I have always loved to write, but in college, I solidified some of my best strategies for essay writing. I'm happy to share my best tips and tricks with you—hoping they'll prove beneficial for you too.
Think First
Think about what you want to write. Many will advise you to start early, write daily, and plan out big essays. Honestly, that has never worked for me. I have always been a binge— though I might do all my writing all at once, I usually have been thinking and turning over my essay idea for days, if not weeks. Sometimes, I might plan the entire essay and its arc inside my mind; I know exactly where I want to start and end.
Other times, I have a more ambiguous idea floating in my mind, but I haven't decided how the essay will take shape. Either way, thinking about the essay is incredibly beneficial and very low stakes. Once you start writing or typing, anxiety and doubt will usually come. The thinking stage is important. Thinking can include deciding things like:
- What sources to use
- What arguments to cover
- Examples from texts
- Statistics or figures
Annotate Everything
I write notes from the primary book or textbook to secondary articles. It helps me process the materials and really determine what I think about the sources. This helps me develop my analysis of sources.
Handwriting
Call it old-fashioned, but I still start all my drafts of any writing by hand-including this article. I find the flow to be far more natural for me than typing. Writing by hand has tremendously cut down on my writer's block. If you grew up typing everything, I can't promise this will work for you. Since I was little, I would regularly write in journals and diaries. Writing by hand has always been a natural way to translate my thoughts. If writing isn't for you, recording yourself speaking might be better. You could try letting yourself free flow and talk out your ideas-that might be your version of a rambling first draft. Next time you're stuck staring at a blank computer page, pick up a pen and paper or hit record on your phone to get the words going.
Edit on the Computer
Most of my editing happens when I'm transcribing what I've recorded or handwritten. This is an excellent time to consider what's worth keeping or needs to be added. Or maybe some sections need to be moved around.
Reverse Outlining
Once I learned about reverse outlining, I never looked back. I would write outlines in the past and then struggle when I couldn't generate paragraphs to match my bullet points. I found outlines to be restrictive. With reverse outlining, you write out all your ideas first, then shape and outline thematically. This means you should go through each paragraph and draw an outline. What's the argument of each paragraph? What's the evidence in each paragraph? Your outline will help you decide if some paragraphs need switching or re-organizing.
Maybe that paragraph on the importance of domestic violence shelters could come after the paragraph where you talk about media representation of domestic violence and use Netflix's the Maid as an example. Perhaps all your data and evidence emphasize gendered power dynamics manipulated by finances. Now that you've picked out that theme and pattern, you can make that argument more explicit throughout the paper. Sometimes, you don't know what you want to say until you've said it—or written it. You can do this step before or after typing up your first draft.
I hope these tips help!
