Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 3: Preparing to work on your essay
• Part 2 of 3: Working on an essay with an unlimited amount of time
• Part 3 of 3: Preparing an essay in a limited amount of time
• Tips

Sometimes it is required to write a good essay in a limited amount of time, for example, on the second part of the unified state exam in Russian at school.In other cases, time may be limited simply due to the fact that you put off your homework until the last moment or remembered an essay or essay at the very last moment. Despite the fact that a hastily written essay will almost never compare to the essay to which you spend more time, quickly composing a decent text is a completely doable task. With the right approach to planning and a fair amount of hard work, you can always write a relatively good (or pretty decent) essay, even in a short amount of time.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Preparing to work on your essay

1. 1 Make a work plan. Think about how much time you have to write an essay, and, based on this, make a work plan. This will help you decide how much time to devote to each stage of preparing an essay, and will also allow you to keep yourself within strict limits in the process of working on the assignment.
   • When developing your plan, be honest about your own strengths and weaknesses. For example, if you are good at gathering the information you need, but not so good at composing and editing your own text, allow less time to research the topic, but devote more time to editing the essay.
   • Be sure to take breaks from work so that you have the opportunity to refresh your head and invigorate.
   • An approximate one-day work plan for an essay might look like this:
   • 8:00 - 9:30 - Consideration of the main question of the essay and the arguments for the chosen topic.
   • 9:30 - 9:45 - Short break.
   • 10:00 - 12:00 - Gathering information for research on the topic.
   • 12:00 - 13:00 - Preparation of the composition plan.
   • 13:00 - 14:00 - Lunch break.
   • 14:00 - 19:00 - Work on the composition.
   • 19:00 - 20:00 - Dinner break.
   • 20:00 - 22:30 - Improvement and editing of the text of the essay.
   • 22:30 - 23:00 - Preparation of the final version of the essay for delivery.
2. 2 Think about the purpose of your essay. Probably, the teacher has already asked you a specific topic of the essay, but even if this is not the case, you should first think about the main purpose of the essay, and only then start collecting arguments on the chosen topic. It is this preliminary preparation of various ideas that will not only guide you on the path of further information gathering, but will also help to speed up the work.
   • Make sure you yourself understand your goal! If you prepare a summary text instead of "analysis", you are unlikely to be given a good grade.
   • If you don't have a specific topic, think about what really interests you, and only then choose a topic for yourself. When working on a topic that interests you, you have a better chance of writing a good essay.
3. 3 Prepare your case or thesis statement on the topic. Arguments and theses are those your statements that you will substantiate in your essay with the help of certain evidence and analysis. Prepare your own reasons to build your research on the topic and speed up the writing process.
   • If your knowledge of the topic is not very broad, it may be difficult for you to develop your own arguments. But even in this case, they need to be prepared, and then, on the basis of the research carried out, confirm or refute the provisions that you wanted to state.
   • A good technique for quickly finding out the main purpose of the essay and the reasons for it is to write for yourself the following: "I am studying (specify the chosen topic), because I want to know (specify what you want to know) in order to demonstrate (provide a list of reasons here)" ...
   • For example: "I am studying medieval witch trials because I want to know what kind of evidence the lawyers of those times operated on in such cases, in order to demonstrate how those events influenced modern medicine and jurisprudence."
   • To make your essay or essay more convincing, be sure to consider the counterarguments as well.
4. 4 Do your own research on a topic to study it. You should strategically study a topic to find evidence and evidence that will help substantiate your case and form the basis of your essay. There are many different types of information sources for research, ranging from online magazines and newspaper archives to primary library sources.
   • Since you are limited in time, concentrate on researching information from one or two locations. For example, your local library and the Internet will have many different resources to offer you.
   • Be sure to check the reliability of the information sources you choose, such as relying on expert publications in magazines, government and educational websites, and professionally produced official newspapers and magazines. Do not use information from personal blogs, obviously biased sources, and sources without professional competence.
   • You can use the data you already know to speed up your research. Just find a (reliable) source of information to back them up and include in your materials.
   • Researching a topic online beforehand can direct you to suitable library sources (books and magazine articles). You can also find links to relevant Internet sources, including archives of newspaper articles or research material on your topic.
   • If you decide to use the book, “browse” it to quickly familiarize yourself with the contents and move on to exploring other sources. To “skim” the book, take a quick glance at the introduction and conclusion to identify the main reasons, and then find the more detailed information you need in the main text to use it as evidence.
   • Write down the names of the sources you used. This list will serve as a confirmation that you have actually studied the topic, and will also allow you to properly link to the author of the idea that you decided to use. This is especially important if you are going to quote verbatim. It also makes it easier for you to design footnotes and (if required) bibliography without having to go back to re-examining the sources.
5. 5 Make an essay plan. Prepare an essay plan in order to build the text of your work on its basis. Structuring the text according to the plan and supplementing it with the necessary evidence will simplify and speed up the work on the essay. Also, with a plan, it will be easier for you to identify those parts of the text that require better elaboration.
   • Structure your outline exactly the way you will write an essay: include the introduction, main text, and conclusion.
   • The more detailed the plan is, the faster you will write your essay. For example, instead of marking the main text of an essay with one paragraph, break it down into subparagraphs or sentences that represent your main reasons and the evidence supporting them.

