Like an architectural masterpiece or a well-crafted symphony, a perfect college paper is carefully constructed—rather than barfed out onto the page at 3 in the morning. Each part is meticulously selected and polished up, then assembled with the others into a coherent and convincing whole. We should know. Between us, we've read tens of thousands of college papers—some perfect, others not so perfect—from which we've gleaned our 10 best tips:

1. Decide what kind of paper you're writing .There's no one-size-fits-all in college. Some professors assign research papers, in which case you'll need to head to the library or to resources on the Internet. But other professors assign analytical papers (that is, papers in which you're asked to analyze or evaluate some object, phenomenon, or object of study), in which case you'll have to turn to your head for the answer. Still others assign a hybrid of the two. Know what type of assignment you're being asked to do before you start working on the paper.

2. Answer exactly the question(s) asked .Professors spend unbelievable amounts of time formulating the questions for the paper. Take the time to puzzle out precisely what's being asked. If there is more than one question or part asked, figure out how each question is different and what materials would be relevant to answering it.

Extra Pointer.

Pay special attention to any verbs in the paper assignment. Compare, contrast, evaluate, explain, consider, formulate a hypothesis, raise an objection, argue for, illustrate, defend, and summarize are all different tasks. Know which one(s) your professor is asking you to do.

3. Never go it alone.If at all possible, don't pick your own topic. While it might sound like a great idea to work on a topic of your own choice, it's less fun when you bomb because you picked a totally unsuitable topic. (If you're required to pick your own topic, be sure to run it by the professor before you start working.)

4. Make your paper have a point.Every paper should have a thesis—that is, a single point you're trying to prove that is expressed in a single sentence. We think that sentence should be the very first one in the paper, but since some professors would like a brief introduction or "setup" paragraph, everyone would agree that the thesis sentence should come at least by the beginning of the second paragraph. Without a thesis, a paper is just a report. And most college professors don't like reports.

5. Make your paper have direction .A good paper moves through a series of steps that are arranged in some logical order. Make sure you have a reason for arranging your points in the order that you do. And make sure that each step does some work in advancing your arguing. For each paragraph—then for each sentence within the paragraph—ask yourself: Why is this point here? How does it advance the overall argument? And if your answer is it doesn't, then take it out. Eliminating unnecessary sentences is one of the very best ways to strengthen a paper.

Bonus Tip.

Use "logical indicator" words, such as moreover, therefore, since, consequently, nevertheless, thus, then, now, first (second, third), to mark turning points in your argument. Not only will such "hinges" help your reader understand where your argument "pivots," but they will also help you think out how it's structured.

6. Write for a reasonably intelligent person (not the professor) .Many students make the mistake of picking the professor as their audience—the one who already knows the answer and for whom a code word here or there will be more than enough. Write instead for a smart enough person who has not already taken the course. Take the time to explain fully—so that one could understand what you mean just from what you say—each of your points.

Extra Pointer.

Be sure to explain any technical or unusual terms in ordinary language. Don't assume that the reader is a specialist in that field and will know what "etiological considerations" are.

7. Avoid vagueness.Many college papers suffer from being too general. They make many true claims but express them in so unspecific a way that one can't really form a firm conception of what is being claimed. Be as particular as possible. And use specific and detailed examples—often more than one—to prove your points.

Four-Star Tip.

When asked to take a position on an issue, make sure your paper reaches a definite conclusion. This doesn't mean you should ignore considerations that go against your thesis. It just means that by the end of your paper, your reader should know precisely where you stand on the issue. This is not the place to be wishy-washy and come up with the momentous result "Well, maybe yes, maybe no."

8. Choose your sources carefully.If yours is a research paper, how you pick your sources is of extreme importance. Make sure you pick scholarly sources—that is, books and articles written by experts in the field—rather than popular sources—for example, Web articles written by a 14-year-old in his basement in Brooklyn. Look to the paper assignment—and the professor or TA—for guidance about what sources to use. And don't just laundry-list sources in your footnotes or bibliography that you've never used. Rule of thumb: If you mention a source, make sure it has played some role in your argument in your paper.

Extra Pointer.

If you have a choice between (a) a reference librarian's suggesting a source and (b) a professor's suggesting a source, choose (b). Enough said.

Extra-Extra Pointer.

Generally, it's better to incorporate brief portions of quotes into your own sentences than to set off long citations in their own paragraphs. And, in order to stay out of the hoosegow, it's always good to put within quotation marks, and to footnote, any words or ideas that are not your own.

9. Deal the professor in .There's nothing professors like more than helping good students construct excellent papers. Go to office hours with specific questions and problems, and E-mail professors (as many times as is necessary or reasonable) with follow-up thoughts.

10. Review the product .Nothing upsets the professor more than spelling and grammar errors and sentences with words left out or that don't make sense. So become the prof for 15 minutes (which is about how long he or she will spend on your paper). Read your paper as if you had never seen it before, making whatever changes are needed to make it more coherent and readable. You'll be amazed how much difference a few minutes of polishing up will make in the overall impression of your paper. Not to mention the overall grade.

