Graduate-Level Writing Paper
University of Phoenix
Professor Erin Cobb COM/600

So you have reached that time in your educational pursuit that marks the beginning of the next chapter. No more days of last minute, crunch-time paper writing with minimal proofreading. There is no room for error at this next stage in the game. You are now a graduate student and it is time to behave like one. Graduate level writing is what one should be practicing and striving to perfect. It may not seem like a big difference for those that already practice to write at a graduate level, however, for some this can be a difficult task. Hopefully by the end of this paper one can have a better understanding of what is expected at the graduate level, and what to avoid to make sure that as few mistakes as possible are made. Let us dive in to see exactly what some of the characteristics of graduate level writing are and how they can differ from other forms of writing. The big thing about writing on the graduate level is that one’s paper is constructed so that the reader can take something away from the paper. Graduate level writing should be informative to the reader and should be written without bias. Being a graduate is one step closer to being a professional in one’s chosen career. When one is training to be a professional, one should conduct their work as a professional whether in the workplace or in the classroom. The other obvious difference is how your papers will be graded at the graduate level as compared to other levels of educational writing. Let us look at some of the elements in effective writing. The first element to consider is remembering to be courteous to one’s audience. One would want the reader to feel like they are welcomed by the paper. It is important to remember to be unbiased so that readers do not form opinions of what one has written. One might want a reader to be able to make it through their paper without questioning the author’s integrity. Papers at a graduate level should be informative and to the point of the topic. Another key element is correctness. One does not want to fill their paper with information that is not true. It is important to do research to ensure that only facts are going into one’s paper. One must also cite any information that they receive from another source. If a reader finds out that the author is using another’s information as their own, then they might question the author’s credibility and the credibility of the paper itself. Remember to stick to the facts and also cite your references. This will uphold the integrity of both the author and their works. Speaking of citations and references brings us to our next element of effective writing which is conciseness. One should always remember to be concise. Again, remembering to state the facts and do good research is helpful in being concise. When making sure one is being concise, one has to make sure that they are using credible resources. It is important for people to avoid websites that have no credibility or can be edited by visitors of the website. Wikipedia is one of those sites where people can get on and edit the information about any particular topic. This makes for a pretty unreliable source and it would probably make an author’s paper less likely to be concise. Another key element is clarity. One should not leave a reader unsure about the material they are reading. An author should not leave a reader questioning their work. The author wants to make sure that all points are made and also be sure to answer any questions that they anticipate the reader may have. Clarity helps leave the reader with no questions at the end of the paper. The element of being concrete plays hand in hand with conciseness. One wants their references to be valid that way what they are writing cannot be questioned. An author wants to ensure that their references are reliable by making sure they are getting their resources from valid places so that they know the information is concrete. Using articles that talk about statistics and study results help ensure concreteness. Peer reviewed articles will also help ensure how concrete a reference is as well. The last element we will discuss when it comes to effective writing at the graduate level is completeness. When writing at the graduate level a lot of guidelines have to be followed. Most papers need to be written in APA format so there is a lot to finish that an author has to make sure of. Papers need to be spaced correctly and in the correct font. Headers and page numbers need to be added to papers. Also, a title page is usually required at the graduate level. A lot of Universities have resources that students can use to help ensure that their papers are in the correct formats. Aside from the elements of effective writing, one also has to be careful to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism occurs when an author uses information from another source without citing where they received the information from. Plagiarism is a huge deal because others want to ensure that somebody else is not getting credit for the work that they have done. If one were to clean the whole office at their workplace, and then a co-worker takes credit for that work and gains an incentive, it is not going to be fair to that person that did all of the cleaning to begin with. One would not want a co-worker to take credit for their work anymore than an author would want somebody else to take credit for their work. Plagiarism can also carry some serious consequences. In the classroom plagiarism can be cause for no credit on an assignment. A teacher is not going to give somebody credit for someone else’s work. Also, in some cases, plagiarism can have some legal consequences. The best way to ensure that one is being an effective, graduate level writer is to practice good time management and organizational skills. Good time management may consist of starting one’s paper early enough to proofread and correct any mistakes that are made. This will also help when having to balance school work with other everyday life activities. If one is able to break down a project into a couple of days then they may be able to make time for other activities in their lives. One may find it helpful to set aside a block of time that is designated for school work only. This way they can use the rest of their time for things that may need done outside of the classroom. Even though the pressure of graduate level writing may be tough, with good writing skills and resources to help ensure that guidelines are being followed, it can be as easy as writing a letter to a friend.