Do you ever feel overwhelmed when a teacher assigns an essay? Is there a sense of dread or reluctancy to begin because you aren’t sure how to? Does it feel like your mind goes into chaos-mode when you sit down to type it up, leading to you feeling stuck?

Don’t worry, this is quite common, and I have some tips that may help you out regardless of the type of essay that you need to write!

As a senior wrapping up my BA in English, I can safely say that I’ve written my fair share of papers and have learned quite a lot from the process. So, whether you’re a brand new student starting out in the world of academic composition or are a seasoned scholar, read ahead if you’d like to boost your grade while avoiding some of the pitfalls that I encountered!

PHASE ONE - THE PREP WORK

1. Give Yourself Plenty of Time to Complete the Assignment

I know, I know—I sound like a real nag by starting off this list by telling you not to put off your essay until last minute. It seems like a “no duh” tip, doesn’t it? But just hear me out: this is actually an imperative step to writing a paper that you’re not only satisfied with, but are also proud to turn in to your instructor.

I’m not suggesting that you need to stretch this assignment out to the point that it becomes wearisome and tedious, I’m just proposing that you at least try to give yourself an entire week. If you don’t have a week or you’re someone who doesn’t like to start projects too early because you work best under the pressure of an impending deadline, try to give yourself 3 days at the very least. Don’t try to cram it all into one miserable, hectic afternoon, because that won’t give you the results you’re looking for and isn’t good for you in the long-run.

2. Review the Assignment’s Instructions, Guidelines, & Rubric

Start by reviewing any instructions, guidelines, and/or grading rubrics available to you so you can get an idea of what’s expected of you and what you need to accomplish by the end of the assignment.

This starts you off focused for the task at hand, and it’ll help to have this information in mind to keep you on-topic throughout the writing process.

While reading through the instructions, highlight the most important pieces so they’ll be easier to find later when looking back to check requirements.

Highlight details such as. . .

• Due dates

• Page length/word count requirements

• Formatting details (such as typeface, font size, document structure, etc.)

• The main idea of the assignment/what is specifically being asked of you

Whatever information seems important to you, highlight it!

Also, when you’re reviewing the assignment’s instructions, keep a pen/pencil handy in order to jot down notes, thoughts, and ideas as you’re going. Even if the thought doesn’t seem useful to you at the time, write it down anyways—you never know if it’ll come in handy later!

3. Stuck? Brainstorm for Ideas!

If you’ve reviewed the material and still aren’t exactly sure how you’ll approach the assignment, try brainstorming!

Even if you’re not stuck, this step helps you get your ideas on the page without having to worry about structure or making sense to anybody but yourself.

Another benefit of brainstorming is priming your brain with the topic so you’ll be far more likely to go into the assignment focused and ready to tackle writing about the subject.

To brainstorm, try making lists, creating mental maps, freewriting a block of random text on the subject, spreading sticky notes of ideas across the wall - whatever helps you get those ideas out! Get creative and you’ll be well on your way to a breakthrough!

4. Outline Your Essay

To help with the composition process and keep you on track, try taking the time to outline your entire paper instead of jumping right in without a plan of action.

See the image below for an example outline in a format that I always find useful—it might seem pretty basic, but it’s beneficial to start off this way so you’ll always know what comes next, meaning you’ll be much less likely to get stuck along the way.

Bonus Tip: If you’re a very visual person, try color-coding your sections (such as in the example above) to keep you organized!

PHASE TWO - WRITING THE ESSAY

5. Save the Conclusion (& Introduction) Until the Very End

This tip alone has saved me so much time and strife, so I knew I had to include it in this list.

Although you may be tempted to begin writing your essay with the literal beginning of your paper (i.e., the introduction), it’s actually best to leave that as one of the last things you write.

Think of it this way: how are you supposed to introduce something that doesn’t even exist yet? The reality of the situation is that you won’t know what to introduce until you’ve written it, so save the introduction and conclusion for the end while also saving yourself from unnecessary frustration!

6. Let Yourself Suck

It’s not realistic to approach writing with an expectation of composing a perfectly polished final copy the first go around, which is something I used to be guilty of doing.

