1. News flash: Rough drafts look like rough drafts! What might be comprehensible to you is not necessarily comprehensible to anyone else. Your job as a writer is to turn that first, rough draft that only an author could love into a reader-friendly paper that adds your unique voice to an exhilarating discussion on a fascinating topic. This means starting your writing process in a timely fashion and using the tools at your disposal including this guide.
  2. Do not wait until the hour before class to print your paper. If you wait until just before class to print, you run the risk of printer error, lack of printer availability, the printer running out of ink, or any number of common, infuriating, and debilitating printer-related problems. In my opinion and because of woeful experience, printers are inherently evil and will do everything they possibly can to prevent you from meeting important deadlines. (Notice that I do not offer this as a thesis statement but as an opinion because it is (a) a value judgment, and (b) based solely on anecdotal evidence.) Do not allow these perilous but useful machines to come between you and the grade you should earn. Conquer printer sabotage by writing, revising, copy-editing, AND printing in a timely manner.
  3. Please, do the kind thing for yourself and your professor. Fasten all pages of your paper as your professor directs.
  4. One final piece of advice: Use this paper to hone your research and writing skills. Students from past terms have decided to use their research paper from this class for the writing sample frequently requested by graduate schools.

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