How to Write about a Topic You Lack Interest in [2024]

During their school years, students may not always have the opportunity to select a topic for their essay or research paper. Instructors tend to assign one or offer a list of ideas that might not seem engaging. Moreover, even the topic that you choose yourself can sometimes end up being less interesting than you anticipated.

What should you do in such cases? Even if you manage to avoid these dreary topics in school and college, you might encounter them as interns or employees. What can be more tedious than writing a paper on an idea that seems boring to you?

We have a solution! In this article, our experts collected tips on how to write about a topic you’re not interested in. Here, you’ll learn how to elaborate on engaging texts on any issue in no time. You’ll also discover ways to trick yourself into feeling inspired, even if it’s about a subject you might not be very enthusiastic about. Find your motivation on this page!

  • 💤 Why Boring?

Self-Discipline

Psychological tricks, practical methods.

  • 🤯 Brainstorming Tips

💤 Why Is the Topic Boring to You?

The solution to each problem begins with awareness. Perhaps the topic seems boring to you. Maybe there are additional factors that affect your enthusiasm about the subject. This section will analyze what issue might prevent you from writing a paper on a given topic. Plus, we will provide solutions to these problems.

The following reasons may prevent you from working on a topic:

An unfamiliar subject

Having little to no knowledge about a subject may be hard for people who are used to writing unique and personal pieces. Writing a paper on an unfamiliar topic can also be difficult for those who like to get creative with their task.

So, what should you do in this case?

  • Don’t pretend to be interested in the topic. Readers will sense your insincerity immediately.
  • Think about why you don’t know or care about the topic. That way, you can develop more meaningful conclusions that will help you and the reader see the issue differently.
  • Consider changing your research tactics. Don’t limit yourself to dry facts when searching for material for the paper. Try to look for little known facts related to the topic as well.

An overused topic

Almost every topic you choose has been written about by someone else, but there’s no need to stress. There’s always a way to make your work unique and exciting:

Include some of your own experiences. However, try to mention yourself as indirectly as possible, and only when it makes sense. Then, just start writing. Inspiration and ideas will come to you in the process.

An undefined audience

You’ll probably become bored if you’re writing to an imaginary audience. Define who your readers will be and what they need to learn from your paper. That will help you avoid the mistake of picking a random topic that won’t provide any valuable material.

When you write academically, make sure that your work is intended for someone who hasn’t found the information they need about the chosen topic in any of the available articles. Don’t rewrite those articles. Focus your paper on answering the questions you still have after reading the texts by other authors.

If you are a student, the chances of being exhausted by other classes and assignments are very high. Do you have a million deadlines? Is it hard for you to write on any topic at all? Is it difficult for you to get out of bed in the morning? In that case, you are probably just too tired.

Prolonged fatigue can cause severe psychological issues in the long run. If writing becomes too challenging, we recommend that you contact a specialist. You’ll need more than just our advice to help in critical situations.

However, if this is just a case of fatigue due to stress, you can try the following:

  • Eat a healthy, balanced diet. Ensure that you’re getting enough nutrients by eating fresh vegetables, fruits, and other whole foods.
  • Exercise more. Regular exercises boost your energy levels.
  • Drink more water. Dehydration can lead to fatigue.
  • Low caffeine intake. Initially, caffeine increases your energy, but you might feel more tired as it wears off.

Writer’s block

Difficulties can arise not only because of a challenging topic but also because of a creative crisis.

Is it tricky for you to write on any topic, even if you have energy and time? Do you procrastinate composing an essay until the last minute? Do you feel that you don’t have any inspiration at all? If so, then you probably have writer’s block.

Here’s what you can do to overcome it:

  • Take a long walk. If you’re stressed, it might be hard to sit still and write. Taking a long walk to relax can help calm down your brain.
  • Just write. Purposefully write anything that comes to your mind, even if it is complete nonsense. Eventually, some useful ideas will arise. As an alternative, get a random topic generator and kickstart your creative flow by exploring possible topic variations to write about.
  • Get help from a friend. Narrow your audience down to one person. Think about how you would describe the topic to them and start writing.
  • Sleep. Sometimes the creative process benefits from several hours of good sleep. If you feel like your writing prompts to suffer, take a nap.
  • Write something else. Shift your attention from one paper to another. Work on another text or edit someone else’s document to help restart your creative process.

💯 Dealing with an Uninteresting Topic: Top Tips

By this point, you’ve learned about the psychological issues that can lead to your inability to write. Yet, you might still feel unwilling to start your academic paper. Fair enough. Sometimes, the critical issue with the assigned topic is just your disinterest in the subject.

In other words, how can you write a good paper if you lack interest in the subject? We’ve gathered useful tips to answer that question in the sections below. Our recommendations can be divided into psychological and practical tricks, but we’ll start by talking about self-discipline. After all, that’s the first step towards success.

Discipline is the foundation of fruitful work. Have you struggled with developing self-control skills before? Then this section is for you. Learn how to become a disciplined person, handle your assignments, and follow up with the deadlines.

First and foremost, self-discipline helps us to be confident and persistent. Most importantly, it makes you concentrate on any task. That’s why you need it to work on a topic you find uninteresting. To master self-discipline, try the following:

Step 1: Create a study area

A quiet and neat study area is an essential element for concentration. Having all the necessary things within your reach will prevent you from distractions. Thus, it’ll be more manageable to stay focused on the task.

Chose a calm and comfortable place and set everything you need to complete an assignment. Ensure there is enough light, the chair is comfortable, and the desk is free of unnecessary stuff. Also, keep in mind that you need fresh air to keep your brain working—don’t forget to open the window from time to time.

Step 2: Remove all the Distractions

Distractions like a smartphone or social media are tempting even when you are completing a fascinating task. Can you imagine how alluring they are when you are working on a boring assignment?

Put your smartphone on a mute mode and ask your family or roommates not to enter your study space. Is it too difficult for you not to scroll through your social media profiles every 20 minutes? Download a Self Control app , and it will block you from visiting distraction websites for a set period.

Step 3: Write a schedule

Time management is crucial when it comes to self-discipline. A well-developed schedule will help you stay focused on your tasks and complete them by the deadline.

You can do it in two ways: create a schedule on paper or download a planning app . A paper schedule is an excellent choice if you prefer to manually visualize your tasks, make highlights, cross the completed points out, etc. An app is a perfect option for those who want to receive reminders.

Step 4: Plan your breaks (and take them!)

To keep their brain productive, a student has to take breaks and refresh their mind. Short pauses will help you stay focused on your task and be creative.

While creating a schedule, plan to devote some time to relax. Take several short pauses (10-15 minutes) and spend them with leisure. For example, chat with your friend, have a cup of your favorite drink, or exercise. If the assignment is too time-consuming, take a long break. Go for a walk, to a gym, or to a coffee shop.

Step 5: Employ technology

The 21 st century offers a variety of apps and gadgets for making the working process more comfortable. Why wouldn’t you take maximum advantage of it?

Explore the Internet – it is full of time-tracking , project management , and communication tools. Select the most useful websites for you, and enjoy the smooth work!

Sometimes, to get a boring assignment done, it’s enough just to trick your brain. Sounds impressive, right? Wondering how to do that? Check our advice below:

1. Get the right headspace

Perceive a tedious task as a chance to learn something new. Nothing can be better than expanding your horizons and self-developing. Who knows, maybe knowledge gained during this boring assignment will be useful in the future.

2. Just start your research

Taking a start is always challenging, especially if you are not excited about the topic. However, as soon as you overcome it and begin to research , the work will go with the flow.

And a pleasant bonus!

Here is an effective technique to help you start: set the timer for 5 or 20 minutes and research or write for this short period. In this case, you’ll get some job done, and it will be easier to return to the assignment. Or maybe you will get carried away with the process and continue even after the time set for research has passed. You can also look at some academic writing examples on the same topic that will both inspire you and become a source of extra information.

3. Imagine your reader

Keep in mind that you are not writing your diary—you are composing a paper for a reader. Something that may seem useless to you can be of great significance to your audience. So, you may be contributing to society while making your readers familiar with your topic.

4. Pretend to be someone else

As soon as you start writing as another person, the process will become fascinating. It allows you to see the problem from different perspectives and develop your imagination.

There are three options for this trick:

  • Imagine you are writing for a popular magazine or newspaper. Yes, pretend to be a famous critic and demonstrate your skills. You will get motivated if you imagine how your name and photo appear on The New York Times pages!
  • Imagine you are getting ready for a presentation. What if you are a successful businessman who has to present the company from the best side? The preparation might be too tricky, but you are responsible for your success.
  • Imagine you are going to participate in debates. It’s time for a heated discussion! Imagine yourself an advocate and try to take the opposite side of the argument. Maybe once you perceive the topic from a new perspective, it will become engaging for you.

5. Find something personal or engaging

Is there at least something in your topic you are passionate about? Start exploring that point. You may get so caught up in the process that you won’t notice how you composed the rest of the paper. Don’t be afraid to start with a counterargument—it can even be fun and engaging!

6. Get an interview or read one

Even if you don’t need to conduct an interview , do it. Talk with someone passionate about your topic. Firstly, you will get a lot of valuable insights. Secondly, you may become interested in the subject as well. Passion is contagious!

Implementing psychological tricks may not be enough. That’s okay: we can offer you more useful advice. In this section, we move on to the practical methods that will help you start your assignment.

  • Brainstorming . To begin your task, brainstorm. Come up with numerous ideas, writing down everything related to the given topic. Then, pick the best ones and use them for your assignment. This trick helps to develop your interest and might push you to the action.
  • Different angle . Conduct thorough research and consider the issue from various perspectives. You can find “hidden gems”: unusual facts or unexpected connections that will make you see the topic differently. Thus, you can find an intriguing viewpoint to explore and change your attitude towards the task.
  • Outline. Start your paper by developing its structure first. Put your ideas in a fixed order so that your argumentation seems logical and coherent. Add some evidence and examples, and you will see that your paper is almost done!
  • Random word generator. It may seem weird, but this tool is handy for writing assignments. Click the button and get several terms and expressions that correspond to your topic. The random word generator helps develop critical thinking and can add a playful tone to tedious work.
  • Storytelling . If you are allowed to be creative with your assignment, you can turn your simple essay into a story. There are a couple of obvious advantages. Firstly, the reader likes reading fascinating stories more than just dry facts. Secondly, you will be more engaged in the writing process if there is a space for creativity.

You can rely on the following storytelling techniques:

STAR Technique

This method is excellent for dynamic storytelling. It provides a structure for a story that you can depend on in your paper. It goes as follows:

Story Spine

This method is straightforward yet effective. It offers linear narration that helps the reader to comprehend the story better. To employ this technique, follow this structure:

  • Once upon a time, …
  • Every day, …
  • Because of that, …
  • Until finally, …

Use this method if your story has a very emotional moment – a climax. Imagine you are climbing a mountain. The closer to the top you get, the more tension arises. Finally, there must be an entertaining climax. Then, you go down from the mountain. The tension is relieved, and all the logical conclusions are made.

The mountain story structure.

Petal Structure

Imagine a blooming flower with its beautiful petals connected to the center. And now, use your fantasy and think about how this example may be associated with a storytelling technique.

Petal Structure is a perfect option for those who have a complex story consisting of numerous elements. It disregards the linear narration and demonstrates the interconnection of certain aspects. Get creative and find the most unexpected ways to draw connections between the story elements.

In Medias Res

Such an unclear technique will become evident if you translate its name from Latin: into the middle of things . Basically, you need to put your reader in the middle of the action and then go back in time and describe the previous events.

This method is prevalent among writers and directors since it keeps the audience intrigued from the beginning. Why don’t you practice your creative writing skills and employ this technique for your assignment?

🤯 Essential Brainstorming Techniques

To write a compelling and engaging paper, you have to develop numerous ideas and pick only your writing’s best ones. However, coming up with something new is always a challenge.

So what can be done? Use our brainstorming techniques. Here, we will present the most successful ones that will significantly simplify your work:

Venn Diagrams

When writing a paper, the information you use, preferably, should be visibly organized, especially if you want to compare multiple ideas. Venn Diagrams are regularly used to illustrate the different concepts and relationships between them. The circles present distinct features or ideas, while the circles’ overlap indicates common aspects.

You were assigned to write a paper in which you compare two popular superheroes, Batman and Superman.

Venn diagram on Batman vs. Superman.

Mind-Mapping

One of the most effective brainstorming techniques is mind-mapping. Mind mapping illustrates our ideas. It starts with a focus on the main topic of the paper. Then, you create branches and associate ideas with your central concept.

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of mobile phones.

Like with any other brainstorming sessions, in cubing, you start with the main topic. Then, you examine it from six different perspectives. It’s mostly asking a bunch of right questions.

You were assigned to write a paper about cats

Freewriting

It is the activity in which a person writes anything they think. Try the following: just for 10 minutes, write the flow of your thoughts on the given topic and ignore the content’s quality. Don’t stop and note even the craziest ideas that come to your mind. You will see how fascinating and multifaceted your topic is, and the writing process will become smoother.

However, some people are not in favor of the technique, as the writing becomes disorganized, and it gets hard to follow. If you are not a fan of freewriting, you can try listing. It’s almost the same method, but you’re writing down not in full sentences and ideas, but a list of them.

For example:

  • Write a paper about Christmas in your country.
  • Start by writing as much as you can about the topic.
  • Include all the supporting facts, associations, vivid imagery, so on.
  • When you run out of ideas, reread your text, and highlight the main ideas.
  • Base your paper on the best concepts from the freewriting session.

Thanks for reading! We hope that you will not have problems writing any work, even on the most uninteresting topic. Share this page with others who may find it useful. Do you have your way of dealing with boring tasks? Tell us in the comments below!

🔗 References

  • Brainstorming: The Writing Center, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Brainstorming Techniques for Students: Grace Fleming, ThoughtCo
  • Using Writing Bursts to Generate Ideas and Enthusiasm: Ali Hale, Daily Writing Tips
  • 6 Ways to Become a More Self-disciplined Student: Lisa Daraskevich, Wellness Blog, Winona State University
  • Time Management Tips: Academic Skills Center, Dartmouth College
  • Mastering Time Management for College Students: Purdue University Global
  • Storytelling in Teaching and Learning: New York University
  • How to Outline…by Outlining: Student Learning Center, Berkeley University
  • 10 Steps of the Research Process: Trocaire College
  • Writer’s Block: Academic Guides at Walden University
  • Tips for Preventing Student Burnout: Florida National University
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Writing When You Don't Want To

December 1, 2017

by Matt Alexander, Writing Tutor

Life is hard; so is writing. Both are especially hard when passion is lacking. Toward the end of the semester, it's hard to be enthusiastic even when you like the topic. When I'm asked to write a final paper about the Federal Reserve, I think I'd rather die. I doubt I'm alone in writing long papers about what seem to be difficult, uninteresting topics as the current semester comes to an end.

We've all been asked to write papers about topics we don't care about, and some of us would rather do anything than write a class paper at all. So how should we power through and finish that 2,000-word assignment that is going to make for a dreadful, mind-numbing day or two? It makes you queasy just to think about the research, the pre-writing, the actual-writing, and the revising.

The first thing to do is start; procrastinating only makes things worse. I have first-hand experience with procrastination. Of course, not procrastinating is much easier said than done, and a discussion of it here would be an unnecessary tangent that I don't have the time nor will to write. I can recommend Tim Urban's excellent Ted Talk about procrastination , though. It's a helpful resource in understanding why people procrastinate in the first place. Anyway, letting the assignment ferment in the back of your mind won't do you any good, and ultimately will only make both the situation and the final product worse. Once you start, you might find the assignment's not as bad as you thought it would be. Hopefully, you'll find something about the assignment or topic that excites you, or maybe you find value in an area of the writing process itself. Maybe you're able to find a technique from that-author-you-like's writing that you'd like to sneak into your piece; do that! Of course, this technique isn't applicable to everybody.

This "incorporate-techniques-from-authors-you-love" recommendation is a moot point for those who detest writing/hate authors ( I understand ). But maybe, if that's you, being inventive/creative in a general sense is something you enjoy, and luckily there are workarounds available to you if writing itself is what you can't stand. Let's say you're me and you have been asked to write an essay about the Federal Reserve, and you've dreaded stitching together your ideas into long form essays ever since you were a kid. Oh, and you're a horrid procrastinator.

First, don't deep clean your apartment or workout for the first time in two years; this is not the time for any of that (although physical activity is good for brain activity, just saying). This is the time to write your Federal Reserve Paper. Now, let's say you're not me, and have done all the research needed for this Federal Reserve Paper. You actually know what the Federal Reserve does, understand the prompt, yada yada yada. But now, you have to actually write the paper. Oh geez. How can you make this tumultuous process come and go without you wanting to cut your arms off or consider a career in the fast food industry?

