The Biggest Time Waster in Essay Writing Every Student Should Know About
If you’re like me, you want your essays done as quickly as possible. But if you are in the habit of doing what I call Excessive “Research,” then it may take you hours before you’ve even written your first page, because you’re so busy looking up stuff on the Internet.
Have you ever done this? You need to turn in a 3-to-5-page paper on a certain topic, and here you are again, staring at the blank word processor document. So, it occurs to you that you could go on the Internet and “research” the topic. I put the word “research” within quotation marks because I know that whenever I used to do this, I would end up simply copying stuff.
Yes, I’ve done my share of being a ‘bad boy’ as an undergrad. Now, you wouldn’t simply copy and paste stuff from the Internet – I know you wouldn’t. That’s why you’re here, trying to learn how to do this right. But if you decide to go online for some ideas, and that is the first thing you do before you’ve even written your thesis, then you might end up browsing the net for an hour, perhaps even longer, and may end up with nothing but other people’s thoughts that are hardly relevant to what you’re trying to say.
So, here is something you should do before you decide to use the Internet for help:
This piece of advice above is also a link that you can follow for easy step-by-step instructions on how to write a thesis statement. But why should you do this first? Wouldn’t it be helpful to consult Mr. Internet for thesis ideas?
Answer: No, not really. Why not?
A Quick Lesson in Brain Function
Let’s talk about the human brain for a second in order to illustrate this point. You see, the human brain always seeks something to focus on. In fact, it’s constantly focusing and refocusing in order for you to have a productive day.
For example, if you know you have to get to your English class at 9am, would you agree that there is a pretty good chance of you actually arriving there? Your answer is probably, “Yes – that makes sense, Phil. What’s your point?”
Now let’s say that you get out of your house and have no definite goal. You have no class to go to, and you have no plans whatsoever. What are the chances that you’ll arrive at some good destination then? You will probably just keep wandering back and forth, until you decide on a place to go. Makes sense?
How This Applies to Your Essay Writing
The same happens with your brain when you walk out there on the Internet, trying to end up somewhere good. I’ve done this before – that’s how I know. I would just spend hours, trying to find good material for my new essay, but all I ever got was just some fluff I couldn’t include in my paper without my professor accusing me of plagiarism.
But when you have a definite point you’re trying to get across (meaning, your thesis), your brain will seek out the good and relevant material and present it to you almost automatically as you’re browsing. This is the power of focus. And this is the power of the thesis statement.
So, if you follow this advice and never use the Internet before you’ve written a complete thesis statement, you’ll save yourself a lot of work, time, and unnecessary frustration.
Phil
Cheers!
I have noticed some students writing an essay almost a page or even half of it or sometime half and then they strike it out as useless. Can you suggest a plausible remedy for the same?
Another problem they face is of short of length of their essay. Will you please suggest a cure?
An oft-repeated question they ask is whether they should attempt the Essay first or other questions of Language paper like Comprehension, Letter Writing, Grammar etc. I suggest them the essay as it is certainly the most important part of the paper. Don’t you agree?
Sanjay
I read your articles with interest. As a student currently in the throes of trying to complete a 5000 word essay by the 14th Jan, 11 I have fallen victim to all of the distractions you have mentioned.
My problem is believing the idea I originally had is the one and teasing the idea out so you can see its foundation and all the links to it make sense. I know this but I lose my way every time. My essays end up disorganised and after countless hours spent searching the web for information that will give me the answer and trying to incorporate the information into my essay, I lose the will to live!
The most common and probably the most challenging behavior students get into is becoming easily overwhelmed by the number of words or pages they need to come up with.
You see 5,000 words and you think to yourself, Gosh, I’ll never complete it!
Here is a good antidote to being overwhelmed like this.
Regardless of what the topic is, it definitely can be broken up into smaller subtopics. This is why I teach the Power of Three.
Think about it for a second. If you allow, say, 500 words for your opening and concluding paragraphs (which may be a little too much, but just bear with me), then you end up with 4,500 words to fill up the body of the essay with.
Now, if you divide the whole essay into three main sections, then you will have three sections of only 1,500 words to deal with.
