Trouble with Essays

[WildLamb]

Hi
I am finishing up my BA in literature currently and I was hoping to go on to Graduate school but I am not ready for that. I am an intelligent person but my major trouble is with essays. I love reading and researching and even lecturing but I just cannot structure my ideas or rather, I cannot even get my ideas out at times. I don't know if there are others out there that struggle with essays but if so, are there any useful techniques that you have found to work?
Just wondering....
:-[Jami

[Becky]

Jami, I put them off terribly! I guess I work best when I am forced to, so grad school would be out for me. I have too much undergrad work left!!

I wish I could help you, but I have the same problem so let me know if you come up with anything.

Becky

[glyphon]

DARN! I lost my very first post! I'm new to this forum but wanted to add some ideas on writing. I do a lot of research and research writing in my work, and have had to find ways to work around that brainlock that an empty sheet of paper or a blank Word document can create.

My trick is to use Powerpoint to organize my ideas and basically construct the framework of my paper. Slide 1 is my intro/thesis and the last slide is for my conclusion. With 4 or 5 slides in between, I put a main idea as the title of each one. I may leave the intro and conclusion slides blank at first and just focus on picking out some main ideas and then starting to flesh out the details. Working this way, I don't have to think or write complete sentences, just some shorthand ideas. I keep adding and rearranging the slides until I feel like I have the general gist of what I want to say/write.

Then I start on the actual paper. It usually goes quite quickly because I've essentially brainstormed and outlined everything in Powerpoint. The slides are like dynamic index cards that I can shuffle around until I like the order.

Writing was hard for me when I was in college, though I did manage to learn how to force my ideas onto paper. Writing didn't become easier until the advent of the modern PC and easy to use word processing. When I was introduced to Powerpoint, I fell in love. I KNEW this was the tool I'd always needed to capture and organize my thoughts.

Maybe you already use Powerpoint or some other tool for the brainstorming and organizing? That was always the most difficult part of the writing process for me.

Good luck!

[Sarah]

I have my BA in English lit and outlining helped me too, although I like the pen and paper method. I usually started with brainstorming topics to talk about and then think of a general premise or thesis for my paper. Then I made a more formal outline that kept me on track while writing.

The hardest part for me was putting something on that first blank page of the word processor. Alot of times, I'd just write something that wasn't very "good" for my intro paragraph and that helps me get into the body. After I finished, I'd go back and revise the intro to reflect what I wrote in the body.

Another thing that helped me was timing myself and having little deadlines. For example, I would tell myself that I had to finish two typed pages per hour. Then I would take breaks half way through the total length of the paper and before revising. I also found that I concentrated much better in the early morning when I was rested and everyone else was still asleep.

[Donna]

Hi Jami,
Don't let it get to you! Thanks to ADD (and my being human, of course) essays were the bane of my existence throughout college where I ended up with a 2.6 GPA. A week after graduation I was diagnosed ADD. 2 years later (and on meds) I started grad school and last January I graduated (earned my MA) Magna Cum Laude with a 3.75 GPA. Currently I'm in a PhD program. BTW I study int'l politics, which requires frequent and long papers, averaging at least 100 pages per term. I'm not totally in love with myself or anything, and I hope I dont sound like I am. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I have experienced the same problem and at least in my case these strategies have worked.

Think of how books are broken down into chapters, and textbooks have labeled sub-sections in each of the the chapters, etc. Likewise in each essay there are similar "building blocks". I try to work with my papers at this level.

I write down each of the major subtopics I want to put in my paper on index cards or even strips of notebook paper. I then arrange and rearrange these cards based on my overall thesis looking for the best overall flow for my argument. (I suggest keeping it to no more than 7-8)

As you can move them around freely and still see the big picture, it can help be creative and see how ideas relate to one another, which almost automatically gives your paper structure (or at least shows you where the easiest transitions may be.) Oh, and with longer papers (30-40 pagers) I break down these subtopics the same way I did the big one, into sub-subtopics.

They say that one of the gifts of ADD/ADHD is a knack for seeing overall patterns and how things fit together on a larger scale. This method was my attempt to "harness my ADD powers" (Heehee) and use them to my own advantage. My profs apparently like my "innovative approaches" because they compliment me on them and give me A's!

Also, look at a 10 page paper as 5 2-page papers, a 30 page paper as 10 3-page papers, and so forth. It makes it less intimidating, a feeling which is at the heart of the matter, at least for me.

Another thing I do is draw out a map for my paper with the main topic in a circle at the center of the page and the other main ideas drawn off to the side like a diagram. THen I can see all the ideas at once and when I get a good idea for another part of the paper while writing I just jot it down and continue.

Another tactic: At the start of the term make 2-3 appointments with your professors. Just to check in and see what they think of your paper as it comes together. I let them know why (I personally dont bring up my ADD but it could help) and tell them that I need them to hold me to it.

Its hard for them to give you anything but an A when they have read a rough draft and approved your outline 2 months earlier. Plus, if they if they dont like it you have enough time to change it. These mini-deadlines, assuming the prof. holds you to them, force you to keep on task and ahead of schedule.

Sorry for the long winded reply, but you brought up a topic close to my heart. Just remember even people without ADHD/ADD have problems with essays, and it sounds like you love what you are doing. If thats the case, my advice is just strategize and keep at it (dont be afraid to take time off before grad school! One of the best things I ever did!) and you'll figure this stuff out in time.

Hope this helps!

Donna

[mynameisdustin]

Dang it! Everyone came up with the ideas I had. ;D

[ehuggz]

My HR person at work asked me yesterday if I might have AD/HD (her son does), I don't know about AD/HD, but ADDers sure seem to deal with the same problems I do.


I'm known as "Scroll" at work, sometimes not lovingly, because I've been known to send 10 page emails. I've learned that I need to just write and get my thoughts down with very little structure. I then use the computer to delete, delete, delete - earrange and focus. My collegues are amazed when I tell them a one page email took four hours to write. The good news is with all the rewritting, I write well!