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How to Write a High-Quality Essay (Fast!)

March 4, 2017 by Taylor Leave a Comment

How to Write a Great Essay Fast - Espresso and Ambition

(This blog post is a day late, but at least my essay wasn’t.)

If Oxford has taught me anything, it’s been how to write a high-quality essay in a short period of time. Due to the quick turn-around nature of papers here, it’s not that uncommon to write 2 or 3 papers a week and basically end up having a day to write each. Not to mention, tutors here generally grade papers a bit more harshly than professors at home do. As a result, you get a lot of experience generating good, thorough work in a short amount of time. Today, I’m sharing some of the tips I’ve learned with you.

 

1. Put the prompt at the top of the page

I don’t care if you want to change it to some fancy title later, but you should always start your paper by putting the question at hand at the top of the page. This way, there’s no confusion on what you should be writing about and you constantly have a little reminder of what the topic is supposed to be, which can help keep you on track if you start to wander off from the intended prompt.

 

2. Read everything before you start planning

It’s tempting to form your outline and then go into the reading and find the information that supports your argument. This is problematic, because not only does it encourage confirmation bias (where you essentially only pay attention to the information that supports your paper rather than all of the information presented as a whole) but you also run the risk of planning out an essay that you eventually can’t defend properly. Read everything first, take notes, synthesize the information, and the structure of the essay should start to become pretty self-evident from there. I didn’t do that at the start of the term, and my tutors ripped my arguments to shreds because I unintentionally ignored important pieces of information within the readings that, because I didn’t acknowledge them in my paper, weakened my arguments.

How to Write a Great Essay Fast - Espresso and Ambition

3. Make a brief outline

I’m not a fan of highly detailed outlines, especially when you’re answering pretty vague questions that require elaboration on certain points and there’s a level of unpredictability in how long it’ll take to express a specific idea and how many brief tangents you’ll need to make in that explanation. However, a general roadmap is great – in my time here, I’ve started using sub-headings in my papers as my outline. These serve an additional advantage in that they make it easier for the grader to follow along with the flow of ideas. However, some professors may not like the use of sub-headings in a paper; if this is the case, write the paper using the sub-headings but delete them before turning it in. It’ll still keep up the same quality structure.

 

4. Write first, edit later

Get all of your thoughts on paper. Trying to write a paragraph, then edit it, write another paragraph, edit that leads to a good bit of wasted time, because every time you stop writing it takes a little bit to get back into the rhythm and get your thoughts flowing again. Write everything first, then go back with a more critical mind and fix some of the flaws and add in missing information after you’ve gotten your brain dump completed. As Ernest Hemingway said, “write drunk, edit sober”; while I wouldn’t advocate drunk writing, there is something to be said for writing without worrying about syntax and grammar.

 

5. Figure out when you’re at your prime

Personally, I find that I do my best writing late at night. For some reason, I’m much better at articulating my ideas when it’s dark and I’m running on tea/coffee. I’ll write the entire essay that night, and go back to it first thing in the morning, when my brain is sharper and can catch the minor flaws that my blurry, creative night-brain didn’t notice when I was writing. Find what works for you, and take advantage of that schedule.

How to Write a Great Essay Fast - Espresso and Ambition

There you have it: my tips for writing quality papers in a short period of time. My Oxford term is finally winding down – I’m two papers away from being done completely! This term was shorter than what I’m used to at UGA, but it was by far the most educational experience I’ve had in university thus far. I’m excited to be done and have some time to travel, but once I get back to the States I’ll be buckling down on LSAT preparation. The cycle of academics seems to never end!

xo, Taylor

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Meet Taylor

A real-life combination of Elle Woods and Hermione Granger. Recent graduate of the University of Georgia, currently living and working in DC. New blog posts every Monday, new YouTube videos every Thursday. Subscribe by clicking the link below for post updates and exclusive content!

