<p>Does anyone have any tips or books or any other source of guidance for writing well?</p>
<p>I just took my first "real" midterm and I bombed the essay section. I came up with lame ideas, I needed more time, and I was under a lot of pressure.</p>
<p>I have another midterm coming up for the class so I don't want to bomb that as well.</p>
<p>I did try reading a book called "On Writing Well" but I just was not interested enough to finish it, so something interesting would be nice. (like an online class maybe)</p>
<p>P.S. what do you think is the best way to learn to write well? online class, actual class, video, book, etc.</p>
<p>What class was your midterm for? If it's not an English class, the teacher usually will let general writing mistakes go as long as it shows that you know your material. Maybe you just had some trouble organizing your thoughts? </p>
<p>As for tips on how to write well, the key is to READ. Read everyday.</p>
<p>Its for my sociology class but the professor said she is strict on everything including spelling, and like I said I did not come up with strong topics (as least I feel I didn't) mostly because I spent all my time studying the notes instead of worrying about the essay...but people do say she's easy (haha).</p>
<p>Does your CC have a writing workshop? I took the writing workshop at my CC and can't tell you how much it helped. I learned several different essay and paper writing styles, and most importantly, learned editing skills. It might not help too much with coming up with topics, but at least it would teach you how to organize your thoughts and paragraphs. </p>
<p>Speech is a great class to take just for the fact that you will most likely have to write outlines for every speech and you'll have to come up with interesting topics. It will also help for other classes in which you have to give presentations.</p>
<p>When you do have midterms or finals, if the teacher gives you any indication of what might be on the test, especially essay topics, try writing out at least an outline of one of the topics. Most of my CC teachers gave us study guides with potential essay topics before midterms and some finals. It can be helpful if you go to the library or go home the day that you get the study guide and start writing something - anything - about the topics. Then you can take the next week or however many days prior to your exam to think about those topics and others that you have covered in the class. </p>
<p>If you don't get a study guide, try to think of potential essay questions, based on your syllabus, notes, and readings, then take some time to write whatever you can regarding those potential questions.</p>