Writing a paper - procrastinating

[josh777]

I'm working on a paper that is due this afternoon but waited until this morning to start. I've had two weeks to write it but, as usual for me, waited until the due date to begin. I do this too often but usually have good/okay results with grading.

Anyone else engage in this practice? Any tips on how to write a decent, last-minute paper? :smile:

 

[isukendall]

Get off of CF and write.

 

[VTXCyRyD]

Some of my best work comes at the final minutes something is due. Heck, all my work is done that way

 

[CycloneErik]

I am unlivable if I've procrastinated.

I'm not saying that to judge you. My A+ personality just can't handle that.

 

[Cyclonepride]

Procrastination is the enemy of success. You may get by with it in some things with last minute flurries of activity, but it's a habit that you would do well to remove from your repertoire.

End of rant

 

[Cy4Patriots]

You work well under pressure, make sure you tell to your employer that when you interview for a job. :wink:

 

[cyclonedave25]

Not really "last minute" but I did hold off on one of my papers until the last week. It was given to us in the first week of class and was due during finals. Had to be 10-15 pages long, with at least 10 different credible sources. I spent about 8 hours/day for 4 days straight in the library, during dead week, pounding that thing out.

My advice? Stay off cyclonefanatic. :wink: I had to go to the library to get mine done, there were too many distractions at my apt.

 

[CycloneErik]

In terms of how to do it, because I did have a couple of years where I simply had to write 2-hour papers:

1) Lock in on your topic early.

2) Be organized.
a) Know what you're writing about.
b) Get to the point.
c) Have your info/notes sorted out, so you know what you're going to say. That makes things much faster.

3) Stay intensely focused.

 

[ISUAgronomist]

Procrastination is like masturbation; in the end you're only ******* yourself.

 

[cloneswereall]

Not really "last minute" but I did hold off on one of my papers until the last week. It was given to us in the first week of class and was due during finals. Had to be 10-15 pages long, with at least 10 different credible sources. I spent about 8 hours/day for 4 days straight in the library, during dead week, pounding that thing out.

My advice? Stay off cyclonefanatic. :wink: I had to go to the library to get mine done, there were too many distractions at my apt.

I did that once, except I waited until the last two weeks, and it needed to be 30+ pages. It really, really sucked those last few days working on just a couple hours of sleep a day.

 

[CycloneErik]

I did that once, except I waited until the last two weeks, and it needed to be 30+ pages. It really, really sucked those last few days working on just a couple hours of sleep a day.

Thanks to a horrible prof last fall, I ended up doing something like that. I wrote for 12 hours to get finished, and put that away forever.

 

[cloneswereall]

Thanks to a horrible prof last fall, I ended up doing something like that. I wrote for 12 hours to get finished, and put that away forever.

YEa, the thing with that paper was that it was worth like 20% of our grade, and all the other massive projects we had throughout the semester were worth (IIRC, we had to research school districts, create a demographic profile, create 2 months worth of lessons, write a justification for everything we did for each one, and then the paper was an elaborate argument for how the lessons were of great academic value, how they tied into the curriculum, and how it fit with the demographic profile). It was insane.

 

[CycloneErik]

YEa, the thing with that paper was that it was worth like 20% of our grade, and all the other massive projects we had throughout the semester were worth (IIRC, we had to research school districts, create a demographic profile, create 2 months worth of lessons, write a justification for everything we did for each one, and then the paper was an elaborate argument for how the lessons were of great academic value, how they tied into the curriculum, and how it fit with the demographic profile). It was insane.

Mine was 75%. It was the whole reason for the research seminar. Instead of focusing on that, it took until Thanksgiving or later to get a topic approved. Spend some time tracking down some resources and narrowing things down. I was researching while I wrote. That was the high point of the semester with that guy. The rest was really bad.

 

[jsmith86]

In terms of how to do it, because I did have a couple of years where I simply had to write 2-hour papers:

1) Lock in on your topic early.

2) Spend 6 months procrastinating

3) Read a ton of papers, but as soon as you read them, just toss them in a drawer with no real order.

4) Have your advisor ask you about the progress on the paper

5)Freak out. Start working 12 hour days


6) Be organized.
a) Know what you're writing about.
b) Get to the point.
c) Have your info/notes sorted out, so you know what you're going to say. That makes things much faster.

7) Stay intensely focused.

8) Get done about 1 day before the deadline that you knew about 8 months ago.

I added in the additional steps for writing a journal article. This is all assuming that in step 2, the NSF gives you supercomputer time. If they don't, add another 5 years to step 2 and cry because your dissertation subject is going to be seriously narrowed.

 

[CycloneErik]

I added in the additional steps for writing a journal article. This is all assuming that in step 2, the NSF gives you supercomputer time. If they don't, add another 5 years to step 2 and cry because your dissertation subject is going to be seriously narrowed.

Thank you for your additions.

I'm glad that I don't need supercomputer time. I just need somebody to create a database that doesn't yet exist or come up with a sweet travel budget that also doesn't exist.

 

[josh777]

Done!

 

[rebecacy]

In terms of how to do it, because I did have a couple of years where I simply had to write 2-hour papers:

1) Lock in on your topic early.

2) Be organized.
a) Know what you're writing about.
b) Get to the point.
c) Have your info/notes sorted out, so you know what you're going to say. That makes things much faster.

3) Stay intensely focused.

Good stuff -- I'd add, begin by drafting an outline.

 

[CycloneErik]

Good stuff -- I'd add, begin by drafting an outline.

Solid point. Redraft the outline if you have time.

Skill I'm working on from this semester: Write out topic sentences for each paragraph. I like the structure that brings, and how it brings me back to focus on what I want to write.

 

[CycloneErik]

Done!

What was this paper for, anyway?

 

[cloneswereall]

Solid point. Redraft the outline if you have time.

Skill I'm working on from this semester: Write out topic sentences for each paragraph. I like the structure that brings, and how it brings me back to focus on what I want to write.

For the love of all that is holy, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A FREAKING THESIS STATEMENT IN THE INTRODUCTION, NOT THE CONCLUSION!

I know you're in grad school, and this doesn't apply to you (I'd hope), but I see HS kids only put a thesis at the very end of the paper.