esl term paper writing service for university

esl term paper writing service for university

Effective Strategies for Writing ESL Term Papers at the University Level

1. Introduction to ESL Term Paper Writing

This paper will address the step-by-step approach a coach takes at showing ESL students these strategies by annotating university assignments used by junior- and senior-level students enrolled in a “Generation Studies” Minor comprised of students with very diverse academic abilities. At the end of an already grueling nine-month-long introduction to university assignments, these students will be able to perform this activity at an advanced level. With minor adaptations, mid-level ESL writers will easily be able to recreate these techniques at their respective institutions.

Coaching students on how to construct a term paper is a fundamental course objective that is currently being taught to a diverse spectrum of students, including native writers, first-generation Americans who have limited instruction in writing techniques from the conventional American high school, and of course, the advanced ESL student. However, different strategies need to be used when writing papers from an ESL perspective. Many papers will instruct students on how to document sources, create a thesis, or how to use exposition or criticism in a documented piece. The approach is the same, but the complexity of these assignments needs to be carefully matched to the student’s marketplace of ideas – the capabilities of what the students have to say versus what the educator needs to see.

Advanced English as a Second Language (ESL) writers are perhaps the most challenged group of students at English-speaking post-secondary institutions. Their home language often lacks important English words, resulting in a workaround by using incorrect replacements, limited vocabulary, or longer definitions characteristic of the Esperanto-like English found in their written work. Secondly, English syntax is often directly translated into their native language’s syntax, leading to unusual English word ordering and conjugations. Because of these limitations, native-English paper evaluators are often confused about ESL students’ rather unusual use of words and syntax. Additionally, their inability to speak English at a native speaker or native writer level presents fairness issues when professors are grading these students.

2. Understanding the Requirements and Expectations

Often, I ensure that students are not reinventing the wheel by reusing a past class presentation as the core of their term paper. In such cases, I allow adaptation and the inclusion of newer, revised sections, data or references. I suggest students show the actual term paper text to the relevant course instructor before incorporating too much older material to ensure conformity to the course requirements.

Once students are clear about their direction and focus of inquiry, I suggest they request in writing from the relevant course instructors or department chairs clear, written policy statements about the required format, recommended content, writing style and length, the range of research sources allowed, possible deadlines, instructions about preliminary proposals or drafts, evaluation criteria, and any specific formatting instructions. When these instructions are not forthcoming, I recommend that students use MLA or APA formatting, and any formatting inconsistencies be excused in the evaluation process, especially if the student can provide a copy of an email inquiring about the proper format.

3. Research and Source Evaluation

You will find it easier to decide how your final English composition effort will be graded if you understand the expectations of your reader (instructor). Keep in mind that your instructor, an American studies specialist, is looking for your insights on matters discussed in class. Insights are most welcome, especially if they extend beyond the lecture’s main focus. You are encouraged to read widely, to see beyond the readings. Looking first at your in-class notes may help you to put comments in context, to remember relevant readings, or to remember questions posed to the class. Your instructor wants to know that you understand terms covered and issues discussed. Professional term papers grow from well-written, informative notes.

Many instructors in the U.S. will require you to write term papers on a variety of topics covered in your class. Your American studies instructors are familiar with both the available resources and the quality of writing that can be expected from beginning L2 writers. Thus, do not underestimate your instructor’s ability to detect writing purchased from other sources. Having associated regularly with an increasing number of ESL writers over the years, I have also become a “resource” for many of my colleagues from other universities. A colleague at another institution sends his downstate New York-based students directly to me so that I may edit and critique their papers. Such long-distance, paper editing relationships between students and instructors are developing increasingly across the U.S.

4. Structuring and Organizing Your Paper

A well-organized term paper, research paper, thesis, dissertation, or report is a necessary part of running a competent academic discourse. To accomplish this, the writer must first choose a topic that has both interest and challenge. After selecting the subject and spending considerable time and effort researching the literature, the author needs to develop two things: extensive knowledge on the topic to speak as an expert, and an ongoing dialogue, a knitting together of the writer’s ideas with the ideas of the specialists in the particular academic discipline engaged in scientific dialogues about this particular corner of the writer’s concerns. In other words, fairly thorough mastery of the topic as evidenced by intimate acquaintance with both the primary and the secondary research literature on the subject is the first requirement of a worthy linguistic contributor to the debates of experts in his or her area of academic interest. And that first requirement is generally accomplished via a series of procedures divided into three overall stages: putting the puzzle together, setting up the lab, and organizing discussions. In this chapter, the skills needed for describing causes and effects will be controlled.

5. Editing and Proofreading Techniques

It is useful to outline what you will cover after you complete your rough draft. As you prepare the outline, it will necessitate that you reorganize some of the material so that everything is in the best possible position in the term paper. In revising the rough draft, another set of questions should be asked to evaluate the organization of the paper. Is the total paper no more than a summary of other people’s thoughts? Does it draw conclusions about the effect of each article and relating research on the particular research hypothesis? (In other words, will you or did you learn something about your topic requiring hours of reading and researching?)

Organization is essential to the structure of the paper. Indeed, in order to demonstrate your command of a second language as well as your grasp of the topic, you need to plan on providing outlines at different stages of the writing process. Typically, an introductory paragraph might provide a summary of the topic you will cover. Each major point to be discussed could be outlined with supporting detail provided. At the end of the paper, you might summarize what you have written about.

Note: It is important for you and the reader that your final paper contains no errors. All writers are embarrassed when their errors are pointed out. The two most important final steps in writing a term paper are editing and proofreading. Get the piece in its final form and do not try to correct everything each time you retype the paper. Consider looking separately for organization, internal paragraph structure, evidence, wordiness, spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and format. While the results will be a smoother (more polished) paper, the process of editing and proofreading usually also results in improvements in the content of the paper.