How to Write Essays and Other Papers Quickly

Writing papers can be a challenging task. Even professional writers may have a hard time writing a university-level academic assignment. Writing is different from doing math homework or reading textbooks. The only thing you have when you start writing a paper is a topic. Moreover, you may also need to figure out the topic yourself, which is also a difficult task.

However, if you have enough experience, writing a paper becomes much easier, in fact, you can learn to do it quickly. Editors from College Writers service have written thousands of academic assignments on any topics so they know how to write great papers quickly and they are ready to share their priceless advice with you.

How to make your writing process faster and much more efficient

1. Understand your assignment

The worst thing you can do is to write a paper that doesn’t actually answer the question you’ve been asked. You should make sure that you understand the task correctly, so don’t be afraid to talk to your professor and to ask any questions.

If your assignment seems vague, it doesn’t mean that your professor tries to make the writing process more difficult for you. The chances are that your professor considers some things obvious because he or she has a much better knowledge of the subject. Asking your professor to clarify the assignment won’t make you look stupid but it certainly will help you write exactly what you’ve been asked to.

However, thousands of college students spend many days researching topics that have nothing to do with their assignments because they are afraid to ask their instructors a few questions. Unfortunately, even if your paper is extremely interesting, well-researched, and perfectly written but it doesn’t answer the question, you will receive the same bad grade as another student who wrote a terrible paper filled with grammar mistakes.

Even if your professor appreciates your commitment and lets you rewrite your paper, you’ll still do a lot of extra work and just waste your time. Therefore, we recommend that you always ask questions if you’re not sure what your paper must be about. Moreover, asking questions demonstrates your initiative.

2. Research efficiently

Once you’ve clarified all the details about your assignment, it’s time to research the topic. However, we recommend that you approach the research process carefully and don’t let it turn into procrastination. Sometimes, you may spend a few hours trying to find one more source, and in this case, it’s better to just use the sources that you already have.

To avoid procrastination, we recommend that you set a certain time limit for your research and stick to it. For example, we suggest that you don’t spend more than 30 minutes per page of your final paper. Thus, if you need to write a five-page assignment, you shouldn’t spend more than 2.5 hours on research.

Limiting your research time is necessary if you want to write your paper quickly. Don’t worry that you’ll have too little information to work with. After all, if you realize that you need more information while writing, you can always do more research later. Check databases and the library, take your notes, and start writing the paper itself.

3. Write a simple outline

You won’t be able to figure out every detail of your paper before you actually start writing it. Although many students prefer to write complex hierarchical outlines, they often need to deviate from the plan later and just waste their time. Quite often, there’s no need to write complex outlines with numbers and bullets. However, sometimes, you may be required to submit a proper outline along with the paper. In this case, you can just write it when the paper is ready.

There is a simple approach that will help you create a nice outline without overcomplicating things. We recommend that you write a so-called flat outline. Just list the topics in the order you’re going to address them, instead of building the hierarchical structure. After this, visit your library and find sources for the points that need support. Get rid of the irrelevant quotes and don’t start with a blank page — instead, just transform your flat outline into a paper.

Flat outlines are effective because they imitate the writing process, where you don’t have a clear idea of what you’ll get at the end. While writing, you discover new ideas and better understand what your paper will look like. At the same time, a flat outline gives you a simple structure so that you have something, to begin with.

4. Create a proper working environment

When you clearly understand your topic, have in place the necessary research data, and a flat outline, you can start writing the paper itself. However, your environment is also important. Procrastination isn’t the only thing that can ruin the writing process or make it much longer. If you have a hard time focusing on the task in hand, you’ll waste a lot of time, doing the same things all over again.

To use your time efficiently, you should create an environment that will allow you to stay focused on writing. Here are some tips that will help you:

• Go to the library or another quiet place where nobody will interrupt you and nothing will distract you from studying. Basically, any quiet place will work.
• Make sure that you feel comfortable. It will be hard for you to focus if your table wobbles or you cannot sit comfortably in your chair. However, we recommend that you don’t write in bed because you don’t want to feel too relaxed and tempted to take a nap.
• Avoid any digital distractions. Close the unnecessary programs and browser tabs, turn off your phone, or install one of many apps that block all the unnecessary apps until you write a certain number of words. There are also many extensions for browsers that can block distracting websites.
• Make sure that you have in place all your sources. You don’t want to write a part of your paper and then realize that you’ve left some book in your dorm. Make a coffee, grab some snacks, and prepare everything in advance so that you won’t need to stop writing for more than a few minutes.
• Some people work best in complete silence, while others focus better while listening to some music. If you belong to the second category of students, make sure that the music won’t distract you. We recommend that you avoid songs with lyrics.

