Electronic submission of papers is convenient, saving trees as well as time. Writing online has immediacy—potentially a 24/7 audience, ready to read and respond to your writing. On the other hand, online college writing requires longer-term planning, especially to organize and manage files in classes that encourage revising drafts or developing a portfolio.

Using File Templates. No matter how you submit an essay or a research paper, instructors generally expect you to use MLA, APA, or another academic style accepted in the field. These styles specify page layout, font style and size, paragraph indentations, formats for citations, and many other details that determine both the look and the approach of the paper.

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Instead of treating each paper as a separate item, set up a template for any style you are required to use in a specific class or field of study. Check your software menu for Tools, File, or Format, or go to Help for directions on making a template, a basic paper format with built-in design features. Refine the details, using samples and checklists in this book as well as your instructor’s directions and comments on the format of your drafts. When you begin a new draft, call up your template, and start writing. The template will automatically format the features you have customized. If you need several templates, keep them clearly labeled in a template folder.

Naming and Organizing Files. Check your syllabus or assignments to find out whether you need to follow a certain system or pattern for naming your files. Such systems help an instructor to see at a glance who wrote which assignment for which class: Lopez Recall 101Sec2. If you are expected to save or submit your drafts or build a portfolio, you will want to add a draft number, draft code (noting a first draft or a later revision), or a date: Lopez Recall 3, Lopez Recall Dft, Lopez Recall Rev, or Lopez Recall 9-14-17. Remember that your downloaded essay will be separated from your e-mail message; be certain that the file label alone will be clear.

Even if you are not required to submit your drafts, it’s a good idea to save each major stage as you develop the paper instead of always reworking the same file. If you set up a folder for your course, perhaps with subfolders for each assignment, your writing records will be organized in a central location. Then you can easily go back to an earlier draft and restore something you cut or show your development to your instructor if asked to do so. You also have a handy backup if you lose a draft or forget to save it to your flash drive (or forget the flash drive itself).

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Inserting Comments. When you need to exchange files with other students for peer responses, use your software menu (Tools, Options, or Inserts), try its Help feature, or find a tutorial on the class comment system—track-and-comment word-processing tools, CMS or LMS posts, or a document-sharing site with comment options. If the directions seem complicated, print the Help page, and refer to it as you learn the system.

A comment system typically allows you to use color to show cross-outs and additions or to add initials or color to identify comments in “balloons” in the margin. Less formal options include adding comments or a note at the end of a paragraph, highlighted in yellow. Be sure to send your peer response file on time with helpful suggestions.

Polishing Electronically. As you revise and edit a draft, use all your resources, online and off. Call up the assignment or syllabus. Review what is required and how it will be assessed. Reread any comments from your peers or instructor. Use the Find or Search menu to hunt for repeated errors or too many repetitions of a favorite word or transition. Use the spelling and grammar checkers in your software, CMS, or LMS, even for short messages, so that you always present careful work. If your concentration slips, go offline: print out your draft and read it aloud.

Submitting Papers Online. It’s usually easy to walk into a face-to-face class and hand in a printed paper. Online, you might hit snags—problems with a transmittal message if your CMS, LMS, or e-mail system is down; problems with a drop box or forum that closes early due to an error or a power outage; problems with a file, attaching or remembering to attach yours or opening someone else’s. Try to avoid sending an assignment two minutes before the deadline because a time crunch may increase problems.

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Many instructors will see “the computer ate my homework” as a problem you should have solved, not an acceptable excuse for late work. If you have trouble transmitting a file, send a short separate message to your instructor to explain how you are solving the problem, or ask your instructor to confirm the file’s safe arrival. (Instructors are likely to prefer that you keep explanations to a minimum, concentrate on solutions, and use an automatic “read” reply to confirm receipt.) If your computer has a problem, you are responsible for going to the lab or using another computer to submit your work on time. If your campus system is temporarily down, you are responsible for submitting your work as soon as access is restored.

No matter what software you use, “translate” your file to the required format—maybe Word (.doc or .docx) but often Rich Text Format (.rtf), a general format most word-processing software can read. Check your File menu for two different commands: Save (to save the file to the location where you routinely store class files) and Save As (to save the file in a different format, to a different location, or with a different name). If you consistently add the date at the end of the file name, you will simplify finding and sending the most current version. If you use the same name or same date for duplicate files in different formats, you also will know that they correspond. Once the correct file is properly formatted, attach it to your message. If your file is returned with comments from your instructor or classmates, give it a new name and date so it does not replace your original.

Backing Up Your Files. No matter how tired or rushed you are, always save and back up your work, preferably using several methods. Use a backup card, portable drive, smart stick, file storage site, or whatever is available and efficient for you. Label or identify your equipment with your name so that you could pull your drive out of the lost-and-found basket at the library or someone could arrange to return it to you.

If you are working on a campus computer, carry your drive with you on a neck strap or clipped to your backpack so that your current work is always with you. If you are working on a major project with a tight deadline, attach major drafts to an e-mail to yourself. If you back up your files at home or in your room, do so every day. Then, if a file is damaged or lost, your hard drive fails during finals week, or you leave your drive at the library, you can still finish your writing assignments on time.