Part 2 of 3: Working on an essay with an unlimited amount of time

1. 1 Give yourself a certain amount of time to work. Allocating yourself a specific amount of time will help you get the job done faster, as you will strive to stay within that framework. Prepare your workplace in such a way that nothing distracts you while writing and you can safely complete the task.
   • Nothing hinders the successful completion of an essay like hanging out on the Internet or watching cartoons on TV for eight hours. So turn off your TV, turn on mute on your phone, and log out of Facebook or other social networks and chats.
   • Before getting started, make sure you have all the materials you have collected at your fingertips. Having to get up for a book, notes, or a sandwich will take up valuable time.
2. 2 Write an effective introduction. The title of this part of the essay speaks for itself: the introduction explains to the reader what will be discussed further in the text. It should grab, catch the reader's attention, making him want to familiarize himself with the subsequent text.
   • The most important part of the introduction is your main argument or thesis statement. With its help, you will let the reader understand what point of view you will defend further in your essay.
   • Start with a hook that grabs the reader's attention, then present an important argument along with a few supporting facts woven into your story. Conclude the introduction with a brief explanation of how you intend to demonstrate and validate your point.
   • For example, a catchy start might look like this: "They say that Napoleon had a complex due to his small stature, but in fact his height was average for the time when he lived."
   • Sometimes it is more convenient to write an introduction when the main text of the essay is ready, and you already understand well how to best present your topic and arguments to the reader.
   • There is a good rule of thumb that the introduction should not exceed 10% of the text of the entire essay. In other words, if your essay spans five pages of text, your introduction shouldn't take more than one paragraph.
3. 3 Write the main text of your essay. The body copy should include essential information that supports your main thesis or argument. Analyzing two or three main points will strengthen your arguments and increase the overall length of the text.
   • Select and analyze two or three main points to support your main point or thesis. If there are fewer of them, then you will not have enough evidence in favor of your arguments, and with a large number of issues being considered, you will not be able to work through them all deeply enough.
   • Try to concisely state all the evidence in favor of your point of view. Wandering around in vague explanations around the bush will cost you valuable time.
   • Support your point of view with the testimonials that you gathered while studying the topic. Necessarily clear explainhow this evidence will support your claims!
   • If you are not limited by the size of the essay, select the main key point for yourself and do an in-depth study to present a thorough analysis of your point of view in the text.
4. 4 Write as clearly as possible. If you are faced with the task of quickly writing an essay, use simple sentences without complex grammatical structures - this will greatly simplify the whole process. Plus, with this approach, you're less likely to use florid language where you don't really need it.
   • When writing an essay, don't overload your sentences. Text with bulky, complex and complex sentences, excessive use of the passive voice and paragraphs that do not develop your reasoning will be a waste of time that could be more efficiently spent on work and its further editing.
5. 5 To optimize your time, allow yourself to write on a whim. It's easier to prepare a rough draft of the text and then edit it than to try to write the perfect text right away. By allowing yourself to freely express your thoughts, you are guaranteed to get a certain text that can be brought into proper form during further editing.
   • Free writing will not allow you to stumble over a lack of understanding how to express something. Even if you are having difficulty getting the idea right, write it down as soon as you can so you can come back to it later.
6. 6 Write a conclusion. By analogy with the introduction, the title of this part of the essay speaks for itself: the conclusion allows you to bring your story to an end.It should summarize your main points and leave a strong reading impression on the reader.
   • The conclusion should also be relatively short. Make sure that it does not exceed 5-10% of the total volume of the essay.
   • Try to make the conclusion more than a simple paraphrase of the theses and the evidence used. Here you can point out the limitations of your arguments, suggest directions for further exploration of the issue, or expand the importance of the topic considered.
   • In the same way that you hooked the reader with an effective introduction, close the conclusion with a sentence that will make a lasting impression on the reader.
7. 7 Edit the essay and correct any errors found. An essay cannot be considered good if it contains mistakes. Final text editing and error correction will save your hastily completed essay from obvious flaws. In addition, it is important to correct and edit the text so that it creates a good impression on the reader.
   • Reread your essay completely. Make sure that at the end of the text you are supporting the same point of view that was stated at the beginning. Otherwise, go back to work and correct the original thesis.
   • Make sure that all paragraphs flow from one another and do not seem like a random clutter of text. To link paragraphs together, you can use connecting phrases and linking thematic sentences.
   • Correcting spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors will be the easiest, but if you don't, your essay will noticeably lose its attractiveness in the eyes of the reader.

