In some occasions, you will have to write an essay in the extremely short amount of time on the exam in college or high school. Also, you may be a little bit of a procrastinator, and find yourself in a situation when the paper is due tomorrow morning, and you have not even chosen the topic yet. Even though a last-minute essay cannot look as great as a work prepared successively and carefully within the whole time given, you still have a chance to submit a decent paper. The working process will require your full attention and a lot of effort, even if you are assigned a simple essay. However, if you learn the next few tips, the essay writing will seem significantly easier and feasible even when you are short on time.

Firstly, clean up your working space to get started. Make sure you have everything you need on the table, take a pen, a few sticky notes, your laptop, and read through the assignment requirements. In case no prompt is given, search for good essay topics, and pick a few uncommon and interesting ones you will be able to write about. Making a final choice, think which topic is the most relevant to your current studies and will not take too much to research.

Afterwards, look for the most trustworthy sources or the ones you are certainly allowed to use. If you are not sure, access the online library or any free services where you can look for the books and articles for your essay. Use sticky notes to write down the information and put them in front of you to see how much data has been gathered and if you need to continue researching. Reread these notes from time to time and cross out the info you do not find relevant anymore.

When you have the data you need to produce a quality work, it is crucial to think about the structure of the future paper. If you are not sure how to write an essay outline properly, check what your essay type is first. Each type is organized differently, so you need to look up the structure every time you are given an essay homework. You can also search for an example of the essay on your topic, and adhere to its outline. No matter what kind of essay you are going to write, it is important to start with a thesis statement. It should declare what problem you will review in the paper, and which facts or arguments you will use to do it professionally. As these arguments will be discussed in the main part of the essay, outline the body paragraphs and put down a few sentences with the rough description of each paragraph. Think of the way you will engage the reader in the introduction, and which thought will be conclusive for the paper. When the direction of the work is clear from the outline, use it to draft the first version of the essay.

If you are not used to model essay writing, do not worry - your draft should not necessarily look like a masterpiece. It is only the depiction of your thoughts, and as you will have them written down, it will be easier to create a good essay. There is no best way to write an essay, so trust the working methods you usually use. You may like taking short breaks once in a few minutes, or write everything in one sit - just make sure to keep the focus on writing and avoid the urge to call a friend or watch something online. Thus, you will finish the paper faster, and will not feel guilty for engaging in other activities afterwards.

Do not forget to go through the essay a few times after the completion. Everyone makes typos and mistakes by accident, but it is about you to find and fix them before your teacher does. If you need help with an essay editing, try asking a friend or a family member to read and analyze your work. Also, you can order editing services in case your paper needs to be perfectly polished so that you can submit an ideal essay and get an excellent grade.

As these steps are simple to follow, you will not have any problems coping with an essay on time. Try the whole procedure at least once, and you will not have to use any other tips preparing an essay paper during your studies!

How do you cite a source within a paper?

APA: Citing Within Your Paper

  1. Author’s last name (no first names or initials)
  2. Year of publication (or “n.d.” if there is “no date”:(LastName, n.d., p. #))
  3. Page number, paragraph number, chapter, section, or time stamp where the information can be located within the source (only required for direct quotes)

How do you cite a citation within a citation APA?

Include both the original author, publication year, and the original (primary) author and year of the work where quote/idea was found in the in-text reference. Add “as cited in” before the author in the in-text reference. For example, (Smith, 2015, as cited in Jonson, 2019).

How do you cite sources in the middle of a paper?

This would traditionally be with the title and then the date of publication (Title of Book, year of publication). As you are writing your paper you may want in the middle of a sentence to “directly cite something that is very important” (Author, publication year, p. page number of quote) to the meaning of your paper.

How do you cite a second citation?

To cite a secondary source:

  1. Provide a reference list entry for the secondary source you are citing.
  2. In the text, identify the primary source and then write “as cited in” the secondary source that you used.
  3. If the year of publication is known for the primary source, also include it in the text.

How do you cite within a paragraph?

Using In-text Citation APA in-text citation style uses the author’s last name and the year of publication, for example: (Field, 2005). For direct quotations, include the page number as well, for example: (Field, 2005, p. 14).

How do you cite in APA within an essay?

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author’s last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, for example, (Jones, 1998), and a complete reference should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

How do you cite a source that is cited in another source MLA?

To cite a source from a secondary source, mention both the original and secondary sources in the text, and list only the secondary source in the works-cited list entry. MLA requires you to use the abbreviation qtd. in (“quoted in”) before the indirect source you cite in your parenthetical reference.

How do you write an indirect citation?

If you use an indirect quote, include the source it originated from in your parenthetical citation, followed by the words “as cited in” and then the source you obtained it from. You only include the source you obtained it from in your reference page.

Can you cite a source in the middle of a sentence?

A reference or citation can be positioned at the beginning, middle or end of a sentence.

How do you write a secondary source in an essay?

A secondary source, then, is a source that has also done analysis of the same (or a similar) topic. You will then use this source to discuss how it relates to your argument about the primary source. A secondary source is a mediary between you and the primary source.

How do you cite something that is cited in another article MLA?

How do you incorporate a citation directly within a sentence for quoted material?

When including a citation directly within a sentence, state the name(s) of the author(s) followed by the year of publication in parenthesis. Then, at the end of the sentence, include the page or paragraph number for where the quote was retrieved (in parenthesis). A period is placed after the citation.