How to Write a Ten Page Essay in Five Hours

How to Write Ten Page Essay in Five Hours

1. Use a timer for each phase.  Stay on schedule!  

2. Check in (5 minutes)

1. How are you feeling about this assignment?

2. List your anxieties.

3. This is proven to improve academic performance.

3. Choose a Topic (10 Minutes)

1. Were you assigned a topic?  

1. Good!  Spend ten minutes thinking about why this particular essay was set.

2. Who are you writing for?

3. Which is more important? 

1. Informative/Educational

2. Persuasive

3. Entertaining 

4. Good writing does all three, but you can’t learn to write ten good pages in four hours from a blog post.  Pick one to prioritize.

4. What problem are you solving?

5. What question are you answering?

4. Write an Outline (90 Minutes)

1. Introduction

1. Context

2. Question

3. Answer

2. Contextual details of the question

1. Why does anyone care about this?

2. What in the situation suggests the question?

3. What in the situation suggests the answer?

3. Show off some book learnin’

1. What do experts say about this topic?

1. Cite your quotations

2. compare/contrast them

2. How does this topic relate to others you’ve written about in the past?

4. Use your reasoning

1. What are some general principles that relate to your topic?

1. Cite sources

2. Apply each general principal to the particular situation at hand.

3. Compare/contrast the situation with historical examples of similar situations.

1. What can be gleaned from your analysis?

5. Speak from the heart

1. Do you have personal experiences which are relevant?

2. What personal beliefs do you have that influenced your answer?

3. Disclose your bias.

4. Make a call to action relevant to the topic.

6. Conclude

1. Restate the question.

2. Summarize each of the above in one sentence each.

3. Restate your answer.

5. Take a Break (5 minutes)

1. Chill out, and close your eyes. 

2. Let your brain relax.

3. Drink some water.

6. Check in (5 minutes)

1. How are you feeling about this project?

7. Write (90 minutes)

1. Start at the top of your outline, and expand it into full sentences.

8. Take a Break (5 minutes)

9. Check In (5 minutes)

10. Read and Revise (85 minutes)

1. Read what you’ve written

2. Fix obvious mistakes

3. Obviously, it would be better if you did more of this.

11. Submit (5 minutes)