Secrets to Writing Great Papers. Study Smart Series for Students. (2003). Judi Kesselman-Turkel and Franklynn Peterson. University of Wisconsin Press. 96 pp., $6.95. ISBN 0-299-19144-3.

Reviewed by: Shannon L. Young

Academic Advisor, College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Carnegie Mellon University

In Secrets to Writing Great Papers , Judi Kesselman-Turkel and Franklynn Peterson attempt to demystify the writing process for students. They claim that writing strong papers is essentially a simple step-by-step process. If students follow this process, they are guaranteed to produce better quality papers.

Through the book, students follow a linear progression in which they begin with a writing assignment, generate ideas, follow one of five main approaches to convey their ideas, and develop and follow an outline to paper completion. The authors take an interesting approach in the first half of the book: They acknowledge the ways that students must negotiate between their personal interests and a teacher's demands (the student's audience is always the all-powerful teacher). Students first learn to deconstruct a writing assignment to identify their teacher's expectations. Next, students generate ideas and choose an approach. While the authors encourage students to find ways to bring their personal interests into the paper, they also suggest that, to earn favor with the reader/grader, students should consider the teacher's interests as a prospective topic.

In the second half of the book, the authors focus on how to develop and follow an outline, which requires the most work in the writing process. The outline serves as a blueprint from which to construct the final paper, and students are encouraged not to stray from it because it is "the quickest, easiest, and most effective way to organize [ ideas ]" (p. 43). The final chapter includes a quality control checklist for assessing the final draft.

The audience for this text consists of students who dread writing. As the authors note, "Unless you're a natural-born talent (in which case you don't need us), hang in there. You've also probably never written two sweat-free grade-A papers in a row" (p. 42). With their stripped-down approach, the authors throw romantic notions about writing out the window. Suggestions, such as the following ones, remind the reader that the authors' intention is not to encourage a passion for writing or for viewing the written word as a great art form: "If you can't write an introduction in five minutes, you're trying too hard. For most school papers, you'll get a high grade if you simply take a forthright approach" (p. 59) and "Building the body of a paper is just like building the body of a car. You can do it as painlessly as if you were a robot standing on an assembly line" (p. 65). Rather, the authors attempt to deliver the basics of paper writing for those who feel lost. Survival Guide to Writing Papers would have been an even more appropriate title.

As an advisor, I would share this book with writers who are still developing their writing skills for college-level study. However, the book could help any person, even advisors, who could benefit from a refresher course in writing. While it may not show students how writing can amount to anything more meaningful than fulfilling an assignment, it will help readers develop their writing skills to meet the demands of work and school.