When you write essays do you plan them out in advance? Like have an outline and stuff and have a good idea of what exactly you will discuss in order. Or do you have a habit of writing and figuring it out as you write? I tend to not plan stuff out all that well or only have some vague idea of what is going to be the structure. Do the research and stuff and know what I want to discuss but not exactly what details or what not. This often results in me discussing diffrent details then originally planned. Also tend to have to it edit the content as I move along. Things actually turn out rather well and structured at the end though. What about you?
I hate outlining things but I have a rough idea of what I want in my head and I shuffle things around as I brainstorm. I always used to write long papers that were fairly organic. I would write, touch on a topic then decide to expand on it at the right time.
I first start by reading as much as I can on the subject. As I do that, I start to get an idea of what my paper will look like. After a while I just feel ready and start writing. I love writing, specifically papers. Good times.
Any occasion I put forth effort into writing something I have an idea for how the writing will flow. The flow of my arguments are almost always apparent. To give an extremely apparent example, I'm currently working on a sermon manuscript. This manuscript began as what is referred to as the Central Truth of the Sermon, expanded to a detailed written outline, and will eventually be presented in the form of direct dictation for what would be said. The manuscript is written in this way to make certain the sermon stays on point and the audience can easily follow along with the argument. As another example, I'm writing a lengthy paper regarding the nature of the "burden of the Word of the Lord" in the Old Testament and its relevance to modern-day preaching. While I am not writing down a detailed outline beforehand as I did the sermon manuscript, I do have a general flow of the paper. First will be a detailed portion for how the text itself uses the phrase and what the phrase actually means in the literary context. Second will be a look at what the phrase means entirely - basically writing a theology of the burden as it relates to everything in a very principle-based form. Finally, in light of all that is learned, I'll relate the phrase to the modern preacher. However, with regard to my planning, this is the most I have written on planning so far as most of the planning is done within my mind (unlike the manuscript).
I go with the flow, read one or two books on my subject then start writing and read books as I go. Most would feel this is a terrible strategy, but it works for me.
[QUOTE="The-Apostle"]I just write and research as I go along. I'm great at researching stuff, so it works for me.Pirate700
Research papers are the easiest things to write. They're already written for you. You just have to rewrite what you're reading in your own words. Basically, what I was saying was: I never plan what I write and it works for me.
[QUOTE="dave123321"]I tend to not plan stuff out all that well or only have some vague idea of what is going to be the structure. Do the research and stuff and know what I want to discuss but not exactly what details or what not. This often results in me discussing diffrent details then originally planned. Also tend to have to it edit the content as I move along. Things actually turn out rather well and structured at the end though. yep
I read everything I need to read, then think about all the info and how I should approach my essay very roughly and then on the way to get finished I usually come up with good stuff to add and then I'm all done!
I don't do any research or whatsoever. Most topics come on general knowledge and I write everything on top off my head. just take 5 minutes to plan on the paragraphs. Like I wrote two 600 word essays. One on racism and the other on sci-fi films
Any occasion I put forth effort into writing something I have an idea for how the writing will flow. The flow of my arguments are almost always apparent. To give an extremely apparent example, I'm currently working on a sermon manuscript. This manuscript began as what is referred to as the Central Truth of the Sermon, expanded to a detailed written outline, and will eventually be presented in the form of direct dictation for what would be said. The manuscript is written in this way to make certain the sermon stays on point and the audience can easily follow along with the argument. As another example, I'm writing a lengthy paper regarding the nature of the "burden of the Word of the Lord" in the Old Testament and its relevance to modern-day preaching. While I am not writing down a detailed outline beforehand as I did the sermon manuscript, I do have a general flow of the paper. First will be a detailed portion for how the text itself uses the phrase and what the phrase actually means in the literary context. Second will be a look at what the phrase means entirely - basically writing a theology of the burden as it relates to everything in a very principle-based form. Finally, in light of all that is learned, I'll relate the phrase to the modern preacher. However, with regard to my planning, this is the most I have written on planning so far as most of the planning is done within my mind (unlike the manuscript).mindstorm
Why? Why is it every thread you post in you have to bring religion into it? Can you even have regular conversations or do you divert everything back to religion? Is it really necessary to try and make everything relevant to it? Don't you have anything else in your life you can talk about? To each his own beliefs, but really? Every topic? I get that you love god and religion is your life, and thats great whatever works for you, but the incessant monotonous religious references become numbing very quickly. Just once I would like to see you try to relate to something not on a religious level.
I make a very very rough outline. Just a quick note to help organize my thoughts and develop a framework. I need to have at least some idea of what I'm writing, or else it'll just be a mess.
