Many students struggle to start writing because they can’t make what they want to say in their head perfect on paper, especially the thesis statement. This is another big cause of the dreaded blank screen struggle.
First, it doesn’t have to be perfect when you write it down, because you’re going to edit and proofread your own work. And then your instructor, tutor, and/or possibly fellow students are going to give you feedback.
Second, if the thesis statement is really an obstacle, have a general idea of what you’re saying and start with your arguments first. There’s a good chance that by the second or third point, what you want to say as a thesis statement will have jelled and you will be able to write it down or go back and clean up your first idea.
Third, there’s no such thing as perfect, and if you spend three hours fixating and trying to turn what was a really good thesis or paper into something you think is “perfect,” you will mostly just have wasted a lot of time. So, focus on what you think is “good” or even “great,” but try to leave perfectionism behind.
An addendum to this thought – longer isn’t better. More words don’t make your argument stronger, they just create more work for your instructor. Keeping within the page-length requirement (not too long, not too short), means that you are answering the prompt fully but also respecting your instructor’s time AND learning to be precise with your language. (Unlike Ms. Nan, who tends to be a little wordy.)
So just...start. Sometimes all you can do is sit down, set your timer for half an hour, and start writing. Fair warning, you might feel like you are just barfing up words.
But even if you don’t think it makes sense, or sounds stupid, or whatever, putting something down helps get your gears moving. Greases the wheels. You might be amazed at what comes out in just 30 minutes. Try it.
You can always fix what you write, but you can’t fix what isn’t there.
Until next time,
Ms. Nan
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