And now, why not deal with them one at a time? Treat each of them as a separate essay.
If you think of it this way, you could even distribute your workload over time much more easily.
You could write the paper in three sittings – section 1 on Monday, section 2 on Tuesday, and section 3 on Wednesday, or something like that.
This is also your cure for disorganization. If you start with a strong thesis statement and are able to divide it into sections and into subsections, then as you write each section, you have the force of focus on your side!
Try it – see how it works. Also, feel free to send me the topic and we could try to divide it into sections together.
Hi~ Tutor phil ^^ I am really glad to meet you.
My friend introduced you to me.
I really need your help at my college essay.
please look it over and comment me ^^
I am really appreaciated for your help. Have a nice day ~
Here’s my essay ~
When I was seven, I had a birthday party with my kindergarten class in Korea. My teacher asked me what I want to be when I grew up. I said that I wanted to be a person who can influence the world. Up to the age of seven, I was a girl filled with dreams and I was always treated like a princess by my parents. I was the type of kid who got away with everything. I was allowed to do whatever I wanted to do. However, things began to change dramatically when my family faced a crisis. I had just become a teenager and I had no choice but to face the reality of the difficult situations my family faced. My parents had to move to a very poor village and worked the first available job they could find. The difficult situations in front of me seemed like a never-ending, tragic story. I started to lose hope of the dreams I had as a young girl. This was the most depressing time in my life because I was unsure of my future.
My parents have a strong passion for my education, so even with the financial struggle my parents sent me to India to study English after my graduation from elementary school. Still now, I can’t forget the first memory I had on my arrival to the Indian airport. Although learning English was the main reason being there, I was able to see the present reality of the 3rd world nation concerning the problems of hunger and poverty they faced in their everyday life. I used to think that I was the only one who was suffering and who was very unfortunate. But, after seeing the people and their living situations in India, I realized that it was a huge misunderstanding on my part. There are incredible numbers of people, still to this very day, dying because they don’t have the basic necessities and the will or hope to live. Even little children were begging for food from whoever they saw on the streets. Seeing these things before my eyes, I began to pondering about the visions and dreams I had as a young girl. I finally realized that the hardships that I faced as a young girl was a stepping stone of preparing myself to be an influential person.
Years have passed since that day and during the last summer vacation, I attended “Model United Nations of Seoul” and “Model G20” in Korea. In “Model United Nations of Seoul”, I discussed about the Millennium Development Goals designed by the United Nations. While I discussed about the global problems with the participants, I found myself feeling very passionate about those problems.
Sometimes I doubt myself and perceive limitations. I sometimes feel as if I am walking on an unknown path and it’s unsettling at times. During those moments when I feel I have a difficult time of continuing on my life’s journey, I think about that answer I gave to my kindergarten teacher. I want to influence this world for the better. I know that I am still very young, but with all the things that I have experienced through my family about the realities of life such as difficulties, hardships, and the good as well as the bad things that I have witnessed, I know that I am ready to take on the challenges I will face in the 21st century.
Hi Minji,
Your story is very touchy. India is such a country, which will tell you what poverty is all about. But you will also learn a lot about life and living. I am glad you have learnt a lot about life here in India. This is India – a place to learn.
Hi Phil, I am writing a argumentative research paper and my argument is The competitiveness of college admissions has a negative effect towards a high school student’s academic ability. I need 4 reasons why. Can you help?
Hi Phil- I’m an eighth grade student and I was recently assigned a 5000 word- informative essay in class; generally students of my grade are assigned 500-700 word essays, and I have been until now- thus forth, I was wondering if there are any tips you had on such an essay?
What you do is you treat the essay as a collection of shorter essays, each of which is going to be a section or even a subsection of the large essay.
In other words, all the advice I give here on the website and also on my YouTube channel still applies. You will simply need one more level of breaking the content down into sections.
For example,
If you were to write a 700-word essay, here’s how you would break it down:
Opening Paragraph (50 words)
Body Paragraph 1 (200 words)
Body Paragraph 2 (200 words)
Body Paragraph 3 (200 words)
Conclusion (50 words)
Now, you need a 5,000-word essay. So, you break it down further:
Opening Paragraph (250 words)
Body Section 1 (1500 words)
* Subsection A (500 words)
* Subsection B (500 words)
* Subsection C (500 words)
Body Section 2 (1500 words)
* Subsection A (500 words)
* Subsection B (500 words)
* Subsection C (500 words)
Body Section 3 (1500 words)
* Subsection A (500 words)
* Subsection B (500 words)
* Subsection C (500 words)
Conclusion (250 words)
And now, since you’re used to writing 500-word essays, here’s what you do.
Just treat each subsection as an essay aimed at supporting your main point. You’ll end up writing 9 such essays, and your 5,000-word essay is done.
Again, just apply what you learn here to each of the smaller essays (sections and subsections). I suggest you turn to my YouTube channel for a bunch of tutorials on how to write an essay: https://www.youtube.com/c/TutorPhil
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If you’re like me, you want your essays done as quickly as possible. But if you are in the habit of doing what I call Excessive “Research,” then it may take you hours before you’ve even written your first page, because you’re so busy looking up stuff on the Internet.
this is true
Phil
Cheers!
I have noticed some students writing an essay almost a page or even half of it or sometime half and then they strike it out as useless. Can you suggest a plausible remedy for the same?
Another problem they face is of short of length of their essay. Will you please suggest a cure?
An oft-repeated question they ask is whether they should attempt the Essay first or other questions of Language paper like Comprehension, Letter Writing, Grammar etc. I suggest them the essay as it is certainly the most important part of the paper. Don’t you agree?
Sanjay
All these problems can be overcome by putting all priority on the opening paragraph, which is the thesis statement.
Students often cross out their first efforts because they realize that they can’t quite support their initial thoughts.
All it takes to make sure you the student keeps writing is coming up with a strong main point which he will believe in.
So, write a strong opening paragraph. Everything else becomes easy.
T.P.
I read your articles with interest. As a student currently in the throes of trying to complete a 5000 word essay by the 14th Jan, 11 I have fallen victim to all of the distractions you have mentioned.
My problem is believing the idea I originally had is the one and teasing the idea out so you can see its foundation and all the links to it make sense. I know this but I lose my way every time. My essays end up disorganised and after countless hours spent searching the web for information that will give me the answer and trying to incorporate the information into my essay, I lose the will to live!
What now!
Lorna
First – it’s going to be okay.
The most common and probably the most challenging behavior students get into is becoming easily overwhelmed by the number of words or pages they need to come up with.
You see 5,000 words and you think to yourself, Gosh, I’ll never complete it!
Here is a good antidote to being overwhelmed like this.
Regardless of what the topic is, it definitely can be broken up into smaller subtopics. This is why I teach the Power of Three.
Think about it for a second. If you allow, say, 500 words for your opening and concluding paragraphs (which may be a little too much, but just bear with me), then you end up with 4,500 words to fill up the body of the essay with.
Now, if you divide the whole essay into three main sections, then you will have three sections of only 1,500 words to deal with.
And now, why not deal with them one at a time? Treat each of them as a separate essay.
If you think of it this way, you could even distribute your workload over time much more easily.
You could write the paper in three sittings – section 1 on Monday, section 2 on Tuesday, and section 3 on Wednesday, or something like that.
This is also your cure for disorganization. If you start with a strong thesis statement and are able to divide it into sections and into subsections, then as you write each section, you have the force of focus on your side!
Try it – see how it works. Also, feel free to send me the topic and we could try to divide it into sections together.
Keep it up!
This is so helpful,having English as a second language is so hard for me!
Thank you so much !
You’re welcome, Ola!
Hi~ Tutor phil ^^ I am really glad to meet you.
My friend introduced you to me.
I really need your help at my college essay.
please look it over and comment me ^^
I am really appreaciated for your help. Have a nice day ~
Here’s my essay ~
When I was seven, I had a birthday party with my kindergarten class in Korea. My teacher asked me what I want to be when I grew up. I said that I wanted to be a person who can influence the world. Up to the age of seven, I was a girl filled with dreams and I was always treated like a princess by my parents. I was the type of kid who got away with everything. I was allowed to do whatever I wanted to do. However, things began to change dramatically when my family faced a crisis. I had just become a teenager and I had no choice but to face the reality of the difficult situations my family faced. My parents had to move to a very poor village and worked the first available job they could find. The difficult situations in front of me seemed like a never-ending, tragic story. I started to lose hope of the dreams I had as a young girl. This was the most depressing time in my life because I was unsure of my future.