The first thing you need to do is envision how free and pure you'll feel when this wretched process is over. Envision the end-line, the reward! If you can't find passion in the assignment at all, think about why you're here and think about that sweet, savory grade bump you'll experience at the end of this process (because we both know you're gonna do great). Then, start working. Pre-write, free-write, brainstorm, get your ideas on paper. Here's a link with various pre-writing strategies . Organizing your thoughts will make you feel better. Eventually work your way toward an outline. Knowing what the finished product is going to look like will make the entire process much more manageable. Now, take a short break. Go vent to your roommates about how much you hate the Federal Reserve and words themselves. You deserve this break. You just pre-wrote. Now, get through whatever part of the paper is easiest to you. If that's the introduction and conclusion, write that. Now, take a break. Watch a movie, eat something, call your mother, I don't care, just take your mind off the Federal Reserve. The point I'm trying to make here is that you need to give yourself time to complete this task, and you need to reward yourself and give yourself mental breaks while you work on it. In my experience, saving unwanted tasks for the last minute is a recipe for disaster.

If any of these steps - whether it be pre-writing, or putting together an initial draft - becomes overwhelming to the point where you don't think you can go it alone, I highly recommend you talk to a trusted peer about your paper or make a visit to the Writing Center. Bringing other people's feedback and ideas into your work will do nothing but make your life easier and your work better.

My final piece of advice on this topic is that you simply write about things that you care about. If you're reading this blog, you're probably writing at least at a college level, and those classes are oftentimes open-ended enough that you have at least some choice as to what you are writing about. Writing is a lot like life in that it's all about passion. Writing without it is nearly impossible and an awful experience I wouldn't wish on most. If you find yourself writing about something as removed from feeling and humanity in my view as the functions of the Federal Reserve, do what I did in high school and sneak in some modulated lyrics from songs you are listening to as you draft. That's probably not a good idea, actually. But hopefully, you can find something you enjoy that makes sense to incorporate into your writing. If you can't think of anything else to give you joy as you draft, just envision yourself when it's over, doing literally anything else.

how to write a paper you don't care about

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The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Procrastination

The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair. —Mary Heaton Vorse

What this handout is about

This handout will help you understand why you procrastinate and offer strategies to combat this common writer’s ailment.

Introduction

Everyone procrastinates. We put things off because we don’t want to do them, or because we have too many other things on our plates. Putting things off—big or small—is part of being human. If you are reading this handout, however, it is likely that your procrastination is troubling you. You suspect that you could be a much better writer if only you didn’t put off writing projects until the last minute. You find that just when you have really gotten going on a paper, it’s time to turn it in; so, you never really have time to revise or proofread carefully. You love the rush of adrenaline you get when you finish a paper ten minutes before it’s due, but you (and your body) are getting tired of pulling all-nighters. You feel okay about procrastinating while in college, but you worry that this habit will follow you into your working life.

You can tell whether or not you need to do something about your procrastination by examining its consequences. Procrastination can have external consequences (you get a zero on the paper because you never turned it in) or internal consequences (you feel anxious much of the time, even when you are doing something that you enjoy). If you put off washing the dishes, but the dishes don’t bother you, who cares? When your procrastination leaves you feeling discouraged and overburdened, however, it is time to take action.

Is there hope?

If you think you are a hopeless procrastinator, take heart! No one is beyond help. The fact that you procrastinate does not mean that you are inherently lazy or inefficient. Your procrastination is not an untamable beast. It is a habit that has some specific origin, and it is a habit that you can overcome. This handout will help you begin to understand why you procrastinate and give you some strategies for turning things around. For most procrastinators, however, there are no quick fixes. You aren’t going to wake up tomorrow and never procrastinate again. But you might wake up tomorrow and do one or two simple things that will help you finish that draft a little earlier or with less stress.

You may not be surprised to learn that procrastinators tend to be self-critical. So, as you consider your procrastination and struggle to develop different work habits, try to be gentle with yourself. Punishing yourself every time you realize you have put something off won’t help you change. Rewarding yourself when you make progress will.

If you don’t care why you procrastinate—you just want to know what to do about it—then you might as well skip the next section of this handout and go right to the section labeled “What to do about it.” If you skip to the strategies, however, you may only end up more frustrated. Taking the time to learn about why you procrastinate may help you avoid the cycle whereby you swear up and down that you will never procrastinate again, only to find that the next time you have a paper due, you are up until 3 a.m. trying to complete the first (and only) draft—without knowing why or how you got there.

Why we do it

In order to stop putting off your writing assignments, it is important to understand why you tend to do so in the first place. Some of the reasons that people procrastinate include the following:

Because we are afraid

  • Fear of failure: If you are scared that a particular piece of writing isn’t going to turn out well, then you may avoid working on it in order to avoid feeling the fear.
  • Fear of success: Some procrastinators (the author of this handout included) fear that if they start working at their full capacity, they will turn into workaholics. Since we procrastinate compulsively, we assume that we will also write compulsively; we envision ourselves locked in a library carrel, hunched over the computer, barely eating and sleeping and never seeing friends or going out. The procrastinator who fears success may also assume that if they work too hard, they will become mean and cold to the people around them, thus losing their capacity to be friendly and to have fun. Finally, this type of procrastinator may think that if they stop procrastinating, then they will start writing better, which will increase other people’s expectations, thus ultimately increasing the amount of pressure they experience.
  • Fear of losing autonomy: Some people delay writing projects as a way of maintaining their independence. When they receive a writing assignment, they procrastinate as a way of saying, “You can’t make me do this. I am my own person.” Procrastinating helps them feel more in control of situations (such as college) in which they believe that other people have authority.
  • Fear of being alone: Other writers procrastinate because they want to feel constantly connected to other people. For instance, you may procrastinate until you are in such a bind that someone has to come and rescue you. Procrastination therefore ensures that other people will be involved in your life. You may also put off writing because you don’t want to be alone, and writing is oftentimes a solitary activity. In its worst form, procrastination itself can become a companion, constantly reminding you of all that you have to do.
  • Fear of attachment: Rather than fearing separation, some people procrastinate in order to create a barrier between themselves and others. They may delay in order to create chaos in their lives, believing that the chaos will keep other people away.

Whether these fears appear in our conscious or subconscious minds, they paralyze us and keep us from taking action, until discomfort and anxiety overwhelms us and forces us to either a) get the piece of writing done or b) give up. (The preceding is a summary of Chapters 2-4 of Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen’s Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It.)

Because we expect ourselves to be perfect

Procrastination and perfectionism often go hand in hand. Perfectionists tend to procrastinate because they expect so much of themselves, and they are scared about whether or not they can meet those high standards. Perfectionists sometimes think that it is better to give a half-hearted effort and maintain the belief that they could have written a great paper, than to give a full effort and risk writing a mediocre paper. Procrastinating guarantees failure, but it helps perfectionists maintain their belief that they could have excelled if they had tried harder. Another pitfall for perfectionists is that they tend to ignore progress toward a goal. As long as the writing project is incomplete, they feel as though they aren’t getting anywhere, rather than recognizing that each paragraph moves them closer to a finished product.

Because we don’t like our writing

You may procrastinate on writing because you don’t like to re-read what you have written; you hate writing a first draft and then being forced to evaluate it, in all its imperfection. By procrastinating, you ensure that you don’t have time to read over your work, thus avoiding that uncomfortable moment.

Because we’re too busy

Practical concerns: jobs, other classes, etc.

Because it works

Unfortunately, procrastination helps reinforce itself. When we avoid doing something we dread (like writing) by doing something we enjoy (such as watching TV, hanging out with friends, etc.), we escape the dreaded task. Given such a choice, it’s no wonder that many of us choose to procrastinate. When we write a paper at the last minute and still manage to get a good grade, we feel all the more compelled to procrastinate next time around.

What to do about it

Now that you know a little bit about why you may have procrastinated in the past, let’s explore some of the strategies you might use to combat your procrastination tendencies, now and in the future. Experiment with whichever of these strategies appeals to you; if you try something and it doesn’t work, try something else! Be patient; improvement will come with practice.

Take an inventory

Figuring out exactly when and how you procrastinate can help you stop the behavior. It can be difficult to tell when you are procrastinating. Think about the clues that tell you that’s what you’re doing: for example, a nagging voice in your head, a visual image of what you are avoiding or the consequences of not doing it, physical ailments (stomach tightness, headaches, muscle tension), inability to concentrate, inability to enjoy what you are doing.

How do you procrastinate?

  • Try to ignore the task, hoping against hope that it will go away?
  • Over- or under-estimate the degree of difficulty that the task involves?
  • Minimize the impact that your performance now may have on your future?
  • Substitute something important for something really important? (For example, cleaning instead of writing your paper.)
  • Let a short break become a long one, or an evening in which you do no work at all? (For example, claiming that you are going to watch TV for ½ hour, then watching it all night.)
  • Focus on one part of the task, at the expense of the rest? (For example, keep working on the introduction, while putting off writing the body and conclusion).
  • Spend too much time researching or choosing a topic

Once you better understand how you procrastinate, you will be better able to catch yourself doing it. Too often, we don’t even realize that we are procrastinating—until it’s too late.

Create a productive environment

If you have made the decision to stop delaying on a particular writing project, it is critical that you find a place to work where you have at least half a chance of actually getting some writing done. Your dorm room may not be the place where you are most productive. Ditto the computer lab. If you have a laptop computer, try going someplace where you can’t connect to the Internet (e-mail and the Web are the bane of the procrastinator’s existence—as you probably already know). If you are a procrastinator, then chances are you are already pretty exasperated; don’t risk frustrating yourself even more by trying to write in an environment that doesn’t meet your needs.

CAUTION: The most skilled procrastinators will be tempted to take this suggestion too far, spending an inordinate amount of time “creating a productive environment” (cleaning, filing, etc.) and not nearly enough time actually writing. Don’t fall into that trap! While cleaning and filing are indeed worthy and necessary activities, if you only do this when you have an approaching writing deadline, then you are procrastinating.

While you are thinking about where to write, consider also when you will write. When are you most alert? Is it at 8 a.m., mid-morning, mid-afternoon, early evening, or late at night? Try to schedule writing time when you know you will be at your best. Don’t worry about when you “should” be able to write; just focus on when you are able to write.

Challenge your myths

In order to break the procrastination habit, we need to get past the idea that in order to write, we must have all the information pertaining to the topic, and we must have optimal writing conditions. In reality, writers never have all the information, and conditions are never optimal.

Think of a writing project that you are currently putting off. On one side of a piece of paper, write down all the reasons for your delay. On the other side, argue (as convincingly as possible!) against the delay.

Myth #1: “I can’t function in a messy environment. I can’t possibly write this paper until I have cleaned my apartment.”

Challenge: There are no conditions that are necessary in order for you to write, save two: 1) You must have a writing implement (e.g., a keyboard or a pen) and 2) you must have someplace for writing to go, such as into a computer or onto a piece of paper. If, when faced with a writing project, you start piling up prerequisites for all the things you must do before you can possibly start writing, consider whether you might in fact be making excuses—in other words, procrastinating.

Myth #2: “I know it’s time for me to start writing, but I just haven’t done enough research yet. I’ll spend one more night at the library, and then I’ll start writing my paper.”

Challenge: Truth be told, you will never collect all the information you possibly could for your paper. Better to write a tightly-crafted argument with the information you have NOW, AT THIS VERY MOMENT, than to keep doing research and risk throwing your paper together at the last minute.

Myth #3: “I do my best work under pressure.”

Challenge: There are lots of other ways to create pressure for yourself, besides waiting until the night before the paper is due to start writing it. You can set a time limit for yourself—for example, “I will write this paragraph in ½ hour”—or you can pretend that the paper is a timed essay exam. If you do this a week or two before the paper is due, you’ll have a draft in plenty of time to revise and edit it.

Myth #4: “In order to work on my paper, I must have six uninterrupted hours.”

Challenge: You can and should work on a paper in one hour blocks (or shorter). This will help you break the writing task down into smaller pieces, thereby making it seem more manageable. If you know that you can work on one part of the paper for one hour, then it won’t seem so daunting, and you will be less likely to procrastinate.

Some writers find, however, that they do need longer blocks of time in order to really produce anything. Therefore, like all of the strategies outlined here, if this one doesn’t work for you, throw it out and try something else. You might still find, however, that you are more productive when you plan to write “all morning” rather than “all day.”

Myth #5 : “What I write has to be perfect, ” AND/OR “I can’t write anything until I have a perfect thesis statement/intro.”

Challenge: A first draft (or a second, or a third, or even—egad!—the final product) does not have to be perfect. When we write an early draft, we need to turn off our internal critic and just get some words down on the page. The great thing about starting early on a writing project is that it leaves us plenty of time for revision, editing, and proofreading; so, we can set ourselves free to just let our writing flow, without worrying about sentence-level concerns such as grammar, punctuation, and style. You’ll find some other thoughts on editing in our video on proofreading and our handout on revision .

Break it down

The day you get the paper assignment (ideally), or shortly thereafter, break the writing assignment up into the smallest possible chunks. By doing this, the paper never has a chance to take on gargantuan proportions in your mind. You can say to yourself, “Right now, I’m going to write the introduction. That’s all, just the introduction!” And you may be more likely to sit down and do that, than you will to sit down and “write the paper.”

Get a new attitude

We shoot ourselves in the foot, to begin with, by telling ourselves how horrible a particular writing assignment is. Changing our attitude toward the task, when possible, may go a long way toward keeping us from procrastinating. Tell yourself that the task isn’t so bad or difficult, that you either know how to do it, or that you can learn how while you’re doing it. You may find, too, that if you start early on a particular assignment, your attitude never has a chance to get very negative in the first place! Simply starting to write can often help us feel more positive about writing.

Ask for help

  • Get an anti-procrastination coach. If you are really determined not to procrastinate, then get help from the supportive people in your life. Tell someone about your writing goal and timeline, and ask them to help you determine whether or not your plan is realistic. Once or twice a week, email with a friend, relative, or mentor, in order to report (admit?) on your progress, and declare your promise for the next week (or few days). If, despite your very good intentions, you start procrastinating again, do not think, “All is lost!” Instead, talk to someone about it. They may be able to help you put your slip into perspective and get back on track.
  • Get a buddy. See if you can find a friend to work alongside you. They don’t have to be writing a paper; in fact, they can be playing Solitaire, for all you care. What matters is that you arrange to meet them at the library (or wherever you have decided to write) at a particular time and stay there for a specific period of time, thus creating accountability.
  • Get help with your writing. If you are procrastinating because you think you are a weak writer, then ask someone (a Writing Center writing coach, a current or former professor or teaching assistant, a friend) to help you improve.
  • Form a writing group. A writing group is a great way for undergraduate and more advanced writers alike to create accountability, get feedback, and simply get reminded that you are not alone in the struggle to produce and to improve your writing. See our writing group packet at for more information on how to form and sustain a writing group. Dissertation writers may benefit not only from joining a writing group but also from reading our handout on the dissertation . This handout was written by a former Writing Center staff member who eventually completed her dissertation.

Get unblocked

Sometimes, we procrastinate because we feel stuck on a particular essay or section of an essay. If this happens, you have several options:

  • Turn off the screen. Type with a dark screen, so you can’t see what you’ve written, decide you don’t like it, and delete it immediately. Sometimes procrastination stems from insecurity about what to say, or whether we have anything to say. The important thing, in that case, is to get started and KEEP GOING. Turning off the screen may help lessen your fear and turn off your internal critic. When you turn it back on (or print out what you’ve written), you may find that you do have something to say, after all.
  • Write about writing. Take 15 minutes and write a letter to yourself about why you don’t want to write this. This lets you vent your frustrations and anxieties. Then, Take 15 minutes and write about what you could do to get unstuck. You can also try writing about what you’re going to write, making an initial assessment of the assignment. You won’t have the pressure of writing an actual draft, but you will be able to get something down on paper.
  • Write the easiest part first. You don’t have to start at the beginning. Whatever section you can do, do it! If you think that’s wimpy, and you would rather do the hardest part first so that you can get it out of the way, that’s fine—whatever works for you. If you start writing and you get stuck, write about why you’re stuck.
  • Talk it out. Try tape-recording yourself speaking the ideas you want to include in the paper, and then transcribe the tape.

Make yourself accountable

Set a writing deadline (other than the paper’s due date) for yourself by making an appointment at the Writing Center or telling your TA (or a former TA) that you’re going to give them a draft on such-and-such a date. If you make your Writing Center appointment for several days before the paper is due, then you may be motivated to have a draft finished. Or set an earlier appointment at the Writing Center to have a conversation about your plans for the draft. Talking out your ideas with someone will help you get them organized for subsequent writing.

Leave your work out

Keeping your work (books, notes, articles, etc.) physically out, in full view, gives you a reminder that you are in the middle of the paper, or that you need to start. Also, if you write in more than one shift, it can be helpful to leave off in the middle of a paragraph and leave your ‘tools’ where they are. When you return to the paper, you’ll be able to “warm up” by finishing that paragraph. Starting a new section cold may be more difficult.

Work on improving your writing when you don’t have a deadline

Investigate your writing process. First of all, you may not think you have a thing called a “writing process.” But you do—everyone does. Describe your writing process in detail.

