So it’s the day before (or possible the day of, I’m not judging) the due date for that paper you’ve been avoiding, and though the internal panic has been mounting you still pressed “next episode” on whichever Netflix show you’ve been binge watching.
Eventually, though, you muster up all your focus, open up a blank word document, and contemplate the word limit ahead of you. It can all seem very intimidating, but fear not, your resident procrastination queen is here to help. You can still do this and your paper doesn’t have to be garbage either! Just follow these few paper writing hacks and you’ll be done in no time
- Read other essays
If your panic is reducing your brain to a pile of mush and you have no idea where to start and what to write on, don’t be afraid to look up other essays. Colleges have memberships to all of the best research subscription services for your use, or if you aren’t sure you want to go that far, google scholar will be your best friend. This will help you get a good feel for the main issues of whatever you’re writing on and get your brain moving.
*disclaimer* this does not mean copy a paper. I mean really, don’t be an idiot.
2.) Wikipedia
I know you might want to skip this one because “I’m way too good for Wikipedia, I can’t use that in a formal paper,” but bear with me, I promise it’s a good one. In the same vein as reading other essays, go to the Wikipedia page for the text you’re writing, and scroll to the bottom where all the sources are. Bam, now you know where to start with your research. That’ll cut your research time in half.
3.) Don’t write a thesis
I know this may seem an odd piece of advice, but I promise, your paper will be better for it. That’s not to say just write aimlessly, you should absolutely have a topic. But it’s much easier to write if you aren’t married to a thesis, especially if you come up with some great ideas in the course of your writing. Your thesis should match your argument, not the other way around.
4.) Get an electronic copy of the book
Whether it’s Kindle, Nook, or whatever your preference is, this is vital. I swear half my time writing papers used to be spent looking for quotes to back up whatever I wanted to argue. Now with the availability of books online, you can word search within the text for quotes. Let me tell you, this is a game changer right here.
5.) Citing sources
Citing sources is probably my least favorite thing. APA, MLA, Chicago style, Ain’t nobody got time for all of that. Plus they’re always updating the forms with new rules anyway, it’s ridiculous. Well, now all you have to do is enter some info and you’re golden. First, if your source is online, most of them have a “cite as source” button on them, which is awesome. If it doesn’t though, both refworks.com and easybib.com will generate sources for you, in whichever format you need. All you have to do is enter the information about it and press go.
Now take a break, at this point you’ve been furiously working so go grab a cup of coffee, a snack maybe, but don’t you dare open your phone. It’ll suck you in to the never ending vortex of content.
