As an English and Spanish double major, I find myself writing a lot of papers. However, if you don’t write essays often, then written assignments may seem a little overwhelming. There are options for you to try that may be constructive for your writing, for example, you may want to hire a personal tutor to guide you or look into Custom Essay writing from sites like essaywritingserviceuk.co.uk, there are many possibilities. In the meantime, here are five tips to help you when writing an essay for your classes this semester!
- Highlight – Whenever you read a novel or a paper in class, be sure to highlight important information or passages that your professor mentions in class. It’s also a good idea to take notes in the margins or star key places in the text. This way, when you begin looking for quotes to put in your paper, you will be able to find the important stuff quickly. Just be sure to avoid over-annotating.
- Themes – As you read or participate in class discussions, take note of important themes or recurring ideas. I recommend keeping a running list of these with each piece you read. This way, you can also include page numbers and when it comes time to write a paper you will already know what pages to re-read.
- Outline – If you’re like me, you’re not a huge fan of outlining. I always hated when my teachers in elementary and middle school made us complete an extensive outline. These sorts of assignments limit the thought process that should be occurring as you write. Instead, I recommend writing a couple sentences or bullet points about each of your intended paragraphs. This way, you can develop ideas as you write but also have a little bit of a skeleton to work with.
- Work Ahead – Papers are a lot less stressful if you don’t wait until the last second to do them. Of course we all know this, but it really helps to get a head start. Doing so allows you to have more time to formulate your argument and develop your ideas. It’s also easier to write a solid paper if you aren’t rushed to finish. Having ample time is crucial with written assignments.
- Read – While it is sometimes frustrating to go back and proofread when you write a paper, it is important to do so in order to avoid making silly mistakes. However, I recommend reading your paper out loud to yourself to make it easier to catch mistakes and to tell whether or not your paper flows well when being read.