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🔥 nasm certified personal trainer
✨ self-love + balance
🎥 2 new workouts per week!

tayy_kay
without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little c without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little challenging to really feel like i’m working at my full potential on leg days 😶 enter: single-leg movements. since all the weight is in one leg, you’re putting way more emphasis on it than you do during two-leg movements - and you’ll definitely feel that 🔥 you also get some added bonuses in the form of ensuring you’re working each side of your body equally AND a balance challenge!!
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you can add in weights or bands to up the challenge level, or do it all bodyweight like i am here!
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1️⃣ 15 single-leg box squats per leg (use other leg as a kickstand for an easier modification!)
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2️⃣ 15 bulgarian split squats per leg
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3️⃣ 15 single-leg hip thrusts per leg
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4️⃣ 15 single-leg deadlifts per leg
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throw on at the end of a longer leg day workout or do it 3-4 times as a workout all on its own!!
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👚 @girlfriend 🎧 numb - neffex
🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time 🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time to be alive, and it’s more important now than ever to listen to your body and stop being so hard on yourself. motivation is a fickle thing and working out when you don’t have all the equipment you love is weird. give yourself permission to take a break when you need it. don’t beat yourself up for missing workouts - exercise should be something you do because it makes you happy, not because you feel like you have to punish yourself. if it doesn’t make you happy that day, that’s okay. give yourself a break, come back and try again tomorrow. 💪🏼
circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not kidding about how much i love this long resistance band, it’s so versatile! definitely worth getting your hands on one for home workouts 😊 (although almost all of these can be completely with dumbbells or heavy objects if that’s what you’ve got in hand)
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also please watch to the very end of the fourth video for quality footage of greg 😂
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1️⃣ 12 long band shoulder presses to standing chest presses
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2️⃣ 12 upright rows to bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 overhead triceps extensions per arm (the one leg stance is some bonus balance work!)
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4️⃣ 12 rear flies, featuring greg trying to fight my shadow
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5️⃣ 12 commandos
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6️⃣ 12 side-to-side pushups
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repeat 4x total!!
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👚 @underarmourwomen
🎧 best of me - neffex
giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, cra giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, crazy time in the world a little differently, and for me, it’s looked like a lot of establishing to and sticking to routines (seriously, sometimes it feels like my skincare routine and workout split are the only thing still giving meaning to days of the week, lol). my morning smoothies have been another important one - there’s a recipe in my story highlights and surprise surprise it uses this protein powder 😛
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anyways, onto the real reason you’re here! i’m giving away 25 $20 giftcards for @310nutrition with NO STRINGS ATTACHED 🤯 you hear that? you ain’t gotta do a thing to win - the first 25 people to use the code KAYGC20 on their order automatically win. get your hands on some fire plant-based protein powder, courtesy of me and 310 😋 (p.s. if you’re still seeing this caption, there are still giftcards available!!)
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#310gc20 #310shake
sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and hold a fake photo shoot just to prove to yourself that you’re still a real human
posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangen posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangentially topical. link in bio.
upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating towards circuit-style workouts lately, because they really work up a sweat and home workouts just don’t feel as legit to me unless i’m hardcore sweating 🤷🏼‍♀️ i don’t mind not breaking much of a sweat at the gym, but it feels weird not to when i’m working out at home - anyone else feel this or am i just weird?? 😅
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do all exercises back to back with no rest in between!
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1️⃣ 10 push-ups to renegade rows
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2️⃣ 12 alternating bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 diamond front raises
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4️⃣ 8 sets of 3 tricep pulses to this lil cross-body weight move that doesn’t have a name {keep your core tight to feel it on your obliques!}
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5️⃣ 15 bent-over rear delt rows
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6️⃣ finisher!! 🥵 10 burpees with 2 shoulder taps and 2 toe taps in the middle of each rep
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repeat 🔁 for a total of 3 rounds!!
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👚 top from @gymsharkwomen, shorts from @nike 🎧 dangerous - neffex
would be nice if both sides of my head could agree would be nice if both sides of my head could agree on whether my hair is wavy or straight, but apparently that’s a little too much to ask of it 😂
got a circuit-style leg workout for you today! 🥳 there are 3 sets of 3 exercises that you’ll complete back-to-back - once you’ve done those three moves, rest for 30 seconds before repeating them all over again 2 more times! rest for 1-2 minutes in between each circuit - keeping your heart rate up is the goal here, i was driiiiiiipping sweat by the end of this one 🥵
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circuit 1️⃣: 10 step-ups to reverse lunges per leg
10 reverse lunges to curtsy lunges per leg
20 lateral lunges
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circuit 2️⃣:
10 squats to surrenders (stop in a squat position before standing up at the end to really feel this one)
10 stagger-stance rdls
20 criss-cross squat jumps
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circuit 3️⃣:
15 leg lifts per side
10 single-leg glute bridges per side
15 frog pumps
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👚 top from @fabletics, joggers from @gymsharkwomen
🎧 watch me - neffex
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