How much time do you need to prepare an essay? Writing an essay is a tricky job. It’s more challenging when you need to finish it in a short span of time. Let’s say the teacher asks you to write a reflection paper about a life story or a movie. Or your professor asks you to write about a famous person, a historical event, or some current news. Sometimes, you will see yourself in a blank state, trying to figure out what to write in your paper.
It really takes time to develop our skills in writing and usually, enhancing this skill requires practice. However, this article encourages you to write without arduous practice and anyone may write an essay in just a quick snap.
1. Read the Topic Carefully
Before anything else, read the topic first. Assess yourself if you know something about the subject. Ask your professors or teachers to clarify any confusion about the topic or about the instructions.
Learn to follow the instructions properly and always keep them in mind or take some notes. If you would like to suggest something, ask your teacher or professor if they will agree with your suggestions.
Start the brainstorming process and plan how you will work on the essay. Make sure to list down the applications, sites, or software you can use to help you with the writing material.
2. Check Your Schedules and Deadlines
Take-Home & Competition-type
Have enough time to do the research part, inquiry, drafting process, and the completion phase. You must check your schedule so that you can plan your time for the essay.
As a student, time management is really an important strategy to divide our school tasks in an organized way. Keeping track of your time may also help you become effective when it comes to your school tasks. You may consider the following suggestions:
- 1 hour for the research and brainstorm
- 1 hour for crowdsourcing (inquiries, surveys, ask from social media, poll votes) – optional
- 1 hour to 2 hours drafting process
- 30 minutes proofreading
In this way, you have a guide on how to allocate time for research and essay writing.
Quiz and Surprise-Types
Some teachers love surprises when it comes to quizzes. They usually do this to check whether the student was prepared and has studied in advance.
What will you do if this happens? The best advice is to always be ready when you go to school. Make sure to read the lessons so that you can gain enough ideas to help you answer properly. If you are unable to study, you must think fast, use your instinct, and stock knowledge to answer the question or give your opinion about the topic.
3. Look for References
In writing an essay, it would be best to refer to at least two or three sources. Make sure to note the book citations or website’s URL so that if the professor or teacher asks you about the reference, you can show some proof.
Afterward, read all the references that you have bookmarked. Observe how the writer uses words and styles to convince the readers to agree with the content. Notice how the writer makes use of the parts of speech and creative inputs in his writing. In that way, you can adopt a style and come up with meaningful ideas to express your thoughts.
4. Draft Your Outline
Some students might be asking themselves – How will I do my paper in a quick way?
What’s the solution? Well, just learn how to draft an outline.
An outline serves as the skeletal framework of your essay. It guides the writer in delivering his or her thoughts from the introduction to the body, and finally, formulating a conclusion.
This is also the stage where you’ll need to think of a creative title, heading, and subheadings. A title is important because it helps the writer to concentrate his or her thoughts on a specific topic. Usually, topics are broad and general. To make a specific topic, you’ll need to make your title specific.
For example, the topic is about dogs. You may list down several ideas and concepts about dogs. But as you can see, it is very general and it may be complicated for you to write something about dogs. However, you can create a title such as Why is Hachiko such a popular dog in Japan? or What are the differences between Pekingese and Shih Tzu dog breeds?
Writing a specific title will help you to compose an essay properly and it trims down the concepts and thoughts about the topic. It also gives your composition a sense of direction.
5. Focus on the Key Points
Learn how to concentrate on the topic and title. Do not exaggerate the contents and use your references as your resources in writing your essay. Make sure to summarize the key points from the research that you did in step 3.
For the best tip, use positive and convincing words to express your thoughts and emotions. Just be natural and write in accordance with your experiences and research.
Be objective if the content is about a serious and non-fiction-based topic. On the other hand, be subjective if the content pertains to personal and fiction-based topics. Usually, the essay is subjective when the professor asks you to write a reflection paper or reaction paper.
Familiarize yourself with the parts and figures of speech to make your writing creative and interactive. Do not use too many difficult words unless it is necessary. Use simple and easy-to-understand words in your writing.
6. Proofread and Revise
As the last step, always proofread your work. If you find some words or phrases confusing, either remove or change them. Use the best tools and applications to support your writing such as Grammarly checker, plagiarism checker, or readability tests.