Ask yourself:

  • When do I usually start on a paper?
  • What tools do I need (or think I need) in order to write?
  • Where do I write?
  • Do I like quiet or noise when I write?
  • How long a block of time do I need?
  • What do I do before I start?
  • What do I do at the end?
  • How do I feel at the end (after I have turned it in)?

Then ask yourself:

  • What do I like about my writing process?
  • What do I want to change?

Once you can see your writing process, then you can make a decision to change it. But take it easy with this—only work on one part at a time. Otherwise, you’ll get overwhelmed and frustrated—and we all know where that leads, straight down the procrastination road.

Evaluate your writing’s strengths and weaknesses

If you aren’t ready to evaluate your writing process completely (and it’s okay if you aren’t), then you could try just listing your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. For instance, perhaps you are great at creating thesis statements, but you have trouble developing arguments. Or, your papers are very well-organized, but your thesis and argument tend to fall a little flat. Identifying these issues will help you do two things: 1) When you write, you can play to your strength; and 2) You can choose one weakness and do something about it when you DON’T have a deadline.

Now, doing anything when you don’t have a deadline may sound strange to a procrastinator, but bear with me. Let’s say you’ve decided that your writing is too wordy, and you want to work on being more concise. So, some time when you don’t have a paper—but you do have a free hour—you waltz into the Writing Center and tell your tutor, “Hey, I want learn to how to write more clearly.” You confer, and you come away with some simple strategies for eliminating wordiness.

Here is why this may make a difference the next time you write a paper, regardless of whether or not you have procrastinated (again!): You print out your draft. It’s 1 a.m. You go to bed. The next morning, you read over your paper (it’s due at noon). You say to yourself, “Hmmm, I notice I’m being too wordy.” BUT, rather than concluding, “Oh, well, it’s too late, there isn’t anything I can do about that,” (as you may have in the past), you can choose to employ some of what you learned (previously, when you weren’t under the gun) to make your writing more concise. You edit the paper accordingly. You turn it in.

When your instructor hands the papers back the following week, there are far fewer instances of “awkward,” “unclear,” etc. in the margins. Voila! You’ve made a positive change in your writing process!

What does this have to do with procrastination? Well, making one small change in your writing process creates momentum. You begin to feel more positive about your writing. You begin to be less intimidated by writing assignments. And—eventually—you start them earlier, because they just aren’t as big a deal as they used to be.

Evaluating the strengths and weaknesses in your writing gives you a sense of control. Your writing problems are solvable problems. Working on your writing when you don’t have a deadline helps you gain insight and momentum. Soon, writing becomes something that, while you may not look forward to it, you don’t dread quite as much. Thus, you don’t procrastinate quite as much.

This strategy also accounts for the fact that if you perceive procrastination as having been successful for you in the past, you aren’t going to give it up right away

Hone your proofreading and editing skills

If you procrastinate on writing because you don’t like to re-read what you have written, the good news is this: you can learn specific proofreading , revising , and editing strategies. If you finish your paper ahead of time, and you re-read it, and you don’t like it, you have options. Writing a first draft that you don’t like doesn’t mean you’re a terrible writer. Many writers—in fact, I would venture to say most—hate their first drafts. Neither Leo Tolstoy nor Toni Morrison produce(d) brilliant prose the first time around. In fact, Morrison (a big fan of revision) said recently that you don’t have to love your writing just because you wrote it! If you practice some revision and editing strategies, you may feel more comfortable with the idea of re-reading your papers. You’ll know that if you find weaknesses in the draft (and you will), you can do something to improve those areas.

Learn how to tell time

One of the best ways to combat procrastination is to develop a more realistic understanding of time. Procrastinators’ views of time tend to be fairly unrealistic. “This paper is only going to take me about five hours to write,” you think. “Therefore, I don’t need to start on it until the night before.” What you may be forgetting, however, is that our time is often filled with more activities than we realize. On the night in question, for instance, let’s say you go to the gym at 4:45 p.m. You work out (1 hour), take a shower and dress (30 minutes), eat dinner (45 minutes), and go to a sorority meeting (1 hour). By the time you get back to your dorm room to begin work on the paper, it is already 8:00 p.m. But now you need to check your email and return a couple of phone calls. It’s 8:30 p.m. before you finally sit down to write the paper. If the paper does indeed take five hours to write, you will be up until 1:30 in the morning—and that doesn’t include the time that you will inevitably spend watching TV.

And, as it turns out, it takes about five hours to write a first draft of the essay. You have forgotten to allow time for revision, editing, and proofreading. You get the paper done and turn it in the next morning. But you know it isn’t your best work, and you are pretty tired from the late night, and so you make yourself a promise: “Next time, I’ll start early!”

Make an unschedule

The next time you have a writing deadline, try using an unschedule to outline a realistic plan for when you will write. An unschedule is a weekly calendar of all the ways in which your time is already accounted for. When you make an unschedule, you consider not only your timed commitments such as classes and meetings, but also your untimed activities such as meals, exercise, errands, laundry, time with friends and family, and the like. It is not a list of what you should do in a given week; rather it is an outline of the time that you will necessarily spend doing other things besides writing.

Once you have made your unschedule, take a look at the blank spaces. These represent the maximum number of hours that you could potentially spend writing. By starting with these blank spaces as a guide, you will be able to more accurately predict how much time you will be able to write on any given day. You may be able to see, for instance, that you really don’t have five hours to spend writing on the night before the paper is due. By planning accordingly, you will not only get a better night’s sleep, you may also end up with a better paper!

The unschedule might also be a good way to get started on a larger writing project, such as a term paper or an honors thesis. You may think that you have “all semester” to get the writing done, but if you really sit down and map out how much time you have available to write on a daily and weekly basis, you will see that you need to get started sooner, rather than later. In addition, the unschedule may reveal especially busy weeks or months, which will help you budget time for long-term projects.

Perhaps most importantly, the unschedule can help you examine how you spend your time. You may be surprised at how much (or how little) time you spend watching television, and decide to make a change. It’s especially important that you build time for fun activities into your unschedule. Otherwise, you will procrastinate in order to steal time for relaxation.

You can also use the unschedule to record your progress towards your goal. Each time you work on your paper, for example, mark it on the unschedule. One of the most important things you can do to kick the procrastination habit is to reward yourself when you write something, even if (especially if) that writing is only a little piece of the whole. Seeing your success on paper will help reinforce the productive behavior, and you will feel more motivated to write later in the day or week.

Set a time limit

Okay, so maybe one of the reasons you procrastinate on writing projects is that you just plain hate writing! You would rather be at the dentist than sitting in front of your computer with a blank Microsoft Word document staring you in the face. In that case, it may be helpful to set limits on how much time you will spend writing before you do something else. While the notation “Must work on Hemingway essay all weekend” may not inspire you to sit down and write, “Worked on Hemingway essay for ½ hour” just might. Or, if you tell yourself that you will write “all weekend,” for instance, the sheer agony of the thought may keep you from doing any writing at all. If, however, you say that you will write for two hours on Saturday afternoon, you may actually accomplish something. The important thing here is to keep your commitment to yourself. Even if, at the end of the two hours, you think you could keep going, stop. Go outside and enjoy the weather. Your procrastinating self needs to be able to trust your new non-procrastinating self the next time you say you will only write for a certain amount of time. If you go overboard this time, then the next time you say, “I’ll write for two hours and then stop,” the procrastinator within will respond, “Yeah, right! I’m going rollerblading!”

On the other hand, it may work better for you to trick yourself into working on your paper by telling yourself you’re only going to write for two hours, but then continuing to work if you’re feeling inspired. Experiment with both approaches and see which one seems to work best for you.

Be realistic about how long it takes you to write

Procrastinators tend to be heroic about time; they estimate that it will take them two hours to complete a task that would take most people four. Once you have determined that procrastination is hurting your writing, begin taking notice of how long it actually takes you to write. Many students have a “page an hour” rule. Perhaps you can write a page in an hour if you are totally rested, fed, and focused, your roommate isn’t home, and the wind is blowing just right. But what if the phone rings, what if you are tired, and what if you have to go to the bathroom? When you estimate how long it will take you to write something, expect that there will be interruptions along the way.

Parting thoughts

As you explore why you procrastinate and experiment with strategies for working differently, don’t expect overnight transformation. You developed the procrastination habit over a long period of time; you aren’t going to stop magically. But you can change the behavior, bit by bit. If you stop punishing yourself when you procrastinate and start rewarding yourself for your small successes, you will eventually develop new writing habits. And you will get a lot more sleep.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Burka, Jane M., and Lenora M. Yuen. 1983. Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It Now . Boston: Addison-Wesley Publishing.

Ellis, Albert, and William J. Knaus. 1977. Overcoming Procrastination . New York: Signet.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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The Write Practice

Essay Writing Tips: 10 Steps to Writing a Great Essay (And Have Fun Doing It!)

by Joe Bunting | 117 comments

Do you dread essay writing? Are you looking for some essay tips that will help you write an amazing essay—and have fun doing it?

essay tips

Lots of students, young and old, dread essay writing. It's a daunting assignment, one that takes research, time, and concentration.

It's also an assignment that you can break up into simple steps that make writing an essay manageable and, yes, even enjoyable.

These ten essay tips completely changed my writing process—and I hope that they can do the same for you.

Essay Writing Can Be Fun

Honestly, throughout most of high school and college, I was a mediocre essay writer.

Every once in a while, I would write a really good essay, but mostly I skated by with B's and A-minuses.

I know personally how boring writing an essay can be, and also, how hard it can be to write a good one.

However, toward the end of my time as a student, I made a breakthrough. I figured out how to not only write a great essay, I learned how to have fun while doing it . 

And since then, I've become a professional writer and have written more than a dozen books. I'm not saying that these essay writing tips are going to magically turn you into a writer, but at least they can help you enjoy the process more.

I'm excited to share these ten essay writing tips with you today! But first, we need to talk about why writing an essay is so hard.

Why Writing an Essay Is So Hard

When it comes to essay writing, a lot of students find a reason to put it off. And when they tackle it, they find it difficult to string sentences together that sound like a decent stance on the assigned subject.

Here are a few reasons why essay writing is hard:

  • You'd rather be scrolling through Facebook
  • You're trying to write something your teacher or professor will like
  • You're trying to get an A instead of writing something that's actually good
  • You want to do the least amount of work possible

The biggest reason writing an essay is so hard is because we mostly focus on those external  rewards like getting a passing grade, winning our teacher's approval, or just avoiding accusations of plagiarism.

The problem is that when you focus on external approval it not only makes writing much less fun, it also makes it significantly harder.

Because when you focus on external approval, you shut down your subconscious, and the subconscious is the source of your creativity.

The subconscious is the source of your creativity.

What this means practically is that when you're trying to write that perfect, A-plus-worthy sentence, you're turning off most of your best resources and writing skills.

So stop. Stop trying to write a good essay (or even a “good-enough” essay). Instead, write an interesting  essay, write an essay you think is fascinating. And when you're finished, go back and edit it until it's “good” according to your teacher's standards.

Yes, you need to follow the guidelines in your assignment. If your teacher tells you to write a five-paragraph essay, then write a five-paragraph essay! If your teacher asks for a specific type of essay, like an analysis, argument, or research essay, then make sure you write that type of essay!

However, within those guidelines, find room to express something that is uniquely you .

I can't guarantee you'll get a higher grade (although, you almost certainly will), but I can absolutely promise you'll have a lot more fun writing.

The Step-by-Step Process to Writing a Great Essay: Your 10 Essay Writing Tips

Ready to get writing? You can read my ten best tips for having fun while writing an essay that earns you the top grade, or check out this presentation designed by our friends at Canva Presentations .

1. Remember your essay is just a story.

Every story is about conflict and change, and the truth is that essays are about conflict and change, too! The difference is that in an essay, the conflict is between different ideas , and the change is in the way we should perceive those ideas.

That means that the best essays are about surprise: “You probably think it's one way, but in reality, you should think of it this other way.” See tip #3 for more on this.

How do you know what story you're telling? The prompt should tell you.

Any list of essay prompts includes various topics and tasks associated with them. Within those topics are characters (historical, fictional, or topical) faced with difficult choices. Your job is to work with those choices, usually by analyzing them, arguing about them, researching them, or describing them in detail.

2. Before you start writing, ask yourself, “How can I have the most fun writing this?”

It's normal to feel unmotivated when writing an academic essay. I'm a writer, and honestly, I feel unmotivated to write all the time. But I have a super-ninja, judo-mind trick I like to use to help motivate myself.

Here's the secret trick: One of the interesting things about your subconscious is that it will answer any question you ask yourself. So whenever you feel unmotivated to write your essay, ask yourself the following question:

“How much fun can I have writing this?”

Your subconscious will immediately start thinking of strategies to make the writing process more fun.

The best time to have your fun is the first draft. Since you're just brainstorming within the topic, and exploring the possible ways of approaching it, the first draft is the perfect place to get creative and even a little scandalous. Here are some wild suggestions to make your next essay a load of fun:

  • Research the most surprising or outrageous fact about the topic and use it as your hook.
  • Use a thesaurus to research the topic's key words. Get crazy with your vocabulary as you write, working in each key word synonym as much as possible.
  • Play devil's advocate and take the opposing or immoral side of the issue. See where the discussion takes you as you write.

3. As you research, ask yourself, “What surprises me about this subject?”

The temptation, when you're writing an essay, is to write what you think your teacher or professor wants to read.

Don't do this .

Instead, ask yourself, “What do I find interesting about this subject? What surprises me?”

If you can't think of anything that surprises you, anything you find interesting, then you're not searching well enough, because history, science, and literature are all brimming   over with surprises. When you look at how great ideas actually happen, the story is always, “We used  to think the world was this way. We found out we were completely wrong, and that the world is actually quite different from what we thought.”

These pieces of surprising information often make for the best topic sentences as well. Use them to outline your essay and build your body paragraphs off of each unique fact or idea. These will function as excellent hooks for your reader as you transition from one topic to the next.

(By the way, what sources should you use for research? Check out tip #10 below.)

4. Overwhelmed? Write five original sentences.

The standard three-point essay is really made up of just five original sentences surrounded by supporting paragraphs that back up those five sentences. If you're feeling overwhelmed, just write five sentences covering your most basic main points.

Here's what they might look like for this article:

  • Introductory Paragraph:  While most students consider writing an essay a boring task, with the right mindset, it can actually be an enjoyable experience.
  • Body #1: Most students think writing an essay is tedious because they focus on external rewards.
  • Body #2: Students should instead focus on internal fulfillment when writing an essay.
  • Body #3: Not only will focusing on internal fulfillment allow students to have more fun, it will also result in better essays.
  • Conclusion: Writing an essay doesn't have to be simply a way to earn a good grade. Instead, it can be a means of finding fulfillment.

After you write your five sentences, it's easy to fill in the paragraphs for each one.

Now, you give it a shot!

5. Be “source heavy.”

In college, I discovered a trick that helped me go from a B-average student to an A-student, but before I explain how it works, let me warn you. This technique is powerful , but it might not work for all teachers or professors. Use with caution.

As I was writing a paper for a literature class, I realized that the articles and books I was reading said what I was trying to say much better than I ever could. So what did I do? I quoted them liberally throughout my paper. When I wasn't quoting, I re-phrased what they said in my own words, giving proper credit, of course. I found that not only did this formula create a well-written essay, it took about half the time to write.

It's good to keep in mind that using anyone else's words, even when morphed into your own phrasing, requires citation. While the definition of plagiarism is shifting with the rise of online collaboration and cooperative learning environments, always  err on the side of excessive citation to be safe.

When I used this technique, my professors sometimes mentioned that my papers were very “source” heavy. However, at the same time, they always gave me A's.

To keep yourself safe, I recommend using a 60/40 approach with your body paragraphs: Make sure 60% of the words are your own analysis and argumentation, while 40% can be quoted (or text you paraphrase) from your sources.

Like the five sentence trick, this technique makes the writing process simpler. Instead of putting the main focus on writing well, it instead forces you to research  well, which some students find easier.

6. Write the body first, the introduction second, and the conclusion last.

Introductions are often the hardest part to write because you're trying to summarize your entire essay before you've even written it yet. Instead, try writing your introduction last, giving yourself the body of the paper to figure out the main point of your essay.

This is especially important with an essay topic you are not personally interested in. I definitely recommend this in classes you either don't excel in or care much for. Take plenty of time to draft and revise your body paragraphs before  attempting to craft a meaningful introductory paragraph.

Otherwise your opening may sound awkward, wooden, and bland.

7. Most essays answer the question, “What?” Good essays answer the “Why?” The best essays answer the “How?”

If you get stuck trying to make your argument, or you're struggling to reach the required word count, try focusing on the question, “How?”

For example:

  • How did J.D. Salinger convey the theme of inauthenticity in  The Catcher In the Rye ?
  • How did Napoleon restore stability in France after the French Revolution?
  • How does the research prove girls really do rule and boys really do drool?

If you focus on how, you'll always have enough to write about.

