Essay Writing Advice
Okay, so some of you know I'm no longer in IB and am in college now and let me tell you right now: all of those IAs and EEs and stuff help so much with writing essays and staying up late. AP classes can help a lot, but I’ve found there's a big difference for essays between the 8 AP classes crowd and IBDP crowd.
Now, give me some leniency cause yesterday I stayed up writing for 14 hours for political theory (7 page paper arguing Burke’s and Rousseau's theories of history - yeah not fun) so I'm still kinda tired and messed up.
Pick a topic you like
I hate this piece of advice because obviously you would if you could. Moving on.
Create an Outline
If you’re like me, this helps sooooo much. I know what I want to say, and this helps me dump it out of my brain. Don’t make it difficult for yourself. When I create my outlines, it looks like I decided to throw bullet points and page numbers everywhere like I’ve got a billion dollars to throw at people on the street. Don’t force yourself to follow a format even if you think its more pleasing. Just get it down and then edit it from there. (My outline was 12 pages for a 7 page paper, I had a lot of ideas that I needed to cut but I was also passionate about my topic).
Write what you want
It'll help you get interested in the topic. Fuck a start, fuck a ending, writing is writing. Two pages of nonsense is better than nothing. You’re more inclined to keep working if you’ve already started.
Write like you’re writing to a friend
Literally, just write how you talk. You can go back and edit it later, but if the ideas are down that's 1) a big weight off of your chest and 2) it'll force you to reread it and find better ideas alone the way. “But I’m short on time” - how short? If you’re writing it at lunch, the class before its due (we’ve all been there) then obviously get off Tumblr and get to writing. But if it’s due in like ten hours, I promise you, you’ll fair better if you split your time into idea time and grammar time. Don’t force yourself to multitask to sound more “academic.” Just go back through and use https://onelook.com/thesaurus/ to carry yourself. WAY better than theasurus.com or whatever it is.
Do what feels right to you
I’m gonna say this once: I don't give a fuck what your friend did on their essay. Most of the time people talk before turning in the essay and everyone pretty much has similar ideas. If you're COMPLETELY LOST, then yeah, go with the flow and keep yourself save. Teachers and TAs are people too... sometimes they just want originality. Every single time I’ve been writing and been like “damn, I’m really wildin’ out here but lol it’s due in four hours and I don’t give a fuck,” I’ve ALWAYS gotten comments about originality or something and it helps boost my grade. Be creative and “wild” with your essays. You're young and you won’t fail if you follow the rubric or stay moderately on topic - let yourself go on those rants or (RELATED) tangents. Who really cares?
For the love of God, learn how to cite
You know that you can google it. Don’t be too lazy for a 5 minute search. Know how to do it and do it properly.
Also, fuck easy bib and all those other sites - just use word’s automatic bibliography. It’s automatically in your document and so much easier. Plus, it automatically excludes any sources that you don’t cite so you don’t lose points if you cite a source that wasn’t in your paper (yes, it happens, and it definitely makes you learn your lesson).
STEM brain? Have someone good at writing read your paper
I don’t have this problem as much cause writing and arguing and shit is easier for me but try to give yourself time to have someone who is good at it read your paper.
I will gladly do it for a couple bucks over Venmo if any of y'all want. This isn't a business or anything I do but I would be down to help people out. Y’all can message me for info about why I think im good at English if you want since I know this post looks like a hot mess (I woke up in a dead heat at 4am and started writing this okay give me a break).
Uhh I think that’s it
There’s no secret to writing. It just takes practice. Plus, I can’t give more specific advice without knowing what types of papers you’re writing. You can always message me for advice. One last note: if you’re doing a math paper, I am SO sorry, and I KNOW it’s a waste of time but chug your Red Bull, remember you’re a bad bitch, and keep going.
- Nikki
