Best writing practices for university students - The art of writing an academic paper

[Voice-over]
Thursday evening. Say what you want, but writing isn’t easy. It’s always been a chore for Anna. Although, for some it seems to come easily. Sometimes, Anna wishes she could find a silver bullet.

[Dialogues]
Anna: Well, Freddy?
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” Right. 
All this literary stuff is nice, but what I want is: 
an introduction, an analysis, a discussion, a conclusion, a bibliography.
That’s what I’m paying you for. 
I want this done by 8:00 a.m. 
I’ve got to go, my driver’s waiting.

[Voice-over]
Dear Anna, you’re dreaming. No one can write in your place. It takes years to develop the skill to write academic papers. Only by repeating the exercise dozens of times will you develop your style, an essential skill for students. These steps will help you achieve this.

First, before launching headfirst into writing your paper, establish a plan. Begin by synthesizing your notes, then make a detailed plan organizing and structuring your ideas. The goal is to help your thoughts progress coherently without sacrificing conclusion or logic.

A plan is never etched in stone. It is meant to evolve and help you set a path. A plan is generally composed of:
•	An introduction
•	The development of your analysis over several chapters
•	A critique or discussion of your findings
•	A conclusion and ideas for future research
•	A bibliography
•	Possibly, a summary, a list of keywords
•	And appendices

Here are some recommendations for writing your paper:

Synthesize your chapters: use keywords to synthesize the ideas connecting each chapter.

Use short sentences and make your chapter titles explicit.

Use the principle of one paragraph, one idea:
Use vocabulary and terminology coherently and appropriately.

Spelling is paramount. Pay attention to punctuation.

And remember to save regularly.
It might seem obvious, but raise your hand if you’ve never lost part of your work.

Last point: formatting. You’ll find recommendations in the “Key points” section.

[Dialogues]
Anna: Fred! How much do you want for a 20-page paper?
Fred: Haha… you couldn’t afford me.