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don't write your essay in the last minute

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don't write your essay in the last minute

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write down everything you can think of and then remove the unnecessary parts

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write down everything you can think of and then remove the unnecessary parts

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An essay is a common type of academic writing that you'll likely be asked to do in multiple classes. Before you start writing your essay, make sure you understand the details of the assignment so that you know how to approach the essay and what your focus should be. Once you've chosen a topic, do some research and narrow down the main argument(s) you'd like to make. From there, you'll need to write an outline and flesh out your essay, which should consist of an introduction, body, and conclusion. After your essay is drafted, spend some time revising it to ensure your writing is as strong as possible.

1. Read your assignment carefully. The style, structure, and focus of your essay will vary depending on the type of essay you are writing. If you've been assigned to write an essay for a class, review the assignment carefully and look for information about the nature of the essay. A few common types of essays include:[1]

The compare/contrast essay, which focuses on analyzing the similarities and differences between 2 things, such as ideas, people, events, places, or works of art.

The narrative essay, which tells a story.

The argumentative essay, in which the writer uses evidence and examples to convince the reader of their point of view.

The critical or analytical essay, which examines something (such as a text or work of art) in detail. This type of essay may attempt to answer specific questions about the subject or focus more generally on its meaning.

The informative essay, that educates the reader about a topic.

2. Check for formatting and style requirements. If you're writing an essay for a class or a publication, there may be specific formatting and style requirements you need to follow. Read your assignment carefully to make sure you understand requirements such as:

How long your essay should be

Which citation style to use

Formatting requirements, such as margin size, line spacing, and font size and type

Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014.

Christopher Taylor, PhD
English Professor

Christopher Taylor, Professor of English, tells us: "Most essays will contain an introduction, a body or discussion portion, and a conclusion. When assigned a college essay, make sure to check the specific structural conventions related to your essay genre, your field of study, and your professor's expectations."

Make notes as you do your research. As you're researching your topic, keep detailed notes about relevant information, ideas that interest you, and questions that you need to explore further. If you plan to use any of the information that you find in your paper, write down detailed citation information. This will allow you to find the information again and cite it properly.

You might find it helpful to write your notes down on individual note cards or enter them into a text document on your computer so you can easily copy, paste, and rearrange them however you like.

Try organizing your notes into different categories so you can identify specific ideas you'd like to focus on. For example, if you're analyzing a short story, you might put all your notes on a particular theme or character together.

1. Present your argument(s) in detail. Working from your outline, write a series of paragraphs addressing each of the major points you'd like to make. Each paragraph should contain a topic sentence, which is like a miniature thesis-it briefly explains the main point you are trying to make with your paragraph. Follow up your topic sentence with a few concrete examples to support your point.

For example, your topic sentence might be something like, "Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories are among the many literary influences apparent in P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves novels." You could then back this up by quoting a passage that contains a reference to Sherlock Holmes.

Try to show how the arguments in each paragraph link back to the main thesis of your essay.

2. Use transition sentences between paragraphs. Your essay will flow better if you build connections or smooth transitions between your arguments. Try to find logical ways to link each paragraph or topic to the one before or after.

When creating transitions, transitional phrases can be helpful. For example, use words and phrases such as "In addition," "Therefore," "Similarly," "Subsequently," or "As a result."

For example, if you've just discussed the use of color to create contrast in a work of art, you might start the next paragraph with, "In addition to color, the artist also uses different line weights to distinguish between the more static and dynamic figures in the scene."

3. properly. If you plan to use someone else's ideas or information that you got from another source, you will need to credit the source of your information. This is true whether you're quoting another source directly or simply summarizing or paraphrasing their words or ideas.

The way you cite your sources will vary depending on the citation style you're using. Typically, you'll need to include the name of the author, the title and publication date of the source, and location information such as the page number on which the information appears.

In general, you don't need to cite common knowledge. For example, if you say, "A zebra is a type of mammal," you probably won't need to cite a source.

If you've cited any sources in the essay, you'll need to include a list of works cited (or a bibliography) at the end.

1. after finishing your first draft. After drafting your essay, it's a good idea to take some time away from it. That way, you can come back to it and look at it again with a fresh perspective. If possible, take 1-2 days before you look at it again.

If you don't have time to spend a couple of days away from your essay, at least take a few hours to relax or work on something else.

2. Read over your draft to check for obvious problems. When you're ready to work on your essay again, first read it over to look for any major problems. You might find it helpful to read the essay out loud since your ears can pick up on things your eyes might miss. If you spot anything, make a note of it, but don't try to fix it right away. Look out for issues such as:

Excessive wordiness

Points that aren't explained enough

Tangents or unnecessary information

Unclear transitions or illogical organization

Spelling, grammar, style, and formatting problems

Inappropriate language or tone (e.g., slang or informal language in an academic essay)

3. Correct any major problems you find. Once you've read over your essay, go through and edit it. When you're done, go back over the essay again to make sure it flows well and that there aren't any problems you missed.

You might have to cut material from your essay in some places and add new material to others.

You might also end up reordering some of the content of the essay if you think that helps it flow better.

4. Tip: If possible, have someone else check your work. When you've been looking at your writing for too long, your brain begins to fill in what it expects to see rather than what's there, making it harder for you to spot mistakes.

Add New Question

How do you begin an essay?

Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014.

Begin your essay by narrowing your topic, researching your topic, taking notes, and brainstorming your ideas.

What is the format of an essay?

Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014.

Different essay genres can have different formats. Make sure to check the specific conventions of your essay genre with your professor.

What is an essay?

Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014.

A college essay is a formal writing assignment that can take many forms. Persuasive, descriptive, analytical, expository, and personal are examples of types of college essays.

See more answers

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD and by wikiHow staff writer, Megaera Lorenz, PhD. Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. This article has been viewed 7,621,344 times.

If you need to write an essay, start by gathering information from reputable sources, like books from the library or scholarly journals online. Take detailed notes and keep track of which facts come from which sources. As you're taking notes, look for a central theme that you're interested in writing about to create your thesis statement. Then, organize your notes into an outline that supports and explains your thesis statement. Working from your outline, write an introduction and subsequent paragraphs to address each major point. Start every paragraph with a topic sentence that briefly explains the main point of that paragraph. Finally, finish your paper with a strong conclusion that sums up the most important points. For tips from our English Professor co-author on helpful revision techniques, keep reading!

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 7,621,344 times.

Muhammad Talha Javaid

"Amazing and helpful article.These days, essay writing is required by high school and college grads, no matter the field of study. If you follow the format presented above, it will help you write a compelling and engaging essay." ..." more

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