Make sure to put yourself as a reader and assess whether you can able to understand the content. If everything looks perfect, well congratulations on your essay! You did a great job! Well done!
6 Useful Tips On Essay Writing
When you write an essay, your critical thinking and capability to express your thoughts in an academic written form are assessed. Therefore, the markers of your essay will always ask themselves questions such as:
- Is this essay organized properly regarding the introduction, body, and conclusion?
- Are the references used relevant and used appropriately?
- Does it address and focus on the topic?
- Is the writing clear, and is the used style appropriate?
- Is the position taken strong, and is it supported enough to be taken into consideration?
When you write, you can take these questions into consideration. In addition, here are some writing tips on how to do well in essay writing and are writing tips for secondary school and university students.
1. Analyze the question
The first thing you should do is to analyze the question because you must know what is being asked of you. You must know the following:
- Key concepts that are related to the question
- The scope of the topic is concentrated
- What do you should about the topic ( analyze, compare, evaluate, discuss, etc.)
2. Formulate the thesis statement
This is the central argument that you should define and signal your position related to the topic.
This is the most important thing and must carry the overall solution to the problem. You can put it in the first paragraph of your essay and refer to it a few times in the essay and confirm it once again at the end of the conclusion.
3. Provide concrete evidence and scholarship
You must support your claim with concrete evidence such as statistics, illustrations, quotations, and some specific facts and examples. You should also use reasoning to evaluate the evidence and to explain how it supports your thesis and central argument. In addition, citing specific works related to the topic can also be used as support to your argument, evidence, and reasoning.
4. Organize the structure
The essays have three main components:
- Introduction
- Body
- Conclusion
5. Clearly state your arguments and facts
First thing, in the introduction, your argument and main points should be clearly stated. The transitions between the main points should be clearly signposted, and the road map from the introduction should match the structure.
6. Check the citations at the end and proofread the text
When you complete the writing, check the citations included once again to ensure they are accurate. Check the format used and do the proofreading and editing if needed.
How Long An Essay Should Be?
The word count of the essay you write depends on your tutor, course, subject, and on your educational level. However, it is generally shorter than dissertations and research papers, and usually, the word count is given on the assignment sheet. Typically it ranges between 300 to 500 words, or a particular number of pages may be given (3 or 4 pages). Whenever you have doubts about the length of the essay you are writing, you should consult your tutor.
8 Ways To Improve Your Writing Skills Instantly
When writing an essay, you tend to develop your writing skills. No matter the type of essay or its purpose, you should develop certain skills so that your writing can be effective to hit the mark.
1. Narrow your topic
When you write an essay on a certain topic, it means that you are not free to write whatever you like. When you narrow your topic, you choose the specific thesis you are going to expose in your writing and find the relevant facts to prove your arguments and stated facts. It will also help you to stick to the point and avoid stating too much information and succeed in conveying the main idea.
2. Always use transitions between paragraphs.
When your paragraphs look like separate texts, it is the wrong approach to writing. Instead, the structure of your essay should be coherent and smooth, and you can use some phrases to connect the ideas between paragraphs such as:
Regarding this…
With regards to this…
To put it briefly…
As it has been noted…
Despite the previous arguments…
3. Organize your thoughts
This is a very important skill in the writing process. Writing in a good structure is essential to conveying the message concisely and clearly. Putting your ideas rationally and consistently that naturally goes from one point to another is the essence of writing and the main skill when it comes to writing. It is very important to keep your paper in good order.
4. Writing the introduction and conclusion is important
Writing a good introduction is important to hook the reader and make them ready for the arguments and thesis you will speak about in the essay. It is a basic work for everything, and the reader should know when, why, who, what, how, and why of the topic before the actual augmenting begins.
In conclusion, you should sum up the ideas, but it should also motivate the reader to develop their own opinion about the topic. It should somehow connect you and your reader and the discussed topic.
5. Use simple sentences
Complicated sentences may always confuse the reader and the marker who grades your essay. In addition, they may increase the risk of more stylistic and grammar mistakes.
