Pimp My Essay Writing Process
Whether you’re a student writing essays for classes or someone who writes essays as part of your job, having an efficient and effective essay writing process is essential. A strong writing process allows you to craft high-quality, polished essays in an organized fashion. Many people struggle with disorganization and procrastination when it comes to writing essays. In this article, we’ll discuss how to “pimp out” your essay writing process by optimizing the various steps involved. By refining your process, you can write essays more productively while achieving better results.
Plan Thoroughly
The planning stage is crucial for ensuring your essay writing goes smoothly. Taking time to thoroughly plan sets the foundation for the rest of the process. Some key planning strategies include:
Brainstorm potential essay topics to see which ideas inspire you the most. Jot down thoughts and directions the topic could take.
Refine your topic selection by considering things like timeliness, breadth/depth, and audience interest. Pick something you’re passionate about.
Research your topic through books, articles, interviews, and other credible sources. Take detailed notes and organize them.
Develop a clear thesis statement expressing the main argument or idea of your essay.
Create an outline breaking your essay into an intro, 3-5 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Detail the main points and evidence for each section.
Prepare a working bibliography listing sources cited to properly attribute information later.
Thorough planning saves time reworking later. It ensures your essay stays focused and has logical flow. Aim to spend at least 25% of your total time on planning.
Write in Sessions
Writing an entire essay in one sitting leads to fatigue and diminishing quality over time. Instead, break writing into focused 90-minute sessions with short breaks in between. This pacing mimics your natural cycles of peak productivity. Some tips:
Set a writing schedule with specific daily/weekly goals to stay accountable.
Use a timed writing app or program to keep distractions at bay during sessions.
Take 5 minutes between sessions to stretch, snack, review notes. It recharges your focus.
Session types could be intro paragraph on Mon, two body paragraphs on Wed, etc.
Steady progress over time creates momentum and prevents burnout better than marathon writing. Consistent shorter sessions add up to complete high-caliber essays.
Use Outlining Software
Rather than messy handwritten outlines or basic word documents, upgrade your outlines to digital outlines created with specialized outlining software. Programs like Scrivener offer compelling advantages:
Create nested outlines with unlimited levels that mirror your essay’s structural complexity.
Drag-and-drop to easily rearrange sections as ideas evolve without copy/pasting.
Add word count goals and progress trackers to sections to stay on pace.
Attach notes, images, and document files directly to relevant outline sections for easy access later.
Automatically generate a formatted bibliography from attached sources as you go.
Compile polished multi-page documents from outline sections with one click.
Outlining software streamlines nonlinearity when researching and writing. It integrates robust planning, drafting, and bibliographies into one organized digital space.
Use Templates
Templates provide essay structure without you having to manually set it up each time. They eliminate wasted time figuring formatting and allow you to quickly start writing. Some key templates to utilize include:
MLA, APA, Chicago style template covering title page, headers, citations, bibliography. Adjustable to papers.
Generic essay template with intro-body-conclusion placeholder sections and word counts.
Template for specific essay types like process analyses, definitions, comparisons.
Template packets for assignments or topics you write on regularly for a class.
Save multiple templates tailored for different needs. Select the right one at the start of writing to get structured output without hassle. Templates let your ideas flow naturally into a polished final product.
Revise Iteratively
Rather than a “you’re done when you’re done” attitude, build revision into your workflow through iterative sessions. Set aside regular time, such as every other session, specifically for reviewing and reworking what you previously wrote. Some revision focuses include:
Check thesis statement accuracy, introduction/conclusion strength, and flow between sections.
Tighten wording, delete unnecessary filler, and strengthen topic sentences.
Improve essay mechanics like grammar, spelling, punctuation consistency.
Rearrange or split paragraphs, add/cut content as needed based on feedback.
Peer review – trade drafts with classmates or writing group for multiple perspectives.
Revision elevates writing by addressing issues holistically throughout the essay rather than last-minute polishing. Iterative sessions double as natural stopping points too.
Use Feedback Wisely
Feedback, whether from instructors, peers, writing center tutors, or yourself through self-editing, is invaluable for improving. Focus feedback implementation selectively:
Note all feedback received but pick highest-priority issues to address first based on impact to quality.
Disregard vague or contradictory feedback that doesn’t offer concrete ways to strengthen writing.
For instructor feedback, ask clarifying questions if needed to properly interpret suggestions.
Carefully apply feedback naturally within your own writing style versus exactly copying note language.
Save feedback received on previous essays to continuously enhance your process long-term.
Smart feedback use maximizes benefits while avoiding becoming overwhelmed or losing your authentic voice. Incorporate it purposefully to take writing to the next level.
Polish and Proofread Minutely
The final steps before submission involve intensely polishing and proofreading your essay. Set aside an hour or more and follow these pre-finishing tactics:
Read essay out loud slowly to catch awkward phrasings, redundancies, and transitions.
Check essay meets all basic requirements like length, formatting style consistently applied, etc.
Do word-for-word comparison against instructions/rubric to ensure every criteria fully addressed.
Print hardcopy and mark up with track changes, comments as proof of line-by-line polishing done.
Peer proofread – have someone else read it critically to catch any final mistakes.
Read essay backwards to proofread without being influenced by meaning.
Polishing makes your writing shine by removing imperfections. Proofreading catches minutiae so you submit proudly. Quality editing ensures optimal first impressions.
Implementing strategies like these to strengthen your essay writing process will lead to remarkable results. From organization to efficiency to quality of output, pimping your process is key to success in academics, careers, or any writing you do. Refining your process is an ongoing journey, so continuously improve and watch your writing skills get next level.
Andrew Stroud