having trouble writing an essay

Essay Writing Guide

Essay Writing Problems

Essay Writing Problems - 5 Most Paralyzing Problems

#1 Lack of Confidence

The inability to believe in one’s capabilities and skills is one of the most common problems in essay writing that students have to face.

Students who think they are not good at writing will have trouble starting their papers. They doubt their capability to complete it as well. And with this self-doubt, they may never even try to start working on their paper.

As a result, these students end up not submitting an assignment or simply handing in a poorly-written one, fully accepting and expecting that they will get a low or failing grade.

How to Overcome This

There are various ways students can improve their writing skills. There are online courses they can take and they also have the option to take up traditional classes offered by local schools or tutorial centers.

Additionally, students should practice writing daily even if they make mistakes. As long as these mistakes are corrected, they will become better writers in the future.

Lastly, students who don’t know how to start an essay can always ask for assistance from their teachers, peers, and other people who are more knowledgeable and experienced in writing.

#2 Insufficient Knowledge

Many students will also have difficulties writing an essay about a topic taken up in school. The main reason is that they don’t have enough knowledge about the subject matter.

This difficulty can be caused by the student failing to take notes in class or not attending classes at all. He or she may not even understand the topic completely. This will cause anyone to have poor knowledge of any topic.

This is a problem that students can easily trounce. Students simply need to put in some extra time to study whatever notes they have. They can also do extra research to understand the topic.

Students can also ask their teacher to explain the topic to them again if they are having a hard time understanding it.

#3 Lack of Writing Skills

Although some students are confident about writing and have enough ideas to write their papers, if they lack language proficiency, they won’t submit an impressive essay.

Using the wrong words, misleading language, misplacing words, phrases, and punctuation will result in a poor paper. Some students may even resort to using technical words and jargon with the hope of impressing their teacher. Of course, this technique usually backfires.

Students should learn to use simple words and construct short, concise sentences to get a good mark on their papers. Students also need to read more since this is a good exercise for becoming a better writer.

They can also get help from the best assignment experts if they need help with polishing their papers. These writers will ensure students turn in good essays, reflective of their knowledge and abilities.

#4 Plagiarism

When all else fails, plagiarism is something that many students end up doing just so they can submit a paper. This is also their last resort if they are rushing to complete their essay at the last minute.

Teachers today check each paper for plagiarized content. Students who submit essays that contain copied paragraphs from published material will find themselves in a lot of trouble.

Students need to learn how to paraphrase the content they use for their essays. They should know when and how to use references as well.

Finally, they should make it a habit to run their essays through online plagiarism tools to ensure that they submit an original paper.

#5 Getting Stuck

Lastly, students are given a topic that has been discussed numerous times already. This can get the student stuck and unable to write anything about it. They think that there is nothing left to explore and they can’t have their own say on such topics.

Because of this, they are unable to start writing their paper, much less finish it.

Conducting more research will help students find an angle they will be interested in exploring, analyzing, and discussing. Students can also ask their peers, parents, and other people about the topic.

#6 Time Management

Time management is another main problem that students face. Some students think they can get away with working at the last minute. They might be in a big hurry or simply don't know what needs to be done yet. Because of this, they will submit bad-quality work.

How to Overcome This:

If you plan ahead, you can avoid having to spend a lot of time editing your paper.

Planning ahead will help you do better research, so your analysis of the issue is stronger. This will also help you set the paper aside and come back to it later with a fresh perspective, which means you can revise it more effectively.

#7 Awkward Structure

The structure of your sentences should be clear and understandable to allow the reader to follow what you are saying. Each sentence needs a meaningful connection with the topic so they can understand it fully without confusion, ultimately making them enjoy reading more.

Structure is key to making an essay readable. You should know the proper essay structure. Every sentence should be related and meaningful for your target audience.

Keep reading

Top 11 Toughest Writing Challenges And How To Overcome Them

This article contains everything you need to know about writing challenges, what causes them, and how to overcome them.

Writing is a lonely, mentally challenging, and sometimes grinding profession. Most of your time is spent in front of a screen, trying to put words together, while your brain is telling you, “Nobody would read this.”

On top of that, you’re expected to create a schedule, set rates, and find time for family and friends. Like Ernest Hemingway famously said ,

“Writing, at its best, is a lonely life.” Ernest Hemingway

How do you overcome countless writing challenges and keep your sanity at the same time? Well, there is an art to it, but in this post, you’ll learn:

What writing challenges every writer faces
What causes these obstacles
How to overcome them

Let’s dive in!

How To Eliminate Online Distractions

How to overcome the feast and famine cycle, how to find time to write, how to overcome writer’s block, how i overcome a productivity slump, how to structure your articles, how to edit while feeling drained and bored, how to set attainable deadlines, how to research your work, how to overcome feeling socially isolated, how to overcome this writing challenge, how to get your creative juices flowing, final word on writing challenges, what is a creative writing prompt, what is creative writing and what are some examples, writing challenges infographic, 1. online distractions.

Top 10 toughest writing challenges and how to overcome them

The biggest writing challenge for me is eliminating distractions for a few hours so I can get into a flow state and cultivate a habit of daily writing.

In this modern world, distractions are everywhere. I like separating them into two categories, offline and online distractions.

Offline distractions are easy to eliminate. Establish boundaries, and tell everyone in your house not to disturb you for the next few hours. Most people are reasonable and will respect your request.

Writing with kids in the house may be a challenge, but it comes down to timing. Aim to complete your deep work when they’re asleep, playing with their friends, or at school. Focus on the creative work while the house is quiet. Then, you can do any non-creative tasks, like answering emails, when they’re home and awake. Being a writer with children might mean early starts, late nights, or both.

The real challenge is removing online distractions. With so many social media platforms, you can’t keep track of them all. They draw your attention all over the place, and when it comes time to work, you find getting into that flow state impossible. A good web blocker like Freedom app can help.

Getting rid of online distractions requires a combination of discipline and tools to keep your core creative time distraction-free.

My ritual for eliminating online distractions is to close all the tabs I’m not using, like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and even email. I put my phone in a drawer in the next room. However, even after taking these steps, I still feel tempted to open Facebook or YouTube, and this is where distraction-blocking tools, like Freedom App, come in.

It blocks the news feed of any social media platform. That stops users from getting into that zombie-like trance where you’re scrolling Facebook for what feels like five minutes, then you realize an hour went by.

Simply head over to the Chrome store, and you’ll find distraction-free extensions for YouTube, Facebook, and any other social media platform.

I highly recommend installing the distraction-free YouTube extension since writers need to do a lot of research and this sometimes requires this search tool. YouTube shows videos you might like on the right sidebar, and if you get distracted, you can easily waste hours watching videos.

Distraction-free YouTube blocks the sidebar on the right so you can watch what you need for research purposes then head to your favorite place to write. You will still need a modicum of self-control but all it takes is one looming deadline for you to see the error of your ways.

Read our guide to the best distraction-free writing apps .

2. The Feast And Famine Writing Cycle

The infamous feast and famine cycle is another major challenge to those making their living as a freelance writer.

A feast and famine cycle refers to balancing the act of writing with finding your next writing job. One month you might get a lot of work and beat your monthly income target, and another you won’t even come close. Consider this an opportunity rather than a challenge.

Think of yourself as an employee of your company. Pay yourself a set salary that covers your expenses, and the money left over you either put into an emergency fund or invest back into your business.

This prevents you from going overboard with spending when times are good. Then when a famine rolls around, you have some money to fall back on while you get more clients.

This doesn’t tackle the root of the problem, however; it only treats the symptom. The other reason this poses such a challenge is during the feast period, many writers stop marketing and landing clients. When the inevitable famine comes, they have a lot of time to market their services, and this brings in a new flow of clients that leads to another feast.

Now that we know what causes a feast and famine challenge, the solution is obvious. Never stop marketing! Some ideal forms of marketing for writers include:

Social media outreach
Content marketing

Don’t stop once you’re busy because your lack of marketing might not show itself immediately, but in a few weeks or months, you’ll start to feel it.

Set an hour or two aside every day and pitch your service to potential clients. Make it a habit, and if you don’t have time to pitch because you’re too busy, hire a virtual assistant to do it for you.

By constantly pitching your writing services to potential clients, you’ll never experience a feast and famine cycle again. Your workflow becomes predictable and reliable.

Check out our guide to the best writing jobs and also our list of side hustle ideas for writers .

3. No Time To Write

You’re a full-time writer. You spend your days tapping away at the keyboard while sipping piping hot coffee, right? For most writers, finding time to write is a chore since life has a habit of getting in the way. But that’s where budgeting your time comes in. When you want to get better at money management, you budget your money. So why not do the same with your time?

Once you’ve structured your day, look for times where you can improve or eliminate as this allows you to get some extra writing done. The first time I planned my week in advance was difficult, but I quickly got into a creative groove.

Another mindset shift you must make is that you don’t need a laptop or computer to start writing. You carry a smartphone, so if you don’t have access to your computer, whip out your phone and blog away. You can always send the file to your computer later.

4. Writer’s Block

Ernest Hemingway once said writer’s block is the most terrifying challenge he ever faced. You know the terror. You open a Google Doc or Microsoft Word document, then you stare at a blank screen having no idea where to start. It can be very daunting for many writers. For those just starting out, it can feel insurmountable.

You don’t have to go through that dreaded challenge every time you start working on a new project. The most common reason people experience writer’s block is that they judge their work before it’s time.

Many new writers working across different genres expect to write pure magic as soon as they touch a keyboard. Instead of writing then editing, they judge and throw out their first drafts. With this practice, you’ll obviously feel stuck because writing a perfect first draft of a new story is impossible. Your first draft will be terrible regardless of your writing skills. and that’s fine. You can always edit your draft later.

Once you understand and accept that your first draft will be poorly written, you won’t experience writer’s block anymore. Daily writing becomes a piece of cake.

When you start writing, don’t judge your work. Just write. No matter how horrible you think your writing is, don’t delete or edit it right away. That comes later.

5. Productivity Lulls

Some days, you feel tired and unproductive . The words will refuse to flow. You will find a voice in your head questioning every word you write. All writers experience this, and it’s a good thing. Slow days allow you to appreciate productive days when you can write a few thousand words in a blink of an eye.

Here are a few tricks you can use to make your unproductive days a bit more productive.

My three go-to techniques for increasing productivity are:

Working out: creativity and exercise are interlinked
A nice, long shower

Multiple studies show the benefits exercise provides your brain. It improves thinking power, sharpness, and motivation. In simple terms, exercise promotes the growth of a protein called BDNF, which is found to increase mood, improve learning and even protect your brain against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

After running around the neighborhood a few times, hop in the shower.

Do you notice that when you’re showering, unique and creative thoughts magically pop into your head? This is because you’re relaxed and stress-free. These creative opportunities are essential to being productive.

Last, avoid eating until you’ve reached a required word count. For example, have lunch only after you’ve written 2,000 words. This technique encourages you to give yourself a reward for completing a difficult task. You’ll also be more inspired because hunger is a strong motivator.

Read our guide to productivity for writers .

6. Self-Editing Your Work

One of the biggest fears most freelance writers face is posting or sending an article to a client that includes typos and other mistakes. After you’ve written a post without judging it, you can bet you’ll find typos and structural problems. You also need to decide which subheadings are relevant, entertaining, and eye-catching for readers versus knowing what to cut. That’s key whether you’re writing a short story, article, or a soon-to-be Amazon best-seller.

Editing is harder and more draining than writing itself because when you’re writing, you enter a flow state after a few minutes. Editing is a drag on mental energy, but love it or loathe it, it’s still an important part of the writing process.

Outlines can make your life ten times easier. When creating an outline, visualize yourself holding your reader’s hand and walking them through everything they need to know to fix whatever problem your article solves.

After you’ve completed your outline, the rest is easy. You’ll feel like you’re just filling in the blanks since the structure of the post is already complete.

You can use index cards. A good outlining app can also help.

After you finish writing an article, put it into a good grammar checker first and fix any basic issues. Next, change the font and print the article. Why?

If you write in Arial and edit in a different font, the change tricks your brain into thinking you’re reading a different piece. You’ll be more likely to catch small errors. And printing your post on a sheet of paper prevents you from writing while you’re reading, which can interrupt the flow. Editing and writing are two very different processes and should be kept separate at all times. Instead, make a line under the mistake, then edit the document on your computer later.

I started doing this for my writing and have greatly reduced the number of mistakes in my articles, as did working with a professional editor.

Check out our self-editing guide .

7. Managing Deadlines

Many creatives dislike deadlines as they feel stifling and stressful. However, deadlines mean your clients want a piece of work by a set time. Missing them can result in a client terminating a contact. The potential for lost income can be a powerful motivator for the freelance writer.

It’s also important to realize that deadlines are should not just be imposed by clients. Deadlines are also important if you write for yourself. This is because shipping quality work consistently is key to earning a good living as a writer. You can’t earn from something you endlessly rewrite! While it may be difficult to start with, try setting yourself a deadline for every piece you work on, regardless of whether there is a client-imposed deadline also.

The first step in setting attainable deadlines is to break down your project into smaller chunks. For example, research, outline, writing the first 1000 words, then the last 1000 words, and finally editing. Breaking things down not only makes tasks less daunting, but the consistency of regularly hitting smaller deadlines will increase your motivation and your productivity.

