The original article can’t be found on Chegg’s website anymore but others I have written can (and should) be found below:

These days, it seems like high school is nothing more than teachers telling us how unprepared we are for college. One of the great freedoms about college is the ability to choose what you want to learn – but it also raises an important question: are you actually prepared for your first few college classes?

In my experience, the answer relies on your writing skills. It seems biased, I know (I’m a Writing major), but as a school-wide writing tutor, I’ve learned a lot about the various ways students need to write. One teacher told me that, “writing assignments are like a puzzle – the solution to one won’t be the same for another.*” Here are a few writing tips that should help with most writing assignments, which is why I share them with my peers as a writing tutor. If you’re an incoming first year and you feel like your high school writing has only prepared you to get into college, not to succeed in college, then these tips should help you figure out the “puzzle” that is writing in college.

Have a thesis

If you think a thesis is that thing your English teacher kept babbling on about, you need a thesis. Doing a two page summary? You need a thesis. A five page essay? You need a thesis. Lab report? Thesis. Writing about your weekend? Yes, you need a thesis.

A thesis is essentially the driving argument behind your chosen piece of writing. Before you do anything, identify the argument you are making, and the evidence you will use to prove that argument to be true. It can be as simple as “My weekend was a disaster” or as complicated as “Religious Tensions in the Middle East were caused by the recall of the 1965 Coca-Cola bottle” (They weren’t – unless you can prove it!)

Remember: Every thing you write will be taken with some level of skepticism. Learn to anticipate that. All of your teachers are trained to both expect arguments (even the simple ones), and to formulate counter arguments as they read. If you’ve got a clear structure outlined by a strong thesis, then a good paper is sure to follow!

Build your evidence base

The second thing you’ll need after your thesis is some sort of proof that what you’re saying is true. In the “what I did this weekend” example, you don’t need to cite your grandma’s diary to prove that you went to the beach, but you will need details to make your story real. In more formal writing, you will need actual citations to back up the claims you make, but those claims will be infinitely stronger if you find the evidence for them first.

If you’re having a hard time coming up with a thesis, these two steps can be interchangeable. If you don’t have an opinion on your chosen topic, spend some time collecting evidence for both sides before you decide which way you want to go.

Once you have your evidence and your thesis, begin building the skeleton of your argument by putting what you feel are the most important quotes in the places that you will need them. If part of your argument about why third party data should be illegal is a paragraph on privacy, try placing a quote about privacy in place of that paragraph so you know exactly where you wanted to go with it.

Analyze, Analyze, Analyze

Your biggest contribution to any piece of writing you submit will be answering what the heck any of this means. Evidence about the acidity of chewing gum means nothing without you telling me, the reader, how it can harm me. Analysis is your chance to explain to the reader why your evidence is important and why they should care about your argument. It’s the thing that only you can do – which is why it’s the hardest to explain.

One of the best writing tips I’ve found that help my peers (mostly in the humanities) is to maintain a ratio of thirds. The first one third of every topic paragraph should be evidence building and laying out how this topic strengthens your thesis. The next two thirds should take that evidence and prove how your claims are substantiated by the facts you’ve provided. One student of mine found that he had certain key words he used, like “Therefore” and “Subsequently,” that signified where his analysis started. Find your analysis “trigger-words” and make sure you’re introducing them early in the paragraph!

Do the reading

It seems obvious, but by the second half of freshman year, many students have forgotten to read the “required” texts, much less the “optional” ones. How are you supposed to write smart, unique thoughts on the subject if you know nothing about it?

Look at it this way, your teachers expect you to write essays that demonstrate your ability to critically think about the material you’ve been given. On the one hand, they’re preparing you to think critically about situations you’ll be presented with later on in your education, but on the other hand, they don’t want to read the same essay over and over again. You’ll stand out in class if you write on unique topics, and the only way to do that is to read. the. book.

Also, along the same lines, buy the darn thing. Take it out of the plastic. Cherish it. You would be surprised how many students have asked me to help them plan an essay, and from the depths of their backpack they bring a brand new, plastic-wrapped textbook that’s never seen the light of day before. At least pretend to have opened it, for my sake.

Buy a citation handbook

Citations are important. They are your proof that you’ve done your research, but also that you didn’t just make up/steal your information. Without them, professors get sad. They have to report you to a committee on standards and ethics…. really no one goes home happy without proper citations.
That being said, even if you have the best of intentions, citations aren’t easy. Citation sites can make quoting from a book a little simpler, but for the complicated stuff like citing an audio file from a journal, get a handbook, and make sure it’s up to date.
We writing majors typically use MLA, but you may also find yourself using APA, Chicago, or any number of other citation styles. Get the book and don’t leave home without it.

Trust me, you’ll need this

Does all of this sound too “Liberal Arts”-y to you? Alright. Take your typical Science class– Biology 101. This should be your first college Lab experience and teachers frequently give little leeway in points for poor writing. In fact, a Lab report with impeccable facts can earn you as little as an 80% for poor grammar alone. That’s a B- for what should have been an A. If the point of a Lab is to prove that you’ve done the experiment right, (and to leave no room for error for anyone trying to replicate it), then your language needs to be clear and precise throughout. In my experience, those students that think that they are the exception to writing tips, tend to be the rule.

Finally, if these tips need some context for you, go to your writing center. They’re not just folks who love writing — they also love teaching it. I guarantee you’ll make their day by asking for help, and all of your college essays will reflect the hard work you’ve put in.

Good Luck, and Welcome to College!