Help with Writing Papers for 9th Grade Students

9th Grade Writing Tips

Write a Strong Thesis

The foundation of your paper will rest on the strength of your thesis statement, so your thesis statement needs to be strong, clear and concise. The thesis statement tells your intended audience what you believe about your topic, and what you intend to prove about it during the course of the paper. It also helps you focus on the information you need to look for while researching. Typically, a thesis statement is found at the end of the first paragraph, and lets readers know what they can expect to learn from reading your paper.

Create an Outline

Anytime you do any type of writing, creating an outline will usually make the task easier. When you create an outline, you essentially make a road map that guides you to what you're trying to say, how you intend to say it and when it should be said. Without an outline, it's easy to get confused about what to write next, which can lead to frustration and a lot of wasted time.

Use a Thesaurus

Many people use a dictionary when they're writing and understand its importance, but disregard using a thesaurus. Even if you have a great vocabulary bank to draw from, you may end up using the same words over and over again in your writing. Using a thesaurus helps you mix things up and add more flavor to your paper. By utilizing a thesaurus, you can find synonyms and antonyms for various words in your writing and choose more creative words that convey the same meaning. However, make sure you maintain a formal, academic tone throughout the paper.

Revise and Edit

You'll rarely write a paper perfectly the first time. In fact, even after editing and rewriting, you'll still make mistakes. Therefore, it's a good idea to make revising and editing an important part of your writing process. You may end up rewriting numerous times, but doing so will typically help the quality of the final product. However, there is such a thing as editing and revising too much, so it's also beneficial to have others look over the work. Their feedback will usually let you know if the paper is ready to go or not.