如何享受写研究论文的乐趣

What if I told you that writing long research papers can be one of the most fun and fulfilling parts of your academic career? 现在，也许这听起来很荒谬. Maybe it sounds like saying that being stuck in traffic can be the most exciting part of the day or that bulk canned spinach can make a delicious dessert. 然而, with the right approach you can turn what can often be the most stressful experience of the semester into one of the most enjoyable parts of the semester.

方法如下:

1. 写一些你真正感兴趣的东西.

When I would help students with term papers in the 写作工作室, I was always shocked to find that students consistently chose 主题s that they weren’t all that interested in. 现在, sometimes you don’t get much of a choice in what you write about, but in many classes professors offer a lot of freedom when it comes to 主题 choice. 好好利用这一点. Even if the class doesn’t interest you, try to find a 主题 that does. If you’re not sure your 主题 idea fits with the class or the intent of the assignment prompt, talk to your professor; many professors will give students the freedom to follow their interests within reason.

When you’re naturally interested in your 主题, you’re more likely to be intrinsically motivated. The writing will still be work, but it will be satisfying, fulfilling work.

2. 要具体.

作家 are often worried about running out of things to say, so they try to pick a 主题 and 论文 that is as broad and general as possible in the hopes that this will give them more to write about. 然而, in my experience I’ve found that the opposite is true. When you have a really narrow and specific 论文, it’s easier to write more. When you have an overly broad 论文, you run out of things to say faster.

Think about it like this: if you’re flying in a plane over some fields and you try to describe the landscape below you, 你只能笼统地说. 你可以指出不同颜色的方格. 你可以指出一两条路. 也许还能看到几栋建筑，但其他的就不多了. But, if you are actually standing on the ground, you can easily go into much more detail. 你可以谈论你脚边草的质地. 你身后树上鸟儿的叫声. 各种各样的野花在生长, 蜜蜂嗡嗡作响, 在路上行驶的汽车的颜色和款式.

一篇研究论文, overly broad 主题s might be something like “illegal immigration” or “the Civil War.“狭义, more specific 主题s will focus in on a facet of this broader 主题, like “central American child immigrants in the 2010s” or “the aftermath of Sherman’s march to the sea.”

Narrowly focused 主题s open you up to more detail than a broad 主题 and will make your paper much easier to write.

3. 进行辩论.

论文驱动型论文都是关于论点的. You should have an assertion to prove (your 论文) and you should try to convince your reader why you are right and why anyone who’d disagree with you is wrong. Writing with a clear argument in mind gives you something to work toward. There are points to make, counterarguments to respond to, evidence to bring up. Having a clear, arguable 论文 statement gives your paper a clear direction and destination.

有时，作家会混淆 论文 有一个 主题. 当作家把这些概念混在一起时，他们就失去了方向. They often just list instances of their 主题 without actually trying to do anything with it. 例如，某人的话题可能是“家庭暴力” 《亚洲体育博彩平台》.” Instead of making an argument about how violence is used in the 《亚洲体育博彩平台》, they just list different examples of violence in the 《亚洲体育博彩平台》. 过了一会儿，他们就无话可说了，这也难怪! 写作没有方向和目的.

如果你的主题是“暴力” 《亚洲体育博彩平台》，一个有争议的论点可以是这样的，“在荷马 《亚洲体育博彩平台》 violence is used to demonstrate the frailty of human lives,” or “Violence in Homer’s 《亚洲体育博彩平台》 这是角色发展的主要方法吗.你的论文应该是一个完整的句子. 它应该断言某件事是这样的.

4. 读，读，再读.

我们都有过这样的经历. You’ve procrastinated too long and you have to get your research paper done right now. 你没有时间做任何真正的调查, so you just do a quick search on the internet and find some sentences you can quote to meet the minimum number of required sources and fill out your word count at the same time.

But there’s a reason why your professors require you to do research for your paper: it actually makes 写简单的. When you’ve done the research, you know what other scholars have said about your 主题. 你知道亚洲体育博彩平台们同意和不同意的地方. When you read as much as possible on your 主题 before you even start writing, 你真的有话要说. 你已经阅读了其他作家对你的主题的看法, which gives you plenty of ammo and support for articulating your own ideas. 如果你读得够多的话, the most stressful part of writing becomes deciding what not to include in your paper instead of how to meet the bare minimum length requirement.

现在, all this does require that you actually get started before 10pm the night that your paper is due, but I can absolutely guarantee you that you will also enjoy writing more if you’re not under such a time crunch.

快乐的写作!

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Kendall Davis graduated from 欧文康考迪亚大学 in 2016 with a BA in Biblical Languages and Theatre. He is currently working on his MDiv at Concordia Seminary-St. 路易, where he provides writing tutoring and editing services to both Masters and Doctoral students at the Seminary. 最近, 他帮助创办了康考迪亚神学院的学生期刊, Grapho, 该杂志今年5月出版了第一期. He has a deep love for helping people utilize writing as a medium to communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively and persuasively.