6. Use some advanced vocabulary
When writing an essay, although the primary goal is to convey the knowledge of the main topic, the other relevant thing is showing your language expertise, especially if you are a university student. Of course, you can always replace some basic vocabulary with more advanced ones to shade the meaning and to show you have progressed with your vocabulary.
7. Write error-free and be meticulous
Nothing is perfect, but you should tend to be when writing an essay. Polish your writing until you can’t find even the tiniest mistake made. If you write at home, you can even ask someone to proofread your writing and check the typos and mistakes.
8. Choose the writing style and language
The first impression the essay makes comes from your style. The markers and your professor will look at the structure of the essay when they see it for the first time. The language used also indicates your ability to express yourself vividly and clearly, analyze and research the topic and prove your opinion.
3 Tips On Writing Descriptive Essay
When you write a descriptive essay, this essay’s goal is to vividly present sensory details to the reader. Vivid deceptions make the essay more impressive and more persuasive. Descriptive writing boosts imagination and visualization, so to be successful, give a more detailed depiction and pay attention to the tiniest details about the appearance of the thing you are describing.
What are sensory details?
Sensory details are related to texture, smell, taste, sight, and sound. What you should actually do is to “‘ show “words rather than “tell”. If you try to say something with words, you end up being vague and ambiguous, and they can be interpreted differently. When you “show” words, you use some specific details and make suggestions to the reader about certain things.
1. Vivid nouns, adjectives, and verbs
Use vivid adjectives, nouns, and verbs, and try to avoid clichés.
You can also use appropriate metaphors, contrasts, and comparatives, but try not to be very confusing and surreal. Just stick always to your thesis and the general idea you want to convey. Try to use adjectives that use your purpose, but do not overuse them. Maybe you can use a quote or a brief anecdote in your introduction to make it more interesting.
In conclusion, you should state why the description is important for you and for the reader and give some possible other notes on the subject.
2. Display passion
Your readers should empathize and feel your passion for the thing you are writing. Use language that conveys different feelings, such as disgust, hate, and love, and do it with intensity. Make them know what you feel about the text.
3. Use your imagination
Be imaginative, but do not go astray. Your reader needs a picture in front of his eyes so he can instantly visualize what you are describing and to draw in the reader so he can empathize with the things described in the text.
6 Tips On Writing Contest- Winning Essays
Essay competitions are a great opportunity to write a great essay and sometimes can bring you prizes such as scholarships or money. There is no magical formula to help you and guarantee that you will win, but there are several ways that can make your writing stand out.
1. Read the competition rules
The most important thing is your essay to enter the competition, but there are some specific instructions that you have to follow. You need to pay attention to the deadline, word count, and all other specific given instructions, or your essay will be disqualified. You must be careful not to submit your essay when the deadline is passed.
2. Brainstorm essay ideas
You probably will have a topic to write about, and it is very important to stick to it. You can think about this particular theme and write down several ideas, but avoid going off-topic. For example, if you write about a person that has influenced you the most, write down several names, but choose the one that you can describe the most.
3. Make an outline or short draft
In the beginning, you can make a short draft that includes all the main points. You can also plan all the details and citations and organize all your thoughts.
4. Write something about yourself
Essays are a great way to convey something about yourself and your feelings but without going overboard into hyperbole or overly sentimental. The reader should be moved by your story and convinced about the theme and the arguments.
5. Write a good introduction
You can start with a quotation, answer, or anecdote to hook the readers and induce them to keep on reading. Some markers or professors may even mark the essay just by reading the first two sentences, so try to be your best in the beginning.
6. Revise and proofread the essay thoroughly
In the end, you must make sure the punctuation is correct, and if possible, find another person (a friend or a family member) to read over the essay because writing errors are not acceptable at competitions.
Essay Writing Online – Find An Professional Essay Writer Online
When faced with difficulties in writing your essay and you haven’t fully understood the assignment and guidelines, you might need professional help. You can find yourself in a situation when you worry that you will miss the deadline, so you can find a professional essay assistant online that can fit any kind of writing you might have. They can even rewrite your written essay to look smoother and to find the right words to convey some new ideas or proofread and edit your essay.
Ana Miller is a creative writer. Her topics of interest and expertise range from psychology to all sorts of disciplines such as science and news.