8. Don't be afraid to jump around.

Essay writing can be a dance. You don't have to stay in one place and write from beginning to end.

For the same reasons listed in point #6, give yourself the freedom to write as if you're circling around your topic rather than making a single, straightforward argument. Then, when you edit and proofread, you can make sure everything lines up correctly.

In fact, now is the perfect time to mention that proofreading your essay isn't just about spelling and commas.

It's about making sure your analysis or argument flows smoothly from one idea to another. (Okay, technically this comprises editing, but most students writing a high school or college essay don't take the time to complete every step of the writing process. Let's be honest.)

So as you clean up your mechanics and sentence structure, make sure your ideas flow smoothly, logically, and naturally from one to the next as you finish proofreading.

9. Here are some words and phrases you don't want to use.

  • You  (You'll notice I use a lot of you's, which is great for a blog post. However, in an academic essay, it's better to omit the second-person.)
  • To Be verbs (is, are, was, were, am)

Don't have time to edit? Here's a lightning-quick editing technique .

A note about “I”: Some teachers say you shouldn't use “I” statements in your writing, but the truth is that professional, academic papers often use phrases like “I believe” and “in my opinion,” especially in their introductions.

10. It's okay to use Wikipedia, if…

Wikipedia is one of the top five websites in the world for a reason: it can be a great tool for research. However, most teachers and professors don't consider Wikipedia a valid source for use in essays.

Don't totally discount it, though! Here are two ways you can use Wikipedia in your essay writing:

  • Background research. If you don't know enough about your topic, Wikipedia can be a great resource to quickly learn everything you need to know to get started.
  • Find sources . Check the reference section of Wikipedia's articles on your topic. While you may not be able to cite Wikipedia itself, you can often find those original sources and cite them . You can locate the links to primary and secondary sources at the bottom of any Wikipedia page under the headings “Further Reading” and “References.”

You Can Enjoy Essay Writing

The thing I regret most about high school and college is that I treated it like something I had  to do rather than something I wanted  to do.

The truth is, education is an opportunity many people in the world don't have access to.

It's a gift, not just something that makes your life more difficult. I don't want you to make the mistake of just “getting by” through school, waiting desperately for summer breaks and, eventually, graduation.

How would your life be better if you actively enjoyed writing an essay? What would school look like if you wanted to suck it dry of all the gifts it has to give you?

All I'm saying is, don't miss out!

Looking for More Essay Writing Tips?

Looking for more essay tips to strengthen your essay writing? Try some of these resources:

  • 7 Tips on Writing an Effective Essay
  • Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement

How about you? Do you have any tips for writing an essay?  Let us know in the  comments .

Need more grammar help?  My favorite tool that helps find grammar problems and even generates reports to help improve my writing is ProWritingAid . Works with Word, Scrivener, Google Docs, and web browsers. Also, be sure to use my coupon code to get 20 percent off: WritePractice20

Coupon Code:WritePractice20 Âť

Ready to try out these ten essay tips to make your essay assignment fun? Spend fifteen minutes using tip #4 and write five original sentences that could be turned into an essay.

When you're finished, share your five sentences in the comments section. And don't forget to give feedback to your fellow writers!

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Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

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  • Research paper

How to Write a Research Paper | A Beginner's Guide

A research paper is a piece of academic writing that provides analysis, interpretation, and argument based on in-depth independent research.

Research papers are similar to academic essays , but they are usually longer and more detailed assignments, designed to assess not only your writing skills but also your skills in scholarly research. Writing a research paper requires you to demonstrate a strong knowledge of your topic, engage with a variety of sources, and make an original contribution to the debate.

This step-by-step guide takes you through the entire writing process, from understanding your assignment to proofreading your final draft.

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Table of contents

Understand the assignment, choose a research paper topic, conduct preliminary research, develop a thesis statement, create a research paper outline, write a first draft of the research paper, write the introduction, write a compelling body of text, write the conclusion, the second draft, the revision process, research paper checklist, free lecture slides.

Completing a research paper successfully means accomplishing the specific tasks set out for you. Before you start, make sure you thoroughly understanding the assignment task sheet:

  • Read it carefully, looking for anything confusing you might need to clarify with your professor.
  • Identify the assignment goal, deadline, length specifications, formatting, and submission method.
  • Make a bulleted list of the key points, then go back and cross completed items off as you’re writing.

Carefully consider your timeframe and word limit: be realistic, and plan enough time to research, write, and edit.

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There are many ways to generate an idea for a research paper, from brainstorming with pen and paper to talking it through with a fellow student or professor.

You can try free writing, which involves taking a broad topic and writing continuously for two or three minutes to identify absolutely anything relevant that could be interesting.

You can also gain inspiration from other research. The discussion or recommendations sections of research papers often include ideas for other specific topics that require further examination.

Once you have a broad subject area, narrow it down to choose a topic that interests you, m eets the criteria of your assignment, and i s possible to research. Aim for ideas that are both original and specific:

  • A paper following the chronology of World War II would not be original or specific enough.
  • A paper on the experience of Danish citizens living close to the German border during World War II would be specific and could be original enough.

Note any discussions that seem important to the topic, and try to find an issue that you can focus your paper around. Use a variety of sources , including journals, books, and reliable websites, to ensure you do not miss anything glaring.

Do not only verify the ideas you have in mind, but look for sources that contradict your point of view.

  • Is there anything people seem to overlook in the sources you research?
  • Are there any heated debates you can address?
  • Do you have a unique take on your topic?
  • Have there been some recent developments that build on the extant research?

In this stage, you might find it helpful to formulate some research questions to help guide you. To write research questions, try to finish the following sentence: “I want to know how/what/why…”

A thesis statement is a statement of your central argument — it establishes the purpose and position of your paper. If you started with a research question, the thesis statement should answer it. It should also show what evidence and reasoning you’ll use to support that answer.

The thesis statement should be concise, contentious, and coherent. That means it should briefly summarize your argument in a sentence or two, make a claim that requires further evidence or analysis, and make a coherent point that relates to every part of the paper.

You will probably revise and refine the thesis statement as you do more research, but it can serve as a guide throughout the writing process. Every paragraph should aim to support and develop this central claim.

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A research paper outline is essentially a list of the key topics, arguments, and evidence you want to include, divided into sections with headings so that you know roughly what the paper will look like before you start writing.

A structure outline can help make the writing process much more efficient, so it’s worth dedicating some time to create one.

Your first draft won’t be perfect — you can polish later on. Your priorities at this stage are as follows:

  • Maintaining forward momentum — write now, perfect later.
  • Paying attention to clear organization and logical ordering of paragraphs and sentences, which will help when you come to the second draft.
  • Expressing your ideas as clearly as possible, so you know what you were trying to say when you come back to the text.

You do not need to start by writing the introduction. Begin where it feels most natural for you — some prefer to finish the most difficult sections first, while others choose to start with the easiest part. If you created an outline, use it as a map while you work.

Do not delete large sections of text. If you begin to dislike something you have written or find it doesn’t quite fit, move it to a different document, but don’t lose it completely — you never know if it might come in useful later.

Paragraph structure

Paragraphs are the basic building blocks of research papers. Each one should focus on a single claim or idea that helps to establish the overall argument or purpose of the paper.

Example paragraph

George Orwell’s 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language” has had an enduring impact on thought about the relationship between politics and language. This impact is particularly obvious in light of the various critical review articles that have recently referenced the essay. For example, consider Mark Falcoff’s 2009 article in The National Review Online, “The Perversion of Language; or, Orwell Revisited,” in which he analyzes several common words (“activist,” “civil-rights leader,” “diversity,” and more). Falcoff’s close analysis of the ambiguity built into political language intentionally mirrors Orwell’s own point-by-point analysis of the political language of his day. Even 63 years after its publication, Orwell’s essay is emulated by contemporary thinkers.

Citing sources

It’s also important to keep track of citations at this stage to avoid accidental plagiarism . Each time you use a source, make sure to take note of where the information came from.

You can use our free citation generators to automatically create citations and save your reference list as you go.

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The research paper introduction should address three questions: What, why, and how? After finishing the introduction, the reader should know what the paper is about, why it is worth reading, and how you’ll build your arguments.

What? Be specific about the topic of the paper, introduce the background, and define key terms or concepts.

Why? This is the most important, but also the most difficult, part of the introduction. Try to provide brief answers to the following questions: What new material or insight are you offering? What important issues does your essay help define or answer?

How? To let the reader know what to expect from the rest of the paper, the introduction should include a “map” of what will be discussed, briefly presenting the key elements of the paper in chronological order.

The major struggle faced by most writers is how to organize the information presented in the paper, which is one reason an outline is so useful. However, remember that the outline is only a guide and, when writing, you can be flexible with the order in which the information and arguments are presented.

One way to stay on track is to use your thesis statement and topic sentences . Check:

  • topic sentences against the thesis statement;
  • topic sentences against each other, for similarities and logical ordering;
  • and each sentence against the topic sentence of that paragraph.

Be aware of paragraphs that seem to cover the same things. If two paragraphs discuss something similar, they must approach that topic in different ways. Aim to create smooth transitions between sentences, paragraphs, and sections.

The research paper conclusion is designed to help your reader out of the paper’s argument, giving them a sense of finality.

Trace the course of the paper, emphasizing how it all comes together to prove your thesis statement. Give the paper a sense of finality by making sure the reader understands how you’ve settled the issues raised in the introduction.

You might also discuss the more general consequences of the argument, outline what the paper offers to future students of the topic, and suggest any questions the paper’s argument raises but cannot or does not try to answer.

You should not :

  • Offer new arguments or essential information
  • Take up any more space than necessary
  • Begin with stock phrases that signal you are ending the paper (e.g. “In conclusion”)

There are four main considerations when it comes to the second draft.

  • Check how your vision of the paper lines up with the first draft and, more importantly, that your paper still answers the assignment.
  • Identify any assumptions that might require (more substantial) justification, keeping your reader’s perspective foremost in mind. Remove these points if you cannot substantiate them further.
  • Be open to rearranging your ideas. Check whether any sections feel out of place and whether your ideas could be better organized.
  • If you find that old ideas do not fit as well as you anticipated, you should cut them out or condense them. You might also find that new and well-suited ideas occurred to you during the writing of the first draft — now is the time to make them part of the paper.

The goal during the revision and proofreading process is to ensure you have completed all the necessary tasks and that the paper is as well-articulated as possible. You can speed up the proofreading process by using the AI proofreader .

Global concerns

  • Confirm that your paper completes every task specified in your assignment sheet.
  • Check for logical organization and flow of paragraphs.
  • Check paragraphs against the introduction and thesis statement.

Fine-grained details

Check the content of each paragraph, making sure that:

  • each sentence helps support the topic sentence.
  • no unnecessary or irrelevant information is present.
  • all technical terms your audience might not know are identified.

Next, think about sentence structure , grammatical errors, and formatting . Check that you have correctly used transition words and phrases to show the connections between your ideas. Look for typos, cut unnecessary words, and check for consistency in aspects such as heading formatting and spellings .

Finally, you need to make sure your paper is correctly formatted according to the rules of the citation style you are using. For example, you might need to include an MLA heading  or create an APA title page .

Scribbr’s professional editors can help with the revision process with our award-winning proofreading services.

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Checklist: Research paper

I have followed all instructions in the assignment sheet.

My introduction presents my topic in an engaging way and provides necessary background information.

My introduction presents a clear, focused research problem and/or thesis statement .

My paper is logically organized using paragraphs and (if relevant) section headings .

Each paragraph is clearly focused on one central idea, expressed in a clear topic sentence .

Each paragraph is relevant to my research problem or thesis statement.

I have used appropriate transitions  to clarify the connections between sections, paragraphs, and sentences.

My conclusion provides a concise answer to the research question or emphasizes how the thesis has been supported.

My conclusion shows how my research has contributed to knowledge or understanding of my topic.

My conclusion does not present any new points or information essential to my argument.

I have provided an in-text citation every time I refer to ideas or information from a source.

I have included a reference list at the end of my paper, consistently formatted according to a specific citation style .

I have thoroughly revised my paper and addressed any feedback from my professor or supervisor.

I have followed all formatting guidelines (page numbers, headers, spacing, etc.).

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What If I Don’t Have Anything Interesting To Write About In My College Essay?

What’s covered:, what makes for a good college essay, how to write a dazzling college essay, will your essay make or break your college application.

College applicants are constantly told that in order to be attractive to admissions committees they need to stand out—but how can you stand out when you live a pretty ordinary life? Lots of students worry that the events of their everyday life are too boring or clichéd to be the topic of a really good essay.

That being said, there’s no need to worry! Your college essay doesn’t need to be about an extraordinary experience you’ve had. Rather, it should depict you as extraordinary. “Uninteresting” topics actually make great college essays because the topic itself doesn’t carry the essay—the student’s individuality does.

Read on for tips on how to write a college essay about an “uninteresting” topic that still shows off your personality, values, interests, and writing skills.

The purpose of your college essay is to humanize yourself to admissions officers so that they can see the ‘real you’ behind the grades and test scores you’ve submitted.

Our article about awesome essay topics gives five structures for a good college essay (though there are many more!):

  • A unique extracurricular activity or passion
  • An activity or interest that contrasts heavily with your profile
  • A seemingly insignificant moment that speaks to larger themes within your life
  • Using an everyday experience or object as a metaphor to explore your life and personality
  • An in-the-moment narrative that tells the story of an important moment in your life

As you might notice, only one of these essay topics references anything exciting, extraordinary, or unique. Set aside the idea that you need to write about something dramatic and unusual. Unusual experiences are not what is most important to admissions officers—rather, it’s important to position yourself as someone that an admissions officer would like to see at their university.

Some things that make for a bad college essay include:

  • Not answering the prompt
  • Stretching a prompt so that your answer doesn’t make sense
  • Writing about a controversial issue, particularly in an irreverent way
  • Showing prejudice
  • Writing about a clichĂŠd topic
  • Writing about anything that advocates disrespect for authority—this can be anything from insulting a teacher to doing an illegal activity
  • Assuming the opinions of your reader

Beyond these boundaries, you can pick any topic you want. It’s how you write about the topic that matters!

Read on for our advice on writing a compelling essay that offers a window into your personality and life experiences.

Our guidance for writing a dazzling essay about an “uninteresting” topic involves:

  • Picking a value or fundamental truth about yourself that will humanize you to admissions officers and tell them something important about yourself
  • Identifying an experience that exemplifies that value or fundamental truth
  • Writing a thoughtful essay that uses your “uninteresting” experience to say something interesting about yourself

1. Get the Ball Rolling

There are many different practices you might find useful as you start brainstorming your college essay. These include freewriting, listing, outlines, and more. That said, don’t feel restricted by brainstorming exercises. Remember that they’re meant to start the process and get the juices flowing. Write down anything and everything that springs to mind—who knows what it could turn into?

Sometimes simple questions can open students up and reveal what is important to them. Here are some questions that might help you brainstorm:

  • What’s the last news story you read and found interesting? This question can help you identify an issue that you are passionate about or a cause that matters a lot to you.
  • What is your proudest accomplishment so far? What about it makes you feel proud? This question can reveal what you consider most important about yourself, which is likely something you find important in life.
  • When have you been the most nervous, and why were you nervous? What was the outcome of the situation? This could be anything from an important performance to standing up for an issue you care about. People’s fears can be an indicator of what they value.
  • What’s the most recent topic you researched on your own just for fun or self-improvement? Have you found yourself going down a rabbit hole of Wikipedia articles recently? Your interests are important to you and say a lot about you.
  • What have you learned from the community you grew up in? What do you value about that community? Your individual history and family history are very important factors in who you are as a person.
  • When have you most recently changed your mind about something important? If growth is important to you, admissions officers want to hear about it.

2. Pick Your Value

If you aren’t going to have a flashy topic, you need to make sure that you use your “uninteresting” topic to say something interesting about yourself. When the admissions officer finishes reading your essay, they should feel like they know you better than when they started reading. So what are you going to tell them about yourself?

Your value or fundamental truth about yourself doesn’t necessarily need to be positive, but neutral/negative values will probably need to be accompanied by self-aware reflection throughout your essay.

Values and fundamental truths can be things like:

  • I have a growth mindset
  • Family loyalty is very important to me
  • Giving gifts that people will treasure is important to me
  • I don’t like to be like everyone else
  • Embarrassment is a major fear of mine
  • I don’t like seeing others in pain
  • I am super curious
  • I always like to be busy
  • I don’t like making mistakes
  • Having fun is important to me
  • I’m a people pleaser
  • Self-care is important to me

3. Pick Your Experience

You will want to pick an anecdote, experience, or example that can serve as a channel through which you can communicate your value. Finding significance in a small incident can be incredibly compelling for your readers. On the other hand, you could explore the meaning of something that you do every day or every week. You can even simply muse on one relationship in your life that speaks to your value. Once you have chosen an experience, you have your topic!