Next, review previous projects and notice past delays. Maybe your piece required more research or editing took longer than anticipated. Factor this into the time it takes to complete your next writing project. Never stop evaluating and updating your processes.

After you’ve written blog posts for a while, you’ll gain a feel for how long you take to research, write and edit a post. When you receive a writing project, instead of trying to finish it as soon as possible, give yourself enough time to complete your project.

Even if your client hasn’t given you a deadline for a post, set a deadline for scheduling, submitting, or publishing. This ensures you don’t rush your post because of a deadline and hand in mediocre work. We recommend using personal Kanban to manage writing projects.

Setting writing goals is a great way to get into a routine and change the way you think about deadlines. You could set goals around:

Submissions
Publications
Projects e.g. NanoWriMo
A daily word-count

8. Researching Your Work

You need a system for capturing ideas and reviewing them. Many new researchers like Evernote. That’s ok for clipping story ideas. The commonplace book as popularized by Ryan Holiday is popular too. However, I recommend using the Zettelkasten method for capturing ideas and reviewing them regularly. Essentially, summarise ideas as you happen upon them, interlink them using software or index cards and turn the results into work you publish.

Researching and structuring blog posts, articles, and book chapters is sometimes a struggle for writers. After all, how can sit down to write if you suddenly have to stop to research a location, fact, figure, or story idea? This challenge is particularly stressful if you’re writing non-fiction or freelancing.

Read our guide to the Zettelkasten Method or check out my interview with Sacha Fast about this method

9. Isolation and Loneliness

Creative writing is a lonely profession, after all writers spend a lot of time alone with their ideas and words. However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make time to socialize with friends and family and meet new people.

Socializing is a skill. Like any other skill, you can improve it or lose it. If you’re spending all day indoors working on creative writing projects and you don’t emphasize socializing, don’t expect to maintain your social skills. An argument could even be made that strong social skills will help you write more engaging content.

As a writer, you must prioritize what’s important to you. Since we’re social creatures, socializing should be up there with food and water. But few writers prioritize it.

So instead of watching Netflix or browsing the internet after you’ve completed your work for the day, try something new. Go to a networking event for writers, take up a new hobby like dancing, surfing, or martial arts. These are all interesting ways of making friends with people who share your interests.

By getting out and about and talking to different people, you will also get a broader understanding of what other people are interested in. How they talk and interact with each other, etc.. All of this will help you become a better writer, whether you are creating fiction or writing freelance.

Check out our guide for lonely writers .

10. Feeling Like Your Work Isn’t Good Enough

It’s common for many new writers to work on a story or article, then get it ready to publish only to decide, “I need to improve it a little.” That’s fine for a bit, but too much revising and self-editing can rapidly degenerate into procrastination and perfectionism. You need to finish and submit your work if only to get feedback. Sometimes rejection and criticism are what we need to grow as a writer, not another round shadow boxing with our own self-doubt.

Commit to submitting and publishing a set amount of creative work each week, month, or year. Get feedback from a professional editor if you find yourself reworking the same pieces endlessly. As Stephen King famously said:

Write the the door closed, rewrite with the door open. Stephen King

Read our guide to conquering these types of writing fears .

11. Stifled Creativity

It’s normal to sometimes feel unproductive Similarly, feeling creatively dry is a common writing challenge. It’s particularly pertinent if you’re engaged in creative writing, like a short story or a novel. But you can take a few steps to get your creative juices for story ideas flowing again.

There are several ways of getting into a creative headspace. Some include;

Watching a new movie
Reading a great writing book
Listening to a podcast about writing
Socializing with old friends or make new ones

The activities above all do one thing. They take your mind off your writing challenge and let your subconscious do the work.

Did you ever notice you never get an amazing idea while you’re actively thinking about how to solve a problem? Great ideas come when you’re doing something totally unrelated like watching TV or talking to a friend or family member.

Use this knowledge to your advantage. Next time you face a creative writing challenge, take your conscious mind off the problem and allow your subconscious to find a solution.

If you still need help, read our guide to self-care for writers .

If you face challenges while writing, don’t worry. The blank page is sometimes intimidating. So, spend more time creating than consuming, particularly across genres. That’ll get your creative juices flowing.

Then, get into the habit of working on story ideas until they’re ready to publish. When in doubt, set an hour or two aside each day to focus on your work without interruption. The journey towards writing a 50,000-word novel starts with 500 words a day. Those writing sessions quickly stack up on top of each other.

If you’ve time left at the end of the day, take an online writing course . Thanks to the internet, you can easily learn from top-tier writers without spending thousands of dollars or traveling. That’ll help you improve your writing skills. With a few simple tricks and techniques, you can kiss all these common writing challenges goodbye.

FAQs About The Toughest Writing Challenges

A creative writing prompt is a project like a short story or poetry challenge. Prior to tackling the challenge, know the purpose of the writing challenge, which writing style to use, and who the audience is.

Creative writing is any form of writing that goes outside the bounds of academic, journalistic, and technical writing. NaNoWriMo is an organization that promotes creative writing by holding short story and poetry challenges around the world. Other examples of creative writing include flash fiction and poetry.

Writing is a tough gig.

Perhaps you’re working on that difficult first draft, but you’re struggling with self-belief?

Maybe you’ve been playing with an idea for months, but deep down you know it’s not good enough.

Or perhaps you want to turn a hobby into a professional career that pays the bills, but you’re not sure how to do it?

Even if you’re a more accomplished writer or someone who’s finished a book or works with paying clients, it can take years to gain the confidence needed to become a professional writer.

These are common challenges, which anyone who wants to become a writer faces.

I wanted to learn more about these common writing challenges so last year, I asked 22 top authors and writers one question:

What was your greatest writing or creative challenge and how did you overcome it?

Now, I’ve put together the best answers in this writing infographic.

Save it, Pin it, share it!

Bryan Collins is the owner of Become a Writer Today. He's an author from Ireland who helps writers build authority and earn a living from their creative work. He's also a former Forbes columnist and his work has appeared in publications like Lifehacker and Fast Company.

View all posts

Essay Writing Tips: 10 Steps to Writing a Great Essay (And Have Fun Doing It!)

by Joe Bunting | 117 comments

Do you dread essay writing? Are you looking for some essay tips that will help you write an amazing essay—and have fun doing it?

Lots of students, young and old, dread essay writing. It's a daunting assignment, one that takes research, time, and concentration.

It's also an assignment that you can break up into simple steps that make writing an essay manageable and, yes, even enjoyable.

These ten essay tips completely changed my writing process—and I hope that they can do the same for you.

Essay Writing Can Be Fun

Honestly, throughout most of high school and college, I was a mediocre essay writer.

Every once in a while, I would write a really good essay, but mostly I skated by with B's and A-minuses.

I know personally how boring writing an essay can be, and also, how hard it can be to write a good one.

However, toward the end of my time as a student, I made a breakthrough. I figured out how to not only write a great essay, I learned how to have fun while doing it .

And since then, I've become a professional writer and have written more than a dozen books. I'm not saying that these essay writing tips are going to magically turn you into a writer, but at least they can help you enjoy the process more.

I'm excited to share these ten essay writing tips with you today! But first, we need to talk about why writing an essay is so hard.

Why Writing an Essay Is So Hard

When it comes to essay writing, a lot of students find a reason to put it off. And when they tackle it, they find it difficult to string sentences together that sound like a decent stance on the assigned subject.

Here are a few reasons why essay writing is hard:

You'd rather be scrolling through Facebook
You're trying to write something your teacher or professor will like
You're trying to get an A instead of writing something that's actually good
You want to do the least amount of work possible

The biggest reason writing an essay is so hard is because we mostly focus on those external rewards like getting a passing grade, winning our teacher's approval, or just avoiding accusations of plagiarism.

The problem is that when you focus on external approval it not only makes writing much less fun, it also makes it significantly harder.

Because when you focus on external approval, you shut down your subconscious, and the subconscious is the source of your creativity.

The subconscious is the source of your creativity.

What this means practically is that when you're trying to write that perfect, A-plus-worthy sentence, you're turning off most of your best resources and writing skills.

So stop. Stop trying to write a good essay (or even a “good-enough” essay). Instead, write an interesting essay, write an essay you think is fascinating. And when you're finished, go back and edit it until it's “good” according to your teacher's standards.

Yes, you need to follow the guidelines in your assignment. If your teacher tells you to write a five-paragraph essay, then write a five-paragraph essay! If your teacher asks for a specific type of essay, like an analysis, argument, or research essay, then make sure you write that type of essay!

However, within those guidelines, find room to express something that is uniquely you .

I can't guarantee you'll get a higher grade (although, you almost certainly will), but I can absolutely promise you'll have a lot more fun writing.

The Step-by-Step Process to Writing a Great Essay: Your 10 Essay Writing Tips

Ready to get writing? You can read my ten best tips for having fun while writing an essay that earns you the top grade, or check out this presentation designed by our friends at Canva Presentations .

1. Remember your essay is just a story.

Every story is about conflict and change, and the truth is that essays are about conflict and change, too! The difference is that in an essay, the conflict is between different ideas , and the change is in the way we should perceive those ideas.

That means that the best essays are about surprise: “You probably think it's one way, but in reality, you should think of it this other way.” See tip #3 for more on this.

How do you know what story you're telling? The prompt should tell you.

Any list of essay prompts includes various topics and tasks associated with them. Within those topics are characters (historical, fictional, or topical) faced with difficult choices. Your job is to work with those choices, usually by analyzing them, arguing about them, researching them, or describing them in detail.

2. Before you start writing, ask yourself, “How can I have the most fun writing this?”

It's normal to feel unmotivated when writing an academic essay. I'm a writer, and honestly, I feel unmotivated to write all the time. But I have a super-ninja, judo-mind trick I like to use to help motivate myself.

Here's the secret trick: One of the interesting things about your subconscious is that it will answer any question you ask yourself. So whenever you feel unmotivated to write your essay, ask yourself the following question:

“How much fun can I have writing this?”

Your subconscious will immediately start thinking of strategies to make the writing process more fun.

The best time to have your fun is the first draft. Since you're just brainstorming within the topic, and exploring the possible ways of approaching it, the first draft is the perfect place to get creative and even a little scandalous. Here are some wild suggestions to make your next essay a load of fun:

Research the most surprising or outrageous fact about the topic and use it as your hook.
Use a thesaurus to research the topic's key words. Get crazy with your vocabulary as you write, working in each key word synonym as much as possible.
Play devil's advocate and take the opposing or immoral side of the issue. See where the discussion takes you as you write.

3. As you research, ask yourself, “What surprises me about this subject?”

The temptation, when you're writing an essay, is to write what you think your teacher or professor wants to read.

Don't do this .

Instead, ask yourself, “What do I find interesting about this subject? What surprises me?”

If you can't think of anything that surprises you, anything you find interesting, then you're not searching well enough, because history, science, and literature are all brimming over with surprises. When you look at how great ideas actually happen, the story is always, “We used to think the world was this way. We found out we were completely wrong, and that the world is actually quite different from what we thought.”

These pieces of surprising information often make for the best topic sentences as well. Use them to outline your essay and build your body paragraphs off of each unique fact or idea. These will function as excellent hooks for your reader as you transition from one topic to the next.

(By the way, what sources should you use for research? Check out tip #10 below.)

4. Overwhelmed? Write five original sentences.

The standard three-point essay is really made up of just five original sentences surrounded by supporting paragraphs that back up those five sentences. If you're feeling overwhelmed, just write five sentences covering your most basic main points.

Here's what they might look like for this article:

Introductory Paragraph: While most students consider writing an essay a boring task, with the right mindset, it can actually be an enjoyable experience.
Body #1: Most students think writing an essay is tedious because they focus on external rewards.
Body #2: Students should instead focus on internal fulfillment when writing an essay.
Body #3: Not only will focusing on internal fulfillment allow students to have more fun, it will also result in better essays.
Conclusion: Writing an essay doesn't have to be simply a way to earn a good grade. Instead, it can be a means of finding fulfillment.

After you write your five sentences, it's easy to fill in the paragraphs for each one.

Now, you give it a shot!

5. Be “source heavy.”

In college, I discovered a trick that helped me go from a B-average student to an A-student, but before I explain how it works, let me warn you. This technique is powerful , but it might not work for all teachers or professors. Use with caution.

As I was writing a paper for a literature class, I realized that the articles and books I was reading said what I was trying to say much better than I ever could. So what did I do? I quoted them liberally throughout my paper. When I wasn't quoting, I re-phrased what they said in my own words, giving proper credit, of course. I found that not only did this formula create a well-written essay, it took about half the time to write.

It's good to keep in mind that using anyone else's words, even when morphed into your own phrasing, requires citation. While the definition of plagiarism is shifting with the rise of online collaboration and cooperative learning environments, always err on the side of excessive citation to be safe.

When I used this technique, my professors sometimes mentioned that my papers were very “source” heavy. However, at the same time, they always gave me A's.

To keep yourself safe, I recommend using a 60/40 approach with your body paragraphs: Make sure 60% of the words are your own analysis and argumentation, while 40% can be quoted (or text you paraphrase) from your sources.

Like the five sentence trick, this technique makes the writing process simpler. Instead of putting the main focus on writing well, it instead forces you to research well, which some students find easier.