After reading Anne Lamott’s wonderful book titled Bird by Bird, I’ve come to understand the importance of giving myself a little bit of freedom to be bad at first—it’s what has improved my writing astronomically over the years. In fact, I’ve grown to fondly refer to my first go at any writing piece as my “shit draft”—meaning I know it’s shit, and that’s okay.

Think of your first draft like a rough sketch of a drawing: you’re just getting the basic lines (or ideas) down, and you’ll come back later to add more detail and round it out until it’s the drawing you set out to create (or essay).

As Lamott suggests, give yourself permission to be bad when writing the first draft of your essay, and try to keep in mind that it’s not going to be anywhere near perfect when just beginning.

By allowing yourself to suck, you’re taking away the pressure that may stall your progress, and you’re at least getting something down. It may not be great, but you can make it that way later when you’re writing your next draft. You’ll get there eventually, promise!

If you’re interested, you can find Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird here

*Note: I don’t make any commission if you click the link or decide to purchase the book, I’m simply a huge fan of Lamott's work!

7. Clean It Up

Now that you have your “shit draft” finished, you’ll want to clean it up and round out your ideas until you’ve completed a final copy you’re happy with.

To help with this process, make an entirely new document and work paragraph by paragraph so it’s not too overwhelming. And don’t be afraid to make more than just two drafts—create as many drafts as you need until you’re satisfied with the end product!

Although this step feels as if it should have much more to it considering this is what takes up a majority of the time when composing an essay, it’s unfortunately the case that there’s not much more advice I can give you aside from this: be patient with yourself and the process, and whatever you do, just keep writing.

PHASE THREE - FINALIZING YOUR ESSAY

8. Edit, Edit, and Edit Some More!

So you’ve finished writing your essay—congratulations! However, you’re not done just yet because you still have some editing to do.

To approach this process, try giving yourself an extended break from the essay so when you return to it, you’re looking at it with fresh eyes. An entire day is best, but a few hours of doing something else should do the trick if you don’t have a whole day.

Not only should you be reading for content to ensure everything makes sense, but you should also be paying attention to the little details: grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc.

9. Ask for Feedback

A new set of eyes can catch some things that you might not have seen otherwise, which means asking someone for feedback is setting you up for an even stronger final product!

Some schools offer writing help, which can be useful at any stage of your essay-writing process. However, they also offer help with editing and proofreading, so check out your institution to see what they offer.

If your school doesn’t offer those resources or if you don’t have enough time to book an appointment with them, then try seeking help from someone else. Whether it be a trusted peer, a friend, a sibling, or maybe even a parent, you can probably find someone who’s willing to proofread your paper and provide useful feedback.

10. Make Your Final Checks

So you’ve completed the essay and are ready to submit? Before you do, take the time to go through one last run through of your work to ensure you’ve met all of the assignment’s requirements! You’d hate to lose any points on something that could’ve easily been fixed, so take a few minutes to review the final draft just one last time.

Here’s a checklist that may help you with the final review:

• Cover/Title Page (if applicable)

• Abstract (if applicable)

• Heading (according to the assigned style guide)

• Title

• Introduction that includes a well-developed and apparent thesis

• Proper format throughout the paper:

  • Did you double space the paper?

  • Indentations?

  • Citations?

  • Quotation usage?

  • Page numbers?

  • Running Headers/Footers?

• Conclusion that rephrases thesis and offers a satisfying end to paper

• Did you reach the minimum page requirement? Exceed the maximum?

• Works Cited/Reference Page:

  • Titled?

  • Alphabetized?

  • Properly formatted entries?

  • Do all of your sources appear in the paper at least once?

Just to be safe, you should also check the guidelines and rubric to ensure that you’ve completed the assignment according to the instructor’s requirements, just so you can ensure you’ll be getting as many points as possible.

Now You’re Ready to Turn It In!

And there you have it, 10 (hopefully) easy tips to help with essay writing!

Let me know what you thought of the tips in the comments. Also, please feel free to share any advice that you’ve discovered during your academic career!

Questions? Leave those in the comments and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible!