Term Paper

[Michael Davis]

I've got 20 pages to write by Monday morning and have very little understanding of what I am writing about. Anybody have any tips, other than get off of 2+2 and start writing?

-Michael

[daryn]

sit down and write 20 pages. try to turn it in by monday morning.

[TenPercenter]

[ QUOTE ]
sit down and write 20 pages. try to turn it in by monday morning.

[/ QUOTE ]

UNLESS your paper is about poker. Then stay here and read through Saturday. /images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Ten

[Sooga]

Fiddle around with the margins, find a font that is big, but doesn't look big, and even try to find paper that is smaller than letter size (or cut some yourself). Soon you'll find that 20 page paper shrunken down dramatically.

[Nepa]

I'll bite, What are you writing about?

[spamuell]

[ QUOTE ]
find a font that is big, but doesn't look big

[/ QUOTE ]

If anyone does this, please tell me. I just use Arial at the moment which is larger than the equivalent pt in Times New Roman.

As for the term paper, if you don't need to hand it in but can just leave it in a pigeon hole or something, write the first page and the conclusion and paperclip those together, making sure you number the pages 1 and 20. Then when the "administrative error" is discovered and no one can find the pages that were "lost", you have bought yourself a little time.

You should just do it though, 20 pages of waffle is pretty easy to write.

[kpux]

[ QUOTE ]
Fiddle around with the margins, find a font that is big, but doesn't look big, and even try to find paper that is smaller than letter size (or cut some yourself). Soon you'll find that 20 page paper shrunken down dramatically.

[/ QUOTE ]

Professors catch onto this stuff all the time and it reflects on you terribly. Just suck it up and write the thing, 12 pt. Times New Roman style.

[BeerMoney]

Damnit, I didn't think you were a college student..

What the hell is the topic?

[nothumb]

Tell me what it's about, I'll help.

NT

[CollegePlayer]

[ QUOTE ]
Fiddle around with the margins, find a font that is big, but doesn't look big, and even try to find paper that is smaller than letter size (or cut some yourself). Soon you'll find that 20 page paper shrunken down dramatically.

[/ QUOTE ]
professors will notice this crap...

[Zeno]

[ QUOTE ]
....and have very little understanding of what I am writing about.

[/ QUOTE ]

Use this to your benefit. Do some searches on web and cut and paste some blather from related subjects into a word file. Get about 4 or 5 blurbs. This is the starting point. Now tie the 'different' blurbs together in some semblance of order. This will lead to, perhaps, some better understanding or at least some ideas for construction and presentation etc.

If you are good with all the proper buzz words, jargon, empty rhetoric, academic drivel, and general twaddle then fill in the empty space with - well, empty space.

On the other hand, if your grade(s) can stand the punishment, ignore the real subject altogether and write a 20 page paper on why the friggin University you are attending should be razed to the ground, every professor hung from the nearest bridge and the administration burned at the stake. At least that will give you some satisfaction.

-Zeno

[blackaces13]

[ QUOTE ]
professors will notice this crap...

[/ QUOTE ]

You guys are focused on the WRONG aspect of letter enlarging for adding pages to papers. You can't use a "big" font or write it in a size bigger than 12 pt. That's too obvious and Profs. will notice it right away.

What you want to do is increase your character spacing. I haven't had cause to use this in a while but as I recall its fairly easy to find in the font tab on MS Word. The default character spacing is 0.0 I believe but you can rachet it up to something like .7 before your computer screen will even display it any differently on the monitor. Believe me these spaces add up dramatically, but because it is a microscopic change between EVERY letter the difference is virtually undetectable to the eye (if anything it makes a font like TNR easier to read and less cluttered).

I seem to remember just making the character spacing on Times New Roman .7 would make 2 pages 3. So for 20 pages it should get you down to about 13 or so.

Good luck, and this knowlege should save you a lot of writing in the future.

[J.A.Sucker]

Do something fun today. You really shouldn't be starting until tomorrow. I'm not kidding.

[Sooga]

It depends.... at my undergrad college, they'd notice for sure. I'm currently doing my credential at Cal State Northridge. Believe me, they don't notice anything.

[Michael Davis]

My paper is a Heideggerean reading of Hart Crane's "The Bridge."

It is complete BS, as every paper I have ever written as a graduate student is. Zeno's comment about empty space is right on. I'm really tired of writing BS. I'm not sure there's anything else to write, though.

-Michael

P.S. 4 pages down and I haven't even started the textual analysis yet. Once I start turning to random pages and writing about them, it's easy.

[Sooga]

Wait a second.. when the professor required 20 pages.... did he specify 20 in base 10?

[Michael Davis]

Actually, he required 25. I personally adjusted this to 20. Papers over 15 pages are unwieldy, in my opinion, unless they become books, in which case their unwieldlyness is not a matter of opinion.

-Michael

[Michael Davis]

Sorry, I know I often come across as an elementary schooler. Something about personality adhering to physical traits. /images/graemlins/shocked.gif

-Michael

[RED_RAIN]

[ QUOTE ]
Fiddle around with the margins, find a font that is big, but doesn't look big, and even try to find paper that is smaller than letter size (or cut some yourself). Soon you'll find that 20 page paper shrunken down dramatically.

[/ QUOTE ]

Century Gothic is the largest and best looking LEGAL font. Legal as in all schools I have tried it at accept it no questions asked. You can also change the margins in by .1 and no one will be able to notice. No dinky ruler they use will show that. It will save like .5 to 1 sentence a page.

[Sponger15SB]

also try "Courier New" that is what I always use.

The Sentance:

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy river.

shows 2 6/9th of an inch as TNR and 3 8/9th of an inch as Cournier New... this is in word pad btw.

[ddollevoet]

This is experience speaking:

GRAPHS and CHARTS!!!

You can burn up a good 2-3 pages without being excessive. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Taxman]

That seems light for a graduate level paper. I've written at least one 20+ paper each year as a an undergrad thus far (I'm entering my 4th year). Maybe I just have bastard professors.

[Stu Pidasso]

Here (http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail64.html)

Hope that helps

Stu

[Zeno]

That was more than just funny. Great link.

-Zeno