Writing a successful essay is like juggling. You need to keep balance, pay attention to numerous things at once, and yet keep the focus on one thing in front of you. It’s not easy, but with some practice everything is possible. You just need to know the right steps. So, here are seven tips for successful essay submission. Learn how to juggle those, and you will never have a bad essay in your life.
Time management
Being on time plays a big part in submitting a successful essay. However, achieving it is not as easy as your professors make it sound, isn’t it? Most students already have a lot on their plates, so adding one more assignment can’t make anyone’s life easier. Yet, you have to deal with whatever is thrown at you. Thus, time management and good organizational skills are your only way to succeed. You should become the master of time, so the timing won’t get the best of you. It’s a long process, though.
Thus, before everything else, start by creating a schedule for the entire writing process. See when you can start and when you should finish. Always leave out at least a day or two before the deadline for any emergencies or additional work. Next, try to stick to your schedule. Basically, it’s a lesson in time management in a nutshell.
Research
No student will have a great essay if they struggle to understand the topic of their work. Your professors will see all gaps in your knowledge right away. Thus, don’t try to trick them (or yourself), and do your research first. Learn as much as possible about the topic you’re writing about to form an unbiased opinion about it. Then, collect all that information and make something new out of it. After all, each academic paper should add to the discussion, not repeat it. You can read some of the examples from the Free Essays Database to see how it should be done.
Outlining
Getting a perfect essay without a good outline is almost impossible. Only the most experienced and skilled writers can afford to skip this step and only during small projects. Most students, however, will only benefit from creating a strong outline before starting to write an essay. An outline will help them organize their own thoughts and ideas, placing them in the right order. After all, putting your thoughts on paper is often the hardest part of any writing process. You have an idea, but where it should go can be confusing.
Thus, outlining is also all about learning how to structure. Knowing where to start and end paragraphs and sections means a lot in a writing world. It shows your understanding of academic writing as well as skills in bringing your thoughts together in a coherent and efficient way.
Following the instructions
Often the simplest solution is the best one. For example, in writing papers, listening to your professors and following their instructions can be the best way to submit perfect essays every time. It sounds so simple! Yet, many students manage to neglect this step and end up with a lower grade instead.
So, if you worry about getting it done right, make time to carefully read the instructions. Ask questions if something is unclear to you. Most importantly, don’t try to go around them or ignore some of the recommendations. Your professors know what they want, and they expect you to deliver it. For example, citation styles and source recommendations are always the areas with the most disarray. Students either confuse citation styles or mistake unreliable sources for ones they can use in an academic paper. Overall, a careful read of the instructions should prevent you from making similar mistakes.
Get help when needed
Your professors are there for a reason. They are the ones to teach you, and that’s exactly what you ask them when you need help with your assignment. So don’t be afraid to email your professor whenever you have questions about the assignments, sources to use, or other queries. They should help you where they can.
Also, do ask their help or opinion on the idea or course of your paper. It’s best to get their recommendations or approval before you have already finished half of your work and are stuck in the middle. In fact, most professors (you know, those who actually love what they are doing) are always happy to witness enthusiasm in their students. So if you come to them all interested in the project you are doing, they already think well of you.
However, if your professor is unavailable, discuss your work with someone else whose opinion you value. Even a simple discussion with some college friends can inspire you, end the writer’s block, or find the solution you were looking for all this time.
Editing and proofreading
Submitting an excellent essay can mean many things, but grammar mistakes or poorly implemented citation style are not part of it. So, to avoid any silly mistakes, students should proofread and edit their work ahead of time. Don’t wait till the last moment, so all you can do is run through the pages really quick and pick just obvious errors. Schedule a proper sit-down and re-read your work, so you can evaluate the quality of your work along with finding any inconsistencies, mistakes, and so on. Thus, you can see where to improve and polish your work to make a successful submission.
No to procrastination
Last but not least, try your best to avoid procrastination. It’s one thing that will always stand between you and success. Hence, it’s better to learn how to tackle it while in college. Essay writing is a perfect time for it. Imagine this. You have your schedule, writing plan, maybe even an outline in front of you. It feels like your work is almost over. You have done so much already! Maybe it’s time to rest for a bit. Well, such a way of thinking will not get you far. In fact, it will get you further from the results you want to achieve here.
Procrastination is the false feeling of comfort. It’s best to face all your fears to see that they are, actually, not so scary. However, you’ll never learn it by delaying your work till the last minute and then frantically writing just to have something for your submission.