We’ve all heard of classmates who leave essay writing until the night before a deadline. Avoid the last minute stress and get organized with this essay writing guide:

1. Create a Schedule. As soon as you receive the list of essay paper questions (or, ideally, right at the start of the academic year), write all your essay deadline dates onto a calendar.

2. Analyze the question. Do you really understand what the question means? What is your lecturer looking for when they ask you to ‘prove’, ‘explain’, ‘relate’ or ‘trace’? Is it a compare and contrast essay, or a critical analysis essay?

3. You can learn the skill of writing a good essay.Brainstorm. A common mistake is to start reading around the topic as soon as you have chosen the question. Brainstorm and create your first outline plan now.

4. Now get the books. There will be dozens of people trying to find the set texts, so your aim is to grab these before the library has a waiting list or the bookshop sells out. You may also want to look at essay examples at this stage to get a better idea of what is required.

5. Start reading and research. If you have no idea about the topic (perhaps you missed a key lecture), go right back to basics. Start with an A’level text to build your confidence. A custom essay or example essay can also help you prepare your thoughts.

6. Organize the results of your research so far and begin to build your bibliography.

7. First draft. This will be quite basic, but get this done as soon as possible. If you do have a problem later in the term (for example, illness) you will always have this draft to fall back on. Think carefully about the essay structure.

8. Clarify. Read through your draft and identify any weaknesses in your argument or gaps in your knowledge. This will provide a backdrop to your next round of reading.

9. Research – round two. Back to the library or bookshop for more detailed works. This time aim to find a few texts that interest you that the tutor hasn’t put on the reading list.

10. Redraft and improve your language – correct grammar, punctuation and change any informal language into something more academic.

11. Write your introduction last! It is only at this stage that you will be sure of your main argument. Before this stage you may have changed your mind about your main argument, so it is only now that you can write your essay introduction.

12. Final proofread and preparation for the essay deadline. Get a friend to help you with proofreading if you can. They will spot errors and sections where the sense is unclear.

Many of these essay writing tips come in handy for dissertation writing too. Are you having a particular problem with your essay paper? Let us know. Post a comment in the box below.