Are you someone, like me, who is always stressed out the night before a major timed essay in English or Social Studies class? I, personally, love reading and writing, especially creative writing. For someone who is really interested in literature and writing about literature, you would expect that timed essays in English and Social Studies are a piece of cake for me, but that is unfortunately not true! It would not be an exaggeration to say that timed essays are the bane of my existence. The part that makes them especially challenging is that the writing prompt is not provided beforehand. Therefore, it often feels like writing on the spot. To tackle this problem, I have been researching ways to write an effective timed essay. In this blog, I want to share what I learned.
Before Writing:
- Study relevant class material: It may seem like there is no way to “study” for an essay. This is because the writing prompt is given on the day of the essay. It can be intimidating to realize the fact that you would have to write a 5 paragraph essay on a random topic. That, however, is not entirely true. You do have some idea of the topic. It will likely be on something you have discussed in class. To be prepared, you can study your notes and ensure that you have understood all the topics discussed in class. This way, on the big day, even if you see a prompt for the first time, ideas from class will start popping up in your head, and you can ace that essay!
- Time your writing when practicing: Practice does not necessarily mean writing a timed essay every day. You can still practice by timing any piece of writing you do. This way you will get accustomed to writing under the pressure of time.
During the essay:
- Read the prompt carefully: Even before you write the first word of your essay, it is important to read over the prompt/question carefully. It can be useful to highlight important parts of the question, and then decide on which pieces of evidence would be most appropriate to use. It is crucial that your essay directly answers the question that is being asked. To achieve this, it is necessary to pay careful attention to the prompt.
- Set a time limit for each paragraph: Many people, including myself, struggle with time management during an essay. I tend to focus too much on my introduction, and my body paragraphs of the essay end up becoming weaker. To solve this problem, it is important to allot a set time for each paragraph. This way, you will distribute your time evenly, and will not end up spending all your time on one paragraph.
- Be neat, organized, and double-space your essay: When there is a time constraint, it is not easy to keep your essay neat or organized. However, it is important to do so. Messy writing, awkward wording, or uneven spacing not only confuses the person marking your essay but can also confuse you when you go back to edit. A very helpful strategy to keep your work organized is to double-space your writing. This way, if you are hand-writing your essay, it is easier to make corrections. If you are typing your essay, it is much easier to read your essay if it is double-spaced.
- Do not waste your time on editing during the essay: Yes, editing is extremely useful to catch any errors or to strengthen your arguments. Editing once you are finished writing each paragraph is a good tool when you are writing a paper. However, it can be detrimental during a timed essay, as it can cause you to lose track of time. It is important therefore to give first priority to finishing your essay, and then going back to editing.
After writing:
- Edit if you have the time: If you finish your entire essay well within the time limit, you can then go back and edit. When editing, check for spelling or grammar errors, and make tweaks to your writing to make your paragraphs stronger. I would suggest not to rewrite entire sections of a paragraph. This can make you lose sense of time. When editing, I try to look for small things to change, such as my word choices, or my sentence lengths. Sometimes, even small changes can make a difference in the effectiveness of your writing.
- You’re all done, relax: After you’ve done all that, go home and ponder about all the things that would cause you to lose marks in the essay. Haha, just kidding! Go home, and relax. It can be easy to get worked up about a major essay, but it is important to take your mind off of it when you are done. Do something you enjoy, or just sleep.
The next time I have to write an essay for an English or Social Studies class, I will be sure to try out these tips and see if they work for me. I hope you will join me in completing a timed essay! Good luck!