Sometimes, you need to be able to write a good essay in a short amount of time for a time-limited exam like the National Final Exam. Also, you may find that the deadline for an essay assignment is very close and you need to write it as soon as possible. While an essay written at the last minute will not be as good as one that is done slowly and carefully, you can still write a pretty good one in no time.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Preparing for the Essay
Step 1. Make a plan
Think about how much time you have to write an essay and develop a writing plan based on that. This way, you'll be able to determine how much time you have for each section of your essay and keep your focus on your work.
- Be honest with yourself about your strengths and weaknesses making plans. For example, if you're good at research but not good at editing, spend less time researching and more editing.
- Schedule breaks to refresh your brain and rest your body.
- An example of an essay writing plan in one day is as follows:
- 8:00 – 9:30 – Think of a question for the essay and an argument for the topic.
- 9:30 – 9:45 – Rest.
- 10:00 – 12:00 – Do your research.
- 12:00 – 13:00 – Outline the essay.
- 13:00 – 14:00 – Lunch break.
- 14:00 – 19:00 – Write an essay.
- 19:00 – 20:00 – Dinner break.
- 20:00 – 22:30 – Revise and edit essays.
- 22:30 – 23:00 – Print and submit your essay.
Step 2. Think of questions for the essay
You can get the topic of an essay if your teacher gives it to you, but if not, you should think about the question first and consider the various arguments that can be made for the topic. This stage will not only point you on the right path of research, but will also help speed up the writing process.
- Make sure you understand the essay questions. If you only write a summary when the essay asks you to analyze, the results will not be good.
- If you don't have an essay topic, choose a subject that interests you and think about the questions afterwards. The essay you write will be better if the topic is interesting.
Step 3. Develop a thesis argument or statement
The thesis argument or statement is the point you make in the essay through analysis and evidence. Develop arguments to help guide research and speed up the writing process.
- If you don't have much experience with the topic, you'll have a hard time developing an argument. However, you can still use research to support or contradict the claims you want to make.
- A good exercise to help define essay questions and arguments is to write “I studied (choose a topic) because I wanted to know (what you want to know) to demonstrate that (give arguments here).”
- For example, “I studied medieval witch trials because I wanted to know how lawyers used evidence in trials to show that these litigation influenced modern medical technique and legal practice.”
- Think of counter arguments to strengthen your essay.
Step 4. Do some research on your essay topic
Strategic research is needed to find evidence that will help structure the argument and form the body of the essay. There are many types of sources that can be used for research, such as online journals, newspaper archives, to sources in libraries.
- Since you have limited time to write, focus on just one or two places to do your research. For example, libraries and the internet provide a wide selection of sources.
- Make sure you use reliable sources such as scholarly articles reviewed by experts, government and university websites, and journals and magazines written by professionals. Do not use personal blogs, sources that are clearly biased, or that do not have a professional identity.
- You can use the information you already know to speed up your research. Just find a reliable source to back up the information and add it to your list of sources.
- By doing preliminary research on the internet, you will find library resources such as books and scientific articles. Preliminary research can also lead you to other internet sources such as archives of newspaper articles or other research on your topic.
- When you're reading a book, take the gist of it to understand it quickly, then move on to another source. To get the gist of a book, summarize the introduction and conclusion to get the main argument, then take some details from the body of the book to use as evidence.
- Take note of research sources. This will show that you have thoroughly researched the topic as well as include the names of the people who support your ideas. This is especially important if you plan to use direct quotations and will also help you add footnotes and bibliography to your essay without having to look through them individually in the source.
Step 5. Write an outline of the essay
Develop an outline to guide you through the writing process. By writing on the outline and adding proofs to it, you will simplify and speed up the writing process. You will also be able to identify areas that need further development.
- Structure the outline the way you would structure your essay, with an introduction, body, and conclusion.
- The more detail you put into the outline, the easier and faster you can write an essay. For example, instead of just writing a basic paragraph for the body, stick to important sentences that provide arguments and supporting evidence.
Part 2 of 3: Writing a Timeless Essay
Step 1. Set a time to write
By setting your own time limit, you will be able to write faster because of the pressure. Arrange the workplace so that there are no distractions while writing.
- Surfing the internet and watching TV will always hinder the completion of an essay. Turn off the TV, set the phone to silent, and log out of Facebook and other social networking sites.
- Make sure all the necessary materials are nearby when you start writing. Getting up to pick up a book, piece of paper, or snack will take your time.
Step 2. Write a compelling introduction
The introductory part is to explain to the reader what you are going to say in an essay. The introduction should grab the reader's attention and keep them reading the essay to the end.
- The most important part of the introduction is the argument or thesis statement. This section tells the reader the points you want to make throughout the essay.
- Write a section that will grab the reader's attention from the start, then enter an argument with some relevant facts woven into a narrative. End the introduction by stating that you will outline your points in the body of the essay.
- An example of such an attention-getter is: "Many say that Napoleon had high arrogance because of his size, but in fact, his height was the same as the average of most people during the time he lived."
- Sometimes it's a good idea to write an introduction after the body of the essay because you already know how to introduce the topic and argument better.
- Preferably, the length of the introduction is no more than 10% of your essay. Therefore, for a five-page essay, don't write an introduction that exceeds one paragraph.
