How to Schedule A Long Term Paper

Looking at the syllabus for a class and discovering that there is a twenty page term paper due the week before finals can be intimidating. It's easy as a student to put it off thinking you have plenty of time. You'll start after the first test, after football season or after mid-terms. Suddenly, the end of the semester is looming and you're trying to complete a term paper in a weekend.

The problem, of course, is that almost nothing in our pre-college experience teaches us how to divide and conquer this kind of long assignment. But a term paper isn't that big a deal if you follow these easy steps.

Get started early

Determine the week the class starts how soon you can start on your term paper. If the professor doesn't talk about the assignment early in the class, stay after class or make an appointment to talk to the professor about the guidelines for the paper. Once you are sure of the parameters of the assignment, such as what topics are open for consideration, make choosing your topic a number one priority. Talk with your instructor about your thesis statement and begin your basic research.

Make an appointment to work on it

It's easy with other deadlines to put off working on your term paper. Many students will plan to work on the paper after they finish their other homework or when they have free time. But the reality of being a college student is that you don't have a lot of free time.

Instead, look at your schedule and pick a time that you don't have any other commitments. Then, schedule this as work on my term paper time. Planning one or two hours at a time can help break the project into smaller pieces so it doesn't get dull and help you make regular progress on your term paper.

Finish ahead of schedule

If you work on your term paper regularly, you should find that you are ready to write the paper weeks before it is due. Go ahead and write it! Writing your paper ahead of schedule allows you to take a study break if you hit writers' block or just need a night out with friends. It also gives you time to revise your paper before turning it in.

Edit, proofread and finalize

When you think your term paper is done, put it aside for a day or two and then read it again. Ask yourself if you would understand it if you had read it back at the beginning of the semester. Have a roommate or friend read it for you. Then, read it aloud so that you can catch grammar errors and missing words. Double check the spelling and then run it through a spellchecker. Edit, and then edit again. Verify that your citations are done correctly. It's always good to check each one individually. Then, finish your references page and turn it in.