Part 3 of 3: Preparing an essay in a limited amount of time

1. 1 Make an essay plan. While you may only have a few hours to complete your essay, taking a few minutes to plan right at the start will help you get the most out of your work.
   • Read the assignment carefully! If you are asked to express your opinion, define your point of view. If you need to give your own assessment of events (for example, those that led to the flourishing of Russian literature of the 19th century), you do not need to limit yourself to a simple listing of the historical facts of that time.
   • Sketch out a list of ideas. You may not have time to come up with a clear plan. However, having a list of the main questions that you want to touch on and understanding their relationship will help you structure your essay. If you are not sure how the ideas you have highlighted are related, this is a sign that you need to think a little more about them before you start the main work.
   • Decide on your main reasons. After preparing the main questions that you are going to address, think about what you can share about them. Even when working within a strictly allotted time frame, your essay must necessarily contain a unique generalizing argument or thesis.
2. 2 Plan the time you have at your disposal strategically. If you have several questions to answer in your essay, set aside sufficient time for each of them. It is also a good idea to become familiar with the principles of how the teacher grades an essay and to find out what influences the assessment of work the most.
   • For example, you don’t need to spend the same amount of time covering an unimportant three-paragraph question and covering a major two-page question that will play a decisive role in evaluating your essay.
   • If you have to answer a difficult enough question in an essay, it is a good idea to deal with it first. This will allow you to overcome your biggest difficulties with a fresh head.
3. 3 Remove excess "water". Oftentimes, students approach the main point by spending an entire paragraph on meaningless generalizations.In particular, when writing an essay within a strictly allotted time frame, it is very important to immediately state your main arguments and evidence in their favor. Spending too much time on the introduction will take away more valuable time from working on the main text.
   • If you notice that your introductory paragraph begins with something too general (for example, with the phrase "Since ancient times, people have been fascinated by science ..."), shorten it by removing all unnecessary things.
   • When you are limited in time, do not include anything in the essay that does not support your point of view. If you are writing about the importance of religious belief in modern society, do not stray from the topic by mentioning socialism, the film industry, or agricultural practices.
4. 4 Explain the relationship between your claims and the evidence in their favor. A common problem with many student essays is that students often cite testimonies without explaining how they relate to their statements. Be sure to follow the RLO rule (statement, proof, explanation) when preparing each paragraph of the text.
   • Statement. This is the main reason for your paragraph. You will likely include your argument in the main thematic sentence of the paragraph that explains its main idea.
   • Proof. Proof is detailed information that supports your claim.
   • Explanation. Explaining creates a link between the statement and the evidence and explains why the evidence proves exactly what you are talking about.
   • If a paragraph does not correspond to at least one of these elements, this indicates its insignificance for the text of the essay.
5. 5 Save yourself time to edit the text and check the work. Even if you are limited in time, it is necessary to provide time for finalizing the draft copy of the text. This includes not only the correction of spelling and other minor errors. Reread the entire text of the essay.
   • Have you been able to demonstrate and confirm the argument that is contained in your main thesis? It often happens that a new idea develops directly while writing. If this is the case, adjust your main message accordingly.
   • Does each successive paragraph follow from the previous one? Despite the fact that the criteria for evaluating an essay that is written in a strictly allotted time are somewhat different, the reader should understand the sequence of your arguments and the logical development of the idea so that he does not get confused and lost among all that you have written.
   • Does the conclusion summarize all of your arguments? Do not leave your essay without a final conclusion. Even if it's just a short job, having a conclusion will make it complete.

Tips

• Connecting phrases such as "more than that", "really", "really" and others will help make the text of the essay more coherent.
• Do not dilute too much "water" in your essay. The reader should get to the bottom of what you were trying to say as quickly as possible.
• When starting a new paragraph, don't forget the red line.