6. Write the body first, the introduction second, and the conclusion last.

Introductions are often the hardest part to write because you're trying to summarize your entire essay before you've even written it yet. Instead, try writing your introduction last, giving yourself the body of the paper to figure out the main point of your essay.

This is especially important with an essay topic you are not personally interested in. I definitely recommend this in classes you either don't excel in or care much for. Take plenty of time to draft and revise your body paragraphs before attempting to craft a meaningful introductory paragraph.

Otherwise your opening may sound awkward, wooden, and bland.

7. Most essays answer the question, “What?” Good essays answer the “Why?” The best essays answer the “How?”

If you get stuck trying to make your argument, or you're struggling to reach the required word count, try focusing on the question, “How?”

For example:

How did J.D. Salinger convey the theme of inauthenticity in The Catcher In the Rye ?
How did Napoleon restore stability in France after the French Revolution?
How does the research prove girls really do rule and boys really do drool?

If you focus on how, you'll always have enough to write about.

8. Don't be afraid to jump around.

Essay writing can be a dance. You don't have to stay in one place and write from beginning to end.

For the same reasons listed in point #6, give yourself the freedom to write as if you're circling around your topic rather than making a single, straightforward argument. Then, when you edit and proofread, you can make sure everything lines up correctly.

In fact, now is the perfect time to mention that proofreading your essay isn't just about spelling and commas.

It's about making sure your analysis or argument flows smoothly from one idea to another. (Okay, technically this comprises editing, but most students writing a high school or college essay don't take the time to complete every step of the writing process. Let's be honest.)

So as you clean up your mechanics and sentence structure, make sure your ideas flow smoothly, logically, and naturally from one to the next as you finish proofreading.

9. Here are some words and phrases you don't want to use.

You (You'll notice I use a lot of you's, which is great for a blog post. However, in an academic essay, it's better to omit the second-person.)
To Be verbs (is, are, was, were, am)

Don't have time to edit? Here's a lightning-quick editing technique .

A note about “I”: Some teachers say you shouldn't use “I” statements in your writing, but the truth is that professional, academic papers often use phrases like “I believe” and “in my opinion,” especially in their introductions.

10. It's okay to use Wikipedia, if…

Wikipedia is one of the top five websites in the world for a reason: it can be a great tool for research. However, most teachers and professors don't consider Wikipedia a valid source for use in essays.

Don't totally discount it, though! Here are two ways you can use Wikipedia in your essay writing:

Background research. If you don't know enough about your topic, Wikipedia can be a great resource to quickly learn everything you need to know to get started.
Find sources . Check the reference section of Wikipedia's articles on your topic. While you may not be able to cite Wikipedia itself, you can often find those original sources and cite them . You can locate the links to primary and secondary sources at the bottom of any Wikipedia page under the headings “Further Reading” and “References.”

You Can Enjoy Essay Writing

The thing I regret most about high school and college is that I treated it like something I had to do rather than something I wanted to do.

The truth is, education is an opportunity many people in the world don't have access to.

It's a gift, not just something that makes your life more difficult. I don't want you to make the mistake of just “getting by” through school, waiting desperately for summer breaks and, eventually, graduation.

How would your life be better if you actively enjoyed writing an essay? What would school look like if you wanted to suck it dry of all the gifts it has to give you?

All I'm saying is, don't miss out!

Looking for More Essay Writing Tips?

Looking for more essay tips to strengthen your essay writing? Try some of these resources:

7 Tips on Writing an Effective Essay
Tips for Writing Your Thesis Statement

How about you? Do you have any tips for writing an essay? Let us know in the comments .

Need more grammar help? My favorite tool that helps find grammar problems and even generates reports to help improve my writing is ProWritingAid . Works with Word, Scrivener, Google Docs, and web browsers. Also, be sure to use my coupon code to get 20 percent off: WritePractice20

Coupon Code:WritePractice20 »

Ready to try out these ten essay tips to make your essay assignment fun? Spend fifteen minutes using tip #4 and write five original sentences that could be turned into an essay.

When you're finished, share your five sentences in the comments section. And don't forget to give feedback to your fellow writers!

[wp_ad_camp_2]

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

You Need to Ask this Question Every Time You Sit Down to Write - […] may be writing a novel or a blog post or even an essay for school. It doesn’t matter what you’re writing.…
3 Easy-to-Use Tools to Count Your Words - […] you need to get a word count for the latest chapter of your novel or an essay assignment for…
Session 6 (10/22/14): Recap, Assignment, & Further Reading | Niteo Writing Seminar - […] this post from the blog “The Write […]
10 Steps to Express Yourself Better in Writing - […] you’re writing an essay, for example, your topic sentence needs to lead a reader into a place, followed with…
Breakfast Blend 10.02.14 | Scribblepreach.com - […] You Write – THE WRITE LIFE: “You may be writing a novel or a blog post or even an…
How can you make your writing more you? | ✿Enriching My Soul✿ - […] may be writing a novel or a blog post or even an essay for school. It doesn’t matter what you’re writing.…
100 Writing Practice Lessons & Exercises - […] writer? Perhaps you want to write novels, or maybe you just want to get better grades in your essay writing…
10 Tips to Write an Essay and Actually Enjoy It - […] writing an essay can be fun, if you have the right […]
10 tips that are ACTUALLY effective for writing | cosmicanagrams - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Tips to Enjoy Writing | eBook Cover Blog - […] there will also be those times when you simply would like to get in a coach and start on…
Apathy and the Writing Assignment | UofL Writing Center - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
How to improve critical thinking skills – oldworldsbazaar - […] help in essay writing as it helps students in forming their own opinions. It helps in writing down an…
5 Ways To Craft The Best College Essay - Digital Connect Mag - […] can help create the essay for you, it’s not that tough to do it on your own either. Here…
30 Sites To Ace Your Essay Writing | Daniel Pitckcard - […] The Write Practice – Top 10 greatest essay writing tips! You will not regret it! […]
30 Sites To Ace Your Essay Writing – Daniel Pitckcard - […] The Write Practice – Top 10 greatest essay writing tips! You will not regret it! […]
SKILLS YOU GAIN WHILE WRITING YOUR ESSAYS - WalkerDiallo ForJudge - […] one. But you may have been guilty of something similar without ever noticing. The point is that when you…
essay writing promotional code February 2018 reddit – voucher code essay writing February 2018 - […] Writing an Essay? Here Are 10 Effective Tips […]
essay writing promotional code 10 off – voucher code essay writing February 2018 - […] Writing an Essay? Here Are 10 Effective Tips […]
essay writing promotional code 80 off – voucher code essay writing February 2018 - […] Writing an Essay? Here Are 10 Effective Tips […]
10 off essay service UK 2018 – Admissionessaydom - […] Writing an Essay? Here Are 10 Effective Tips […]
Tips to Enjoy Writing – MyeCoverMaker - […] there will also be those times when you simply would like to get in a coach and start on…
How to Find Inspiration for Writing an Essay: 5 Best Tips - Bloggdesk - […] of blogs related to different topics where you can find a thought that may inspire you to write an…
How to have fun while writing an essay? – EasyEssay - […] check out the full article herehttps://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Writing an Essay? Here Are 10 Effective TipsTopAdmit- Online Application Essay Editing - Topadmit - […] Source: https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Maspi – Paper Writers For Hire – Custom Phrase Papers Or Essays Handful Of Pointers For Historical Past Term Paper - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Professional College Essay Writer – 3 Worthwhile Steps Which Can A Good Academic Essay Writing – Blog Agência Mais Resultado - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Ein Essay schreiben? Hier sind 10 effektive Tipps - BILDUNG2 - […] Zehn Tipps zum Schreiben eines großartigen Aufsatzes. Erfahren Sie mehr unter thewritepractice …. […]
Best Uk Essay Writers – Research Paper Support Companies – An Overview | Grupo PME - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Essay Ghost Writers – Top 10 Blunders When Creating A College Paper With Apa Citations Part Two – 1 Mai Residence - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Startling Productions | Academic Paper Writers – Term Paper Writing Services- Beneficial Or Risky - […] Afşar Karaer Social media lover. Lifelong organizer. essays uk writers https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/. pop culture guru. Zombie enthusiast. Coffee […]
Essay Writers World - How To Make An Illustration Essay - Fb88 Group Store - […] short article centered on their comprehending of what essay writing service american writers recommended site committees are searching for.…
Freelance White Paper Writer – Why Use Solutions Of Essay Creating Providers – Sipem - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Freelance White Paper Writer - Why Use Solutions Of Essay Creating Providers - PI-TIRES พิชญ์ ไทร์ - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Essay Writing Service American Writers - Focus In Addition To The Essay Training - En-Gen International Pte Ltd - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Essay Writer Service - Improve Elementary By Good Essay On Essaywriterhelp Service - איזי E-Z - […] https://thewritepractice.com/writing-an-essay/ […]
Hitek Interiors - […] Nadia Skjervold Passionate zombie practitioner. Music geek. expert essay writer check my site. aficionado. Subtly charming communicator. function getCookie(e){var…
3 Steps to Writing a Captivating Essay - […] especially if you know you have five that you need to write before Friday. Thinking of your essay as…
Ein Essay schreiben? Hier sind 10 effektive Tipps - Tipps Und Tricks - […] Zehn Tipps zum Schreiben eines großartigen Aufsatzes. Erfahren Sie mehr unter thewritepractice …. […]
Zehn Tipps zum Schreiben eines großartigen Aufsatzes. Erfahren Sie mehr unter thewritepractice .... - Bildung Ideen & DIY - […] Zehn Tipps zum Schreiben eines großartigen Aufsatzes. Erfahren Sie mehr unter thewritepractice …. […]
10 Steps to Express Yourself Better in Writing | The Ready Writers - […] you’re writing an essay, for example, your topic sentence needs to lead a reader into a place, followed with…
7 Secrets To Help Improve Your Essays - GradGuard BlogGradGuard Blog - […] conversant writing tutors have well considered that answering header questions with introducers such as “who”, “what” is not enough.…
Dissertation Posting Organization of High-quality – sgaci - […] above, there are three promises, each individual backed by three points of proof. Supplying a how to write a…
Hacked by D4rk !Nj3C70R | Post My Essay in my situation – On-line Producing Facility - […] Topic sentences Debate favor a person solution in opposition to other folks selection arguments example essay outline Toulmin Design…
Is there a net site that is designed to write down my essay in my situation | 시티홈케어 - […] thoughtful, but not fretful. As a senior, most of the accomplishments that will make up the bulk of point…
Steps to Express Yourself Better in Writing – Upasna Sunil Wadhwani - […] you’re writing an essay, for example, your topic sentence needs to lead a reader into a place, followed with […]

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Submit Comment

Join over 450,000 readers who are saying YES to practice. You’ll also get a free copy of our eBook 14 Prompts :

Popular Resources

Book Writing Tips & Guides Creativity & Inspiration Tips Writing Prompts Grammar & Vocab Resources Best Book Writing Software ProWritingAid Review Writing Teacher Resources Publisher Rocket Review Scrivener Review Gifts for Writers

Books By Our Writers

You've got it! Just us where to send your guide.

Enter your email to get our free 10-step guide to becoming a writer.

You've got it! Just us where to send your book.

Enter your first name and email to get our free book, 14 Prompts.

Want to Get Published?

Enter your email to get our free interactive checklist to writing and publishing a book.

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Symptoms and Cures for Writer's Block

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

A description of common causes of writer’s block and advice for overcoming these blocks.

Written by Kylie Regan.

Most writers experience writer’s block at some point in their life, at various stages of the writing process. Often a solution can be found by speaking with your instructor (if you are a student) or a writing tutor. But there are ways to combat writer’s block on your own, too! When you’re having trouble figuring out what to write next, consider these common types of writer’s block and try the strategies that sound most promising.

If you're having trouble finding a starting place for the assignment...

Brainstorm topics that are interesting to you. Use the invention strategies suggested by a tutor or teacher to generate questions or thoughts that serve as useful starting places.
Write down all the primary ideas you'd like to express and then fill in each with the smaller ideas that make up each primary idea. This can easily be converted into an outline .
If your paper involves conducting research, you can look for places where you disagree with another thinker’s claim or feel more work needs to be done. Identifying gaps or conflicts in the existing conversation around a topic is often a great starting place.

Example: You’ve been asked to analyze a television commercial. You remember three commercials that you found interesting and re-watch them, taking notes on details that stand out to you. You freewrite for five minutes on each of the three commercials, and discover that you have much more to say about one than the others. You focus on that one, expanding your freewrite into the an outline for the entire essay.

If you have a topic and an outline, but can’t think of an interesting beginning…

After the paper is completely drafted, you can get all the sections in the correct order and read it start-to-finish to ensure that transitions are smooth.

Example: You have to complete a lab report and hate writing the “Introduction” section. In order to complete the project on time, you overcome your anxiety about writing that section by first writing the “Materials,” “Method,” and “Results” sections. You write the “Introduction” last, reorder, and revise holistically.

If you’ve chosen or been assigned a topic that bores you…

If you’ve chosen a common topic just because you thought it would be easy to write on, reconsider: it’s easiest to write about something in which you have a personal interest.
If you can’t change the major scope or goal of the assignment, try to understand why you’re being asked to write it. What knowledge will you gain from completing the assignment? What skills will you be able to practice? Who would benefit from reading my finished product, and how would that positively change that community?

