Tutor Dr. Margaret Hughes Offers Students Keys to Excellent Writing

Now well into the academic year, students at Thomas Aquinas College are busy writing papers, from a 750-word Freshman Theology essay to 40-page Senior Theses. To help them hone the craft of writing, faculty on the New England campus recently presented the second installment of its series of student skills workshops.

Dr. Margaret Hughes, a tutor on the New England campus and director of Dolben Library’s Writing Center, led the workshop, entitled “How to Write an Excellent Paper” in a packed Billings Hall classroom. Dr. Hughes began by tackling the structure and order of a well-written paper. “Every excellent paper has a clear, concise thesis statement,” she said. “No thesis statement means no paper.”

Other important matters to consider, Dr. Hughes continued, include ensuring that paragraphs begin with a clear topic sentence, taking care to craft a conclusion that summarizes the main argument, and ordering the paragraphs such that the reader can easily follow the development of the thesis. Students listened intently, jotting down notes to apply to their own essays.

Next, Dr. Hughes moved on to provide helpful tips for editing. “More is not always more,” she said. “If you can delete a sentence without the paragraph losing its meaning or importance, then delete it.” She also walked students through a checklist of common grammatical errors.

At the end of her presentation, Dr. Hughes took questions from the students, who eagerly inquired about a variety of essay-writing topics. “I’m so glad I went to this workshop,” said Catherine Welter (’27). “I think it will really improve my papers in the future.”