A typical college professor usually assigns a paper several weeks before it is due.
A typical college student usually gives himself or herself less than 24 hours to complete the paper.
Although the actual writing of a given paper may end up being constrained to a very hurried, last-minute period, the mental processes that occur in students' brains from the moment a paper prompt is provided to the moment the paper is handed in are wide-ranging.
1. The Prompt
“Oh, I love this topic! I could write for days and still have over-flowing ideas!”
2. The Assignment
“Ten to 12 pages?? What do I look like, a novelist??!!”
3. The Plan
“OK, it’s three weeks till the due date. If I write only one page a day, I’ll be done early with a week left to revise and perfect!”
4. The Inevitable Pitfall
“I’m kinda tired…how about I just use two days to sleep as much as possible, and then I’ll have enough energy to write 10 papers!”
5. The Regret
“Nooooo! I haven’t done anything the past two weeks!”
6. The Consolation
“Meh, at least nobody else in the class has started writing either.”
7. The Crunch Time
“It’s the night before the due date! What have I been doing with my life?!”
8. The Medication
“I can do this! I’m pretty sure the seven cups of coffee will increase my writing ability too.”
9. The Content
“I can’t tell if this is the best thing I’ve ever written or the worst thing I’ve ever written.”
10. The Break of Dawn
“OK, 9.5 pages! Now, just gotta make the margins 1.2 inches and call it good!”
11. The Scramble
“Five minutes till class! Why can’t I ever find a stapler?!”
12. The Delivery
“Professor Smith, please accept my sincerest apologies for the quality of this paper.”
13. The Triumph
“A-! I knew it was my best paper ever!!”
