to start.” That openness can feel really intimidating. It’s like standing in the middle of the woods, knowing you have to start walking, but not seeing a path. Having someone with you–like a writing consultant–who can help you think through your options can help you make an informed first step.

Instead of saying, “Let’s get a better view of our surroundings at the top of that ridge,” I might say, “I bet a research librarian could help you find a book or a database you could look through.”

Instead of saying, “We should avoid eating those berries because they’re hallucinogenic,” I might say, “I understand your thinking, but here’s an opposing perspective.”

Instead of saying, “If we go into that cave we will definitely be eaten by bears,” I might say, “That’s an interesting point, but I don’t think it answers the question in your assignment prompt.”

At the Writing Center, we really believe in the power of collaboration at every stage of the writing process, and we try to give you as many resources as possible so that you can blaze your own path.

Which leads me to my last piece of advice: Make an appointment with a writing consultant. We have a full staff of peer consultants from many different majors and disciplines who can help you out. We’re here for confident writers and not-so-confident writers. We can support you before you’ve written a single word down and when you’re almost ready to submit a paper for a grade. If you’re lost in the woods, we hope that your first step is through our door.