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I only used Google and searched for .gov and .edu sources. I don't think I used too many peer-reviewed sources. I don't think I was ever docked points for the quality of my sources. (Just once because I didn't have enough more recent ones - and my topic was a modern topic, not history so it made sense.)
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I got through three essays for SDC this month, all for psychology. They each took me about 6-7 hours. First I looked up some topics with a general Google search using one or two of the key phrases from the essay prompt. I'd inevitably find an article or two from someplace like Harvard or an .edu or .gov site. You only need to quote three sources, so it isn't too hard. Using Wikipedia was super helpful too. As you read through, find a quote you like and then copy the quote from the references at the end of the article. For formatting, follow the Purdue OWL guidlines and you'll be golden. I always got a full 10 points for formatting by just following Purdue.
I found SDC's grading to be very easy/fair, but as has been mentioned already, you don't need a high score to pass (maybe a 50, depending on your final test grade). Let that knowledge put your mind at ease and try to have fun with it! On one paper I strayed from the strict essay prompt to make the topic more interesting for myself, and got a decent score.
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02-12-2019, 10:43 AM
(This post was last modified: 02-12-2019, 10:48 AM by runningtherace2.)
(02-11-2019, 09:53 AM)natshar Wrote: Thanks, everyone. Yeah I know it's nothing to stress about, but getting started on assignments is nothing new it's something I've struggled with since I was a kid. And while I know I could find ways to get all UL credit I need without writing essays (through Davar and Coopersmith) I realized this would be good practice for the capstone course. If I didn't do these papers, I would so lost when I take the capstone.
Also, just wondering how long does it take to write a paper or do a project for study.com from start to finish for you?
Well, it took me a week an 1/2 to do research on my 1st one, and I only started writing it after I knew what I was talking about. As a result, the quality was actually okay and I was under the wordcount minimum (something which SHOCKED me because I tend to be wordy and superfluous in my writing...), so I had to add more content, which took another day, plus editing/revising. Made an 83 on it.
On my 2nd paper, I blasted through it (cuz I was sick of it taking forever   ), researching as I wrote. Proved pretty effective time-wise, but was 500 words over Word Count (guess I threw my conciseness out the window in my rush), so it took all day yesterday to get it down to 1991 as opposed to the 2500 I had previously.
All in all took me 3 and 1/2 weeks (maybe a tad less).
(02-12-2019, 10:43 AM)runningtherace2 Wrote: (02-11-2019, 09:53 AM)natshar Wrote: Thanks, everyone. Yeah I know it's nothing to stress about, but getting started on assignments is nothing new it's something I've struggled with since I was a kid. And while I know I could find ways to get all UL credit I need without writing essays (through Davar and Coopersmith) I realized this would be good practice for the capstone course. If I didn't do these papers, I would so lost when I take the capstone.
Also, just wondering how long does it take to write a paper or do a project for study.com from start to finish for you?
Well, it took me a week an 1/2 to do research on my 1st one, and I only started writing it after I knew what I was talking about. As a result, the quality was actually okay and I was under the wordcount minimum (something which SHOCKED me because I tend to be wordy and superfluous in my writing...), so I had to add more content, which took another day, plus editing/revising. Made an 83 on it.
On my 2nd paper, I blasted through it (cuz I was sick of it taking forever ), researching as I wrote. Took 3 days. Proved pretty effective time-wise, but was 500 words over Word Count (guess I threw my conciseness out the window in my rush), so it took all day yesterday to get it down to 1991 as opposed to the 2500 I had previously.
All in all took me 2 and 1/2 weeks (maybe a tad less). Side-note: I was working a job 4 days straight through my 1st paper, so it did slow me down a good bit.
But I'm sure it'd be much quicker for people with more time on their hands and more focus 
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I used to have a hard time with essays and papers myself. It's not that the writing process is really that hard, it's that I stressed so much over writing that I ended up procrastinating a lot to avoid the stress. Over the summer I found a book I wish I had acquired years ago: "Paper Hacking 101" by Deleuzienne. It's only $10 on Amazon, and it's worth more than every penny. The writing tips in that book have greatly accelerated my research and writing skills such that I can easily write 3-4 papers per week now. I bet I could've finished my WGU BS and MS degrees in a single term each had I read that book before taking those programs.
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In my experience, SDC is pretty lenient on their grading regarding the accuracy of APA formatting. (TESU's mentors for the capstone, on the other hand, are not, and I'm actually thankful for that, as it helped me become a better writer.)
For sources, Google Scholar is a great starting point. If you find a peer-reviewed article that's relevant to your topic, there are nearly always other good articles cited by the first article, and you can look up those and see at least the abstracts on a site like Medline or PubMed (depending on topic). If you have access to any good library, they generally have at least some databases of scholarly references where you can pul articles from.
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(10-25-2021, 12:17 PM)jamshid666 Wrote: I used to have a hard time with essays and papers myself. It's not that the writing process is really that hard, it's that I stressed so much over writing that I ended up procrastinating a lot to avoid the stress. Over the summer I found a book I wish I had acquired years ago: "Paper Hacking 101" by Deleuzienne. It's only $10 on Amazon, and it's worth more than every penny. The writing tips in that book have greatly accelerated my research and writing skills such that I can easily write 3-4 papers per week now. I bet I could've finished my WGU BS and MS degrees in a single term each had I read that book before taking those programs.
I feel the same. Thanks for the book tip! I'll check it out!
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Thanks for recommending this book, I was looking for something like this. However, whenever I have to write something, I am helped by an editor who I have found on a site essay with more than one editor. I like the fact that after reading my essay, he comes up with some tips I should take into consideration, and also he tells me where I should work more so that next time I can write the essay better. I am getting better at writing, but I still have to work on it.
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12-31-2021, 04:41 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-31-2021, 04:42 AM by lilybaileyahc.)
Hey, I have read the book and it is amazing! I regret that I didn't find it before, it would have saved me a lot of time and money. However, I will still use the site essay with more than one editor, as it will take time till I will learn all the tips and practice them. I think I am a step forward in writing an essay persuasively and with no mistakes from the first try. Thanks again for sharing the book!
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