So you've written your first draft and had someone you trust (with their writing opinions) review it. Now it's time to take a serious look at your paper and make some corrections. Before you do anything really read through the comments that your peer editor gave to you. If they didn't leave a lot then you may need to have someone else review it.
If you agree/understand why your peer editor made the changes or comments they did then you can start making those little changes. Once you fix up the grammar in your rough draft it becomes much easier to add in more stuff. When I say stuff I do not mean filler sentences. Trust me: if you have to write a 2-4 page paper your professor would much rather read a 2 page paper with great content then a four page with too many filler sentences. Clear writing is the best writing. Write just enough so that people will understand the point you are making, but not too much that there get bored or frustrated trying to find it.
So how do you write 'stuff' without the filler?
Go back and look what you have written. When I do a rough draft I typically do not include any quotes or paraphrased items from my research. This allows me to insert them into my second draft where they feel most applicable. When you re-read your edited rough draft look for points that need clarification, or places where a quote might help make more sense of your argument.
If you already included quotes into your rough draft then read those paragraphs a little closer. Did you introduce the quote correctly? A properly interdicted quote should consist of a sentence leading right into a quote with the help of a comma. For example: (Taken from my Women Studies Paper for which I got a 99% on.. not like I'm bragging or anything ;))
“According to the Women’s International Center, “In colonial America, women who earned their own living usually became seamstresses or kept boardinghouses. But some women worked in professions and jobs available mostly to men. There were women doctors, lawyers, preachers, teachers, writers, and singers.” (www.wic.org, section 4) ”
Remember to always include a proper parenthetical citation following your quote. It's O.K. to use other peoples research as long as you give them credit. If you don't know how to do a correct one check out this handy dandy chart:
Once you have your quote, with it's proper introduction and parenthetical citation, you have to reference the quote. One of my english teachers in high school taught us that quotes were like a little kid crossing the street: the parents have to hold their hands. You're introduction is parent 1 and your reference is parent 2. Here is what I followed up my quote with in my Feminist Theory paper for Women Studies:
“However, female oppression in the early 19th century led to a new outlook on women’s work. If a woman wanted to work the only acceptable areas for her to do so were domestic work, writing, teaching and factory labor. ”
If after adding all of this you find that you still have not met your page or word requirement then you should consider going back to the research step and finding another subtopic to add to your paper.
Happy Writing!
xoxo
AME
