10 Stages Of Writing A Final Paper | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

10 Stages Of Writing A Final Paper

We all have to go through it eventually.

35
10 Stages Of Writing A Final Paper
Google Images

Now that it's finals week, we all have to face the facts: those paper assignments we got at the beginning of the semester are finally due. There's nothing holding you back anymore: no excuses of too much other work, or having a test to study for, or that "it's not due for another three week I've got plenty of time!". We all have to face the music. Here're the 10 stages we all know and love of writing the dreaded final paper.

1. A Few Weeks Before the Deadline: you get the assignment and think: "great! This isn't due 'till the end of the semester, I don't have to worry about this for like a month!"

It's at this point that the prompt seems easy, and the page length seems manageable. Fifteen pages on American democracy? No problem!

2. And now, you promptly forget about the assignment, burying it with all your other work that's due at the end of the semester. Paper, what paper?



3. But suddenly, the professor mentions the assignment in class and it hits you: wait, it's only one week away now??

This is when the panic starts to set in, and your frantically going through all your assignments trying to find the prompt. How could you forget this??

4. Once you find the prompt and the second stage of panic dies down, it's time for stage two of procrastination.

You do some lighthearted research, maybe write down a loose outline. At this point, your still able to convince yourself that just looking at the prompt is the equivalent to actually starting the essay.


5. As the deadline starts to get a bit closer, you can finally prompt yourself into actually getting words down on the page. Sure they're not great words, but it's better than nothing, right?


6. It's about three days before the paper's actually due. You think you're in good shape, but then after you read over your rough draft you realize: what on earth was I thinking? This is the second stage of panic, where you doubt every argument you've made, and don't even know if what you wrote down qualifies as English.

Time to rewrite the whole thing!

7. Two days until the due date isn't too last minute to email the professor, right?

Dear Professor,

How do I put this eloquently?

Please send help!

Sincerely,

A Severely Screwed Student

8. And with one day to spare, you finally get to your last draft. It's been a long time coming, but you're finally free! Go and watch some Netflix, you deserve it.


9. But wait!! You realize you have a ton of citations to do before you can hand it in. This is the last stage of panic, the "where-did-I-even-get-this-quote-from" and "does-this-even-technically-need-a-citation?" kind of panic.


10. When the citation catastrophe is averted, and you finally have your paper done, it's time to print that thing out and hand it triumphantly to your professor.

But of course, that's not before a mini printer crisis, followed by another mini melt down, until finally, you straggle into class, holding that 15 page paper in hand. You practically throw it at the professor, begging them to take it away from you. And then, the relief.

You made it through! And it wasn't that bad in the end, right?


Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
ross geller
YouTube

As college students, we are all familiar with the horror show that is course registration week. Whether you are an incoming freshman or selecting classes for your last semester, I am certain that you can relate to how traumatic this can be.

1. When course schedules are released and you have a conflict between two required classes.

Bonus points if it is more than two.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

12 Things I Learned my Freshmen Year of College

When your capability of "adulting" is put to the test

3189
friends

Whether you're commuting or dorming, your first year of college is a huge adjustment. The transition from living with parents to being on my own was an experience I couldn't have even imagined- both a good and a bad thing. Here's a personal archive of a few of the things I learned after going away for the first time.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

Economic Benefits of Higher Wages

Nobody deserves to be living in poverty.

302201
Illistrated image of people crowded with banners to support a cause
StableDiffusion

Raising the minimum wage to a livable wage would not only benefit workers and their families, it would also have positive impacts on the economy and society. Studies have shown that by increasing the minimum wage, poverty and inequality can be reduced by enabling workers to meet their basic needs and reducing income disparities.

I come from a low-income family. A family, like many others in the United States, which has lived paycheck to paycheck. My family and other families in my community have been trying to make ends meet by living on the minimum wage. We are proof that it doesn't work.

Keep Reading...Show less
blank paper
Allena Tapia

As an English Major in college, I have a lot of writing and especially creative writing pieces that I work on throughout the semester and sometimes, I'll find it hard to get the motivation to type a few pages and the thought process that goes behind it. These are eleven thoughts that I have as a writer while writing my stories.

Keep Reading...Show less
April Ludgate

Every college student knows and understands the struggle of forcing themselves to continue to care about school. Between the piles of homework, the hours of studying and the painfully long lectures, the desire to dropout is something that is constantly weighing on each and every one of us, but the glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel helps to keep us motivated. While we are somehow managing to stay enrolled and (semi) alert, that does not mean that our inner-demons aren't telling us otherwise, and who is better to explain inner-demons than the beloved April Ludgate herself? Because of her dark-spirit and lack of filter, April has successfully been able to describe the emotional roller-coaster that is college on at least 13 different occasions and here they are.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments