Academic paper writing is often considered one of the most dreaded parts of college for students. Most people hate it, even if they are into writing in general. Many students feel like it puts them into a box where no creative expression is possible. Like having to use a more formal tone of voice and thinking about referencing restricts one’s flow of thought.
But the truth is, the rules are not there to limit you. In fact, they have been created to guide and help you write with more ease. In this article, we will tell you how to channel your creativity into something as strict as academic writing.
Use All the Help You Can Get
Students now certainly have it harder than their grandparents. The curriculum is tougher, it includes more classes, student debt follows you like a shadow, and that’s only if you get into college or uni. On the bright side, though, students have so many helpful tools it would be weird not to use them.
So, whenever you feel like you have too much on your plate, use an essay writing service to get your assignment done by a professional. This will leave you with a flawless essay sample to mimic and learn from.
A tool like Hemingway Editor will help you with readability. Concise and clear sentences are half the job done when it comes to academic writing. Obviously, the further you progress with your studies, the more complicated your texts will become. However, this tool is indispensable for basic-level writing.
If you’re struggling with proofreading your essay, use Grammarly. It will help you correct minor mistakes and the tone of your writing. Getting a paid subscription is a really good idea in this case. The free version has a limited number of suggestions, while the paid one will give you a more detailed analysis.
Keep Focused
Academic writing definitely comes with some limitations. Yet, as mentioned above, those limitations are here to help. Take, for example, the question that is usually asked in the assignment. It might feel like it’s restricting your creativity, but in fact, it’s there to help.
Whenever you write an essay, care to write an outline first. Carefully examine the question at hand and make sure you understand it correctly. Then, take it apart, turning it into several smaller questions. Those will be your essay’s paragraphs! Not that hard, right? Then, you answer each question individually. At the end of a paragraph, connect it with the previous one. It shouldn’t be too hard since those questions used to be one, right?
So, just keep going this way until you have enough paragraphs to cover the main question. Read your essay to make sure you didn’t miss anything.
Come Back Later for Details
Proofreading is vital for your paper to score high. You’ll inevitably make mistakes while typing fast, and you might not notice them even when reading your paper over and over. That’s when it might be a good idea to go to EssayService to order proofreading or editing. A person who is unfamiliar with your essay will find way more mistakes than you ever could.
Another way to go about it would be to let your paper sit for a few days. This way, you’ll at least partially forget it and will be able to proofread it afresh. Unfortunately, this is not an option for many students as we often leave things for the last minute. That’s why help exists, after all!
Now, to the least fun part - formatting. It’s often regarded as the most tedious, demanding, and burdensome part of academic writing. And sure, it might be hard, but the more you do it, the easier it gets! So, here are a few tips to help make it better.
- Leave enough time. As obvious as it might sound, it’s definitely better to have enough time for formatting. So, when planning your homework, leave at least a few hours more than you think you’ll need. An ideal option is to have several days to spare.
- Reference as you write. It’s going to be very hard to insert citations after you’ve written your paper and forgot where any of the information came from. The most reasonable thing to do is cite your sources in the process of writing. You don’t need to place perfect citations in the first draft, but just having them will be of great help.
- Use tools to help you. Referencing is a pan; everybody knows this. And that’s exactly why there are all those helpful tools! Google Scholar has a fully formatted reference under every search result. You just need to copy it and check if it’s correct. Google Docs has added a referencing tool, too. You are a quick search away from finding all the help in the world!
Wrapping Up
Very few people actually like academic writing. And if you don’t either, it’s very understandable. But not liking something doesn’t make you immune to it. In fact, it can only make the process harder. So, our final piece of advice is to try to convince yourself to like writing. It will be especially easy if you’re a naturally creative person. You only need to practice more and more, and with every paper you write, it will become easier and easier.