就像是建筑经典，抑或好似技艺高超的交响乐，一篇完美的大学论文需要精细写成——而非早上3点的“呕吐”之作。每一部分都需要精心挑选，认真揣摩，然后将各个部分组合，构成一个完整，有说服力的整体。在读过成千上万的大学论文后，我们非常清楚有些论文相当好，而有些则差强人意，从中我们提炼出了10条写就完美论文的建议：

1.弄清楚你要写什么样的论文.学校里可不能“一招鲜，吃遍天”。有些教授会布置研究型论文，这需要你到图书馆或是Internet上查阅资料。而其它有些教授则可能布置分析型论文（这种论文要求你分析、评价某个物体，现象或是学习的目标），那么你就需要靠自己解决这个难题。还有些教授会在两种作业将做个交叉。在开始写作之前，一定要清楚作业的类型！

2.准确回答问题.教授会花上令人难以置信的时间用来构造论文的问题。所以花点时间准确理解要求事项。如果还有问题，或是部分提问，弄清楚每个问题之间的不同，以及回答问题的相关材料。

额外事项

特别要注意论文作业中的动词。Compare（比较），对比（contrast），评价（evaluate），解释（explain），认为（consider），证明假设（formulate a hypothesis），提出异议（raise an objection），争辩（argue for），阐述（illustrate），辩护（defend），以及总结（summarize）都对应着各种不同的任务。明确教授想让你做什么。

3.不要随心所欲.即使可能，也不要自主命题。你可能会有听起来很棒的选题，但如果选了一个非常不合适的话题让自己大脑一团乱麻的话，事情可就变得不那么有意思了。（如果要求你自主命题，你也要在开始写作前，以教授为准。）

4.论文要有论点.每篇论文都要有主旨，就是用一句话提出你要论证的观点。我们认为论文最好是开门见山，首句即亮出观点，但是，还是有些教授喜欢开始有一小段引言或是“总起”段，但大家都普遍认可主题句应该在第二段之前就应该出现了。

5.论文要有层次. 一篇好的论文应该是按预先设定好的逻辑顺序层层展开。而你一定要严谨地安排好文章的层次结构，一定要让论述之前的铺垫起到作用。对于每一段，甚至是每一段中的每句话，都要问个为什么——为什么论点在这里？文中是如何发展文章论点的？如果它没有发展文章的论点，或是在这里没有意义，那么就应该将它拿掉。去掉不必要的句子，是紧凑论文的最佳方法。

好建议

使用“逻辑指示词”。例如，moreover（而且）, therefore（因而）, since（因为）, consequently（于是）, nevertheless（可是）, thus（所以）, then（然后）, now（好吧（译者注：语气词，表过渡））, first (second, third)（首先（其次，再次）），放在论点之中作转折。它们不仅可以让你的读者将注意力放在理解你所强调、论述的对象上，而且可以帮助你组织文章。

6.写给一个思路清晰的人（而非教授）. 许多学生都会误将教授作为它的听众，要知道教授已经知道了答案，即使你的论文狗屁不通，也不会影响他的阅读。因此，应该将你的写作对象定位为一个没有听过课，但足够聪明的人。花些时间去详细阐述你的每一个观点，这样每一个人都能从你的表述中知道你想说什么。

额外事项

用平时的语言解释每个术语或不常见的词汇。不要假设你的读者是某个领域的专家，这样你就知道最需要考虑的是什么了。

7.不要含混不清.许多大学论文都太泛。他们做出正确的论断，但就是不接下去阐述，让读者很难弄清他到底想说什么。尽量表述清楚，并多多使用具体、详尽的例子来证明你的观点。

四星级的建议

倘若需要在某个问题表明立场时，那便一定要亮出自己的结论。这并不是意味着你应当忽视掉那些和你的主旨相对立的看法，而仅仅是想要你在论文结束之前，让读者清楚地明白你在该问题上的立场。这可不是提出重大解决方案——“嗯，也许是吧，也许不是吧”的乏味场合。

8.认真选择阅读来源.如果你的是研究型论文，那么你的阅读来源便显得非常的重要。一定要是学术文章，那些由本领域资深专家所撰写的专著和文章，而非大众化的读物（例如一个Brooklyn 14岁大的男孩子在他家地下室所写的网络文章）。看看论文任务，或是问问教授和助教，了解应该如何查找资料。不要只是在你的脚注或是参考文献中列下细目清单，而事实上你 却根本没看过。经验法则：如果你指出了某个出处，那么它便一定要在你文章的论点之中起到作用。

额外事项

如果非要在参考馆员的建议和教授的建议之间做选择时，一定要选择后者。解释得很多的了！

额外、额外的事项

一般最好是将简短的引用包含到你的论述之中，而非大段、大段地引用。并且为了使你的文章结构分明，最好将不是自己的文字或想法用引号引起来，或是作上脚注。

9.与教授做交易.教授仅仅是想帮助自己的学生写出优秀的论文。因此，你可以在办公时间带上疑难问题向他求解，并继续用Email和他交流想法（合理而且必要的话，越多越好）。

10.检查“产品”.没有什么比拼写和语法错误，句子缺词、掉词，或是狗屁不通的文章更让教授伤心的了。所以，一定要扮上15分钟的教授（这就是他/她会花在你文章上的时间）。要带着从未见过文章的态度和心情阅读自己的论文，适当修改，使文章结构更加紧凑，更具可读性。你会惊讶地发现几分钟的精雕细琢让你的论文焕然一新赢得良好的印象分，高分更是不在话下！