How To Write A Term Paper (In 1,000 words or less)
             Sooner or later it happens. The professor announces, "There will be no final exam." You smile. He adds, "'Instead, prepare a 16-page paper on a topic of your choosing." Your smile dissolves. You sit, denied the modest rigors of an exam, asked instead to confront two of man's most intimidating achievements: language and libraries. On a topic of your choosing.
             Choosing. Ever watch people in Baskin-Robbins 31 Flavors? First pacing in front of the cases, next urging their friends to choose ahead of them, finally in almost a panic blurting out a choice: "Jamoca Almond Fudge with-uh-Blueberry Cheesecake-no-Pistachio in a cone-dish cone." Most people choose term paper topics the same way, in a panic with much changing of mind. The best way to choose flavors in Baskin-Robbins is to walk in confidently, rule out firmly the flavors you don't want, and then demand taste samples of the ones you think you do want. Taste before you choose. The same principle applies to term papers: rule out the areas you definitely don't want to write about and then read around in the areas you are interested in before choosing. Take time to find a topic you will like.
             Limiting. When you feel you're getting close to a topic, think narrow-really narrow. Sixteen pages may sound like a lot but it's less than most Sports Illustrated articles. One summer the article "Make Way for the Sultan of Swipes" (August 22, pp. 24-30) had about 3,900 words in it. This is nearly as long as your 16-page paper, yet the topic of the Sports Illustrated article was very narrow: one man, Lou Brock; one achievement, base-stealing.
             Most students tend to write on topics too broad for the length assigned. Writing your paper will be easier if, before you begin, you zero in on one tiny aspect of a subject and stick to exploring that. Write about the history of one slang expression, not the history of slang. Explore the
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