Magus Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 More homework stuff. For this computer class, I have a research paper that's suppose to be 2-3 pages. 1 of those page's suppose to be a chart. I'll just type out the assignment. [i]Research the various types of hard drives available from online and / or local retail stores. Make a chart of several different models of 1 TB HDDs. Include price, interface type, spindle speed, and average seek time.[/i] 2-3 pages chart = 1 page The chart is easy. The problem is the writing portion. (Writing's not a strong point for me.) How do you even begin writing a paper when the info you have is so vague? There's nothing to go on. I don't even know if I'm suppose to compare the stuff on this chart or anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allamorph Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 [FONT=Arial]Sounds like you need a crash course in critical reading. Information on writing prompts are pretty much always vague. But by this point in your job training (I don't classify much post-secondary as education) you should be able to take a vague topic, which is really only a starting point, and home in on something more concrete by yourself. You also need to take things piecemeal. Information always comes first; you can't really write a paper without knowing what you're going to be using. Hit up some reputable computer hardware internet retailer sites, get the data. Check out some local stores, see what they have to offer. Then [I]before[/I] you make your chart, see what you can say about the data you have. What all types of drives are available? Are certain models of hard drive more accessible than others between the two? Who has the better variety, and why might this be? Really basic, simple items to look for. They're not even "questions you have to ask yourself", either; it's just observation and noticing trends and patterns that you can BS about. :p After you have some idea of what you can do with your data, [I]then[/I] make your chart to reflect that data. Reason for doing this here instead of first is that charts that actually help support the paper tend to be viewed and graded better than charts that are there to take up the one page. Speaking of, now all you have to do is write, say, three-fourths of a page about your findings. The more information you gathered and the more details/trends you notice (and can support by referencing the chart that shows said details/trends), the longer you can write. Hitting about the middle of the second page is a good spot to aim for, but since the requirement was 2-3 pages including one page for a chart, you only have to worry about one additional page of writing to fill the 2-page requirement. Basically, you'll need to spend some thought on it. You won't need to agonise over it, just figure out a direction based on your data and run. Once you get the data and understand what it says, the writing should be easy.[/FONT] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drizzt Do'urden Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 Yeah really not a lot to add, it's almost best if you just PM questions about writing to Allamorph. The only thing I have to add is make sure your topic paragraph has a "wow" factor in it. Many teachers that I've had, especially the non-english classes, base a LOT on your thesis statement/first paragraph. Normally those are the areas I tell the younger students to focus on when they're writing for the same teachers I did. Of course I can't speak directly about your teacher, but that would still be my best bit of advice. Good first paragrach (intro) good paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chibi-master Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 My teacher always says that one way to have an almost always good paper is to be able to switch your opening and ending paragraph and have them make sense as the other... Yeeeaaah...I'm not a lot of help, am I?:animeswea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allamorph Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 [FONT=Arial]A simpler way of looking at the intro/conclusion bit is a simple rephrasing; i.e. intro. ? "This is what I think,", conc. ? "Based on that, that's what I think". You're just reasserting your point so the reader remembers clearly what you talked about. [quote name='Drizzt Do'urden']The only thing I have to add is make sure your topic paragraph has a "wow" factor in it.[/quote] Eengh. With research papers, not so much. In papers where you're convincing someone of a point of view or presenting new and exciting information, this is a good effect to go for. But this is simply information and presentation. The risk you run when attempting to make your lead-in sound "Wow!"-ish is that you may end up sounding completely fake. Not that mundane is good, either. :p But this sure ain't no Super Shammy.[/FONT] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaryanna Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 [COLOR="DarkGreen"][FONT="Tahoma"]You're so long winded Allamorph. [I]*pokes you*[/I][QUOTE=Magus][i]Research the various types of hard drives available from online and / or local retail stores. Make a chart of several different models of 1 TB HDDs. Include price, interface type, spindle speed, and average seek time.[/i] 2-3 pages chart = 1 page The chart is easy. The problem is the writing portion. (Writing's not a strong point for me.) [U]How do you even begin writing a paper when the info you have is so vague?[/U] There's nothing to go on. I don't even know if I'm suppose to compare the stuff on this chart or anything.[/QUOTE]Unless you've already gathered the data you need for your chart, it sounds like you're jumping ahead. The chart is easy right? Go and get the info, the information for it won't be vague so once you have it you can write up in detail the differences between them and thus support the chart you just made. Considering how much information there will be about the different drives, you should have little trouble hitting 2-3 pages. [/FONT][/COLOR] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delta Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 [COLOR=#35425e][size=1]Never forget: Ask your professor for tips. If he gives you tips, he's pointing to to his A+ (if you're grade-conscious, his opinion matters). If he doesn't, well, now he knows that checking your paper is easier said than done and *perhaps* he'll give you a good grade...for effort. Worked for me![/size][/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magus Posted February 22, 2009 Author Share Posted February 22, 2009 Thanks everyone. (I was gonna wait till I turned the paper in before thanking everyone, but I'm halfway done now) I have a general idea of how this is going to turn out. It was basically sealed with Allanmorph's crash course, but the extra input is just icing on a cake especially since I have another paper due friday (my choice of subject) If we had the rep system (how about a bank system), I'd give yall some money. "coughs" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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