Some “uninteresting” essay topics with interesting implications could be:

  • Making dinner with my mom on Fridays allows me to see how matriarchal strength has been passed down in my family
  • Volunteering at my local community center is how I take care of the natural caretaker in me
  • Going to the mall with my best friend is important to me because choosing which stores to go into is structured spontaneity, and I need structured spontaneity
  • Making cards for my friends’ birthdays started as a way to save money, but I really enjoy how it fuses technical and artistic abilities in a unique way
  • Singing Disney show tunes in the car is when I feel most relaxed because people around me put a lot of pressure on me to grow up fast and sometimes I miss being a kid
  • Going to the hospital to visit my uncle after his surgery was uncomfortable for me because I love others so strongly that it truly hurts me to see them in pain
  • Sleeping with my same stuffed animal every night makes me feel safe, which is important to me because my sister’s health issues cause me anxiety and it’s nice to have something stable to rely on

Some final notes on choosing your essay topic:

  • The topic you initially like the most may not be the one that allows you to write the best possible essay. Be open to trying something different.
  • You don’t need to commit to a topic right away. If it becomes clear after you start outlining or writing that your initial plan isn’t going to work as well as you would like, there’s nothing wrong with altering your topic or starting over with a new topic.

If you still feel stuck, we recommend you take a look at the school-specific supplemental essay questions presented by the colleges to which you’re not applying. One of these prompts might spark an idea in your mind that would also be appropriate for the colleges to which you are applying. Check out the Essay Breakdown posts on the CollegeVine blog for a convenient way to look at this year’s essay questions from many different competitive schools.

4. Make Your Experience Shine

Once you’ve selected a topic, you’ll need to figure out how to develop an essay from it that is technically skillful, compelling to the reader, and true to the vision of yourself that you’re working to portray in your application. Remember, the value of your essay is much more in how you write about your experiences than it is in what experiences you write about.

To write a truly effective college essay, you’ll need to focus not just on depicting your chosen experience, but also on expressing your personal experience in an interesting manner. The experience is simply your scaffolding. The focus of your essay should be what that experience says about you—or what you make it say about you.

When writing about an “uninteresting” experience, you will want to be reflective, be self-aware, and show maturity in your view of your experience. Focus on communicating your thoughts and emotions in a way that evokes emotion in your reader and makes them feel connected to you.

Details are also important to pay attention to while writing your essay, as they’ll bring life and context to your story. Vivid and evocative details can turn your “uninteresting” experience into a relatable and interesting scene in your reader’s imagination.

With skillful writing, powerful word choice, and a good sense of how to develop a fragment of an idea into a longer piece of writing, you can make any topic—no matter how “uninteresting” it may seem—into a mature exploration of your values and a showcase of your skills as a communicator.

It depends . A brilliant essay can’t make up for severe deficiencies in your academic qualifications , but it will still have a significant impact, particularly at smaller and more competitive schools.

If you’re “on the bubble” for admissions, an essay that makes an admissions officer feel like they know you could give them a reason to accept your application. On the other hand, an essay that’s carelessly written, inappropriate, or full of technical errors will hurt your chances of admission, even if you have great qualifications.

If you finish your first draft of your essay and are still worried that your “uninteresting” topic will break your college application, we recommend that you get feedback. Sometimes it can really help to have someone else determine whether or not your voice is shining through in your work. Feedback is ultimately any writer’s best source of improvement!

To get your college essay edited for free and improve your chances of acceptance at your dream schools, use our Peer Review Essay Tool . With this tool, other students will tell you if your essay effectively humanizes you.

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How to Write a Paper

Last Updated: November 27, 2022 Approved

This article was co-authored by Matthew Snipp, PhD . C. Matthew Snipp is the Burnet C. and Mildred Finley Wohlford Professor of Humanities and Sciences in the Department of Sociology at Stanford University. He is also the Director for the Institute for Research in the Social Science’s Secure Data Center. He has been a Research Fellow at the U.S. Bureau of the Census and a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. He has published 3 books and over 70 articles and book chapters on demography, economic development, poverty and unemployment. He is also currently serving on the National Institute of Child Health and Development’s Population Science Subcommittee. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin—Madison. There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 100% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 319,118 times.

Whether you’re in high school or university, writing papers is probably a big part of your grade for at least some of your classes. Writing an essay on any topic can be challenging and time consuming. But, when you know how to break it down into parts and write each of those parts, it’s much easier! Follow the steps in this article for help writing your next paper from start to finish.

Pre-Writing

Step 1 Choose a topic and research it.

  • If you have an idea for a topic that isn’t listed, feel free to ask your instructor if it would be okay to write about something that isn’t on the list they provided.
  • In some cases, the teacher or professor might just provide an assignment sheet covering the logistics of the paper, but leave the topic choice up to you. If this happens, it can be helpful to come up with a short list of ideas on your own, then choose the best one.
  • Don’t hesitate to ask your instructor for guidance on choosing a topic if you’re having trouble deciding.

Step 2 Start by analyzing primary sources and looking for points to argue.

  • Note that there are different types of papers including research papers, opinion papers, and analytical essays. All of them need a thesis statement and all of them require you to do research and review various sources in order to write them.

Matthew Snipp, PhD

  • Keep in mind that a thesis is not a topic, a fact, or an opinion. It is an argument based on observations and findings that you are trying to prove in your paper, like a hypothesis statement in a science experiment.

Step 3 Write a brief thesis statement that tells readers what you’re arguing.

  • An example of a thesis statement for a research paper is: “The Soviet Union collapsed because of the ruling class’s inability to tackle the economic problems of the common people.” This tells the reader what point you are going to back up with evidence in the rest of your paper.
  • A thesis statement for an opinion paper might read something like: “Libraries are an essential community resource and as such should receive more funding from local municipal governments.”
  • An analytical essay’s thesis statement could be: “JD Salinger makes heavy use of symbolism in The Catcher in the Rye in order to create feelings of melancholy and uncertainty in the novel.”

Step 4 Make a list of major points to support your thesis as an outline.

  • For example, if your thesis is about why the government needs to do more to protect wetland ecosystems, main supporting points could be: “effects of wetland loss in the US,” “current lack of laws protecting wetlands,” and “benefits of saving wetlands.”
  • These major points form the body of your paper, in between your introduction and your conclusion.

Step 5 Write supporting ideas and arguments under each major point.

  • For example, under a main point that says “employment conditions affect the mental health of workers,” your sub-points might be: “high levels of stress are directly related to mental health” and “workers in low-skill positions tend to have higher levels of stress.”

Step 1 Start the introduction...

  • For example, you could write something like: “Did you know that cattle ranching is the leading cause of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest?”

Step 2 State the specific topic of your paper.

  • For example, you might write something like: “It’s common for apps and social media to be demonized as a waste of time and brain space, but not all such technology should be considered mindless entertainment. In fact, many apps and social media networks can be used for educational and academic purposes.”

Step 3 End the intro with your thesis statement.

  • Make sure the background information about your topic that you include in your intro flows nicely into your thesis.

Step 4 Discuss your major points in detail in the body of your paper.

  • Think of each paragraph as kind of a mini essay in and of itself. Each paragraph should be a self-contained chunk of information that relates to the overall topic and thesis of your paper.
  • Supporting evidence can be things like statistics, data, facts, and quotes from your sources

Step 5 Connect your body paragraphs in a logical way.

  • For example, put a paragraph about the reasons behind the collapse of the Soviet Union before a paragraph about the changes to Eastern European societies in the 90s, because the collapse of the Soviet Union directly led to many of those changes.
  • If your first body paragraph discusses the extent of deforestation in the Amazon over the past decade, and your second paragraph is going to explain how that affects animal extinction, state the shift in focus by writing something like: “The deforestation of the Amazon over the last decade has resulted in a drastic reduction of natural habitats for many species.”

Step 6 Start your conclusion...

  • For example, if your thesis in your intro was “The use of technology can benefit children because it improves developmental skills,” restate it something like this: “The use of technology contributes to children’s well-rounded development from a young age.”

Step 7 Sum up your main supporting points and how they support your argument.

  • For example, you might write something like: “Deforestation is directly linked to climate change and increasingly extreme weather across the world, which is why global governments must take more action to stop illegal logging.”

Step 8 End by stating what the significance of your argument is.

  • For example, say something like: “Ignoring the realities of deforestation and climate change has grave implications for all of us. If we don’t start putting more pressure on governments to act, your children or grandchildren will be living in a very different world from that which we inhabit today.”

Citing Sources

Step 1 Write an MLA-style...

  • Humanities subjects include language arts and cultural studies.
  • Note that these are just the basic rules for writing an MLA-style works cited page. For a full list of rules regarding all things MLA and citations, refer to an MLA handbook.
  • Note that there is some crossover between certain subjects, in which case more than 1 style of works cited or reference page may be acceptable.
  • Always review your assignment rubric or ask your professor which style of citations they prefer before writing your reference or works cited page.

Step 2 Cite references in...

  • Social sciences include psychology, sociology, and anthropology.
  • Refer to an APA style guide for complete rules about how to list different types of sources.

Step 3 Cite sources in...

  • Check a Chicago Manual of Style for more specific instructions about citations.
  • Note that Chicago style is more commonly used for published works. If you’re a student, your professor might instruct you to use MLA format for your papers.

Revising, Editing, and Proofreading

Step 1 Analyze your paper and eliminate unnecessary information.

  • Anywhere from a few hours to a day is a good amount of time to wait before you start revising your paper. The point is to come back to it with a fresh set of eyes.
  • If you can, get a roommate, a family member, a friend, or a classmate to read your paper too. Ask them for advice on ways you could make your argument and your evidence more clear or relevant.
  • Here are 3 questions to ask yourself as you read each sentence and piece of information in your paper: Is this really worth saying? Does this say what I want it to say? Will readers understand what I’m saying?

Step 2 Tighten and clean up the language.

  • It helps to read your paper out loud as you do this. Listen for awkward pauses, phrases, and sentence structure, and revise them so the writing flows better.
  • Try copying and pasting your essay into the free online tool called “Hemingway.” The app suggests many different ways to make your writing clearer, more direct, and more readable.

Step 3 Edit for repetition and look for better words to use.

  • Take this sentence as an example: “The collapse of the Soviet Union resulted in the collapse of local governments and economies across Eastern Europe.” Instead of using “collapse” twice, replace the second instance with “crumbling.”

Step 4 Proofread for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.

  • It’s also a good idea to paste your paper into a third-party tool, like Grammarly, for a final spelling and grammar check. Not every program catches everything, so it’s better to be on the safe side!

Sample Research Papers

how to write a paper you don't care about

Sample Essays

how to write a paper you don't care about

Expert Q&A

Matthew Snipp, PhD

You Might Also Like

Write an Essay

  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/research_papers/choosing_a_topic.html
  • ↑ https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/developing-thesis
  • ↑ Matthew Snipp, PhD. Research Fellow, U.S. Bureau of the Census. Expert Interview. 26 March 2020.
  • ↑ https://library.piedmont.edu/c.php?g=521348&p=3564584
  • ↑ https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/writingprocess/outlining
  • ↑ https://writingcenter.uagc.edu/introductions-conclusions
  • ↑ https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/14011/writing/112/essay_writing/6
  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_basic_format.html
  • ↑ https://aut.ac.nz.libguides.com/APA6th/referencelist
  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/chicago_manual_17th_edition/cmos_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html
  • ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/proofreading/steps_for_revising.html
  • ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/revising-drafts/

About This Article

Matthew Snipp, PhD

To write a paper, review the assignment sheet and rubric, and begin your research. Decide what you want to argue in your paper, and form it into your thesis statement, which is a sentence that sums up your argument and main points. Make an outline of the argument, and then start writing the introduction to the paper, which grabs your reader's attention and states the thesis. Then, include at least 3 paragraphs of supporting evidence for your argument, which makes up the body of the paper. Finally, end the paper with a conclusion that wraps up your points and restate your thesis. For tips from our academic reviewer on refining your paper and making a strong argument, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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College Essays

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If you grow up to be a professional writer, everything you write will first go through an editor before being published. This is because the process of writing is really a process of re-writing —of rethinking and reexamining your work, usually with the help of someone else. So what does this mean for your student writing? And in particular, what does it mean for very important, but nonprofessional writing like your college essay? Should you ask your parents to look at your essay? Pay for an essay service?

If you are wondering what kind of help you can, and should, get with your personal statement, you've come to the right place! In this article, I'll talk about what kind of writing help is useful, ethical, and even expected for your college admission essay . I'll also point out who would make a good editor, what the differences between editing and proofreading are, what to expect from a good editor, and how to spot and stay away from a bad one.

Table of Contents

What Kind of Help for Your Essay Can You Get?

What's Good Editing?

What should an editor do for you, what kind of editing should you avoid, proofreading, what's good proofreading, what kind of proofreading should you avoid.

What Do Colleges Think Of You Getting Help With Your Essay?

Who Can/Should Help You?

Advice for editors.

Should You Pay Money For Essay Editing?

The Bottom Line

What's next, what kind of help with your essay can you get.

Rather than talking in general terms about "help," let's first clarify the two different ways that someone else can improve your writing . There is editing, which is the more intensive kind of assistance that you can use throughout the whole process. And then there's proofreading, which is the last step of really polishing your final product.

Let me go into some more detail about editing and proofreading, and then explain how good editors and proofreaders can help you."

Editing is helping the author (in this case, you) go from a rough draft to a finished work . Editing is the process of asking questions about what you're saying, how you're saying it, and how you're organizing your ideas. But not all editing is good editing . In fact, it's very easy for an editor to cross the line from supportive to overbearing and over-involved.

Ability to clarify assignments. A good editor is usually a good writer, and certainly has to be a good reader. For example, in this case, a good editor should make sure you understand the actual essay prompt you're supposed to be answering.

Open-endedness. Good editing is all about asking questions about your ideas and work, but without providing answers. It's about letting you stick to your story and message, and doesn't alter your point of view.

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Think of an editor as a great travel guide. It can show you the many different places your trip could take you. It should explain any parts of the trip that could derail your trip or confuse the traveler. But it never dictates your path, never forces you to go somewhere you don't want to go, and never ignores your interests so that the trip no longer seems like it's your own. So what should good editors do?

Help Brainstorm Topics

Sometimes it's easier to bounce thoughts off of someone else. This doesn't mean that your editor gets to come up with ideas, but they can certainly respond to the various topic options you've come up with. This way, you're less likely to write about the most boring of your ideas, or to write about something that isn't actually important to you.

If you're wondering how to come up with options for your editor to consider, check out our guide to brainstorming topics for your college essay .

Help Revise Your Drafts

Here, your editor can't upset the delicate balance of not intervening too much or too little. It's tricky, but a great way to think about it is to remember: editing is about asking questions, not giving answers .

Revision questions should point out:

  • Places where more detail or more description would help the reader connect with your essay
  • Places where structure and logic don't flow, losing the reader's attention
  • Places where there aren't transitions between paragraphs, confusing the reader
  • Moments where your narrative or the arguments you're making are unclear

But pointing to potential problems is not the same as actually rewriting—editors let authors fix the problems themselves.

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Craft Your Perfect College Essay

Bad editing is usually very heavy-handed editing. Instead of helping you find your best voice and ideas, a bad editor changes your writing into their own vision.

You may be dealing with a bad editor if they:

  • Add material (examples, descriptions) that doesn't come from you
  • Use a thesaurus to make your college essay sound "more mature"
  • Add meaning or insight to the essay that doesn't come from you
  • Tell you what to say and how to say it
  • Write sentences, phrases, and paragraphs for you
  • Change your voice in the essay so it no longer sounds like it was written by a teenager

Colleges can tell the difference between a 17-year-old's writing and a 50-year-old's writing. Not only that, they have access to your SAT or ACT Writing section, so they can compare your essay to something else you wrote. Writing that's a little more polished is great and expected. But a totally different voice and style will raise questions.

Where's the Line Between Helpful Editing and Unethical Over-Editing?

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether your college essay editor is doing the right thing. Here are some guidelines for staying on the ethical side of the line.

  • An editor should say that the opening paragraph is kind of boring, and explain what exactly is making it drag. But it's overstepping for an editor to tell you exactly how to change it.
  • An editor should point out where your prose is unclear or vague. But it's completely inappropriate for the editor to rewrite that section of your essay.
  • An editor should let you know that a section is light on detail or description. But giving you similes and metaphors to beef up that description is a no-go.

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Proofreading (also called copy-editing) is checking for errors in the last draft of a written work. It happens at the end of the process and is meant as the final polishing touch. Proofreading is meticulous and detail-oriented, focusing on small corrections. It sands off all the surface rough spots that could alienate the reader.

Because proofreading is usually concerned with making fixes on the word or sentence level, this is the only process where someone else can actually add to or take away things from your essay . This is because what they are adding or taking away tends to be one or two misplaced letters.

Laser focus. Proofreading is all about the tiny details, so the ability to really concentrate on finding small slip-ups is a must.

Excellent grammar and spelling skills. Proofreaders need to dot every "i" and cross every "t." Good proofreaders should correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. They should put foreign words in italics and surround quotations with quotation marks. They should check that you used the correct college's name, and that you adhered to any formatting requirements (name and date at the top of the page, uniform font and size, uniform spacing).

