Troubleshooting

What is the instructor asking for in the assignment?

How do I generate ideas for my paper?

Here are some suggestions for generating ideas:

• Decide what you want to tell your reader.
• Brainstorm for ideas, making a list or an outline.
• Determine how these ideas might connect.
• Freewrite, then determine common themes in your paper.
• Review the prompt again for ideas.

Does my paper fulfill the requirements of the assignment?

If you’re not sure that your paper fulfills the assignment requirements, review the questions on the prompt, making sure your paper answers those questions.

How do I develop a thesis statement?

A thesis can be written before you start or after you’ve finished the paper. To help you determine your thesis, answer these questions:

• What is the reoccurring theme of my paper?
• What is the main point of my paper?
• What am I trying to say to the reader?

How long should my thesis be?

A thesis statement can be one sentence or a number of sentences if the main point of the paper is complex.

How do I make my introduction more interesting?

You can make your introduction more interesting by:

• adding more background information.
• writing a stronger thesis statement.
• defining a key term that may be essential to the paper.

How do I add more detail to my paper to make it longer?

To add more details to your paper, answer these questions:

• What do I want the reader to understand?
• What do I need to say to make sure the reader understands it?
• Have I answered who, what, where, when and why?
• Do I need more details to explain my perspective?
• Do I need more background information?
• Do I need to explain special words that I’ve used?

Is the grammar and/or punctuation correct on my paper?

We can help you with grammar and punctuation errors in the final stages of writing your paper. In a tutoring session, we can point out reoccurring problems and explain how they can be corrected so that you will become more aware of them in your writing. The handbook is also helpful with explanations on a variety of grammar and punctuation topics, as well as exercises for practice.

How do I know when to use an apostrophe?

• If the word is singular and shows possession such as Susan’s problem (the problem belongs to Susan), an apostrophe goes before the final s. If the word is plural and shows possession such as Susans’ problems (the problems belong to more than one person named Susan), an apostrophe goes after the final s.
• If you can replace the final s with the word is, the word is a contraction. Susan’s a problem can also be written as Susan is a problem.