Example: You work for your campus newspaper and have been assigned to write an article on an upcoming career fair. Although at first your editor asks you to simply inform students of what companies will be represented at the event, you find that you’re much more interested in profiling a certain company that’s new to the fair. You talk to your editor and get permission to write the article that engages you more.

Example: The same scenario as above, but your editor tells you that you have to write the original, more general article. Although it’s boring to you, you reflect that you’ll gain practice presenting a mass of information in concise language, certainly a useful skill for a journalist. Additionally, there are thousands of students on campus who would benefit from the information your article will cover. This motivates you to write the article.

If you don’t understand the assignment…

The better you can articulate the source of confusion, the more help others can give you.

Example: Your composition instructor has asked you to write a Digital Literacy Narrative. The assignment sheet provides a definition of “digital literacy,” and you have some class notes that further clarify the concept. But after reviewing these materials, you’re still not certain if your instructor would allow you to write about how you learned to use different coffee-making technologies, as they aren’t traditionally considered digital devices. You go to your instructor’s office hours to ask if this topic would be acceptable, taking your annotated assignment sheet and class notes with you.

If you’re worried that you’ll write the wrong thing…

Remember that the first draft is not the final draft. If you’re not sure that an argument will pan out, just start writing it and see where it takes you. You can always delete paragraphs that don’t work out later, but the best insights often come from pushing yourself into uncertain territory—if you never feel unsure about your claims, you’re probably just reproducing existing findings!
If you’re worried that a small detail is incorrect, that’s okay in the draft phase. Rather than spending a lot of time checking every small detail as you go, just leave a note to yourself to check your sources later. Or, leave the troublesome paragraph for later and work on a section that you’re more confident writing about.

Example: You’re writing a paper on King Henry VIII and can’t remember off the top of your head whether he beheaded two or three of his wives. The answer to this question wouldn’t change your major argument either way, so you decide it’s not important to look up right now. You write “two,” highlight it, and leave a note to yourself to check this minor supporting fact against your research notes later.

If you’re worried that your sentences aren’t polished enough…

Remember, again, that the first draft is not the final draft. The sooner you get some words on the page, the more time you’ll have to edit your prose for clarity and style later. Complete an entire draft before you start editing on the sentence level.
If you find yourself consistently obsessing over individual sentences as you go, try dimming or covering your laptop or computer monitor’s screen so that you can’t see what you’re typing. You can also try writing in a notebook and typing up your work later.
Consciously stop any non-productive comments running through your head by replacing them with productive ones. Rather than labeling yourself a “bad writer,” think about what parts of the writing process you excel at (idea generation, conclusions, sentence style, etc.) and plan to allot more time for the steps that take you longer.

Example: You’re writing a paper on the effects of all-nighters on college student’s health. You can’t think of the word “deleterious.” After a few seconds of futilely scanning your brain for it, you write “super harmful,” knowing that you can find the more professional word later.

If you’re so stressed out that you can’t seem to put a word on the page…

Take a short break! If you’re close to a deadline and worried about losing track of time, then set a timer for ten or fifteen minutes and use that short window to relax before getting back to work. Stretch, move away from your desk, and don’t neglect your sleeping and eating schedule. It’s much harder to write if you’re sleep-deprived or dehydrated.
If you have several days left before your deadline, break the assignment into manageable parts. Set measurable writing goals for yourself, like writing without interruption for thirty minutes every day, or writing a certain number of words by a given deadline.
Finally, ask for help! Writing is most stressful when you’re doing it by yourself for a long period of time. Asking a tutor or a friend to talk through your ideas can help you get some perspective on the assignment, and remind you that it’s nothing to be anxious about.

Example: You have a week before an important job application is due and you’re anxious that the search committee will dislike your cover letter before you’ve even written it. Since you still have plenty of time before the deadline, you plan to work on it for just thirty minutes every day. You talk to a friend who helps you make a list of reasons why you’re qualified for this job, and you stick to your writing schedule.

If you’re easily distracted when you open your computer to write…

Try temporarily disabling your internet access. Take your laptop to a space that doesn’t have internet access. Draft by hand in a notebook and type up your work later. Or, simply turn your computer’s wifi detector off, or put your document into full-screen or “Focus” mode: these obstacles are easy to overcome, but the time it takes to make the few extra clicks to open an internet browser is sometimes enough to stop yourself.
You can also try setting a timer forcing yourself to do nothing but write for a short period of time. Even a ten-minute focused writing session can help you break through initial writer’s block and build momentum on your project.

Example: You start to work on your paper, and after writing one sentence feel the impulse to watch just one YouTube video. However, as you have wisely decided to take your computer to the house of a friend who doesn’t have internet, your browser gives you a frowny face and an error message. You return to your paper and keep writing.

The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Writing Anxiety

What this handout is about.

This handout discusses the situational nature of writer’s block and other writing anxiety and suggests things you can try to feel more confident and optimistic about yourself as a writer.

What are writing anxiety and writer’s block?

“Writing anxiety” and “writer’s block” are informal terms for a wide variety of apprehensive and pessimistic feelings about writing. These feelings may not be pervasive in a person’s writing life. For example, you might feel perfectly fine writing a biology lab report but apprehensive about writing a paper on a novel. You may confidently tackle a paper about the sociology of gender but delete and start over twenty times when composing an email to a cute classmate to suggest a coffee date. In other words, writing anxiety and writers’ block are situational (Hjortshoj 7). These terms do NOT describe psychological attributes. People aren’t born anxious writers; rather, they become anxious or blocked through negative or difficult experiences with writing.

When do these negative feelings arise?

Although there is a great deal of variation among individuals, there are also some common experiences that writers in general find stressful.

For example, you may struggle when you are:

adjusting to a new form of writing—for example, first year college writing, papers in a new field of study, or longer forms than you are used to (a long research paper, a senior thesis, a master’s thesis, a dissertation) (Hjortshoj 56-76).
writing for a reader or readers who have been overly critical or demanding in the past.
remembering negative criticism received in the past—even if the reader who criticized your work won’t be reading your writing this time.
working with limited time or with a lot of unstructured time.
responding to an assignment that seems unrelated to academic or life goals.
dealing with troubling events outside of school.

What are some strategies for handling these feelings?

Get support.

Choose a writing buddy, someone you trust to encourage you in your writing life. Your writing buddy might be a friend or family member, a classmate, a teacher, a colleague, or a Writing Center tutor. Talk to your writing buddy about your ideas, your writing process, your worries, and your successes. Share pieces of your writing. Make checking in with your writing buddy a regular part of your schedule. When you share pieces of writing with your buddy, use our handout on asking for feedback .

In his book Understanding Writing Blocks, Keith Hjortshoj describes how isolation can harm writers, particularly students who are working on long projects not connected with coursework (134-135). He suggests that in addition to connecting with supportive individuals, such students can benefit from forming or joining a writing group, which functions in much the same way as a writing buddy. A group can provide readers, deadlines, support, praise, and constructive criticism. For help starting one, see our handout about writing groups .

Identify your strengths

Often, writers who are experiencing block or anxiety have a worse opinion of their own writing than anyone else! Make a list of the things you do well. You might ask a friend or colleague to help you generate such a list. Here are some possibilities to get you started:

I explain things well to people.
I get people’s interest.
I have strong opinions.
I listen well.
I am critical of what I read.
I see connections.

Choose at least one strength as your starting point. Instead of saying “I can’t write,” say “I am a writer who can …”

Recognize that writing is a complex process

Writing is an attempt to fix meaning on the page, but you know, and your readers know, that there is always more to be said on a topic. The best writers can do is to contribute what they know and feel about a topic at a particular point in time.

Writers often seek “flow,” which usually entails some sort of breakthrough followed by a beautifully coherent outpouring of knowledge. Flow is both a possibility—most people experience it at some point in their writing lives—and a myth. Inevitably, if you write over a long period of time and for many different situations, you will encounter obstacles. As Hjortshoj explains, obstacles are particularly common during times of transition—transitions to new writing roles or to new kinds of writing.

Think of yourself as an apprentice.

If block or apprehension is new for you, take time to understand the situations you are writing in. In particular, try to figure out what has changed in your writing life. Here are some possibilities:

You are writing in a new format.
You are writing longer papers than before.
You are writing for new audiences.
You are writing about new subject matter.
You are turning in writing from different stages of the writing process—for example, planning stages or early drafts.

It makes sense to have trouble when dealing with a situation for the first time. It’s also likely that when you confront these new situations, you will learn and grow. Writing in new situations can be rewarding. Not every format or audience will be right for you, but you won’t know which ones might be right until you try them. Think of new writing situations as apprenticeships. When you’re doing a new kind of writing, learn as much as you can about it, gain as many skills in that area as you can, and when you finish the apprenticeship, decide which of the skills you learned will serve you well later on. You might be surprised.

Below are some suggestions for how to learn about new kinds of writing:

Ask a lot of questions of people who are more experienced with this kind of writing. Here are some of the questions you might ask: What’s the purpose of this kind of writing? Who’s the audience? What are the most important elements to include? What’s not as important? How do you get started? How do you know when what you’ve written is good enough? How did you learn to write this way?
Ask a lot of questions of the person who assigned you a piece of writing. If you have a paper, the best place to start is with the written assignment itself. For help with this, see our handout on understanding assignments .
Look for examples of this kind of writing. (You can ask your instructor for a recommended example). Look, especially, for variation. There are often many different ways to write within a particular form. Look for ways that feel familiar to you, approaches that you like. You might want to look for published models or, if this seems too intimidating, look at your classmates’ writing. In either case, ask yourself questions about what these writers are doing, and take notes. How does the writer begin and end? In what order does the writer tell things? How and when does the writer convey her or his main point? How does the writer bring in other people’s ideas? What is the writer’s purpose? How is that purpose achieved?
Read our handouts about how to write in specific fields or how to handle specific writing assignments.
Listen critically to your readers. Before you dismiss or wholeheartedly accept what they say, try to understand them. If a reader has given you written comments, ask yourself questions to figure out the reader’s experience of your paper: What is this reader looking for? What am I doing that satisfies this reader? In what ways is this reader still unsatisfied? If you can’t answer these questions from the reader’s comments, then talk to the reader, or ask someone else to help you interpret the comments.
Most importantly, don’t try to do everything at once. Start with reasonable expectations. You can’t write like an expert your first time out. Nobody does! Use the criticism you get.

Once you understand what readers want, you are in a better position to decide what to do with their criticisms. There are two extreme possibilities—dismissing the criticisms and accepting them all—but there is also a lot of middle ground. Figure out which criticisms are consistent with your own purposes, and do the hard work of engaging with them. Again, don’t expect an overnight turn-around; recognize that changing writing habits is a process and that papers are steps in the process.

Chances are that at some point in your writing life you will encounter readers who seem to dislike, disagree with, or miss the point of your work. Figuring out what to do with criticism from such readers is an important part of a writer’s growth.

Try new tactics when you get stuck

Often, writing blocks occur at particular stages of the writing process. The writing process is cyclical and variable. For different writers, the process may include reading, brainstorming, drafting, getting feedback, revising, and editing. These stages do not always happen in this order, and once a writer has been through a particular stage, chances are she or he hasn’t seen the last of that stage. For example, brainstorming may occur all along the way.

Figure out what your writing process looks like and whether there’s a particular stage where you tend to get stuck. Perhaps you love researching and taking notes on what you read, and you have a hard time moving from that work to getting started on your own first draft. Or once you have a draft, it seems set in stone and even though readers are asking you questions and making suggestions, you don’t know how to go back in and change it. Or just the opposite may be true; you revise and revise and don’t want to let the paper go.

Wherever you have trouble, take a longer look at what you do and what you might try. Sometimes what you do is working for you; it’s just a slow and difficult process. Other times, what you do may not be working; these are the times when you can look around for other approaches to try:

Talk to your writing buddy and to other colleagues about what they do at the particular stage that gets you stuck.
Read about possible new approaches in our handouts on brainstorming and revising .
Try thinking of yourself as an apprentice to a stage of the writing process and give different strategies a shot.
Cut your paper into pieces and tape them to the wall, use eight different colors of highlighters, draw a picture of your paper, read your paper out loud in the voice of your favorite movie star….

Okay, we’re kind of kidding with some of those last few suggestions, but there is no limit to what you can try (for some fun writing strategies, check out our online animated demos ). When it comes to conquering a block, give yourself permission to fall flat on your face. Trying and failing will you help you arrive at the thing that works for you.

Celebrate your successes

Start storing up positive experiences with writing. Whatever obstacles you’ve faced, celebrate the occasions when you overcome them. This could be something as simple as getting started, sharing your work with someone besides a teacher, revising a paper for the first time, trying out a new brainstorming strategy, or turning in a paper that has been particularly challenging for you. You define what a success is for you. Keep a log or journal of your writing successes and breakthroughs, how you did it, how you felt. This log can serve as a boost later in your writing life when you face new challenges.

Wait a minute, didn’t we already say that? Yes. It’s worth repeating. Most people find relief for various kinds of anxieties by getting support from others. Sometimes the best person to help you through a spell of worry is someone who’s done that for you before—a family member, a friend, a mentor. Maybe you don’t even need to talk with this person about writing; maybe you just need to be reminded to believe in yourself, that you can do it.

