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!

Is there a comma before et al?

The MLA Style Center In MLA style, a comma is generally only used before et al. in the “Author” slot of works-cited-list entries when the author’s first and last names are reversed: Burdick, Anne, et al. Digital_Humanities.

How do you write et al correctly?

When using et al. in your papers, be sure to abbreviate it correctly and to use the right punctuation. Et al. is always spelled as two separate words—”et” and “al”—with a period after “al.” The best way to remember how to punctuate and spell it is to remember that it’s an abbreviation.

Should there be comma after et al?

Remember that there is no comma between the surname and “et al.,” and the period goes only after the “al.” The English translation of “et al.” is “and others.” A helpful table of this rule can be found in APA 7, Table 8.1.

Do you use et al for 3 authors?

A Work by Three or More Authors List only the first author’s name followed by “et al.” in every citation, even the first, unless doing so would create ambiguity between different sources. In et al., et should not be followed by a period.

How is et al used in a sentence?

Et al. is defined as an abbreviation for the Latin phrase et alia which means “and others.” An example of et. al. used as an abbreviation is in the sentence, “The article was written by Smith, Jones, Paul, et al.” which means that Smith, Jones, Paul and others wrote the article.

Is there a comma before et al Harvard?

“Et al.” is a Latin term and the short form of “et alia”, which literally means ”and others”. It is used in academic citations for sources that have multiple authors. The ”al” in “et al.” is always followed by a full stop. Other punctuation marks, such as a comma, can follow the full stop after ”al”.

How do you cite 5 authors?

Specifically, articles with one or two authors include all names in every in-text citation; articles with three, four, or five authors include all names in the first in-text citation but are abbreviated to the first author name plus et al.

How do you cite many authors?

APA in-text citations with multiple authors If a work has two authors, separate their names with an ampersand (&) in a parenthetical citation or “and” in a narrative citation. If there are three or more authors, only include the first author’s last name followed by “et al.”, meaning “and others”.

How do you say et al in a presentation?

“et al.” is an abbreviation. When read aloud, you pronounce the full term “et alii” (or “et alia”) – same as you would say “et cetera” when reading aloud the “etc.” abbreviation. Alternatively, you could say “and others” – same as you would say “for example” when reading aloud the “e.g.” abbreviation.

How do you use et al in the middle of a sentence?

Use it in an email greeting by saying, “Dear Mr. Smith et al.,” when there is more than one recipient. For punctuation, always follow the abbreviation with a period since it’s short for “et alia” or “and others.”

How do you write et al in Harvard?

To use “et al.” in your references, state the name of the first listed author and follow it by “et al.” in italics in the author section of the citation.

Is et al italicized in APA?

However, it should not be italicized when you are using it as part of a reference. We also see et al without the period at the end. Because et al. is short for et alii (Latin for “and others”), the second word is actually an abbreviation and as such takes a period.