How to write an informative college essay in 24 hours?
If you, like most of the rest of us, suffer from something ‘experts’ like to call procrastination, this is the article for you! Is your essay due tomorrow? Have you thought about it all week but just sat down to do it? Are you telling yourself you ‘work better under pressure’? We’ve all been there.
This list below will help you cool down, take a deep breath, and write an amazing essay in 1 day!
Stay Organized
First things first, get organized! You have 24 hours – make sure you’re sleeping for at least 7 – 8 of those hours. Regardless of if you work better early in the morning or late at night, make sure that you’ve given yourself enough rest before you attempt your 1000-word essay. Coffee fuelled all nighters may work in the short term, but trust me, your end product will be so much better if you’ve had enough sleep.
Create a Schedule
Next, create a schedule. You’re not going to want to work straight through. This will compromise on the quality of your essay and will also frustrate you towards the end, and may lead to you cutting corners to finish your essay. Schedule your day (or night). Think about food and snack breaks, an hour or two of social time (even just to watch an episode of your favourite tv show) and make a quick note of how you’re going to split your time. You’ve already waited till the last minute to do your paper, now make sure that you don’t cause your brain to get fatigued before you get it done! Also, make sure you don’t eat much oily or greasy food. By doing this, you risk decreasing your ability to think effectively and clearly in an already time-constrained environment. Focus on wholefoods for meals and snacks like nuts and berries.
Remove Distractions
Third, get rid of distractions. A main point here would be to make sure your desk isn’t cluttered and that your phone is on silent or on work mode. Too often, a friend could message while you’re getting your work done, and invite you out to meet so your fear of missing out might lead you to hasten your work and this produces a low quality essay. If music or background noise helps you study, that’s great. However, make sure there isn’t anything around that will annoy you or distract you while you work! Your college library or work room might be the perfect place to finish your essay, rather than your dorm room.
Lastly, remember to take a break! This was mentioned before, but it’s so important. Give your brain the time to rest in between your essay writing. Go for a walk, get some fresh air, watch an episode of your favourite show or meet a friend for a coffee! Just remember, your goal today is to finish your essay, and you’re taking a break to make that easier! Don’t get too distracted by your break time.
Essay Structure
This next section will focus on how you can easily structure and plan your essay, so that it will be easier for you to write.
Outline your essay body: How many paragraphs are you going to have? What points do you want to discuss? What are the most important points? How many words are you going to dedicate to your introduction and conclusion? It’s best to always ask yourself these questions, and then make bullet points or a mind map of how you want your essay to be structured.
Harvard recommends always thinking about the ‘what’,’how’ and ‘why’ of your subject matter. Think of the main points you want your reader to understand.
Think about your introduction and conclusion: Plan out how much information you want to include in your introduction. It’s always a good idea to address your essay question straight away in your introduction, so that the reader knows exactly what’s going to come their way. Similarly, in your conclusion, include points you have made in your essay, to close your argument in a concise and creative way.
Have you done enough research? Before you sit down to start writing out your essay, make sure you have all your research done! Nothing breaks your rhythm more than having to stop and research your topic further so that you have enough words to fill your word count! Whatever way you prefer to take notes, make sure you have plenty of them! If you can, write down the most important bits beforehand, so that you can easily see what needs to be put in your essay.
Don’t plagiarize! Most importantly, you may feel the urge to plagiarize just a little bit because of the time constraint you’re under! Do not do this, as your college has high tech methods of finding out if you’ve copied someone else’s work. Penalties for plagiarism are quite high, often resulting in failure of your course or even having to repeat a year. Make sure you have plenty of time to prepare, so that you don’t feel the urge to submit a piece of writing that is not 100% written by you!
Closing Thoughts
There you have it! Hopefully this article helps you procrastinate less and help you plan out your essay writing better. If you can’t do it, then it can be wise to rely on the top essay writing services to take care of it for you. Good luck with your essay that’s due in one day!