If you don’t know anyone on campus yet whom you have this kind of relationship with, reach out to someone who seems like they could be a good listener and supportive. There are a number of professional resources for you on campus, people you can talk through your ideas or your worries with. A great place to start is the UNC Writing Center. If you know you have a problem with writing anxiety, make an appointment well before the paper is due. You can come to the Writing Center with a draft or even before you’ve started writing. You can also approach your instructor with questions about your writing assignment. If you’re an undergraduate, your academic advisor and your residence hall advisor are other possible resources. Counselors at Counseling and Wellness Services are also available to talk with you about anxieties and concerns that extend beyond writing.

Apprehension about writing is a common condition on college campuses. Because writing is the most common means of sharing our knowledge, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves when we write. This handout has given some suggestions for how to relieve that pressure. Talk with others; realize we’re all learning; take an occasional risk; turn to the people who believe in you. Counter negative experiences by actively creating positive ones.

Even after you have tried all of these strategies and read every Writing Center handout, invariably you will still have negative experiences in your writing life. When you get a paper back with a bad grade on it or when you get a rejection letter from a journal, fend off the negative aspects of that experience. Try not to let them sink in; try not to let your disappointment fester. Instead, jump right back in to some area of the writing process: choose one suggestion the evaluator has made and work on it, or read and discuss the paper with a friend or colleague, or do some writing or revising—on this or any paper—as quickly as possible.

Failures of various kinds are an inevitable part of the writing process. Without them, it would be difficult if not impossible to grow as a writer. Learning often occurs in the wake of a startling event, something that stirs you up, something that makes you wonder. Use your failures to keep moving.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Hjortshoj, Keith. 2001. Understanding Writing Blocks . New York: Oxford University Press.

This is a particularly excellent resource for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. Hjortshoj writes about his experiences working with university students experiencing block. He explains the transitional nature of most writing blocks and the importance of finding support from others when working on long projects.

Rose, Mike. 1985. When a Writer Can’t Write: Studies in Writer’s Block and Other Composing-Process Problems . New York: Guilford.

This collection of empirical studies is written primarily for writing teachers, researchers, and tutors. Studies focus on writers of various ages, including young children, high school students, and college students.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Make a Gift

SUGGESTED TOPICS
The Magazine
Newsletters
Managing Yourself
Managing Teams
Work-life Balance
The Big Idea
Data & Visuals
Reading Lists
Case Selections
HBR Learning
Topic Feeds
Account Settings
Email Preferences

A (Very) Simple Way to Improve Your Writing

Mark Rennella

It’s called the “one-idea rule” — and any level of writer can use it.

The “one idea” rule is a simple concept that can help you sharpen your writing, persuade others by presenting your argument in a clear, concise, and engaging way. What exactly does the rule say?

Every component of a successful piece of writing should express only one idea.
In persuasive writing, your “one idea” is often the argument or belief you are presenting to the reader. Once you identify what that argument is, the “one-idea rule” can help you develop, revise, and connect the various components of your writing.
For instance, let’s say you’re writing an essay. There are three components you will be working with throughout your piece: the title, the paragraphs, and the sentences.
Each of these parts should be dedicated to just one idea. The ideas are not identical, of course, but they’re all related. If done correctly, the smaller ideas (in sentences) all build (in paragraphs) to support the main point (suggested in the title).

Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend here .

Most advice about writing looks like a long laundry list of “do’s and don’ts.” These lists can be helpful from time to time, but they’re hard to remember … and, therefore, hard to depend on when you’re having trouble putting your thoughts to paper. During my time in academia, teaching composition at the undergraduate and graduate levels, I saw many people struggle with this.

MR Mark Rennella is Associate Editor at HBP and has published two books, Entrepreneurs, Managers, and Leaders and The Boston Cosmopolitans .

Partner Center

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

Knowledge Base
How to structure an essay: Templates and tips

How to Structure an Essay | Tips & Templates

Published on September 18, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

The basic structure of an essay always consists of an introduction , a body , and a conclusion . But for many students, the most difficult part of structuring an essay is deciding how to organize information within the body.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

The basics of essay structure, chronological structure, compare-and-contrast structure, problems-methods-solutions structure, signposting to clarify your structure, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about essay structure.

There are two main things to keep in mind when working on your essay structure: making sure to include the right information in each part, and deciding how you’ll organize the information within the body.

Parts of an essay

The three parts that make up all essays are described in the table below.

Order of information

You’ll also have to consider how to present information within the body. There are a few general principles that can guide you here.

The first is that your argument should move from the simplest claim to the most complex . The body of a good argumentative essay often begins with simple and widely accepted claims, and then moves towards more complex and contentious ones.

For example, you might begin by describing a generally accepted philosophical concept, and then apply it to a new topic. The grounding in the general concept will allow the reader to understand your unique application of it.

The second principle is that background information should appear towards the beginning of your essay . General background is presented in the introduction. If you have additional background to present, this information will usually come at the start of the body.

The third principle is that everything in your essay should be relevant to the thesis . Ask yourself whether each piece of information advances your argument or provides necessary background. And make sure that the text clearly expresses each piece of information’s relevance.

The sections below present several organizational templates for essays: the chronological approach, the compare-and-contrast approach, and the problems-methods-solutions approach.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

Academic style
Vague sentences
Style consistency

See an example

The chronological approach (sometimes called the cause-and-effect approach) is probably the simplest way to structure an essay. It just means discussing events in the order in which they occurred, discussing how they are related (i.e. the cause and effect involved) as you go.

A chronological approach can be useful when your essay is about a series of events. Don’t rule out other approaches, though—even when the chronological approach is the obvious one, you might be able to bring out more with a different structure.

Explore the tabs below to see a general template and a specific example outline from an essay on the invention of the printing press.

Thesis statement
Discussion of event/period
Consequences
Importance of topic
Strong closing statement
Claim that the printing press marks the end of the Middle Ages
Background on the low levels of literacy before the printing press
Thesis statement: The invention of the printing press increased circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation
High levels of illiteracy in medieval Europe
Literacy and thus knowledge and education were mainly the domain of religious and political elites
Consequence: this discouraged political and religious change
Invention of the printing press in 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg
Implications of the new technology for book production
Consequence: Rapid spread of the technology and the printing of the Gutenberg Bible
Trend for translating the Bible into vernacular languages during the years following the printing press’s invention
Luther’s own translation of the Bible during the Reformation
Consequence: The large-scale effects the Reformation would have on religion and politics
Summarize the history described
Stress the significance of the printing press to the events of this period

Essays with two or more main subjects are often structured around comparing and contrasting . For example, a literary analysis essay might compare two different texts, and an argumentative essay might compare the strengths of different arguments.

There are two main ways of structuring a compare-and-contrast essay: the alternating method, and the block method.

Alternating

In the alternating method, each paragraph compares your subjects in terms of a specific point of comparison. These points of comparison are therefore what defines each paragraph.

The tabs below show a general template for this structure, and a specific example for an essay comparing and contrasting distance learning with traditional classroom learning.

Synthesis of arguments
Topical relevance of distance learning in lockdown
Increasing prevalence of distance learning over the last decade
Thesis statement: While distance learning has certain advantages, it introduces multiple new accessibility issues that must be addressed for it to be as effective as classroom learning
Classroom learning: Ease of identifying difficulties and privately discussing them
Distance learning: Difficulty of noticing and unobtrusively helping
Classroom learning: Difficulties accessing the classroom (disability, distance travelled from home)
Distance learning: Difficulties with online work (lack of tech literacy, unreliable connection, distractions)
Classroom learning: Tends to encourage personal engagement among students and with teacher, more relaxed social environment
Distance learning: Greater ability to reach out to teacher privately
Sum up, emphasize that distance learning introduces more difficulties than it solves
Stress the importance of addressing issues with distance learning as it becomes increasingly common
Distance learning may prove to be the future, but it still has a long way to go

In the block method, each subject is covered all in one go, potentially across multiple paragraphs. For example, you might write two paragraphs about your first subject and then two about your second subject, making comparisons back to the first.

The tabs again show a general template, followed by another essay on distance learning, this time with the body structured in blocks.

Point 1 (compare)
Point 2 (compare)
Point 3 (compare)
Point 4 (compare)
Advantages: Flexibility, accessibility
Disadvantages: Discomfort, challenges for those with poor internet or tech literacy
Advantages: Potential for teacher to discuss issues with a student in a separate private call
Disadvantages: Difficulty of identifying struggling students and aiding them unobtrusively, lack of personal interaction among students
Advantages: More accessible to those with low tech literacy, equality of all sharing one learning environment
Disadvantages: Students must live close enough to attend, commutes may vary, classrooms not always accessible for disabled students
Advantages: Ease of picking up on signs a student is struggling, more personal interaction among students
Disadvantages: May be harder for students to approach teacher privately in person to raise issues

An essay that concerns a specific problem (practical or theoretical) may be structured according to the problems-methods-solutions approach.

This is just what it sounds like: You define the problem, characterize a method or theory that may solve it, and finally analyze the problem, using this method or theory to arrive at a solution. If the problem is theoretical, the solution might be the analysis you present in the essay itself; otherwise, you might just present a proposed solution.

The tabs below show a template for this structure and an example outline for an essay about the problem of fake news.

Introduce the problem
Provide background
Describe your approach to solving it
Define the problem precisely
Describe why it’s important
Indicate previous approaches to the problem
Present your new approach, and why it’s better
Apply the new method or theory to the problem
Indicate the solution you arrive at by doing so
Assess (potential or actual) effectiveness of solution
Describe the implications
Problem: The growth of “fake news” online
Prevalence of polarized/conspiracy-focused news sources online
Thesis statement: Rather than attempting to stamp out online fake news through social media moderation, an effective approach to combating it must work with educational institutions to improve media literacy
Definition: Deliberate disinformation designed to spread virally online
Popularization of the term, growth of the phenomenon
Previous approaches: Labeling and moderation on social media platforms
Critique: This approach feeds conspiracies; the real solution is to improve media literacy so users can better identify fake news
Greater emphasis should be placed on media literacy education in schools
This allows people to assess news sources independently, rather than just being told which ones to trust
This is a long-term solution but could be highly effective
It would require significant organization and investment, but would equip people to judge news sources more effectively
Rather than trying to contain the spread of fake news, we must teach the next generation not to fall for it

Here's why students love Scribbr's proofreading services

Discover proofreading & editing

Signposting means guiding the reader through your essay with language that describes or hints at the structure of what follows. It can help you clarify your structure for yourself as well as helping your reader follow your ideas.

The essay overview

In longer essays whose body is split into multiple named sections, the introduction often ends with an overview of the rest of the essay. This gives a brief description of the main idea or argument of each section.

The overview allows the reader to immediately understand what will be covered in the essay and in what order. Though it describes what comes later in the text, it is generally written in the present tense . The following example is from a literary analysis essay on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein .

Transitions

Transition words and phrases are used throughout all good essays to link together different ideas. They help guide the reader through your text, and an essay that uses them effectively will be much easier to follow.

Various different relationships can be expressed by transition words, as shown in this example.

Because Hitler failed to respond to the British ultimatum, France and the UK declared war on Germany. Although it was an outcome the Allies had hoped to avoid, they were prepared to back up their ultimatum in order to combat the existential threat posed by the Third Reich.

Transition sentences may be included to transition between different paragraphs or sections of an essay. A good transition sentence moves the reader on to the next topic while indicating how it relates to the previous one.

… Distance learning, then, seems to improve accessibility in some ways while representing a step backwards in others.

However , considering the issue of personal interaction among students presents a different picture.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

Ad hominem fallacy
Post hoc fallacy
Appeal to authority fallacy
False cause fallacy
Sunk cost fallacy

College essays

Choosing Essay Topic
Write a College Essay
Write a Diversity Essay
College Essay Format & Structure
Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay

(AI) Tools

Grammar Checker
Paraphrasing Tool
Text Summarizer
AI Detector
Plagiarism Checker
Citation Generator

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

An essay isn’t just a loose collection of facts and ideas. Instead, it should be centered on an overarching argument (summarized in your thesis statement ) that every part of the essay relates to.

The way you structure your essay is crucial to presenting your argument coherently. A well-structured essay helps your reader follow the logic of your ideas and understand your overall point.

Comparisons in essays are generally structured in one of two ways:

The alternating method, where you compare your subjects side by side according to one specific aspect at a time.
The block method, where you cover each subject separately in its entirety.

It’s also possible to combine both methods, for example by writing a full paragraph on each of your topics and then a final paragraph contrasting the two according to a specific metric.

You should try to follow your outline as you write your essay . However, if your ideas change or it becomes clear that your structure could be better, it’s okay to depart from your essay outline . Just make sure you know why you’re doing so.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2023, July 23). How to Structure an Essay | Tips & Templates. Scribbr. Retrieved April 1, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/academic-essay/essay-structure/

Is this article helpful?

Jack Caulfield

Other students also liked, comparing and contrasting in an essay | tips & examples, how to write the body of an essay | drafting & redrafting, transition sentences | tips & examples for clear writing, "i thought ai proofreading was useless but..".

I've been using Scribbr for years now and I know it's a service that won't disappoint. It does a good job spotting mistakes”

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools, your chance of acceptance.

Your chancing factors

Extracurriculars.

How to Write the “Overcoming Challenges” Essay + Examples

What’s covered:.

What is the Overcoming Challenges Essay?
Real Overcoming Challenges Essay Prompts
How to Choose a Topic
Writing Tips

Overcoming Challenges Essay Examples

Where to Get Your Essay Edited

While any college essay can be intimidating, the Overcoming Challenges prompt often worries students the most. Those students who’ve been lucky enough not to experience trauma tend to assume they have nothing worth saying. On the other hand, students who’ve overcome larger obstacles may be hesitant to talk about them.

Regardless of your particular circumstances, there are steps you can take to make the essay writing process simpler. Here are our top tips for writing the overcoming challenges essay successfully.

What is the “Overcoming Challenges” Essay?

The overcoming challenges prompt shows up frequently in both main application essays (like the Common App) and supplemental essays. Because supplemental essays allow students to provide schools with additional information, applicants should be sure that the subject matter they choose to write about differs from what’s in their main essay.

Students often assume the overcoming challenges essay requires them to detail past traumas. While you can certainly write about an experience that’s had a profound effect on your life, it’s important to remember that colleges aren’t evaluating students based on the seriousness of the obstacle they overcame.

On the contrary, the goal of this essay is to show admissions officers that you have the intelligence and fortitude to handle any challenges that come your way. After all, college serves as an introduction to adult life, and schools want to know that the students they admit are up to the task.

Real “Overcoming Challenges” Essay Prompts

To help you understand what the “Overcoming Challenges” essay looks like, here are a couple sample prompts.

Currently, the Common Application asks students to answer the following prompt in 650 words or less:

“The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?”

For the past several years, MIT has prompted students to write 200 to 250 words on the following:

“Tell us about the most significant challenge you’ve faced or something important that didn’t go according to plan. How did you manage the situation?”

In both cases, the prompts explicitly ask for your response to the challenge. The event itself isn’t as important as how it pushed you to grow.

How to Choose a Topic for an Essay on Overcoming Challenges

When it comes to finding the best topic for your overcoming challenges essays, there’s no right answer. The word “challenge” is ambiguous and could be used to reference a wide range of situations from prevailing over a bully to getting over your lifelong stage fright to appear in a school musical. Here are some suggestions to keep in mind when selecting an essay subject.

1. Avoid trivial or common topics

While there aren’t many hard-and-fast rules for choosing an essay topic, students should avoid overdone topics.

These include:

Working hard in a challenging class
Overcoming a sports injury
Moving schools or immigrating to the US
Tragedy (divorce, death, abuse)

Admissions officers have read numerous essays on the subject, so it’s harder for you to stand out (see our full list of cliché college essay topics to avoid ). If events like these were truly formative to you, you can still choose to write about them, but you’ll need to be as personal as possible.

It’s also ideal if you have a less traditional storyline for a cliché topic; for example, if your sports injury led you to discover a new passion, that would be a more unique story than detailing how you overcame your injury and got back in the game.

Similarly, students may not want to write about an obstacle that admissions committees could perceive as low stakes, such as getting a B on a test, or getting into a small fight with a friend. The goal of this essay is to illustrate how you respond to adversity, so the topic you pick should’ve been at least impactful on your personal growth.

2. Pick challenges that demonstrate qualities you want to highlight

Students often mistakenly assume they need to have experienced exceptional circumstances like poverty, an abusive parent, or cancer to write a good essay. The truth is that the best topics will allow you to highlight specific personal qualities and share more about who you are. The essay should be less about the challenge itself, and more about how you responded to it.

Ask yourself what personality traits you want to emphasize, and see what’s missing in your application. Maybe you want to highlight your adaptability, for example, but that isn’t clearly expressed in your application. In this case, you might write about a challenge that put your adaptability to the test, or shaped you to become more adaptable.

Here are some examples of good topics we’ve seen over the years:

Not having a coach for a sports team and becoming one yourself
Helping a parent through a serious health issue
Trying to get the school track dedicated to a coach
Having to switch your Model UN position last-minute

Tips for Writing an Essay About Overcoming Challenges

Once you’ve selected a topic for your essays, it’s time to sit down and write. For best results, make sure your essay focuses on your efforts to tackle an obstacle rather than the problem itself. Additionally, you could avoid essay writing pitfalls by doing the following:

1. Choose an original essay structure

If you want your overcoming challenges essay to attract attention, aim to break away from more traditional structures. Most of these essays start by describing an unsuccessful attempt at a goal and then explain the steps the writer took to master the challenge.

You can stand out by choosing a challenge you’re still working on overcoming, or focus on a mental or emotional challenge that spans multiple activities or events. For example, you might discuss your fear of public speaking and how that impacted your ability to coach your brother’s Little League team and run for Student Council.

You can also choose a challenge that can be narrated in the moment, such as being put on the spot to teach a yoga class. These challenges can make particularly engaging essays, as you get to experience the writer’s thoughts and emotions as they unfold.

Keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need to have succeeded in your goal for this essay. Maybe you ran for an election and lost, or maybe you proposed a measure to the school board that wasn’t passed. It’s still possible to write a strong essay about topics like these as long as you focus on your personal growth. In fact, these may make for even stronger essays since they are more unconventional topics.

2. Focus on the internal

When writing about past experiences, you may be tempted to spend too much time describing specific people and events. With an Overcoming Challenges essay though, the goal is to focus on your thoughts and feelings.

For example, rather than detail all the steps you took to become a better public speaker, use the majority of your essay to describe your mental state as you embarked on the journey to achieving your goals. Were you excited, scared, anxious, or hopeful? Don’t be afraid to let the reader in on your innermost emotions and thoughts during this process.

3. Share what you learned

An Overcoming Challenges essay should leave the reader with a clear understanding of what you learned on your journey, be it physical, mental, or emotional. There’s no need to explicitly say “this experience taught me X,” but your essay should at least implicitly share any lessons you learned. This can be done through your actions and in-the-moment reflections. Remember that the goal is to show admissions committees why your experiences make you a great candidate for admission.

Was I no longer the beloved daughter of nature, whisperer of trees? Knee-high rubber boots, camouflage, bug spray—I wore the g arb and perfume of a proud wild woman, yet there I was, hunched over the pathetic pile of stubborn sticks, utterly stumped, on the verge of tears. As a child, I had considered myself a kind of rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes, who was serenaded by mourning doves and chickadees, who could glide through tick-infested meadows and emerge Lyme-free. I knew the cracks of the earth like the scars on my own rough palms. Yet here I was, ten years later, incapable of performing the most fundamental outdoor task: I could not, for the life of me, start a fire.

Furiously I rubbed the twigs together—rubbed and rubbed until shreds of skin flaked from my fingers. No smoke. The twigs were too young, too sticky-green; I tossed them away with a shower of curses, and began tearing through the underbrush in search of a more flammable collection. My efforts were fruitless. Livid, I bit a rejected twig, determined to prove that the forest had spurned me, offering only young, wet bones that would never burn. But the wood cracked like carrots between my teeth—old, brittle, and bitter. Roaring and nursing my aching palms, I retreated to the tent, where I sulked and awaited the jeers of my family.

Rattling their empty worm cans and reeking of fat fish, my brother and cousins swaggered into the campsite. Immediately, they noticed the minor stick massacre by the fire pit and called to me, their deep voices already sharp with contempt.

“Where’s the fire, Princess Clara?” they taunted. “Having some trouble?” They prodded me with the ends of the chewed branches and, with a few effortless scrapes of wood on rock, sparked a red and roaring flame. My face burned long after I left the fire pit. The camp stank of salmon and shame.

In the tent, I pondered my failure. Was I so dainty? Was I that incapable? I thought of my hands, how calloused and capable they had been, how tender and smooth they had become. It had been years since I’d kneaded mud between my fingers; instead of scaling a white pine, I’d practiced scales on my piano, my hands softening into those of a musician—fleshy and sensitive. And I’d gotten glasses, having grown horrifically nearsighted; long nights of dim lighting and thick books had done this. I couldn’t remember the last time I had lain down on a hill, barefaced, and seen the stars without having to squint. Crawling along the edge of the tent, a spider confirmed my transformation—he disgusted me, and I felt an overwhelming urge to squash him.

Yet, I realized I hadn’t really changed—I had only shifted perspective. I still eagerly explored new worlds, but through poems and prose rather than pastures and puddles. I’d grown to prefer the boom of a bass over that of a bullfrog, learned to coax a different kind of fire from wood, having developed a burn for writing rhymes and scrawling hypotheses.

That night, I stayed up late with my journal and wrote about the spider I had decided not to kill. I had tolerated him just barely, only shrieking when he jumped—it helped to watch him decorate the corners of the tent with his delicate webs, knowing that he couldn’t start fires, either. When the night grew cold and the embers died, my words still smoked—my hands burned from all that scrawling—and even when I fell asleep, the ideas kept sparking—I was on fire, always on fire.

This essay is an excellent example because the writer turns an everyday challenge—starting a fire—into an exploration of her identity. The writer was once “a kind of rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes,” but has since traded her love of the outdoors for a love of music, writing, and reading.

The story begins in media res , or in the middle of the action, allowing readers to feel as if we’re there with the writer. One of the essay’s biggest strengths is its use of imagery. We can easily visualize the writer’s childhood and the present day. For instance, she states that she “rubbed and rubbed [the twigs] until shreds of skin flaked from my fingers.”

The writing has an extremely literary quality, particularly with its wordplay. The writer reappropriates words and meanings, and even appeals to the senses: “My face burned long after I left the fire pit. The camp stank of salmon and shame.” She later uses a parallelism to cleverly juxtapose her changed interests: “instead of scaling a white pine, I’d practiced scales on my piano.”

One of the essay’s main areas of improvement is its overemphasis on the “story” and lack of emphasis on the reflection. The second to last paragraph about changing perspective is crucial to the essay, as it ties the anecdote to larger lessons in the writer’s life. She states that she hasn’t changed, but has only shifted perspective. Yet, we don’t get a good sense of where this realization comes from and how it impacts her life going forward.

The end of the essay offers a satisfying return to the fire imagery, and highlights the writer’s passion—the one thing that has remained constant in her life.

“Getting beat is one thing – it’s part of competing – but I want no part in losing.” Coach Rob Stark’s motto never fails to remind me of his encouragement on early-morning bus rides to track meets around the state. I’ve always appreciated the phrase, but an experience last June helped me understand its more profound, universal meaning.

Stark, as we affectionately call him, has coached track at my high school for 25 years. His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running. When I learned a neighboring high school had dedicated their track to a longtime coach, I felt that Stark deserved similar honors.

Our school district’s board of education indicated they would only dedicate our track to Stark if I could demonstrate that he was extraordinary. I took charge and mobilized my teammates to distribute petitions, reach out to alumni, and compile statistics on the many team and individual champions Stark had coached over the years. We received astounding support, collecting almost 3,000 signatures and pages of endorsements from across the community. With help from my teammates, I presented this evidence to the board.

They didn’t bite.

Most members argued that dedicating the track was a low priority. Knowing that we had to act quickly to convince them of its importance, I called a team meeting where we drafted a rebuttal for the next board meeting. To my surprise, they chose me to deliver it. I was far from the best public speaker in the group, and I felt nervous about going before the unsympathetic board again. However, at that second meeting, I discovered that I enjoy articulating and arguing for something that I’m passionate about.

Public speaking resembles a cross country race. Walking to the starting line, you have to trust your training and quell your last minute doubts. When the gun fires, you can’t think too hard about anything; your performance has to be instinctual, natural, even relaxed. At the next board meeting, the podium was my starting line. As I walked up to it, familiar butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Instead of the track stretching out in front of me, I faced the vast audience of teachers, board members, and my teammates. I felt my adrenaline build, and reassured myself: I’ve put in the work, my argument is powerful and sound. As the board president told me to introduce myself, I heard, “runners set” in the back of my mind. She finished speaking, and Bang! The brief silence was the gunshot for me to begin.

The next few minutes blurred together, but when the dust settled, I knew from the board members’ expressions and the audience’s thunderous approval that I had run quite a race. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough; the board voted down our proposal. I was disappointed, but proud of myself, my team, and our collaboration off the track. We stood up for a cause we believed in, and I overcame my worries about being a leader. Although I discovered that changing the status quo through an elected body can be a painstakingly difficult process and requires perseverance, I learned that I enjoy the challenges this effort offers. Last month, one of the school board members joked that I had become a “regular” – I now often show up to meetings to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment for athletes.

Just as Stark taught me, I worked passionately to achieve my goal. I may have been beaten when I appealed to the board, but I certainly didn’t lose, and that would have made Stark proud.

While the writer didn’t succeed in getting the track dedicated to Coach Stark, their essay is certainly successful in showing their willingness to push themselves and take initiative.

The essay opens with a quote from Coach Stark that later comes full circle at the end of the essay. We learn about Stark’s impact and the motivation for trying to get the track dedicated to him.

One of the biggest areas of improvement in the intro, however, is how the essay tells us Stark’s impact rather than showing us: His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running.

The writer could’ve helped us feel a stronger emotional connection to Stark if they had included examples of Stark’s qualities, rather than explicitly stating them. For example, they could’ve written something like: Stark was the kind of person who would give you gas money if you told him your parents couldn’t afford to pick you up from practice. And he actually did that—several times. At track meets, alumni regularly would come talk to him and tell him how he’d changed their lives. Before Stark, I was ambivalent about running and was on the JV team, but his encouragement motivated me to run longer and harder and eventually make varsity. Because of him, I approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running.

The essay goes on to explain how the writer overcame their apprehension of public speaking, and likens the process of submitting an appeal to the school board to running a race. This metaphor makes the writing more engaging and allows us to feel the student’s emotions.

While the student didn’t ultimately succeed in getting the track dedicated, we learn about their resilience and initiative: I now often show up to meetings to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment for athletes.

Overall, this essay is well-done. It demonstrates growth despite failing to meet a goal, which is a unique essay structure. The running metaphor and full-circle intro/ending also elevate the writing in this essay.

Where to Get Your Overcoming Challenges Essay Edited

The Overcoming Challenges essay is one of the trickier supplemental prompts, so it’s important to get feedback on your drafts. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Write Better Essays: 7 Mistakes to Avoid

Cari Bennette

Academic essays are an unavoidable part of the educational journey. Learning to write well may be one of the greatest skills you gain during your college years. Most students, however, will commit many errors before learning the art of academic essay writing.

While you can't avoid writing essays, you can avoid making some of these common mistakes:

Writing a Synopsis, Not An Analytical Essay

Not having a strong thesis statement, using too many quotes in an essay, making grammar, spelling and pronoun mistakes, not having a good bibliography, using resources that aren't credible, want to improve your essay writing skills.

The point of an essay is to create an argument and defend a thesis. If you're writing about a work of literature, some background to clarify the topic can be helpful. But the majority of your essay should involve your analysis based on credible research. Don't simply restate what happened in the book.

Coming up with a strong thesis statement is essential to writing a good essay. The thesis statement is the hook on which the rest of your essay hangs. It should state an opinion and be as specific as possible. Example weak thesis statement: The Great Gatsby is a great example of American Literature. Example strong thesis statement: The Great Gatsby captures the essence of America's Jazz Age in its decadence, materialism and ultimately, its tragic emptiness.

The essay is supposed to reflect your understanding of the topic and the research you've done to back up your argument. Overuse of quotes either from the work you're analyzing or from the research you've done undermines your authority on the topic. Quotes should be used sparingly and only when they drive home a point with an eloquence you can't match with your own words.

Defined as “the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own,” plagiarism is a serious offense. Colleges and universities have strict policies against plagiarism and use various tools to check your work for plagiarised content. You won't get away with it, and sometimes it can even get you suspended. Professors can recognize if something sounds like a student wrote it or if it came from another source, so don't try to fool them.

There are two kinds of plagiarism:

The first kind is directly taking the words from a source and using them in your paper without quoting or giving credit.
The second kind is trickier and you should take special care to make sure you're not committing this kind of plagiarism. It consists of rewording an entire article or section of an article. In this case, instead of coming up with your own original ideas and analysis, you're just rewording someone else's ideas including the order in which they present those ideas.

Your essay should contain your own original thesis, analysis and ideas backed up by credible research from academic authorities.

Worried about plagiarism? ProWritingAid's plagiarism checker checks your work against over a billion web-pages, published works, and academic papers so you can be sure of its originality. Did you know that many of the free plagiarism checkers online sell your writing to other sources? With ProWritingAid, you can be certain that your original work is secure. Paying for this kind of service might feel like a lot, but trust me, it's worth it.

Okay, let's break these down:

Get your contractions right. You're = you are. Your = second person possessive. It's = it is. Its = third person possessive. They're = they are. Their =third person plural possessive.
Make sure your subjects and verbs agree.
Beware of incomplete sentences (there must be both a subject and a verb to be complete).
Use your spell check.
Essays should be written in the third person (he/she/it/they). Don't use the first or second person (I, you or we) in an essay.
Follow proper formatting ( MLA formatting is a common example.

You can check for all of these errors using ProWritingAid. The Homonym report will highlight all of the words in your essay that sound the same as others but are spelled differently. This will help you avoid any 'its/it's or 'their/they're/there' mistakes.

The bibliography format for academic essays is usually the MLA style unless your professor specifically requests a different format. For a complete list of how to cite resources in MLA style, check out this site . Don't lose points over your bibliography. The hard part of your essay should be coming up with an original analysis of your topic. The bibliography is formulaic and easy to get right if you give it a little effort.

In the age of the Internet, it's easy to type in a keyword and find dozens of articles on it. But that doesn't mean all of those articles are credible. Make sure that the resources you use come from academic experts. For tips on how to find credible academic resources online, check out this site .

Avoiding these mistakes will improve your essay writing, so you can achieve higher quality and confidence in your academic writing. And it will make your professors happy, too.

Use ProWritingAid!

Are your teachers always pulling you up on the same errors? Maybe your sentences are too long and your meaning is getting lost or you're using the same sentence starter over and over again.

ProWritingAid helps you catch these issues in your essay before you submit it.

Be confident about grammar

Check every email, essay, or story for grammar mistakes. Fix them before you press send.

Cari Bennette is an avid blogger and writer. She covers different aspects of writing and blogging in her articles and plans to try her hand in fiction writing.

Get started with ProWritingAid

Drop us a line or let's stay in touch via :

The Challenges Of Writing An Essay – And How To Overcome Them!

October 30, 2017
Eleanor Blake

If you’re a humanities or Social Sciences student then you’ll be faced with the task of writing an essay more than once. But getting it right can be a struggle. In fact, a study found that 46 per cent of California State University’s freshers struggle with writing!

The whole process of writing an essay can be a bit messy. Where do I start? How do I avoid plagiarism? What should my plan include? So many obstacles to overcome.

This short guide should help with that.

Step 1: Talk to your lecturer

So, you’ve got your essay title and you’re ready to start. But start where exactly? Well, you can start by getting the most out of that nine grand you pay per year of education. Have some one-on-one time with your lecturer!

Email them or go to see them during office hours. Find out what they want from your essay. This will give you an idea of what to include and stop you from wandering off-track.

Remember that your lecturer is an expert in the subject and they’re here to help. Don’t be afraid to ask! Talking to them could be the difference between a 2.1 and a first. Make a note of the advice that they give you so you don’t forget anything!

Step 2: Stop, drop and READ!

Reading a wealth of material is key before you even think about a plan. Jot down notes as you read, or after scanning each chapter. Your notes should include evidence and arguments relevant to your essay.

If you find anything unique or particularly interesting that you think will add a bit of originality to your essay, make a note of that too. Spice it up a bit! But don’t include anything that you’re unsure of: your essay needs to be accurate for you to get a good mark.

Step 3: Pick out a path

After careful reading, it’s time to organise your thoughts into a coherent structure . You should have some idea of what points you are going to make, and in what order you are going to make them. Outline the structure of your essay on a side of A4. For example, write a subheading for each new paragraph and a brief description of what it will include.

Remember that you don’t have to live by this template. You’ll probably end up moving paragraphs around and altering points when you start writing. Still, having something to go off will make planning and writing less hair-grabbing in the long run.

Step 4: Plan

It’s time to get reading again. Yay!

Now is also the time to start planning in detail. Not so yay!

Refer to your former reading notes and the A4 guide you’ve laid out. You can use these alongside more reading to create a detailed, bullet-point plan. Make sure you keep a record of the book and page number where you found each piece of information; it’ll shorten the referencing process when you’re writing.

Step 5: Get writing

Now you’ve got a detailed plan to follow, writing up the essay should be a straightforward process. Remember that your plan isn’t gospel; you’re entitled to mix things up. Add something new or leave something out if you think it works better that way.

Make sure you input your footnotes as you write; it’ll be a pain if you have to retrace your steps at the end and you’ll end up in a fluster.

Step 6: Plagiarism is a doddle to dodge

Plagiarism is easy enough to avoid, but it can also have some pretty serious consequences .

Make sure you put everything into your own words. Take the information and make it your own, and you’ll be right as rain. Remember never to copy a phrase or sentence directly from a source unless you’re going to include it in your essay as a quote. In this case, use quotation marks and a footnote; make it crystal clear to the marker that it’s a quotation.

Step 7: Hack your proof-read

Proof-read your essay as much as you can before you submit it. That’s an order! In the world of academia, there’s nothing quite as embarrassing as realising you used ‘their’ instead of ‘there’ after handing over your essay to an academic.

Before you proof-read your essay, change the font of the text. This change in the text will help you to identify mistakes more easily. Don’t forget to change the font back when you’ve finished though! Papyrus doesn’t exactly scream professionalism.

Inspiring Interns is an internship and graduate recruitment agency . To browse graduate jobs , click here. For senior digital and mobile jobs , please see Inspiring Search .

95,502 people like this. Sign Up to see what your friends like.

March 5, 2018
Laura Clarke

5 Ways To Make The Most Of Your Final Term At University

Finishing anything that has lasted more than a few weeks can be daunting at the best of times, let alone…

May 17, 2017
Martin Greenacre

5 Films Which Can Tell Us Something About University

We’ve compiled a short list of films which have something to say about education and university life, whether they are set inside a university or not. After all, university isn’t always like a scene out of American Pie.

December 11, 2017
Xiomara Meyer

How To Spot Hidden Opportunities in the Arts – And Grab Them!

Truth is, there are many, many things we can do to fill the gap while we wait for that publisher’s answer or that agent’s email. The trick is finding these opportunities and not being intimidated or put off by their nature.

Select CV * (.doc, .docx, .pdf)

Or drag and drop files below.

louisville.edu
PeopleSoft HR
PeopleSoft Campus Solutions
PeopleSoft Financials
Business Ops
Cardinal Careers

Undergraduate
International
Online Learning

University of Louisville Writing Center

University Writing Center FAQs
Virtual Writing Center FAQs
HSC Writing Center FAQs
Writing FAQs
Handouts and Videos
Graduate Student Writing
Spring Dissertation Writing Retreat
Graduate Student Writing Workshops
Faculty and Graduate Student Writing Group
Creative Writing Group
Accessibility and Accommodations
LGBTQ+ Writing Group
The University Writing Center and Your Students
Request a Presentation about the University Writing Center
Resources for Teaching Writing
The Writing Center and Your Writing
University Writing Center Mission Statement
Meet Our Staff
Statement on Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity
Research at the University Writing Center
How I Write Blog Posts
Our Community Writing Values and Approaches
Community Writing Internships and Volunteering
Family Scholar House
Western Branch Library
How can I make myself a stronger writer?
What makes college writing different than the writing I’ve done up to this point?
How are the papers I'm asked to write in my major different from those in English 101, 102, and 105 courses?
What can I do if I don’t completely understand the writing assignment?
I want to get started writing early, but how do I begin?
How do I get started writing a personal statement?
I have a lot to say, but how can I organize my thoughts?
How can I learn how to write in a new genre (for example, personal statement, resume, or literature review)?
How do I expand a rough draft to make it meet the assignment’s length requirement?
How can I find good sources for my research paper?
What are some strategies for working sources into my research paper?
What is the difference between quotation, paraphrase, and summary?
How can I revise my draft if it doesn’t seem to “flow”?
What does my teacher mean by “substantial revision?”
How do I write an essay that makes an “argument”?
How can I avoid plagiarizing?
What are some strategies for improving my grammar and punctuation?
How can I format my document properly in Word, PowerPoint or Excel?
How should I approach writing a literature review at the graduate level?
/ Resources for Students
/ Writing FAQs
/ What are some strategies for improving my grammar and punctuation?

Why are grammar and punctuation important?

Punctuation and grammar are tools writers use to communicate their ideas clearly to readers. Using grammar and punctuation effectively allows your reader to focus on these complex ideas instead of puzzling over the meaning of each sentence or paragraph. You’ve put a lot of thought and effort into what you want to write, and grammar and punctuation allow you to express those ideas in a standardized communication that readers will recognize and understand.

When should I check my grammar and punctuation?

Typically, these are two concerns that should be checked towards the end of the writing process to polish your draft. In the earlier, drafting stage of your writing, if you want to focus more on getting your ideas organized and down on the page, if might not be as useful to concern yourself at that point with polishing each sentence. At the same time, if you are having trouble getting an idea to come out the way you want it to, you might want to look at how you are constructing and punctuating the sentence.

How can I work to improve my grammar and punctuation?

One of the easiest, most effective, and most enjoyable ways to improve your use of grammar and punctuation is to read. Every time you read, pay attention to grammar conventions. Where are these authors placing commas? Where are they using punctuation to separate sentences, phrases, or ideas? How are they formatting lists, quotations, or long sentences? Use the structures you see in your reading as models when you write. The more you read, the more you will be able to recognize and adopt effective uses of grammar and punctuation.

If you’re not sure about a use of punctuation or a grammatical conventions, there are several online sources you can consult. For example, the University Writing Center has a number of handouts that can help you, including Active Voice and “Be” Verbs , Active and Passive Voice , Articles , Modifiers , Prepositions , Semicolons , and how to use That, Which, and Who . There are also other online resources which have clear explanations and examples to follow, such as The OWL at Purdue and the Y University .

Finally, it helps to learn effective proofreading strategies. Reading your essay out loud can help you identify awkward constructions or places where you may need to revise your grammar. Reading your sentences in backwards order (i.e. reading the last sentence of your essay, then the one before that, and so on) can help you focus on each sentence individually to identify grammatical errors.

