How to Write a Last Minute Essay that Rocks: 7-Step Guide

Do you know that there are 2 types of successful essay writers?

Some students are very organized – they always plan ahead to be deadline-ready. They start researching their topics early and read a lot about the subjects of their essays just as their tutors have told them.

Other students are last minute dashers. They tend to procrastinate and often leave their coursework assignments to the very last minute. Nevertheless, they manage to nail their essays in the unbelievable time and get decent grades.

Wondering how it is possible? Want to learn about the tricks to produce a good essay fast and be proud of it? Keep reading our easy 7-step guide where we are going to show you how you can do it.

1. Download a Self-Control App

Procrastination is not an option when you have only a few hours to write an essay. That’s why you’d better turn off your phone and reduce your internet options to avoid distractions. The easiest way to escape online distractions is to download a Self-Control app as fast as you can and temporarily block your own access to distracting websites. You should block Mix, WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, Spotify, YouTube, and any other sites you’re addicted to until your essay is submitted. You’ll be surprised to see how productive you can be when you ban yourself from social networks.

2. Make a Killer Outline

Start with an outline. It’s an important step of the essay writing process which you should never skip. You need to create an essential frame of your future essay that will help you organize your thoughts and stay focused when writing.

Making an outline can be fun if you use a mind-mapping technique.

• Think about the topic of your essay and write down all the ideas that come to your mind no matter how silly some of them may seem to you.
• Select the most productive ideas that you’ll tackle in your argument and find connections between them to make a single outline.
• Create a clean mind map to show the structure of your essay. You can use such online mind-mapping software as MindMup and MindMeister.

3. Do a Profound Research

All good college essays are well-researched. And the lack of time is not an excuse to skip this essential step. Your professor won’t be impressed if your paper is based on vague and unconvincing arguments. So you have to gather outside information and quotes to support them. Here are some tips on how to conduct a research fast:

• Use your outline as a guide and choose search keywords wisely.
• Use Google Scholar instead of Google to find authoritative sources worth referencing.
• Try using Google Books to find direct quotes without spending a lot of time on reading paragraphs. Don’t forget to keep notes of your sources to make a list of citations.
• Wikipedia can help you find authoritative online sources and conduct a brilliant research in practically no time. Check the citations on the Wikipedia page and choose some references to search the books and articles in journals online.

4. Write Like the Wind

Now start typing out your ideas as they come and don’t worry much about the writing style. Don’t care about word choice, spelling mistakes, and grammar errors at this stage. Just type everything that you want to say first and copy-edit at the end.

Your task is to prove your thesis. Start each paragraph with a topic sentence that relates to your thesis. Support the key idea of your paragraph with relevant evidence. Then, provide a quote, citing the source, and analyze the quote. End each paragraph with a concluding sentence and make a transition to the next one.

5. Edit to Perfection

Revise your first draft. Read the essay and make sure that your argument is relevant to the prompt and supports your thesis. Check if your organization makes sense and take out the parts that don’t fit in. Add the necessary information if you notice that there are gaps in the logical flow.

When you are satisfied with the content and the structure, copy-edit your essay. Improve word choice and fix grammar and spelling mistakes. There are 2 online tools you can use for final editing and proofreading.

• Grammarly can effectively identify more grammar and spelling mistakes than the ordinary word processor.
• Hemingway Editor marks the complex words and sentences that are hard to read and encourages you to make your writing readable and clear.

6. Double-check Your Paper for Plagiarism

To ensure that your essay is unique and that you haven’t copied someone’s ideas, check your writing for plagiarism.

• Use Plagtracker and TurnItIn to find suspicious sections in your essay. Paraphrase the parts that are not completely unique or reference the sources.
• Citation Machine can help you create citations according to the chosen citation style.

7. Reward Yourself

If you followed these steps and worked intensively, you have a great essay that is ready for submission. Now you really deserve a reward. Eat a chocolate bar, watch an episode of your favorite TV show and take a nap.

And if you want to move to this very step right away, then order a sample essay from our agency. Our experienced academic writers will cover all the steps above only on a more profound level. As a result, you’ll save lots of time and efforts.