We have all been there before, you receive your assignment and slot it into your work schedule. Even though it may be a difficult essay, you have given yourself plenty of time to complete the task, so you are not concerned. Then before you know it, your deadline is around the corner, and you haven't even started work on it yet.
Don't despair, in this article we will give you some handy tips, advice and resources to help not only complete your essay but hopefully get you the top marks you are no doubt aiming for.
The best advice we can you give you is to have a plan in place and try to stick to that plan. I know that is easier said than done, but if you have a logical step by step plan in place it will be easier to stick to.
Understand your topic
Readings and Resources
Reading
Plan your writing
Write
Understand your topic
The first step will be to understand your topic, you can do an initial brainstorm, whether that be scribbling down some notes on a scrap of paper, or a more formal grid or mind map. Whatever works for you as this will help you to gather your thoughts before you begin to write.
Once you have the basic idea in place, you can begin the process of pulling together your essay.
Readings and Resources
In this step, you will decide which of your readings and lessons you will use to formulate the basis of your essay.
In addition to these readings, you will need to access resources such as books, articles and journals on your chosen subject.
Reading
Refer back to your initial brainstorming session as you read through the above resources you have collected. That way, you can make sure you pick out the most relevant points needed to complete your article. Make sure as you do this that you make a note of the various resources you have used for each section.
Plan your writing
Now that you have all of your facts, ideas and resources on the subject, you can start to put these together into a cohesive essay which presents all of the relevant facts. Ensure that you have re-read the directives you were given regarding this assignment. Pay special attention to things like word count and any specific ideas that need to be presented. There is nothing more frustrating than losing easy marks because you left something out which was specifically asked for, or did not present the work in the required format.
Your introduction and conclusion will make up around 20% of your word count, you can then divide the remaining quota by the number of ideas you are wanting to present.
Write
Now all that remains is for you to put pen to paper, or more likely finger to keyboard. Write your introduction, address each of the main ideas and then finish with your conclusion. Read the essay from beginning to end to make sure that you have presented your ideas in an easy to understand format and that the facts flow easily.
If you find yourself under pressure, and fresh out of ideas, you are fortunate that these days there are many online resources available to make your life easier. For example, Oboolo offers an extensive library of essay topics which you can use to help you complete your task. Their new service allows you to ask a tutor-writer to help you structure your writing, find some extra resources and references or proofread your essay. Try it now!