Hayley Bertrand

Senior, Consultant since Fall 2014

Advice for writers
Jot your ideas down on paper before you begin; then try to find patterns within your ideas to group them into categories. Consider the categories your body paragraphs, and you already have the body of your essay! Make sure you keep the main idea in mind the entire time you are writing and refer back to it throughout the paper. Write in a comfortable environment free of distractions. That way, you will be able to keep your focus as you write, which will lead to a more comprehensible paper.

How do you get started on a writing assignment?
When I know that I have a big essay coming up, I spend a couple days thinking about what I want to write. Then, when I sit down to actually write it, I already know what I want to write. I also try to give myself a large block of time to write when I first start a paper so that I don't have to worry about time limits. I don't have to rush myself, and I can focus on getting a big chunk of the paper done right away. Then, if I have to come back to it later, I feel better knowing that I already have a decent amount of it done.