Writing a good essay can be a time-consuming task.
It’s also not an easy one, which often leads to procrastination and even burnout.
However, this is still one of the most popular assignment types in college.
Try using these five techniques to save time writing your essay without sacrificing quality.
1. Brainstorming Technique
You’ve probably heard of writer’s block or something called blank page anxiety.
If not, then you are a rare person who is capable of producing the whole essay once you sit at the desk.
It also means that you probably don’t need this article.
For other people just like me, I recommend planning prewriting before going deeper into your assignment.
You can set your timer to 15 minutes and just write down everything that comes to mind when you think about the topic of your essay.
15 minutes is less scary than two hours, so you are less likely to procrastinate.
Also, while brainstorming, you don’t care about the quality of your writing.
The ideas can come in a chaotic stream of consciousness.
Later, your brain will aspire to systemize it and create a well-structured outline.
Define the questions that you have for the moment and focus on them while doing your research.
2. Deductive Technique
When you are looking for the sources to back up your arguments, the top-down logic can save you plenty of time.
You’ve probably heard that Wikipedia is not considered a credible source, and the chances are high that you are not allowed to list it on a citations page.
However, no one forbids you to use it to do surface research and, what is more important, to borrow some high-quality sources.
Check the bibliography at the bottom to see where you can look for specific information.
You can do the same with books and articles on general topics.
They may contain very little information on your particular topic, but they contain citations you can benefit from.
3. Pomodoro Technique
Divide your work into a few smaller chunks with the help of the Pomodoro technique.
A rumor has it, a student named Francesco Cirillo invented it in the 1980s.
He was using a tomato-shaped kitchen timer to do more in less time, which resulted in the name of a world-famous technique.
While planning your essay, choose the task or a set of small tasks that will not exceed 25 minutes each (for example, reading through 2 articles and writing down the quotes).
After the time’s over, take a short break.
It is highly recommended that your next Pomodoro would be devoted to something else.
Then, you can come back to your essay, and so on. In the end, you will not be stressed by the idea that you have to do a big project in one sitting.
4. Anti-Perfectionism
Perfectionism pushes you to deliver your best job every single time, which is naturally impossible and, thus, quite intimidating.
You can overcome it by creating an awful first draft.
Don’t be afraid to do so. Believe me, journalists and writers do not type a high-quality article in one sitting.
You can ask any professional writer working for paperwritingservice.com or other similar platforms.
Again, you will spend less effort on editing your draft than on trying to give it all at once.
Look at technique #3 to learn how to divide your work and avoid massive stress.
5. Principle of Least Effort
If you have additional tools that will make the job quicker, do hesitate to use them.
For your bibliography, you can use citation generators such as Cite This For Me or Citation Machine instead of doing it manually.
Many open sources are already added there, so you won’t need to head to the library again if you forgot to check the number of pages of the book you used.
As for the sources in general, try skimming the basic information before going deeper into the reading.
It is very likely that the information in different sources is repetitive.
Don’t be afraid of “stealing” the sources from the bibliography of pieces of research or Wikipedia pages. Finally, avoid using fancy words.
They won’t make your essay look better or smarter.
You will not only have to look up their meaning, but they will also make your writing less smooth.
After you have finished, it is always necessary to proofread your essay several times.
If it is possible, ask different people to read your final draft. It can be a parent, friend, or classmate.
You get to read your essay for the first time only once, which means you can’t be entirely objective when you reread your work.
Check if you are not going off-topic. Make sure that the main issue of your essay is well addressed and supported by evidence. Good luck!