I make a very very rough outline. Just a quick note to help organize my thoughts and develop a framework. I need to have at least some idea of what I'm writing, or else it'll just be a mess.Suzy_Q_Kazoo
[QUOTE="Suzy_Q_Kazoo"]I make a very very rough outline. Just a quick note to help organize my thoughts and develop a framework. I need to have at least some idea of what I'm writing, or else it'll just be a mess.Jandurin
[QUOTE="Jandurin"][QUOTE="Suzy_Q_Kazoo"]I make a very very rough outline. Just a quick note to help organize my thoughts and develop a framework. I need to have at least some idea of what I'm writing, or else it'll just be a mess.Suzy_Q_Kazoo
you're a mess This hurts, Jand. feels fine to me ;D
I don't do any research or whatsoever. Most topics come on general knowledge and I write everything on top off my head. just take 5 minutes to plan on the paragraphs. Like I wrote two 600 word essays. One on racism and the other on sci-fi filmsOmegaAxl
600-word essays are easy to write without research, especially if you know the topic. Try a 5-page paper on a topic you know little-to-nothing about and get back to me.
Why? Why is it every thread you post in you have to bring religion into it? Can you even have regular conversations or do you divert everything back to religion? Is it really necessary to try and make everything relevant to it? Don't you have anything else in your life you can talk about? To each his own beliefs, but really? Every topic? I get that you love god and religion is your life, and thats great whatever works for you, but the incessant monotonous religious references become numbing very quickly. Just once I would like to see you try to relate to something not on a religious level.Hubadubalubahu
My intention was not to talk about religion or put forth my religious ideals. Did I at any point call anyone to hold my own point of view? Did I at any point say whether what I was writing about was even true? The topic was about writing and all of my writing always relates to religion in content. As such, when I speak about writing the topic of my experiences in writing will come up.
Once I get a topic, I'll break it down into sections that discuss different aspects of it, so yes. For example, if I'm writing a paper on the US Civil War, I'll have a section on why it started, who fought in it, who won, how it affected the economy, etc. I don't break it down further than that though.
[QUOTE="Hubadubalubahu"]Why? Why is it every thread you post in you have to bring religion into it? Can you even have regular conversations or do you divert everything back to religion? Is it really necessary to try and make everything relevant to it? Don't you have anything else in your life you can talk about? To each his own beliefs, but really? Every topic? I get that you love god and religion is your life, and thats great whatever works for you, but the incessant monotonous religious references become numbing very quickly. Just once I would like to see you try to relate to something not on a religious level.mindstorm
My intention was not to talk about religion or put forth my religious ideals. Did I at any point call anyone to hold my own point of view? Did I at any point say whether what I was writing about was even true? The topic was about writing and all of my writing always relates to religion in content. As such, when I speak about writing the topic of my experiences in writing will come up.
I wasn't saying you were putting forth your ideals or trying to say they were true. You seemed to of misunderstood. I am just wondering if you can ever relate to anything without bringing religion into it.
I never liked outlines because making an outline seemed way harder than just keeping everything in order in my head. I've never written any long narrative like a novel or anything though, and I would use an outline for that.
[QUOTE="mindstorm"][QUOTE="Hubadubalubahu"]Why? Why is it every thread you post in you have to bring religion into it? Can you even have regular conversations or do you divert everything back to religion? Is it really necessary to try and make everything relevant to it? Don't you have anything else in your life you can talk about? To each his own beliefs, but really? Every topic? I get that you love god and religion is your life, and thats great whatever works for you, but the incessant monotonous religious references become numbing very quickly. Just once I would like to see you try to relate to something not on a religious level.Hubadubalubahu
My intention was not to talk about religion or put forth my religious ideals. Did I at any point call anyone to hold my own point of view? Did I at any point say whether what I was writing about was even true? The topic was about writing and all of my writing always relates to religion in content. As such, when I speak about writing the topic of my experiences in writing will come up.
I wasn't saying you were putting forth your ideals or trying to say they were true. You seemed to of misunderstood. I am just wondering if you can ever relate to anything without bringing religion into it.
Yes and no. As I believe everything relates to religion in some way I am capable to bring religion into every topic. However, I am capable of speaking about a topic without bringing up how it relates to religion, I just usually choose to not do so. :P
I have an idea where I want to take the paper (something of a mental outline) and just write. It works. Never have been criticized for structure/organization.
At my peak in university, I would spend about 10-12 hours researching (or more if it was my own topic), 2-3 making a detailed outline and 3-4 writing. It's why I consistently got A's. When you put the work in, you get results. It's satisfying to know that your work wasn't half-assed. Wish I hadn't figured this out in my second last year and taken a path that wasn't religious studies. I could have accomplished great things in science...
If it's not in the assignment, I don't bother doing it. I hate doing outlines anyway. I think at most I just read through sources carefully before putting it all on paper.
I just start writing after I have a very brief outline. The paper usually writes itself so to speak because I'm pretty good at getting something to flow with minimal problems.
Log in to comment