Limited interference. A proofreader needs to make sure that you followed any word limits. But if cuts need to be made to shorten the essay, that's your job and not the proofreader's.

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A bad proofreader either tries to turn into an editor, or just lacks the skills and knowledge necessary to do the job.

Some signs that you're working with a bad proofreader are:

  • If they suggest making major changes to the final draft of your essay. Proofreading happens when editing is already finished.
  • If they aren't particularly good at spelling, or don't know grammar, or aren't detail-oriented enough to find someone else's small mistakes.
  • If they start swapping out your words for fancier-sounding synonyms, or changing the voice and sound of your essay in other ways. A proofreader is there to check for errors, not to take the 17-year-old out of your writing.

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What Do Colleges Think of Your Getting Help With Your Essay?

Admissions officers agree: light editing and proofreading are good—even required ! But they also want to make sure you're the one doing the work on your essay. They want essays with stories, voice, and themes that come from you. They want to see work that reflects your actual writing ability, and that focuses on what you find important.

On the Importance of Editing

Get feedback. Have a fresh pair of eyes give you some feedback. Don't allow someone else to rewrite your essay, but do take advantage of others' edits and opinions when they seem helpful. ( Bates College )

Read your essay aloud to someone. Reading the essay out loud offers a chance to hear how your essay sounds outside your head. This exercise reveals flaws in the essay's flow, highlights grammatical errors and helps you ensure that you are communicating the exact message you intended. ( Dickinson College )

On the Value of Proofreading

Share your essays with at least one or two people who know you well—such as a parent, teacher, counselor, or friend—and ask for feedback. Remember that you ultimately have control over your essays, and your essays should retain your own voice, but others may be able to catch mistakes that you missed and help suggest areas to cut if you are over the word limit. ( Yale University )

Proofread and then ask someone else to proofread for you. Although we want substance, we also want to be able to see that you can write a paper for our professors and avoid careless mistakes that would drive them crazy. ( Oberlin College )

On Watching Out for Too Much Outside Influence

Limit the number of people who review your essay. Too much input usually means your voice is lost in the writing style. ( Carleton College )

Ask for input (but not too much). Your parents, friends, guidance counselors, coaches, and teachers are great people to bounce ideas off of for your essay. They know how unique and spectacular you are, and they can help you decide how to articulate it. Keep in mind, however, that a 45-year-old lawyer writes quite differently from an 18-year-old student, so if your dad ends up writing the bulk of your essay, we're probably going to notice. ( Vanderbilt University )

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Now let's talk about some potential people to approach for your college essay editing and proofreading needs. It's best to start close to home and slowly expand outward. Not only are your family and friends more invested in your success than strangers, but they also have a better handle on your interests and personality. This knowledge is key for judging whether your essay is expressing your true self.

Parents or Close Relatives

Your family may be full of potentially excellent editors! Parents are deeply committed to your well-being, and family members know you and your life well enough to offer details or incidents that can be included in your essay. On the other hand, the rewriting process necessarily involves criticism, which is sometimes hard to hear from someone very close to you.

A parent or close family member is a great choice for an editor if you can answer "yes" to the following questions. Is your parent or close relative a good writer or reader? Do you have a relationship where editing your essay won't create conflict? Are you able to constructively listen to criticism and suggestion from the parent?

One suggestion for defusing face-to-face discussions is to try working on the essay over email. Send your parent a draft, have them write you back some comments, and then you can pick which of their suggestions you want to use and which to discard.

Teachers or Tutors

A humanities teacher that you have a good relationship with is a great choice. I am purposefully saying humanities, and not just English, because teachers of Philosophy, History, Anthropology, and any other classes where you do a lot of writing, are all used to reviewing student work.

Moreover, any teacher or tutor that has been working with you for some time, knows you very well and can vet the essay to make sure it "sounds like you."

If your teacher or tutor has some experience with what college essays are supposed to be like, ask them to be your editor. If not, then ask whether they have time to proofread your final draft.

Guidance or College Counselor at Your School

The best thing about asking your counselor to edit your work is that this is their job. This means that they have a very good sense of what colleges are looking for in an application essay.

At the same time, school counselors tend to have relationships with admissions officers in many colleges, which again gives them insight into what works and which college is focused on what aspect of the application.

Unfortunately, in many schools the guidance counselor tends to be way overextended. If your ratio is 300 students to 1 college counselor, you're unlikely to get that person's undivided attention and focus. It is still useful to ask them for general advice about your potential topics, but don't expect them to be able to stay with your essay from first draft to final version.

Friends, Siblings, or Classmates

Although they most likely don't have much experience with what colleges are hoping to see, your peers are excellent sources for checking that your essay is you .

Friends and siblings are perfect for the read-aloud edit. Read your essay to them so they can listen for words and phrases that are stilted, pompous, or phrases that just don't sound like you.

You can even trade essays and give helpful advice on each other's work.

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If your editor hasn't worked with college admissions essays very much, no worries! Any astute and attentive reader can still greatly help with your process. But, as in all things, beginners do better with some preparation.

First, your editor should read our advice about how to write a college essay introduction , how to spot and fix a bad college essay , and get a sense of what other students have written by going through some admissions essays that worked .

Then, as they read your essay, they can work through the following series of questions that will help them to guide you.

Introduction Questions

  • Is the first sentence a killer opening line? Why or why not?
  • Does the introduction hook the reader? Does it have a colorful, detailed, and interesting narrative? Or does it propose a compelling or surprising idea?
  • Can you feel the author's voice in the introduction, or is the tone dry, dull, or overly formal? Show the places where the voice comes through.

Essay Body Questions

  • Does the essay have a through-line? Is it built around a central argument, thought, idea, or focus? Can you put this idea into your own words?
  • How is the essay organized? By logical progression? Chronologically? Do you feel order when you read it, or are there moments where you are confused or lose the thread of the essay?
  • Does the essay have both narratives about the author's life and explanations and insight into what these stories reveal about the author's character, personality, goals, or dreams? If not, which is missing?
  • Does the essay flow? Are there smooth transitions/clever links between paragraphs? Between the narrative and moments of insight?

Reader Response Questions

  • Does the writer's personality come through? Do we know what the speaker cares about? Do we get a sense of "who he or she is"?
  • Where did you feel most connected to the essay? Which parts of the essay gave you a "you are there" sensation by invoking your senses? What moments could you picture in your head well?
  • Where are the details and examples vague and not specific enough?
  • Did you get an "a-ha!" feeling anywhere in the essay? Is there a moment of insight that connected all the dots for you? Is there a good reveal or "twist" anywhere in the essay?
  • What are the strengths of this essay? What needs the most improvement?

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Should You Pay Money for Essay Editing?

One alternative to asking someone you know to help you with your college essay is the paid editor route. There are two different ways to pay for essay help: a private essay coach or a less personal editing service , like the many proliferating on the internet.

My advice is to think of these options as a last resort rather than your go-to first choice. I'll first go through the reasons why. Then, if you do decide to go with a paid editor, I'll help you decide between a coach and a service.

When to Consider a Paid Editor

In general, I think hiring someone to work on your essay makes a lot of sense if none of the people I discussed above are a possibility for you.

If you can't ask your parents. For example, if your parents aren't good writers, or if English isn't their first language. Or if you think getting your parents to help is going create unnecessary extra conflict in your relationship with them (applying to college is stressful as it is!)

If you can't ask your teacher or tutor. Maybe you don't have a trusted teacher or tutor that has time to look over your essay with focus. Or, for instance, your favorite humanities teacher has very limited experience with college essays and so won't know what admissions officers want to see.

If you can't ask your guidance counselor. This could be because your guidance counselor is way overwhelmed with other students.

If you can't share your essay with those who know you. It might be that your essay is on a very personal topic that you're unwilling to share with parents, teachers, or peers. Just make sure it doesn't fall into one of the bad-idea topics in our article on bad college essays .

If the cost isn't a consideration. Many of these services are quite expensive, and private coaches even more so. If you have finite resources, I'd say that hiring an SAT or ACT tutor (whether it's PrepScholar or someone else) is better way to spend your money . This is because there's no guarantee that a slightly better essay will sufficiently elevate the rest of your application, but a significantly higher SAT score will definitely raise your applicant profile much more.

Should You Hire an Essay Coach?

On the plus side, essay coaches have read dozens or even hundreds of college essays, so they have experience with the format. Also, because you'll be working closely with a specific person, it's more personal than sending your essay to a service, which will know even less about you.

But, on the minus side, you'll still be bouncing ideas off of someone who doesn't know that much about you . In general, if you can adequately get the help from someone you know, there is no advantage to paying someone to help you.

If you do decide to hire a coach, ask your school counselor, or older students that have used the service for recommendations. If you can't afford the coach's fees, ask whether they can work on a sliding scale —many do. And finally, beware those who guarantee admission to your school of choice—essay coaches don't have any special magic that can back up those promises.

Should You Send Your Essay to a Service?

On the plus side, essay editing services provide a similar product to essay coaches, and they cost significantly less . If you have some assurance that you'll be working with a good editor, the lack of face-to-face interaction won't prevent great results.

On the minus side, however, it can be difficult to gauge the quality of the service before working with them . If they are churning through many application essays without getting to know the students they are helping, you could end up with an over-edited essay that sounds just like everyone else's. In the worst case scenario, an unscrupulous service could send you back a plagiarized essay.

Getting recommendations from friends or a school counselor for reputable services is key to avoiding heavy-handed editing that writes essays for you or does too much to change your essay. Including a badly-edited essay like this in your application could cause problems if there are inconsistencies. For example, in interviews it might be clear you didn't write the essay, or the skill of the essay might not be reflected in your schoolwork and test scores.

Should You Buy an Essay Written by Someone Else?

Let me elaborate. There are super sketchy places on the internet where you can simply buy a pre-written essay. Don't do this!

For one thing, you'll be lying on an official, signed document. All college applications make you sign a statement saying something like this:

I certify that all information submitted in the admission process—including the application, the personal essay, any supplements, and any other supporting materials—is my own work, factually true, and honestly presented... I understand that I may be subject to a range of possible disciplinary actions, including admission revocation, expulsion, or revocation of course credit, grades, and degree, should the information I have certified be false. (From the Common Application )

For another thing, if your academic record doesn't match the essay's quality, the admissions officer will start thinking your whole application is riddled with lies.

Admission officers have full access to your writing portion of the SAT or ACT so that they can compare work that was done in proctored conditions with that done at home. They can tell if these were written by different people. Not only that, but there are now a number of search engines that faculty and admission officers can use to see if an essay contains strings of words that have appeared in other essays—you have no guarantee that the essay you bought wasn't also bought by 50 other students.

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  • You should get college essay help with both editing and proofreading
  • A good editor will ask questions about your idea, logic, and structure, and will point out places where clarity is needed
  • A good editor will absolutely not answer these questions, give you their own ideas, or write the essay or parts of the essay for you
  • A good proofreader will find typos and check your formatting
  • All of them agree that getting light editing and proofreading is necessary
  • Parents, teachers, guidance or college counselor, and peers or siblings
  • If you can't ask any of those, you can pay for college essay help, but watch out for services or coaches who over-edit you work
  • Don't buy a pre-written essay! Colleges can tell, and it'll make your whole application sound false.

Ready to start working on your essay? Check out our explanation of the point of the personal essay and the role it plays on your applications and then explore our step-by-step guide to writing a great college essay .

Using the Common Application for your college applications? We have an excellent guide to the Common App essay prompts and useful advice on how to pick the Common App prompt that's right for you . Wondering how other people tackled these prompts? Then work through our roundup of over 130 real college essay examples published by colleges .

Stressed about whether to take the SAT again before submitting your application? Let us help you decide how many times to take this test . If you choose to go for it, we have the ultimate guide to studying for the SAT to give you the ins and outs of the best ways to study.

Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Get eBook: 5 Tips for 160+ Points

Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

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When You Couldn?t Care Less About Your Writing Topic

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By: Brian Jensen

Content is king. That’s what they say, anyway. But when you’re not the least bit interested in your writing topic, you’ll be lucky if your content can even make it into the royal court as a servant. Let’s face it: Everyone does a better job — no matter their industry — when they’re interested in what they’re doing. This is especially true for copywriters, content marketers, social media experts, and anybody who’s writing anything meant to inspire sales.

When you write good content, you’ll ideally be speaking to your audience in a way that’s familiar and comfortable to them. You’ll be hitting their pain points, piquing their interests, and convincing them your product or service (or that of your client’s) is the answer they’ve been looking for.

Die-hard searchers may wade through uninspiring content if they’re convinced it offers them the right solution to their problems or desires. But most people will click away before they’re halfway done if they aren’t interested in what you’re writing.

So when you don’t care about the writing topic, how can you make it interesting for your target audience?

One effective strategy is to “fake it until you make it.” Imagine you’ve been left alone for an afternoon with that one great uncle who only wants to talk about his stamp collection. 30 seconds into peering at stamps with a magnifying glass, you’re ready to throw in the towel. But you promised your mother you’d keep him company.

And nobody wants to disappoint their mother.

So now you’re stuck for several hours with a topic you couldn’t care less about. Enduring is okay, but why not make the most of it?

This is what you do: Act interested. Listen to your great uncle until you have a question. And once you have a question, POUNCE on it because you finally found The Thing that’s interesting to you.

Rinse and repeat as many times as you need.

Now do this with your clients and topics. I once had to interview a man about mini racecars for a newspaper article. Prior to the interview, my interest in mini racecars went from 0 to 60 slower than an ancient snail on its last leg (last muscular ventral foot, to be exact). But HE was interested in the topic (obviously), and so I faked enthusiasm.

Pretty soon, I began to feel real enthusiasm for his mini racecar and associated events. When I went to write the article, my notes were filled with interesting quotes and facts. It was simple to make the article worth reading for my audience because by feigning interest, I had stumbled upon the interesting bits of mini racecar driving.

Tell a Story

picture of books

Listing facts about pest control isn’t going to excite you , and it certainly won’t entice readers to learn more about your client’s ant-killing service. Instead, imagine you’re telling a story to the person in your life who would be the least likely to be interested in ant poison. This person has never thought about ant poison and would rather be doing anything else (looking at stamps, perhaps) instead of talking to you about it. How are you going to make the ant poison interesting to this person?

As a story.

We all love listening to stories; it’s why fairy tales and fables are retold again and again in 1,000 different ways. We love to see them acted out on stage, on the screen, or in our heads. We especially love to imagine ourselves in those stories. Cinderella becomes more interesting when we think about how the mean lunch lady in 2 nd grade acted an awful lot like poor Cinderella’s  evil stepmother. Guardians of the Galaxy puts us in the scene when the ‘80s songs strike up nostalgia from different phases in our lives.

So put your reader in a story about ant poison. How would your reader feel if she woke up to a line of ants marching off with bread crumbs in her kitchen – and all before she even had time to have her morning coffee? How would your reader feel if he let his toddler play on the back porch for a few moments, and returned to find him covered in ants?

Let them imagine these scenarios by writing copy that puts them in those situations. You’ll enjoy writing imaginative copy, and they’ll be guaranteed to pay attention as they imagine the horror of those situations.

And the bonus? Your story will make the problem so real that they’ll be ready to consider your client’s pest control.

Find the Golden Nugget

gold bars

Every subject has that one thing that’s so compelling, so interesting, people can’t help but pay attention. Every subject. Even your great uncle’s stamp collections. Or your accountant neighbor’s spreadsheets.

I once had to write an article about a new crosswalk.

I wracked my brain on how to make the topic interesting. The first thing I did was ask myself: Who wants to read an article about a new crosswalk? Well, the people in the neighborhood might care to know there’s a new, safe place to cross the street. Why? Maybe their neighborhood has had a lot of accidents lately. Maybe pedestrians have been crossing willy nilly all up and down the street, and now that will end.

These little nuggets are the WHY.

WHY is this story worth telling? And what else is unique about it? The particular crosswalk from my article employed a new technology. It really wasn’t that interesting, but it was the first crosswalk in the state to use the technology. Groundbreaking technology (even when it’s just a crosswalk) is a golden nugget of information that’s worth noting.

It doesn’t do a whole lot to simply write that there’s a new crosswalk. Ask yourself WHY until you find the golden nugget of information that will make people care.

WIIFM? Yes, Me

You’ve heard this one before: What’s in It for Me ?

When you’re selling something to someone as you do when you write copy, you need to demonstrate why this thing you’re selling is relevant, needed, and/or desired by your target audience. They need to know what they stand to gain from buying your client’s product or service.

You already know this.

But if you don’t believe in the product or service, you’re going to have a hard time convincing somebody else to do so. So what’s in it for you ? Before you can sell the product to someone else, you need to first sell it to yourself. What would make you part with your hard-earned dollars to snatch up that product or service today?

Make a list of the benefits someone can gain from your client’s product or service, and then narrow in on the ones that are most enticing to you. NOW, imagine how those benefits would improve your life.