My parents have a strong passion for my education, so even with the financial struggle my parents sent me to India to study English after my graduation from elementary school. Still now, I can’t forget the first memory I had on my arrival to the Indian airport. Although learning English was the main reason being there, I was able to see the present reality of the 3rd world nation concerning the problems of hunger and poverty they faced in their everyday life. I used to think that I was the only one who was suffering and who was very unfortunate. But, after seeing the people and their living situations in India, I realized that it was a huge misunderstanding on my part. There are incredible numbers of people, still to this very day, dying because they don’t have the basic necessities and the will or hope to live. Even little children were begging for food from whoever they saw on the streets. Seeing these things before my eyes, I began to pondering about the visions and dreams I had as a young girl. I finally realized that the hardships that I faced as a young girl was a stepping stone of preparing myself to be an influential person.
Years have passed since that day and during the last summer vacation, I attended “Model United Nations of Seoul” and “Model G20” in Korea. In “Model United Nations of Seoul”, I discussed about the Millennium Development Goals designed by the United Nations. While I discussed about the global problems with the participants, I found myself feeling very passionate about those problems.
Sometimes I doubt myself and perceive limitations. I sometimes feel as if I am walking on an unknown path and it’s unsettling at times. During those moments when I feel I have a difficult time of continuing on my life’s journey, I think about that answer I gave to my kindergarten teacher. I want to influence this world for the better. I know that I am still very young, but with all the things that I have experienced through my family about the realities of life such as difficulties, hardships, and the good as well as the bad things that I have witnessed, I know that I am ready to take on the challenges I will face in the 21st century.
Minji,
This is a very well-written autobiographical essay.
It is sincere and deep.
I think you can submit it the way it is – no corrections really necessary. A couple of things here and there – but mostly a matter of style.
Good job!
Phil
Hi Minji,
Your story is very touchy. India is such a country, which will tell you what poverty is all about. But you will also learn a lot about life and living. I am glad you have learnt a lot about life here in India. This is India – a place to learn.
Hi Phil, I am writing a argumentative research paper and my argument is The competitiveness of college admissions has a negative effect towards a high school student’s academic ability. I need 4 reasons why. Can you help?
Hi Phil- I’m an eighth grade student and I was recently assigned a 5000 word- informative essay in class; generally students of my grade are assigned 500-700 word essays, and I have been until now- thus forth, I was wondering if there are any tips you had on such an essay?
Hey Lee. Yes.
What you do is you treat the essay as a collection of shorter essays, each of which is going to be a section or even a subsection of the large essay.
In other words, all the advice I give here on the website and also on my YouTube channel still applies. You will simply need one more level of breaking the content down into sections.
For example,
If you were to write a 700-word essay, here’s how you would break it down:
Opening Paragraph (50 words)
Body Paragraph 1 (200 words)
Body Paragraph 2 (200 words)
Body Paragraph 3 (200 words)
Conclusion (50 words)
Now, you need a 5,000-word essay. So, you break it down further:
Opening Paragraph (250 words)
Body Section 1 (1500 words)
* Subsection A (500 words)
* Subsection B (500 words)
* Subsection C (500 words)
Body Section 2 (1500 words)
* Subsection A (500 words)
* Subsection B (500 words)
* Subsection C (500 words)
Body Section 3 (1500 words)
* Subsection A (500 words)
* Subsection B (500 words)
* Subsection C (500 words)
Conclusion (250 words)
And now, since you’re used to writing 500-word essays, here’s what you do.
Just treat each subsection as an essay aimed at supporting your main point. You’ll end up writing 9 such essays, and your 5,000-word essay is done.
Again, just apply what you learn here to each of the smaller essays (sections and subsections). I suggest you turn to my YouTube channel for a bunch of tutorials on how to write an essay: https://www.youtube.com/c/TutorPhil
Hope this helps!
TP