Step 3. Write the body of the essay
The body of your essay will contain substantive points that support the thesis statement or argument. By analyzing two to three main points, your argument will become stronger and the number of words in the essay will increase.
- Choose two to three main points to help build an argument or thesis statement. If it's less than that, you won't have enough evidence for an argument; more than that, you will not be able to explore each point well.
- Briefly write down the evidence on the main points. If you overexplain, your time will be wasted.
- Support the main points with the evidence you have gathered through research. Make sure you explain how the evidence supports your claim.
- If you haven't reached the maximum word count, choose one of the main points and do more research to develop it.
Step 4. Write as clearly as possible
Fast writing will help you to write easy sentences without complicated grammatical structures. This will also minimize the use of inappropriate jargons.
Avoid excessive language. Writing that contains long prepositional phrases, passive verbs, and paragraphs that don't deepen the argument will waste time that you could devote to writing or revising the essay
Step 5. Feel free to “free write” to optimize time
It's easier to write a draft and edit it than to do nothing. With freewriting, you'll be able to have your own writing to edit at the revision stage.
Free writing can also help with writing difficulties that arise when you don't know how to best express something. If you are struggling with words that you should write, just write them all down as you can. You can edit it later
Step 6. Write the conclusion of the essay
Like the introduction, the conclusion also serves as its name suggests: concluding the essay. In it, write a summary of the basic arguments and make it so that the reader can get a unique impression of your work.
- The conclusion of the essay should also not be too long. The length of the conclusion should only cover 5-10% of the total length of the essay.
- Make your conclusions don't just repeat the thesis and the evidence you used. You can write down the limitations of your argument, suggest future research, or develop the relevance of the topic to a wider field.
- Just as you did with the introduction, end the conclusion with a sentence that will leave a lasting impression on the reader.
Step 7. Correct and revise your essay
There is no good essay if there are errors in it. Revisions and corrections will ensure that the essay you just wrote quickly doesn't have any fatal errors. Revisions and corrections can also help ensure your essay makes a good impression on readers.
- Reread your entire essay. Make sure that you are still arguing about the same thing at the end of the essay as it was at the beginning. If not, you will have to revise your thesis.
- Make sure the paragraphs you write build on each other and don't fall apart. You can use transitions and strong topic sentences to help connect individual paragraphs.
- Spelling and grammar are the easiest and most important mistakes to correct. If you don't improve it, readers will lose confidence in your work.
Part 3 of 3: Writing a Time-Limited Essay
Step 1. Plan your work
Even though you may only have a few hours, at first, develop a short plan to help with writing.
- Read the question carefully. If the order is for you to choose a position, do so. If the order is to evaluate the chain of events leading up to the fall of Rome, don't just write down the history of Rome.
- Make an idea map. You probably won't have time to write a formal outline. However, by having an idea of the main points you want to cover and how they will relate to each other, you will be able to structure your essay more easily. If you don't know how to connect the points yet, take some time to think about it before you start writing.
- Define arguments. After you've written down a few key points, decide what you want to write about them. All essays require a unifying argument or thesis.
Step 2. Time your writing strategically
If you have to answer more than one essay question at a time, make sure you have enough time to write them all down. Also check the score weights for each of the essay questions.
- For example, don't spend the same amount of time on a three-paragraph essay question that only scores 20% on a two-page essay question that scores 60%.
- If you come across a question that you feel will be more difficult to answer, it's best to work on that question first. That way, you'll be able to get the complicated stuff done while you're still fresh.
Step 3. Avoid writing down things that are not useful
Often, new students enter the ideas section after writing a paragraph full of useless generalizations. In a time-limited essay, it's important to get right into the main argument and provide evidence to support it. If you spend a long time on the introduction, it will take up too much time to write.
- If your introductory paragraph begins with a sentence that is too broad or general, such as "From time to time, humans have always been interested in science," delete it.
- Don't write anything that doesn't support your point in the time-limited essay. If you want to write about the importance of religious belief in modern society, don't confuse your point with references to socialism, the entertainment industry, and banana farming.
Step 4. Explain the relationship between evidence and claims
A common problem with essays, especially essays written under stress, is that there is often no explanation of how the evidence relates to the claim. Make sure you follow the “Claim-Evidence-Explanation” principle for each paragraph.
- Claim. This is the main argument of a paragraph, located in the topic sentence.
- Proof. These are supporting details that prove your claim.
- Explanation. This section relates the evidence to the claim and explains how it explains that what you wrote is true.
- If there is something in the paragraph that doesn't fall into the three elements above, delete it.
Step 5. Take time to revise
Even in a limited time, take time to revise. This activity is not only about correcting spelling mistakes. Reread your entire essay.
- Does your essay really demonstrate and support the thesis you put forward as the main argument? Not infrequently, various ideas emerge and develop as you write. If this is the case, adjust your thesis as well.
- Are the transitions between paragraphs going well? While time-limited essays don't have the same standards as regular essays, your readers should still be able to follow your arguments logically without getting confused.
- Do you have a conclusion that sums up the whole argument? Don't let an essay end hanging without a conclusion. Even if it's brief, a conclusion will make your essay feel complete.
Tips
- Transition words such as "thus", "thus", and "so" can help make your essay flow better.
- Do not include useless things in the essay. Readers will want to know the points of the essay as quickly as possible.
- When starting a new paragraph, don't forget to make it indent.