I’m not a jewelry person, but I once had a client who sold customized jewelry. To me, the earrings and necklaces were frivolous expenses and I struggled to see their value or desirability. But then I listed out the benefits and found a few that spoke to me.

  • The jewelry could be customized to represent a special occasion in someone’s life.
  • The customization meant the jewelry was one-of-a-kind.
  • Because it was an internet company, a customer could play with the customization tool in their pajamas and order a new piece of jewelry without having to speak to a pushy salesperson.

These things appealed to me, and while I didn’t ever fork over the cash for the pricey items, I could finally see why somebody else would do such a thing. Finally, I was in the customer’s heads, and I found dozens of interesting topics to write about.

Just Start Writing

how to write a paper you don't care about

You can’t create something from nothing. If you can’t find any interest in the writing topic, open up a blank document and just start writing about the topic.

  • Write about how much you hate the topic, and list the reasons why.
  • Write about why you think somebody might be interested in the topic.
  • Write about what that kind of person would be like (even if you write negatively about that type of person).
  • Simply write a description of the product or service you’re trying to promote.
  • Make a list of words that relate to your topic.
  • Just write.

The act of writing — especially when you’re writing about your writing topic — will open your mind. Even as you write about how much you hate the topic, you’ll be writing about the topic. And suddenly, that golden nugget mentioned above will reveal itself.

You can even copy and paste information about your topic and arrange it into a logical order. This act will get your brain in gear. Just be careful to remove the copied text before you begin your own writing. Don’t plagiarize!

Take a Walk — Seriously

how to write a paper you don't care about

We weren’t made to stare at computer screens, but when you’re in the business of content creation, that’s what you do for much of your waking hours. I’ve found that too much time with my computer stunts my ideas.

I’ve never read anything to support this theory, but I’m convinced that our thoughts get trapped when we isolate ourselves in offices, staring at the computer. There’s just nowhere for thoughts to go after a while. Taking a walk outside gives your eyes something else to look at, your ears something else to listen to, and your thoughts so much more room to travel.

Take a walk at least once a day, and let your mind wander. You don’t have to think about your client — or the boring topic. In fact, try not to. Just enjoy the time away from your computer.

Don’t like walking? Schedule some time to do something you do enjoy — something that isn’t related to work. The point is to get your mind wandering. It’s in the wandering you’ll stumble upon new ideas and inspiration that you can take back with you to your office.

How do you find the motivation to write about something that isn’t interesting to you?

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Critical Writing Program: Decision Making - Spring 2024: Researching the White Paper

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Research the White Paper

Researching the White Paper:

The process of researching and composing a white paper shares some similarities with the kind of research and writing one does for a high school or college research paper. What’s important for writers of white papers to grasp, however, is how much this genre differs from a research paper.  First, the author of a white paper already recognizes that there is a problem to be solved, a decision to be made, and the job of the author is to provide readers with substantive information to help them make some kind of decision--which may include a decision to do more research because major gaps remain. 

Thus, a white paper author would not “brainstorm” a topic. Instead, the white paper author would get busy figuring out how the problem is defined by those who are experiencing it as a problem. Typically that research begins in popular culture--social media, surveys, interviews, newspapers. Once the author has a handle on how the problem is being defined and experienced, its history and its impact, what people in the trenches believe might be the best or worst ways of addressing it, the author then will turn to academic scholarship as well as “grey” literature (more about that later).  Unlike a school research paper, the author does not set out to argue for or against a particular position, and then devote the majority of effort to finding sources to support the selected position.  Instead, the author sets out in good faith to do as much fact-finding as possible, and thus research is likely to present multiple, conflicting, and overlapping perspectives. When people research out of a genuine desire to understand and solve a problem, they listen to every source that may offer helpful information. They will thus have to do much more analysis, synthesis, and sorting of that information, which will often not fall neatly into a “pro” or “con” camp:  Solution A may, for example, solve one part of the problem but exacerbate another part of the problem. Solution C may sound like what everyone wants, but what if it’s built on a set of data that have been criticized by another reliable source?  And so it goes. 

For example, if you are trying to write a white paper on the opioid crisis, you may focus on the value of  providing free, sterilized needles--which do indeed reduce disease, and also provide an opportunity for the health care provider distributing them to offer addiction treatment to the user. However, the free needles are sometimes discarded on the ground, posing a danger to others; or they may be shared; or they may encourage more drug usage. All of those things can be true at once; a reader will want to know about all of these considerations in order to make an informed decision. That is the challenging job of the white paper author.     â€¨ The research you do for your white paper will require that you identify a specific problem, seek popular culture sources to help define the problem, its history, its significance and impact for people affected by it.  You will then delve into academic and grey literature to learn about the way scholars and others with professional expertise answer these same questions. In this way, you will create creating a layered, complex portrait that provides readers with a substantive exploration useful for deliberating and decision-making. You will also likely need to find or create images, including tables, figures, illustrations or photographs, and you will document all of your sources. 

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The Loss of Things I Took for Granted

Ten years into my college teaching career, students stopped being able to read effectively..

Recent years have seen successive waves of book bans in Republican-controlled states, aimed at pulling any text with “woke” themes from classrooms and library shelves. Though the results sometimes seem farcical, as with the banning of Art Spiegelman’s Maus due to its inclusion of “cuss words” and explicit rodent nudity, the book-banning agenda is no laughing matter. Motivated by bigotry, it has already done demonstrable harm and promises to do more. But at the same time, the appropriate response is, in principle, simple. Named individuals have advanced explicit policies with clear goals and outcomes, and we can replace those individuals with people who want to reverse those policies. That is already beginning to happen in many places, and I hope those successes will continue until every banned book is restored.

If and when that happens, however, we will not be able to declare victory quite yet. Defeating the open conspiracy to deprive students of physical access to books will do little to counteract the more diffuse confluence of forces that are depriving students of the skills needed to meaningfully engage with those books in the first place. As a college educator, I am confronted daily with the results of that conspiracy-without-conspirators. I have been teaching in small liberal arts colleges for over 15 years now, and in the past five years, it’s as though someone flipped a switch. For most of my career, I assigned around 30 pages of reading per class meeting as a baseline expectation—sometimes scaling up for purely expository readings or pulling back for more difficult texts. (No human being can read 30 pages of Hegel in one sitting, for example.) Now students are intimidated by anything over 10 pages and seem to walk away from readings of as little as 20 pages with no real understanding. Even smart and motivated students struggle to do more with written texts than extract decontextualized take-aways. Considerable class time is taken up simply establishing what happened in a story or the basic steps of an argument—skills I used to be able to take for granted.

Since this development very directly affects my ability to do my job as I understand it, I talk about it a lot. And when I talk about it with nonacademics, certain predictable responses inevitably arise, all questioning the reality of the trend I describe. Hasn’t every generation felt that the younger cohort is going to hell in a handbasket? Haven’t professors always complained that educators at earlier levels are not adequately equipping their students? And haven’t students from time immemorial skipped the readings?

The response of my fellow academics, however, reassures me that I’m not simply indulging in intergenerational grousing. Anecdotally, I have literally never met a professor who did not share my experience. Professors are also discussing the issue in academic trade publications , from a variety of perspectives. What we almost all seem to agree on is that we are facing new obstacles in structuring and delivering our courses, requiring us to ratchet down expectations in the face of a ratcheting down of preparation. Yes, there were always students who skipped the readings, but we are in new territory when even highly motivated honors students struggle to grasp the basic argument of a 20-page article. Yes, professors never feel satisfied that high school teachers have done enough, but not every generation of professors has had to deal with the fallout of No Child Left Behind and Common Core. Finally, yes, every generation thinks the younger generation is failing to make the grade— except for the current cohort of professors, who are by and large more invested in their students’ success and mental health and more responsive to student needs than any group of educators in human history. We are not complaining about our students. We are complaining about what has been taken from them.

If we ask what has caused this change, there are some obvious culprits. The first is the same thing that has taken away almost everyone’s ability to focus—the ubiquitous smartphone. Even as a career academic who studies the Quran in Arabic for fun, I have noticed my reading endurance flagging. I once found myself boasting at a faculty meeting that I had read through my entire hourlong train ride without looking at my phone. My colleagues agreed this was a major feat, one they had not achieved recently. Even if I rarely attain that high level of focus, though, I am able to “turn it on” when demanded, for instance to plow through a big novel during a holiday break. That’s because I was able to develop and practice those skills of extended concentration and attentive reading before the intervention of the smartphone. For children who were raised with smartphones, by contrast, that foundation is missing. It is probably no coincidence that the iPhone itself, originally released in 2007, is approaching college age, meaning that professors are increasingly dealing with students who would have become addicted to the dopamine hit of the omnipresent screen long before they were introduced to the more subtle pleasures of the page.

The second go-to explanation is the massive disruption of school closures during COVID-19. There is still some debate about the necessity of those measures, but what is not up for debate any longer is the very real learning loss that students suffered at every level. The impact will inevitably continue to be felt for the next decade or more, until the last cohort affected by the mass “pivot to online” finally graduates. I doubt that the pandemic closures were the decisive factor in themselves, however. Not only did the marked decline in reading resilience start before the pandemic, but the students I am seeing would have already been in high school during the school closures. Hence they would be better equipped to get something out of the online format and, more importantly, their basic reading competence would have already been established.

Less discussed than these broader cultural trends over which educators have little control are the major changes in reading pedagogy that have occurred in recent decades—some motivated by the ever-increasing demand to “teach to the test” and some by fads coming out of schools of education. In the latter category is the widely discussed decline in phonics education in favor of the “balanced literacy” approach advocated by education expert Lucy Calkins (who has more recently come to accept the need for more phonics instruction). I started to see the results of this ill-advised change several years ago, when students abruptly stopped attempting to sound out unfamiliar words and instead paused until they recognized the whole word as a unit. (In a recent class session, a smart, capable student was caught short by the word circumstances when reading a text out loud.) The result of this vibes-based literacy is that students never attain genuine fluency in reading. Even aside from the impact of smartphones, their experience of reading is constantly interrupted by their intentionally cultivated inability to process unfamiliar words.

For all the flaws of the balanced literacy method, it was presumably implemented by people who thought it would help. It is hard to see a similar motivation in the growing trend toward assigning students only the kind of short passages that can be included in a standardized test. Due in part to changes driven by the infamous Common Core standards , teachers now have to fight to assign their students longer readings, much less entire books, because those activities won’t feed directly into students getting higher test scores, which leads to schools getting more funding. The emphasis on standardized tests was always a distraction at best, but we have reached the point where it is actively cannibalizing students’ educational experience—an outcome no one intended or planned, and for which there is no possible justification.

We can’t go back in time and do the pandemic differently at this point, nor is there any realistic path to putting the smartphone genie back in the bottle. (Though I will note that we as a society do at least attempt to keep other addictive products out of the hands of children.) But I have to think that we can, at the very least, stop actively preventing young people from developing the ability to follow extended narratives and arguments in the classroom. Regardless of their profession or ultimate educational level, they will need those skills. The world is a complicated place. People—their histories and identities, their institutions and work processes, their fears and desires—are simply too complex to be captured in a worksheet with a paragraph and some reading comprehension questions. Large-scale prose writing is the best medium we have for capturing that complexity, and the education system should not be in the business of keeping students from learning how to engage effectively with it.

This is a matter not of snobbery, but of basic justice. I recognize that not everyone centers their lives on books as much as a humanities professor does. I think they’re missing out, but they’re adults and they can choose how to spend their time. What’s happening with the current generation is not that they are simply choosing TikTok over Jane Austen. They are being deprived of the ability to choose—for no real reason or benefit. We can and must stop perpetrating this crime on our young people.

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IRS is sending out collection letters for the first time in 2 years. Here's what to know.

how to write a paper you don't care about

The IRS collection letters are arriving in mailboxes once again. And if you get one, tax professionals say, please, don't throw it in a drawer and ignore it.

The automated reminder notices resumed in January and are set to go out in the regular mail on a staggered basis over the next several months. More than 3.7 million taxpayers in the IRS automated collection system are expected to receive these reminder notices.

"Taxpayers are urged to first read the notice carefully, then if there are any questions call the number on the notice itself," said Luis Garcia, a spokesperson for the IRS in Detroit, Michigan.

Don't worry. It's not an audit

The IRS is sending out what it calls an "LT38 Notice" to let you know that during the pandemic some collection notices were suspended. This isn't a letter to inform you of an audit. Instead, the IRS is resuming the reminders and providing an update on your outstanding balance and options to resolve the debt.

The IRS also states that if you paid your balance owed in full within the last 21 days, you can disregard the LT38 you received in the mail.

Many tax filers could be shocked to spot a letter in the mail because the IRS hasn't been sending out these types of reminders for two years. They most likely received an initial notice that went out well before 2022. But many people might have lost that original paperwork.

And some might find it confusing because the IRS had sent out some automated notices in error back in 2021 and again for some people in 2022.

Typically, the IRS first sends out a CP14 Notice for an unpaid tax balance and then typically sends a series of reminder letters to follow up.

The IRS temporarily stopped mailing reminder notices in February 2022 amidst the havoc triggered after the pandemic-related shutdowns. The IRS had a huge paper backlog to deal with then and needed to devote far more resources to clearing out unprocessed tax returns and correspondence.

The notices that stopped were reminders, which would have normally been issued as a follow up after the initial notice. These notices involved taxpayers who had an outstanding tax bill for tax year 2020 and or 2021.

Don't ignore the IRS letter. Take it to you tax pro

Eric D. Bischer, certified public accountant and senior manager for Andrews Hooper Pavlik PLC in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan said taxpayers who receive a reminder letter from the IRS want to bring it to the attention of their tax preparer as soon as possible.

The tax professional, he said, can address what is owed in taxes and how to settle up accordingly.

Someone who prepares their own taxes, he said, needs to understand that this notice will relate to tax years during the COVID pandemic. Review your records and go back to the tax return that the IRS references in the letter. And figure out what move you'll make next to pay what you owe.

If you don't agree with what the IRS says you owe in the reminder letter, Bischer recommends calling the IRS to talk with a representative and ensure a previous payment made wasn’t applied to a wrong year by the agency.

You'd want to get your paperwork in order if you're going to dispute what's stated on the reminder letter. Make sure the tax bill did get paid. Do you have proof that shows the money was withdrawn from your bank account to cover the tax bill? A cancelled check? Did the taxes actually get paid?

Important information is on that IRS notice

The reminder letter being sent out currently alerts the taxpayer of what they owe, outlines ways to pay, and gives a detailed amount of any penalty relief that the person might be receiving.

"If your notice indicates you have missing tax returns, file the missing returns as soon as possible," according to an alert from the IRS.

It is wise to pay what you can now to reduce interest and penalties. Taxpayers who are unable to pay their full balance due can visit IRS.gov/payments to make arrangements to resolve their bill.

Some installment agreements and payment plans are available at no cost through the IRS and can help many people. You can apply online at IRS.gov. See IRS.gov/payments/online-payment-agreement-application for details. The IRS notes that your specific tax situation will determine which payment options are available to you.

The IRS has expanded the availability of self-service tools, such as the document upload tool and online payment plans, which can often help taxpayers resolve their tax problem without needing to speak to an IRS representative, said Garcia at the IRS.

Most taxpayers, Garcia said, qualify to set up a payment agreement with the IRS at IRS.gov using the Online Payment Agreement tool.

In December, the IRS announced that the agency will waive some failure-to-pay penalties for eligible taxpayers affected by this situation for tax years 2020 and 2021. The failure-to-pay penalty will resume on April 1 for taxpayers eligible for relief.

The IRS estimates 5 million tax returns — filed by 4.7 million individuals, businesses, trusts, estates and tax-exempt organizations — are eligible for some type of penalty relief.

Only those who owed less than $100,000 in back taxes for specific tax years 2020 and 2021 would see such penalty relief.

The break, which adds up to $1 billion in relief, applies to individuals, businesses and tax-exempt organizations that were not sent automated collection reminder notices during the pandemic. The IRS noted that most of those receiving the penalty relief make less than $400,000 a year.

Nearly 70% of the individual taxpayers receiving penalty relief have income under $100,000 per year, the IRS said.

The inevitability of taxes: You can't escape taxes even in death. What to know about estate and inheritance taxes.

Taxpayers could save on average about a bit more than $200 per return, thanks to the waiving of a key penalty.

Taxpayers who already paid this penalty involving the 2020 and 2021 returns would get a refund, if they qualified. The IRS will issue a refund or credit the payment toward another outstanding tax liability.

The penalty relief is automatic. Eligible taxpayers don’t need to anything. If the automatic relief results in a refund or credit, the IRS stated, individual and business taxpayers will be able to see it by viewing their tax transcript online. Taxpayers with questions on penalty relief can contact the IRS April 1 or afterwards.

As part of an initial phase, the IRS said, 680,000 taxpayers automatically received a refund or credit in mid-to-late December through early January.

In a second phase, another 220,000 taxpayers will receive a refund or offset relating to the penalty relief by the end of March.

About 900,000 taxpayers will be receiving refunds or credit. Taxpayers will receive refunds by check or direct deposit.

