November 14th, 2008
How to Write Good Essays When Time is Short?
Almost
everyone who has attended high school or university has found
themselves staring down a deadline that approached them far more
quickly than they had expected. Sitting in front of a blank screen at
6pm the evening before the paper is due is one of the most stressful
academic experiences a student can
Explanation
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The first step is to enter the right mental space. At this point, the time for
Explanation
things that take your attention away from what you are doing or thinking about
‘)” onmouseout=”UnTip()” style=”cursor: pointer; color: rgb(0, 114, 188);”>distractions will
Explanation
putting tasks, problems, etc. in order of importance so that you can deal with the most important first
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Ideally, you could merely begin writing, adding sources and details as
you went, drafting and re-drafting the paper as you learned more.
However, that is no longer possible so close to the deadline. You need
to focus on what is necessary, not on what might be nice.
At
this point, it is very useful to seek out electronic copies of the
texts you want to use. The 20 minutes you spend looking for them will
potentially save you hours in the process. Not only does an electronic
copy allow you to cut and paste quotes rather than typing them out, but
it also permits you to search huge texts for relevant information.
Rather than reading an entire sourcebook you have never seen before,
you can search for the relevant terms, and then just focus on those
sections. Remember, if you cite a secondary source a single time, that
counts toward your total number of required sources; at this point,
looking for much more than this will be counterproductive.
Choose
the sources and extract the relevant quotes before you begin writing
the actual paper. Having a list of these quotes will help you order
your essay, and makes it easier to think of what you will be writing
next in your paper. It is far easier to create a good paragraph based
on the
Nguyen Tra My
Organizing Department
