Tips on Making a Term Paper Longer

Have I Met with My Professor?

• The professor that will be grading your paper is the best source of information on how to get a good grade. Schedule some time with your professor at least one week before the paper is due and have her read what you have written so far. Ask her what she is looking for in an A+ paper and how you can make your paper fit that description.

Is My Topic Too Narrow?

• Most topics can be expanded. Try brainstorming on paper to figure out new sections you could add to your paper. Start by listing everything you have already covered and then write down anything that could be connected to those topics. Next, try looking up all the new topics in a search engine or card catalog to see if any other new research leads turn up. Also, check the reference section of your textbook for any sources that might be related to your topic. Then check those sources out from a library.

Have I Quoted Enough Sources?

• Term papers should have one new source quoted on each page. So a 10-page paper should have 10 sources that are each quoted at least once. Each quote needs an introduction before it and a discussion after it. The discussion of a quote should be at least one sentence long but could take up to a whole page. Also, be sure to include an in-text citation for each quote.

Have I Explained Words or Phrases?

• Every paper should be written as if the intended reader does not know anything about the paper topic. Any specialized word or phrase needs to be defined and explained.

Have I Said Anything Too Quickly?

• One common mistake when writing a term paper is the tendency to sum up an aspect of the topic in a single sentence and move on. However, that one sentence could have taken several paragraphs to discuss. Try reading through your paper one sentence at a time. After each sentence, ask yourself how you can expand it into a paragraph.

Do My Paragraphs Transition Smoothly?

• Each paragraph should lead naturally into the subject of the next paragraph. Creating this flow could be as simple as adding a transition word -- such as "first," "then" or "next" -- to the beginning of the first sentence of each paragraph. Doing so could also lead you to expand some paragraphs quite a bit. Each time you add a transition word, ask yourself if that's really all those two paragraphs need in order to fit together. How could you make them fit even better?