The Writing Process

Good writing is clear, concise, and persuasive. Your job as a writer is to convey your ideas to readers in a way that allows them to follow your argument; if you’ve chosen a good argument (perhaps with the help of this guide) it will convince them along the way.

While good writing is organized, the process of writing can aften be messy. Nobody sits down and writes their very best paper all in one pass. In a very real way writing is editing, so if you take only one thing away from this section let it be this: leave yourself time to edit.

Below are some general tips to keep in mind. These are tips, not rules, and you’ll likely find that at different stages of the process you use some more than others. Find what works for you.

Moving from general interest to research topic

• Start your research with a general work. For big topics, Cambridge, Brill, Blackwell, Oxford and other publishing houses all put out general resources/“Companion” volumes, e.g. Brill’s Companion to Alexander the Great. 
• Bibliographies are your friend. If you have an article, book, etc. that piqued your interest in a topic—even if you don’t agree with its premise or conclusions – check the bibliography. This will point you towards more helpful resources. 
• Don’t know where to start? Some topics, periods, concepts, etc. have useful bibliographies made for you by experts. The Oxford Bibliographies on Classics topics (accessible through HOLLIS) are one resource. Try also the New Pauly (Der Neue Pauly), the Oxford Classical Dictionary, and the Cambridge Ancient History series.
• Ask a librarian! They can point you in the right direction.

Refine your idea

Once you have a general idea of what your thesis will be, there are several ways to refine your idea and strengthen your argument.

• Gather all the evidence and evaluate where you stand on the issue.
• Read the opposing sides of the argument (i.e. the counter argument). Are certain points of the opposing argument valid? How would you refute them?
• Make sure to keep a careful record of the specific evidence you find (e.g., authors, page number, citations, ancient citations, etc.). You’ll need to be able to find your evidence easily when you write the actual paper.
• Think about what you want to say; have a specific argument. You may need to modify it in accordance with the available or newly discovered evidence. Don’t stick to one idea if it isn’t working or isn’t supported by the evidence you find.

Right-sizing your thesis and avoiding common pitfalls

You may be tempted to answer a big question in your paper. How did the Romans build temples? Did Greek sculptors make the best works of art? Why did Rome win the Punic Wars?

Questions of this size are beyond the scope of a term paper. Your paper should be focused on answering the specific question you pose for yourself, using a manageable body of evidence. This means that your thinking should be concentrated and deliberate. It should engage with specifics rather than generalities, and should be narrow enough to fit in the scope of your assigned project. Five or ten pages might feel like a lot of space when you’re staring at a blank page, but you won’t be able to answer any of the questions above in such a short paper. 

A smaller or more directed question will not make your writing unimportant or uninteresting. Targeted and methodical work lets you become the expert on your topic, and is the beating heart of academic writing. Leave the broad, sweeping claims to others—they’re usually unproven or unprovable anyway.