Time Management as a Key Point for Successful Essay Writing
May 26, 2017| Category: Freelance Writing, Writing Tips
Time is something one can lose and never get back. In spite of the fact that a daily cycle consists of a twenty-four hour period, there are so many people wishing to have much more time available during the day. No one can control the time; however, proper time management is in our power. The realization of this fact is an essential step towards successful essay writing, especially when the deadline of the academic assignment is too tight, or it simply has been postponed till the last minute.
Nevertheless, even being pressed for time, you still have some good chances to write an essay of the very best quality. Let me guide you how to use your time effectively.
1. Disconnect from technology. Ban yourself from all social networks and answer only important phone calls. Being distracted from the process of writing a paper is the last thing you need if your aim is to use your time effectively and produce a decent piece of work in a short period of time. Find a quiet place to get the right mindset and leave all sneaking or edgy feelings behind. It’s too early to feel defeated before the actual fight has started. Under such circumstances, it’s so important to stay positive and rest assured that you can do it. Keep the final aim in mind, you’re gonna do a good job and impress your professor.
2. Read the instructions thoughtfully. Following the initial instructions when you write an essay is of crucial importance and the easiest way to lose grades in case of failing to do so. Make sure that you understand the task, and after that pay close attention to the length of the paper and its word count. This will help you to understand how in depth your academic assignment should be. Also, note how many sources you need to use, and take your best efforts to always stick to the number of references requested. Citation style can be time-consuming, but you can focus on it after the paper itself has been written, and you will simply need to polish it to perfection.
3. Carry out basic research and write a brief outline. It may be so enticing to simply start writing a paper and do research or plan things to be included as you go; however, such actions can take you off the track. Having a good knowledge of the topic and relevant sources will help you to understand if your thesis statement can be properly defended. When conducting research, choose only credible sources, such as books and online journals; try not to over-quote as well. Remember that not all Internet sources can be cited, e.g. Wikipedia is a useful source of information, but is not a credible source. When you’re finally ready to get started, do not forget to refer to your outline to make sure that you’re on the right track. In addition, make sure that your arguments are strong enough to support your thesis statement.
4. Work on introduction and conclusion. Probably surprisingly, but these parts of an essay should be saved for last. No one will argue that these bits are the hardest to write. However, by the time the body of the paper has been written, the introduction and conclusion parts should be much easier since you’re already familiar with the argument.
5. Save some time for proofreading. Having a final check is a vital thing to do. Has the title page, in-text-citations, and references been formatted according to the style requested? Is the paper written in compliance with the accepted academic writing rules? What about the sentence and paragraph structure? Is the paper free of typos, spelling, grammatical and lexical mistakes? Has the initial paper instructions been followed to the full? The paper is worth a quick final read and critical look.
Congratulation! You’ve coped with one the toughest academic assignments and proved that due to proper time management you won’t simply give up at the first hurdle. Treat yourself to a bar of chocolate or go out for the evening, you’ve worked hard and deserve a reward!