The Grumpy 2009 "How-to-write" Calendar

Grumpy 2009 “how-to-write” Calendar

The

Mr. Grumpy says, “Make 2009 your year of writing good academic reports. Use my monthby-month advice to help you get from start to finish for almost any type of school paper. Just remember, always make sure that you are writing about the right thing. If I asked

you to write about the advantages of electronic libraries over conventional libraries, should you write about the history of book publishing? I guess only if you wanted to make me more grumpy than I already am!�

January S

M T

W T

4 5 6 7 11 12 13 14 18 19 20 21 25 26 27 28

1 8 15 22 29

F

S

2 9 16 23 30

3 10 17 24 31

Make sure you know what you’re supposed to write about.

Look for key words like define, explain, analyze, compare, or critique. These types of words are there to help you understand your assignment better.

February S

M T

W T

F

S

1 8 15 22

2 9 16 23

4 11 18 25

6 13 20 27

7 14 21 28

3 10 17 24

5 12 19 26

Think about what you already know and about what you still need to know. Start doing some basic reading, broadly related to the assignment, so that you have a general understanding about the topic before you really get into the specifics. “Presearch.�

March S

M T

W T

F

S

1 8 15 22 29

2 9 16 23 30

4 11 18 25

6 13 20 27

7 14 21 28

3 10 17 24 31

5 12 19 26

Hit the books and get friendly with your favorite search engines. Narrow down the broad

areas of interest from your “presearch� and figure out what you actually need to do more research on.

April S

M T

5 6 7 12 13 14 19 20 21 26 27 28

W T 1 8 15 22 29

F

S

2 3 4 9 10 11 16 17 18 23 24 25 30 Take good notes. Document your sources carefully. Figure out a system for organizing your sources and notes, whether it be with sticky-notes, highlighters, notecards, notebooks, or folded pages in your books. Find the system that works best for you.

May S

M T

W T

F

S

3 4 5 6 7 10 11 12 13 14 17 18 19 20 21 24 25 26 27 28 31

1 8 15 22 29

2 9 16 23 30

Free-write and brainstorm for further ideas or for ways to link your ideas together better.

Think about the overall flow you wish to achieve.

June S

M T

W T

F

S

7 14 21 28

1 8 15 22 29

3 10 17 24

5 12 19 26

6 13 20 27

2 9 16 23 30

4 11 18 25

Write down your thesis statement and the topic statements for your supporting paragraphs. Remember that each paragraph should have a topic statement! Determine what your main points are and what your supporting ideas are.

Outline your paper.

July S

M T

5 6 7 12 13 14 19 20 21 26 27 28

W T

F

S

1 8 15 22 29

3 10 17 24 31

4 11 18 25

2 9 16 23 30

Create a sentence outline for your entire paper. Focus on the

first and last couple of sentences of each paragraph since these should contain the bulk of your message and should help maintain the flow throughout your paper.

August S

M T

W T

F

S

2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 24 25 26 27 28 30 31

1 8 15 22 29

Do not restrict yourself too much at this stage. It is better to write more and cut back later than not be able to write enough to start with.

Write your first draft.

September S

M T

6 7 13 14 20 21 27 28

1 8 15 22 29

W T

F

S

2 9 16 23 30

4 11 18 25

5 12 19 26

3 10 17 24

Make sure you have some time to set your work aside. A week

is nice, but even a day or two will help. This makes it easier for you to see your work more objectively and with “new eyes.�

October S

M T

W T

4 5 6 7 11 12 13 14 18 19 20 21 25 26 27 28

1 8 15 22 29

F

S

2 9 16 23 30

3 10 17 24 31

Revise your paper for consistency and flow of ideas. Make sure your thesis is clear and that everything in the document supports this thesis. Check that your writing is suitable for your given audience.

Get out your red pen.

November S

M T

W T

F

S

1 8 15 22 29

2 9 16 23 30

4 11 18 25

6 13 20 27

7 14 21 28

3 10 17 24

5 12 19 26

Do this last. Or, save yourself the trouble of ever having to format something again by creating templates in your favorite word-processor, for example, during the free time you get while giving yourself a break from your writing.

Formatting.

December S

M T

6 7 13 14 20 21 27 28

1 8 15 22 29

W T

F

S

2 9 16 23 30

4 11 18 25

5 12 19 26

3 10 17 24 31

Get a fine-toothed comb and check every comma and period.

Analyze those dashes and slashes.

Count your subjects and match them with your verbs. Make sure all your sources are cited. Ask yourself, “What would Mr Grumpy think about this?�

Don’t forget: Past issues of the Grumpy Writer's Grumps can be easily downloaded or read online at

thegrumpywriter.wordpress.com