The Benefits of Starting a Paper Early
By Mary Lieske

Each semester, I promise myself that I'm going to get started on papers and projects earlier, that I'm going to work on them more, and that I'm going to get my homework done in a timely manner. Each semester, I start off doing the right thing, and each semester I find myself scrambling at the end to finish what I've put off. Big projects, papers, and even readings get pushed aside because there's “plenty of time” to work on it, so they don't have to be started right away. What this fails to give anyone who does so is the ability to think critically about their papers and to improve their papers.

As an undergraduate, I oftentimes found myself handing in papers that were still first drafts. I would sit down with my computer five hours before class started, and ten minutes before I needed to leave I was printing off the bare minimum as I put on my coat and headed out the door. As I got closer to completing my undergraduate degree, I found that scrambling at the last minute to finish a paper no longer worked; I got lower grades on each rushed paper and I was less satisfied with the work I handed in. Slowly, over time, I learned to start earlier. Instead of five hours before the paper was due, I would start two or three days earlier. Then five days. Then, my last semester as an undergraduate, I forced myself to start my papers two weeks before they were due.

And yes, I did have to force myself. I had to remind myself constantly that research took time, and that I needed more than just five minutes to fix any mistakes I might have made. It wasn't easy work, but it resulted in papers I was happier with, and with better grades. Creating and following deadlines for rough drafts and revisions is still necessary. Without setting goals for the assignment, it simply will not get finished. I still find myself, sometimes, scrambling to finish a paper that has been pushed aside in order for me to work on another. That's the way school works; no one ever said that college should be easy. In fact, it is the opposite: college should be hard, because it is the time when we are pushing ourselves to learn more, do more, and interact with others both in our chosen field (or fields) and outside it.

So, to start off the semester and the New Year, here's my advice: start early, make yourself a time-line, and don't be afraid to reach out for help (chances are, you're not the only one who needs it).