Advice for Writing a Good Paper
1. Always proofread papers and then proofread them again.
2. Make sure you have a thesis.
Remember a good thesis is argumentative (articulates something for which a case needs to be
made), analytical (not evaluative, reductive, or unreflective), and specific (grabs and focuses the
reader’s attention).
3. Make your thesis shape your paper.
4. Make sure your paper has a definite structure
5. Take care with the introduction to your paper.
Remember a good introduction consists of a paragraph (or two) that lays the logical foundation
for your paper. In the introduction you should present relevant concepts, define key terms, and
introduce your thesis, usually through a well-developed thesis statement.
6. Support your thesis with evidence from the text of the play.
In the body of the paper, you should marshal the textual evidence needed to support the claim
you make in the thesis statement. As you proceed, you should be interpreting the textual
evidence in light of the thesis. Avoid plot summary and any material that is not essential to the
argument your thesis sets in motion. You might also want to address potential opposition to
your reading. What makes your interpretation more compelling and reasonable than others?
7. Making observations and noticing patterns is not enough. What is the larger significance of these
observations or this pattern?
8. Take care with transitions from paragraph to paragraph..
Remember each paragraph you write should have a single focus. The topic sentence of the
paragraph should clearly indicate (a) how this paragraph relates to the point you’ve just made in
the previous paragraph and (b) where you are in your larger argument (the relationship between
the new issue this paragraph is introducing and the overall thesis of the essay).
9. Take care with the conclusion to your paper.
Remember a good conclusion lets the reader know what the paper has accomplished. It revisits
the thesis and introduction without restating them and explains the significance of the argument
the paper has just made. A good conclusion does not repeat the details of the argument but does
return to the thesis in a way that takes into account developments in the thesis that have
occurred in the course of the paper. A good conclusion might also open up the thesis by
suggesting new avenues future discussions could take.
10. Always proofread papers and then proofread them again.
*This handout includes material adapted from Rob Barrett, Patricia Fumerton, Jack Lynch, and
Katherine Milligan.