5. Follow the standard structure

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel every time you write another paper. Your paper should be just original enough to impress your professor. Don’t try to come up with a completely new essay structure or to redefine the rules of the English language.

We recommend that you follow the standard structure used in your discipline and school. You’ll still have enough opportunities to demonstrate your authenticity in the content of the paper. If you cannot decide what structure is the best for a particular assignment, just ask your professor for more detailed instructions.

We also recommend that you pay your attention to the readings that you get assigned in the class. The reading materials will allow you to better understand what style, structure, and language are appropriate in your field, as well as what information you should focus on. Keep in mind that, the easiest and the most effective way to improve your writing is to read more.

6. Quantity isn’t quality

If your assignment should be 5-7 pages long, you may feel tempted to write 8 pages. Some students think that more is better, but it’s a common misconception. Any college professor would prefer a short but good paper over a long mediocre paper. If you try to make your paper longer, you risk losing focus, making your arguments weaker and filling your paper with unnecessary sentences.

Most students who receive A and A+ don’t exceed the minimum page count and we recommend that you always care about the quality of your writing rather than quantity. If you try to make your paper longer, you’ll not only waste your time but also risk making your efforts counterproductive. Instead of writing too many sentences that don’t deliver value, make sure that your arguments are strong and your whole paper is meaningful.

7. Don’t draft and edit at the same time

Multitasking is never as efficient as focusing on one task at a time. We recommend that you focus on writing first, and then edit your draft when it’s completed. We also recommend that you don’t stop to find additional information while writing. Instead, you can just take notes and keep writing. You can always find the necessary information later and add it to your paper. If you stop to do additional research, you will easily get distracted, risking to waste a lot of your time procrastinating.

Make sure to focus on the task in hand and don’t think about anything else while writing. Even if your paper lacks something, you can write most of the sections now, and then complete the rest of the paper.

8. Write the introduction and conclusion last

Writing an introduction is one of the most difficult things about academic papers. What makes this task so challenging is that it’s hard to properly introduce something that you haven’t written yet.

We recommend that you write the introduction when the rest of your paper is completed. Although this is the first section of your paper, it will be much easier for you to write when you clearly understand what are your arguments, evidence, and in what order they follow each other. If you start with the introduction, you won’t clearly understand what your paper will look like so you will likely have to go back and rewrite it, anyway.

We also recommend that you write the conclusion last, which is the most logical thing for you to do. In the conclusion, you’ll need to summarize your arguments, so writing it last is the only right solution.

9. Find somebody to edit your paper

Editing papers is different from writing. First, if you ask somebody else to edit your paper, they may do it faster. Secondly, you won’t be able to evaluate your work objectively. Given that you’ve spent a lot of time writing your draft, the chances are that you’ve overlooked some mistakes and awkward sentences, and now they look so familiar to you that you won’t fix them when editing. When it comes to editing, you have three options:

• Give your paper to a friend or relative who is good at grammar and writing, in general. However, in this case, the quality of editing depends on their writing skills and experience.
• Order professional editing on College-Writers.com. This is the best solution because our editors know exactly what good academic papers look like. They will help you fix any mistakes, improve your flow, and style. Besides, you may find some help at the writing center at your college.
• You can also ask your professor for feedback. Although this is not always possible, sometimes professors can take a look at your paper and provide you with valuable feedback before you actually submit it. Usually, such an option is available when working on a term paper or another big project. If such an option is available, your professor will likely mention it in the assignment, setting different due dates for a proposal, draft, and the complete paper. However, even if you don’t see such information in the assignment, there’s nothing wrong with asking your professor about it.

10. Use citation generators

Formatting your citations is difficult and it can take a lot of time. You need to check style manuals, go through all the sources that you’ve used, and write them in the right order. Fortunately, there are citation generators that can format your citations according to the necessary style automatically. Of course, you shouldn’t rely on such programs solely. We recommend that you take a look at your citations before submitting the paper to make sure that everything is alright.

Take Writing Courses

If you want to improve the quality and speed of your writing, you can attend writing courses or take a writing intensive class. Such classes will help you get more experience in writing papers of different kinds and using different citation formats.

Although such classes will take some time, they can make you a better writer. You may realize that you’re writing faster because you’re getting used to the writing process and it isn’t challenging for you anymore. If there are any writing classes at your college, take at least one and you certainly won’t regret this decision. Good writing skills will help you not only in college but also after it.

Conclusion

Even if you’re an experienced writer, writing academic papers can still be difficult sometimes. If you need any help, don’t hesitate to contact College-Writers.com and get timely academic assistance so that you can feel more confident.