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!

Reflective essays are often assigned by the teachers to let the students communicate what they like or dislike about classes, what kind of expectations they have of them, and what can be done to improve them. It is often way too hard for the students to reflect on the work of their teacher as they feel like they are being impolite or too judgmental. However, constructive criticism is the natural part of the life, and schoolers have to master it.

Even though you are asked for your opinion, it is still a school assignment, which makes it impossible for you to use the free style of writing. You may not seem too formal, but as the task is still a part of the academic writing, you need to approach it in a more professional way, and here is how you can do it.

  • Recall the days you have visited the classes and write down your impression about it.
  • Put down some details that stand out in your mind, and think of the material you remembered the most from the class. Use the info you have written down during the lesson to help yourself.
  • Think of the questions you may ask yourself if you cannot assess the lesson critically. What was the most memorable part of the class? Did you find all information understandable, and what was the most challenging part of the lesson? Did the data you received contradict something you already knew? Were you interested, bored, excited, or annoyed by the information provided? Did something change the way you think?
  • Do not make the essay too long. The typical length of such work varies from 275 to 650; however, it is always better to consult your teacher on the matter. If he or she does not have any, you can sure use these tips. But in case the requirements contradict the range indicated here, stick to the ones the teacher gave you.

 

  • If you had any questions you did not ask in class, it is time to think of them while writing. Why do you think the question did rise? Was the material too hard to understand or the explanations failed to convey the real meaning of it? Did the author of the used source leave any issues unanswered? Was his or her opinion on specific matter biased or illogical?
  • Writing an intro of the reflective essay, mention the expectations you have had of the lesson, and if they were fulfilled or not. It does not matter if your expectations were too high or way too low – this is your opinion, and you will not sound rude if you do not put it that way. Only make sure that the expectations were realistic, and think what did you base them on.
  • Work on the thesis statement. The same as in every essay, your reflective paper has to have a thesis. In the case of the work of such kind, it will be pretty unusual, as you will have to transition from expectations to conclusions or impression that the lesson has left you with.
  • Expand on the impression in the body paragraphs. Include specific details and mention how you have felt on the lesson and the reasons behind it.
  • Finish by summarizing the paper. In the end, you should link all of the above and analyze how your expectations conflicted with your conclusions. Make a few general statements about the overall impression taking all information you have included in the consideration.
  • Revise the paper until you like it. When you read the paper for the first time, you may feel like something is wrong. You may not have felt confident while writing and some of the sentences sure turned out to be weak. Be calm and professional while rewriting the phrases, and make sure you do not sound impolite.