It's essential to realize that interest does keep building on the unpaid tax debt involved here.

The IRS is not waiving interest on unpaid taxes, just the failure-to-pay penalty. No relief is being given for failure to file a return.

The failure to pay penalty is complicated but amounts to 0.5% of the unpaid taxes for each month or part of a month the tax remains unpaid. The penalty won’t exceed 25% of your unpaid taxes.

Contact personal finance columnist Susan Tompor:  [email protected] . Follow her on X (Twitter)  @ tompor .

GitHub: AI helps developers write safer code, but you need to get the basics right

eileen-yu

It might be nice to have sophisticated cybersecurity tools to help detect vulnerabilities, but code safety still needs to start with developers getting the basics right. 

This focus on the foundations means adhering to fundamentals, such as turning on two-factor authentication (2FA) and adopting industry standards and best practices, said Mike Hanley, GitHub's chief security officer (CSO) and senior vice president of engineering. 

Also: The best VPN services (and how to choose the right one for you)

The Microsoft-owned software development platform has more than 100 million users and sees its fair share of targeted cyberattacks. However, the form of these attacks has not changed significantly during the past decade. The majority of these atttempts are phishing and social-engineering attacks, which aim to take over the credentials and accounts of software maintainers, as well as exploits of web application vulnerabilities. 

With cybercriminals largely sticking to the same tactics, it is critical that security starts with the developer. "You can buy tools to prevent and detect vulnerabilities, but the first thing you need to do is help developers ensure they're building secure applications," Hanley said in an interview with ZDNET. 

Also:  The best password managers to save you from login hassle

As major software tools, including those that power video-conferencing calls and autonomous cars, are built and their libraries made available on GitHub, if the accounts of people maintaining these applications are not properly secured, malicious hackers can take over these accounts and compromise a library. 

The damage can be wide-reaching and lead to another third-party breach , such as the likes of SolarWinds and Log4j , he noted. Hanley joined GitHub in 2021, taking on the newly created role of CSO as news of the colossal  SolarWinds attack spread. 

"We still tell people to turn on 2FA...getting the basics is a priority," he said. 

He pointed to GitHub's efforts to mandate the use of 2FA for all users, which is a process that has been in the works during the last one and a half years and will be completed early this year. 

Also:  What are passkeys? The life-changing magic of going passwordless

With the security market now flooded with "flashy" offerings, it can be easy for professionals to overlook the need for a simple deadbolt on the door.

The basic controls are going to be more effective in securing an organisation's environment, alongside the adoption of industry standards and best practices, he said. These practices include Cloud Security Alliance's published benchmarks and  Singapore's Safe App Standard , which is built on "common sense" basic security practices and input from both private and public organizations to help focus on the most essential components. 

Redefining shift-left development with AI

Artificial intelligence (AI), including generative AI , is also emerging as an important companion for software developers, particularly in identifying potential vulnerabilities as they write their code, according to Hanley. 

Also:  How to use ChatGPT to write code

AI redefines the shift-left model and helps prevent developers from writing vulnerabilities in their code right from the start, he said. 

The shift-left approach involves testing software earlier in the development lifecycle, so its quality can be assessed and refined throughout the development stage. 

With software vulnerabilities often discovered after the codes are released to the public -- and sometimes it takes years before they are uncovered, such as in the case of Log4j -- the ability for AI to identify and provide suggestions to plug potential vulnerabilities before the software is published is a game-changer for developers, Hanley said.  

According to  research from GitClear , which looked at 153 million changed lines of code written from 2020 to 2023, the proportion of codes that are reverted or updated less than two weeks after they are written is predicted to double this year compared to 2021. 

Also:  Implementing AI into software engineering? Here's everything you need to know

Pointing to GitHub's AI-assisted software development tool, Copilot, Hanley said the technology aims to not only help developers write code, but also to review and fix it. 

GitHub Copilot is touted to provide code suggestions that are aligned with a project's context and style conventions, offering developers the ability to decide what to accept, reject, or edit. The tool can be integrated with other editors, such as Visual Studio and Neovim, and can suggest syntax and code in several languages, including Python, JavaScript, Ruby, and C#. 

First introduced in October 2021, GitHub Copilot is currently used by more than 1.3 million paid subscribers and 50,000 organizations, GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke said in a recent  LinkedIn post . The AI-assisted tool has generated more than three billion accepted lines of codes. 

Its users on average have accepted almost 30% of code suggestions, with this figure climbing as developers have gained familiarity with the tool, Dohmke said in a June 2023 post , citing a sample analysis of 934,533 GitHub Copilot users.

Based on the 30% productivity rate, and a projected 45 million developers in 2030, he said generative AI developer tools can potentially add 15 million "effective developers" to the global capacity by 2030, boosting GDP by more than $1.5 trillion. 

Also: How AI-assisted code development can make your IT job more complicated

GitHub Copilot users also report coding 55% faster with the tool, he noted, adding that 46% of codes were completed by the AI-powered technology in files where it was activated.

Like self-driving cars, though, AI-assisted development tools are not a replacement for human developers and code review processes, Hanley said. They are companion tools and, as the moniker suggests, co-pilots for software developers are more effective when they work together with their human counterparts. 

Artificial Intelligence

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Microsoft and Google are proud AI is helping you (other companies not so much)

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How ChatGPT (and other AI chatbots) can help you write an essay

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The best AI chatbots: ChatGPT isn't the only one worth trying

I Don’t Have The Motivation To Write My Essay , What To Do Now?

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Table of Contents

Are you there staring at your essay? Not even sure of where to start from, not to talk about completing it. Sometimes it feels like you have hit the wall, and you don’t have the motivation to write.

If you are demotivated to start your essay writing and are overwhelmed, ask yourself, ‘how do I write my essay’ or ‘should I possibly get help to write my essay online?’. You are not the only student who has found themselves in this situation.

Writing can be so thrilling when we have all our thoughts well penned down in our writings. But sometimes, our minds blank out, finding it difficult to write. I have discovered and organized a list of tips in this article that will help you be motivated and enthusiastic about starting working on your essay.

Watching this video before reading the post really helps you:

Tips for finding the motivation to write your essay

Writing an essay is part of college life; however, many students dread writing because having a good essay requires a lot of research, time, and concentration. After facing some challenges on this part, many students are quick to “throw in the towel”.

1. Know the cause of the lack of motivation

The first step to staying motivated is to ascertain why you are not motivated to write your essay there are many reasons and factors that could have possibly led to these, some of which include;

  • Lack of interest in the Essay topic: this often happens when the given essay assignment doesn’t interest you. 
  • Lack of confidence: When you don’t trust your writing abilities and are already viewing your essay as “a piece of trash”, this can jolt your motivation.  
  • Feeling overwhelmed: Because of the nature of essay writing, which requires a lot of effort and time, it can take over your mind and make you feel intimidated. Hence, make you lose the motivation to write your essay.

2. Choose an interesting topic

One of the primary ways to keep your motivation to write an essay is to choose a topic that you find interesting. Some articles don’t afford you the luxury to select the subject, but when you do, don’t choose a topic you aren’t interested in.

Writing an essay on a topic that interests you is enough motivation because you genuinely want to know more about what you are writing about, making it more fun and exciting.

3. Minimize distractions

Create the right environment by shedding off extra tasks that take most of your time to focus on writing your essay, including music, noise, your mobile device, and the internet. You can block some websites that might distract you.

4. Find a conducive environment to write your essay

Find an environment that is convenient and comfortable to write your essay. The less distracted you are, the better it is for you to focus on what you want to write, getting a serene, quiet, and clean place that won’t drain your energy due to discomfort.

The feeling of being relaxed and in a conducive place would be an excellent motivation for you to write.

Read more:  When You Focus On The Good The Good Gets Better

5. Gather all the necessary materials you need to write the essay

Have your necessary tools and resources at hand when writing your essay, including articles, writing materials, or your computer system, as this also eases unnecessary stress that can demotivate you.

You can also plan to reward your effort with snacks or coffee; you can have them available also as you will need to be energized and comfortable as you write your essay.

6. Break down the writing process

You don’t necessarily have to rush the whole essay assignment at once; we spoke earlier about being overwhelmed by the essay assignment as one of the reasons for being demotivated. So, take it a step at a time.

To avoid being intimidated by the workload of doing it all at once. You can break down the writing process by setting aside time for research, writing, editing, and proofreading. Don’t rush to finish the essay; you will maintain motivation if you take it gradually.

7. Create an outline

Creating an outline helps you write clearly and efficiently; it gives a sense of direction and gives your writing a focus.

An essay comprises the introduction, body, and conclusion.

The outline does not have to be extensive but should include the main points your essay will make. It helps you follow a particular format and save the article from rambling. 

8. Divide the word count for each section of the essay

You should determine the number of words in each section of the essay.

For instance, in an essay of 1500 words,  I would have 150 words for my introduction and conclusion and 300 words each for four body paragraphs.

Breaking down the number of words for each section depends on your choice. The closer you get to each word target for the units, it also serves as motivation and encourages you to continue.

9. You don’t have to begin with the introduction

Yes, in every essay, the introduction section comes first. However, it doesn’t necessarily need to be written first; people often get stuck at the introductory part, not knowing what to start with. 

The introduction section is an essential part of an essay, so you tend to face a lot of pressure because you have to ensure you start with something that can get your reader’s attention.

It’s not a bad idea to start with the body paragraphs before you decide to write the introductory part. In fact, writing the introductory part after the body makes it relatively easier.

10. Take breaks

Taking regular breaks is quite crucial in staying motivated. Take a break from your writing and do other activities aside from writing, like taking a walk down the street; it helps refresh your mind.

You can also get a few drinks and snacks to keep your energy level up; you are advised not to consume too much as it can slow down your pace.

11. Reward yourself

In every field, reward boosts motivation. Creating a reward system for yourself when you finally complete the essay will motivate you to push yourself to write the article to get the compensation at the end. It can be something as simple as eating at your favorite restaurant or going to a cinema.

We also have found this awesome podcast that teaches you how to start writing an essay:

Getting a writer motivated to write an essay might be pretty tricky, but it’s not impossible, especially if it’s not a topic of interest. However, follow the tips we have put together for you above on how to be motivated and make it easier for you to approach your essay efficiently.

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Written by Saeed Ahmadi

Who am I? A blogger, mindset mentor, personal development coach, content creator, SEO Specialist, digital marketer, entrepreneur, reader by night, and writer by day.

Mindsetopia, my brainchild, is more than a platform, its my vision of a world where everyone has access to the tools and knowledge necessary for personal growth and self-growing.

What really makes me excited is helping people to unlock their true potential. So,I am here to give you the kick you need to change your mind and then your life :)

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My Top 35 Don’t Treat Me Like an Option Quotes

My Top 35 Don’t Treat Me Like an Option Quotes in 2024

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When You Focus On The Good The Good Gets Better

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how to write a paper you don't care about

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VIDEO

  1. Teachers when you don’t write your full name 😂💀 sounds via @simonbreaofficial #funny #minecraft

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  6. When you don't care who watches you do tik tok 🥴

COMMENTS

  1. How do I write a paper if I don't care? : r/writing

    How do I write a paper if I don't care? Hello all! I am a university student taking a college writing course. For our second essay, we have been tasked with writing about a specific human rights issue that intrigues or sparks interest in us. However, I simply do not care about this topic.

  2. Write About Topics You Don't Care About

    Solution: write something else. Write something else In I. Asimov, Isaac Asimov discusses what he does when he's blocked: Frequently, when I am at work on a science fiction novel (the hardest to do of all the different things I write) I find myself heartily sick of it and unable to write another word.

  3. How to Write about a Topic You Lack Interest in [2024]

    Self-Discipline Psychological Tricks Practical Methods 🤯 Brainstorming Tips 💤 Why Is the Topic Boring to You? The solution to each problem begins with awareness. Perhaps the topic seems boring to you. Maybe there are additional factors that affect your enthusiasm about the subject.

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    We've all been asked to write papers about topics we don't care about, and some of us would rather do anything than write a class paper at all. ... Let's say you're me and you have been asked to write an essay about the Federal Reserve, and you've dreaded stitching together your ideas into long form essays ever since you were a kid. Oh, and you ...

  5. PDF Strategies for Essay Writing

    Sometimes your assignment will be open-ended ("write a paper about anything in the course that interests you"). But more often, the instructor will be asking you to do something specific that allows you to make sense of what you've been learning in the course.

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    Well, the first thing you need to do is…. 1. Stay Calm. There's no point panicking. You've agreed to write the piece (or don't have a choice), so deep down you know that you can do it. Get your coffee, and do whatever it is you need to do to get you into your Writing Zone.

  7. Procrastination

    It's 8:30 p.m. before you finally sit down to write the paper. If the paper does indeed take five hours to write, you will be up until 1:30 in the morning—and that doesn't include the time that you will inevitably spend watching TV. And, as it turns out, it takes about five hours to write a first draft of the essay.

  8. How to Start Writing When You Don't Feel Like It

    Write about what you care about, and write to someone who cares. If you have to write about your business but can't get started, pretend your husband wants to know what you do for a living. Write an email or write a letter to him. If you're writing a paper for school, imagine that your teacher is really interested in reading every word you ...

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  10. Writing a Paper

    Write. Start writing. Don't worry about making it perfect. Just get your thoughts on paper. Draft an introduction that grabs your reader's attention, states your topic, and explains the point of your paper. Write body paragraphs that logically support your thesis statement. Put the information you researched into your own words.

  11. How to Write a Research Paper

    Develop a thesis statement. Create a research paper outline. Write a first draft of the research paper. Write the introduction. Write a compelling body of text. Write the conclusion. The second draft. The revision process. Research paper checklist.

  12. What If I Don't Have Anything Interesting To Write ...

    Identifying an experience that exemplifies that value or fundamental truth. Writing a thoughtful essay that uses your "uninteresting" experience to say something interesting about yourself. 1. Get the Ball Rolling. There are many different practices you might find useful as you start brainstorming your college essay.

  13. How to Write a Paper Without Making Common Mistakes

    Re-read your essay slowly (out loud is best) from start to finish. That helps you find a lot of mistakes and typos that might be missed by your spellchecker. Ask someone else to read your essay to look for errors. Sometimes, a friend can see something you can't. Why Fix? Misspelled words and typos tell your teacher that you don't care.

  14. 6 Ways to Write a Paper

    Method 1 Pre-Writing Download Article 1 Choose a topic and research it. Typically, your teacher or instructor provides a list of topics to choose from for an essay. Read the assignment rubric, make sure you understand it, and pick a topic that interests you and that you think you can write a strong paper about.

  15. Getting College Essay Help: Important Do's and Don'ts

    College Essays If you grow up to be a professional writer, everything you write will first go through an editor before being published. This is because the process of writing is really a process of re-writing —of rethinking and reexamining your work, usually with the help of someone else. So what does this mean for your student writing?

  16. Why You Should Write About Topics You Don't Care About

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  17. How to Write an Opinion Essay in 6 Steps

    5 Revise. Now is the time to revise, or clean it up. Make sure your essay flows logically; jumping from one topic to the next will disorient the reader. Check that all of your evidence supports your opinion. Listen to the way your essay sounds (literally, read it out loud to yourself).

  18. 5 Things to Do If You Don't Know What to Write

    The key is to let yourself ruminate. Don't just scroll, scroll, scroll. Ask yourself if you can add something to what you read. 2. Read quotes. Assuming you're like all the other writers in ...

  19. How To Write When You Really Don't Want To

    Set a timer for twenty minutes; you can also choose the time interval you like. During this time, start writing anything at all, and don't stop for any reason. Don't edit or pause to think ...

  20. When You Couldn?t Care Less About Your Writing Topic

    This is what you do: Act interested. Listen to your great uncle until you have a question. And once you have a question, POUNCE on it because you finally found The Thing that's interesting to you. Rinse and repeat as many times as you need. Now do this with your clients and topics.

  21. Researching the White Paper

    For example, if you are trying to write a white paper on the opioid crisis, you may focus on the value of providing free, sterilized needles--which do indeed reduce disease, and also provide an opportunity for the health care provider distributing them to offer addiction treatment to the user. However, the free needles are sometimes discarded ...

  22. How to write an essay on a subject that you don't care about

    1 CrankyStink • Master Advice Giver [36] • 3 yr. ago You write it logically. I'm pretty sure they taught you the basic fundamentals. Just get a pen out and write the outline. Go from there, but get the outline done immediately. 1

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  26. GitHub: AI helps developers write safer code, but you need to ...

    Don't dabble with AI-assisted development until you've got firm foundations in place. Written by Eileen Yu, Senior Contributing Editor Feb. 16, 2024 at 1:21 a.m. PT sakkmesterke/Getty Images

  27. I Don't Have The Motivation To Write My Essay , What To Do Now?

    11. Reward yourself. In every field, reward boosts motivation. Creating a reward system for yourself when you finally complete the essay will motivate you to push yourself to write the article to get the compensation at the end. It can be something as simple as eating at your favorite restaurant or going to a cinema.