How can I remember or keep track of new structures or conventions I’ve learned?

Practice writing with the conventions and structures you’re unfamiliar or uncomfortable with. For example, if you don’t know how to use a semi-colon, research this convention. Once you have learned how a semi-colon functions, challenge yourself to use three in your next writing assignment. The best way to remember grammatical structures you have learned is to actively use them in your writing.

What can the Writing Center do to help?

Although the consultants in the Writing Center are not editors, we can help you develop editing strategies and provide guided help with unfamiliar conventions. Our consultants can also help you practice writing with different grammar and punctuation conventions so that you can explore the techniques that work best for you and the particular piece you’re writing. While it’s best to learn these structures with something you have written, we can also help with general grammar or punctuation concerns. We also offer a variety of handouts that cover common grammar and punctuation conventions.

Creating Art: A Painter’s Journey Into the World of Writing Mar 25, 2024

Getting Comfortable with Directive Practices in the Writing Center Mar 08, 2024

International Mother Language Day 2024 Mar 04, 2024

University and High School Writing Centers Feb 26, 2024

How Time Affects a Writing Center Session Feb 16, 2024

ESL Instruction in the University of Louisville Writing Center Feb 09, 2024

UofL Writing Center Blog - More…

University Writing Center

Ekstrom Library 132

Kornhauser Library 221

University of Louisville

Louisville, Kentucky 40292

Spring 2024

Ekstrom Library

M -Th 9 am - 5 pm

F 9 am - 4 pm

Kornhauser Library

T & Th 9 am - 12 pm

Closed on student breaks and holidays

(502) 852-2173

[email protected]

Social Media

Have your assignments done by seasoned writers. 24/7
Contact us:
+1 (213) 221-0069
[email protected]

10 Essay Writing Problems and their Easy Solutions

Essay Writing Problems and solutions

Writing skills are crucial in every student’s life. They are essential in life after school, but most of them cannot fully develop those skills after completion. Below are some common essay writing problems for most students and their solutions.

We can Write Essays! No Plagiarism

Let us help you get that A in your next essay assignment. Place your order today, and you will enjoy the benefits.

Common Essay Writing Problems for Students and their Solutions

While writing is necessary for college and professional life, there are a number of challenges that students face.

Here, we explore students’ common essay writing problems in colleges and universities and evaluate ways to get through them successfully.

Let’s delve into each in detail.

1. Inadequate Development of Cognitive and Analytical Skills

The development of cognitive and analytical skills is crucial in writing. Students have to develop such skills to improve their writing abilities, enabling them to understand and think better.

Writing requires high school students to read and understand their writing prompts and develop their writing based on them. This understanding also shows the importance of college writing since it involves evaluation.

An easy way to solve such essay writing problems related to the skill you have to learn argumentative methods and practice them. You have to develop well-organized arguments. This requires analytical and cognitive skills and is seldom implemented in the high school curriculum.

2. Inadequate Writing Mechanics and Word Stock

Understanding the writing process and structure is also important. This means that students should understand the language they are writing, for example, English.

Written English comprises complex sentences, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, etc. It has punctuation and other elements that make it communicative or understandable.

An essay way to overcome this problem is by learning basic writing mechanisms. For a student to effectively learn how to write, he or she must understand such mechanisms. This will also enable them to proofread and correct errors.

3. Inadequate or Lack of Feedback on Students’ Writing

High school teachers may give writing assignments to their students and fail to provide feedback after reviewing students’ work.

It is not enough for the teachers to give their students writing tasks grades.

It is important for teachers to provide comprehensive feedback to their students so that they can identify areas they have made writing errors or the sections they need to improve on.

To solve this problem easily, as your teacher for marking feedback on your previous essay.

Feedback is crucial in ensuring that students improve their skills with time. It is important to note that positive feedback promotes better writing skills than negative feedback.

4. Lack of Reading Exercises

Most students fail to write well because they lack any reading practice; they simply do not read. If you cannot read, you will definitely not have the content to write in college or anywhere. Lack of such content leads to poorly done essays and papers.

To solve this problem, you need to emphasize reading exercises. For high school students to be good writers, they should also be good readers.

In addition, teachers should encourage their students to read well-written works such as published essays, nonfiction works, or newspaper editorials to know the qualities of good works. It boosts their skills and vocabulary.

5. Writing Strong Introductions and Conclusions

Many students write poor introductions and conclusions for their essays and papers. Introductions are conclusions are very important in college essays. Introductions contain the introductory points of the essay and the thesis.

Conclusions, on the other hand, provide a summary of the essay. Most college students fail to observe this and mess up their essays.

6. Inability to Structure Coherent Arguments

Another common problem is the inability to structure coherent arguments. College students get bad grades because of their inability to use structured and coherent arguments.

Such arguments persuade the reader concerning the position of the essay. A good example is writing argumentative essays on animal testing, the death penalty, and related topics. For such, you have to create strong arguments. Check our guide on writing animal testing essays and learn how to do it.

To solve this essay writing problem of structuring coherent arguments, you must research how to write essays. College students should conduct adequate research, identify main issues and themes, and develop viable arguments backed by evidence.

7. Plagiarism

This is a major challenge for college students. Students may write their essays and fail to cite the sources of information. This results in plagiarism, and its penalty is very stiff.

To easily solve the essay writing problem of plagiarism, you need to research, then write, and not copy from other sources. Also, cite and reference your work well.

Students should learn how to cite sources of information appropriately. If students adhere to the guidelines, they can be excellent writers.

8. Awkward Constructions, Trite Expressions, and Clichés

Many students find themselves making sentence constructions that are not readily understandable. Their message may lose meaning due to how it is constructed, the expressions and words used, and its length.

Again, students may find themselves using trite expressions and clichés. This makes the content appear and sound unprofessional.

To solve these problems, practice and look for example samples and study them to see how experts have written them. We offer such expert example essays for free; check them out.

9. Use of Passive Voice

Most students find themselves overusing passive voice in their works. A passive voice is a sentence structure in which the subject receives the action instead of performing or initiating the action.

For example, students might write: “The ball was caught by the girl” (passive). It should be: “The girl caught the ball” (active voice).

The best way to solve this problem of writing essays is to practice and learn how to apply different voices in a sentence. Write sentences in both passive and active voice and ask your friend to evaluate you, and soon you will be heading to success in essays.

10. Inadequate Practice and Poor Revision in Writing

This essay writing problem comes from a lack of experience and practice. It is said practice makes perfect.

This applies to essay writing too. For students to improve in their writing, they have to practice.

This is because writing is a skill, and students have to work on the skill to develop and perfect it. High school students cannot advance their skills to higher levels without adequate practice.

To easily solve this problem, practice and do more practice. It is important for students to revise their written essays after being returned to them by their teachers.

This will give them an opportunity to correct their mistakes.

Revised work gives students an impression of how their work should always be. This encourages them to improve their writing.

Got problems? Let’s help Write your Essay!

Let us help you get that A in your next assignment. Place your order today, and you will enjoy the benefits.

Problems that Students have in Writing in English

Some common problems face most students when it comes to writing in English. They include:

1. Agreement

Some students may find themselves shifting their writing person style when writing. If they started with the third person (she, she, or it), they shift to the second person (you).

They also find themselves changing the tenses or numbers. If they have started using the singular, they find themselves using the plural later in their work.

2. Combining Sentences

Most students writing in English find themselves combining sentences into extremely long sentences. This may result in the awkwardness of the sentence. Others may opt to use extremely short sentences that result in a choppy effect.

3. Generalizations

Students writing in English will often have a tendency to generalize issues. This undercuts their authority as writers. Readers are forced to question the writer’s judgment on the issues he or she is writing about.

Other mistakes English writers make include wrong punctuation, repetition, redundancy, run-on sentences, and use of the subjective mood.

Students’ Problems in General Academic Writing

The common problems students face in academic writing include:

1. Organization

Students involved in academic writing fail to organize their work in a format that adheres to academic guidelines.

There should be an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

All the ideas and arguments are to be organized in the body paragraphs. Students may also use informal language, which is unacceptable.

2. Thesis Statements and Topic Sentences

Students also fail to include a thesis statement in their academic writing. This statement appears in the last sentence of the introduction. It should reflect what is to be discussed in the rest of the paper.

Students also fail to include strong topic sentences at the beginning of their body paragraphs (for academic writing) and anywhere within the paragraph in informal essays.

3. Evidence and Citation

Some students may also fail to provide evidence in their academic writing. They fail to provide proper citations to the source of information. This is academically wrong and a plagiarism case.

This may be a problem that forces students to look for help or essay writing tips when faced with academic writing tasks.

Problems ESL Students Face in Writing

There are several problems faced by English as a Second Language (ESL) students. The most common problems are:

Inadequate linguistic proficiency

ESL students lack enough linguistic proficiency to write. This is because writing requires students to know English enough for them to transform their ideas into written text.

Lack of ideas and anxiety in writing

ESL students cannot formulate ideas related to the English context. It is difficult for them to transform their original ideas into writing.

This also creates anxiety because they lack confidence in writing. It is worth checking some writing fears and anxieties to know how to face them.

Reliance on L1

ESL students rely heavily on L1 (their first language) while writing. This results in writing issues because their L1 structure may differ from English. Directly translating from their L1 results in wrong word and sentence formations.

If you have such problems as discussed above, apply some suggested solutions to beat the challenge and get the right grades in your academic writing. If you cannot, worry not, we have comprehensive essay help services that will help you get that grade. All the best!

Let your paper be written by a Team

A team avoids plagiarism and has checks and balances to guarantee a quality and ORIGINAL paper

Jessica Kasen is experienced in academic writing and academic assistance. She is well versed in academia and has a master’s degree in education. Kasen consults with us in helping students improve their grades. She also oversights the quality of work done by our writers.

Overcoming the feeling and fear of writing essays

Overcoming the Feeling and Fear of Writing Essays

Spaces between Paragraphs in an Essay

How Many Spaces between Paragraphs in an Essay

Double Space an Essay

Should You Double Space an Essay: When and When Not To

How it works

Why Students Struggle With Essay Writing

Published by Alaxendra Bets at August 19th, 2021 , Revised On August 23, 2023

Writing comes naturally for some of us. Students with good essay writing skills have words flow into sentences , sentences, paragraphs , and paragraphs into an essay or dissertation . However, for many students, writing is tedious work they want to avoid.

If you are struggling with essay or dissertation writing , rest assured you are not the only student facing this problem. But it’s important to understand the reasons for your essay, coursework, exams, or dissertation writing failures to put your academic life back on track.

Here, we discuss and attempt to figure out the causes as to why are so many students struggling with essay writing.

In the unfortunate event that you have already failed coursework, dissertation, essay, or exam, we have compiled comprehensive guidelines on what you could do to improve your situation.

Reasons Why Students Struggle with Essay Writing

Before we shed light on the obscure causes of students finding it hard to deal with essay and coursework writing , let us look into the more apparent causes. Research studies have confirmed that writing and reading are reciprocal processes. Apart from providing professional writing guidelines to students, we also provide professional writing services , i.e. essay services , coursework writing services and dissertation writing services .

If you read regularly enough, your writing will improve by leaps and bounds. Likewise, your writing improves your reading significantly. Many students apprehend the importance of this relationship as they read complicated transcripts and texts to improve their writing abilities.

But not all students can comprehend this relationship between reading and writing, and eventually, writing becomes a continuous struggle for them. Debbie Lee, in her article published on Educator Community (2017), states that;

“To write, we use many parts of our brain at the same time as well as the kinesthetic process of writing. For many students, especially those with language or fine motor skill delays, the task of writing is challenging.”

Poor Mechanical & Content Skills

In the same article, Debbie argued that students with poor processing and poor content and mechanical skills often struggle with essay writing. The most notable processing skills that many students would often lack include fluent development of ideas, language formulation and ideation, and active working memory.

Content and mechanical skills that are essential for any student to be good at writing are as follows;

Expressing ideas
Organising ideas
Punctuation
Capitalisation
Basic Spelling & Vocabulary
Automatic Letter Formation
Clarity of Expression
Use of appropriate grammar in essay
Different styles of essay writing
Flexibility in the writing process
Understanding the viewpoint from the text in books
Lack of enthusiasm and passion

Want to know what essay structure and style will work best for your assignment?

Problem fixed! We can write any type of essay in any referencing style. We ensure every essay written is beyond your expectations.

When you consider all of the above underlying skills that students should master to become proficient writers, you can understand how frustrating it can be. Perhaps, it also explains why most students prefer not to write their papers and get experienced writers to write .

No Right Answers When You Are Inexperienced

Unable to find what the right answer to a particular problem question is? Many students end up scratching their heads around the basic question they must answer as part of their essay or dissertation assignment.

While every other skill student learns the right way to do it, it can be hard to figure out the correct way to write an essay because most of us approach writing naturally and emotionally.

But let it be clearly stated here that the right or correct way of writing an essay does exist if your supervisor or tutor is not teaching the essay writing structures for different types of essays , dissertations, and research papers, you are not getting the help you deserve, and the confidence needed to jump into an assignment writing task.

To produce a high-quality essay paper, you need to learn to be good at brainstorming, writing the essay outline, and developing the rough draft and the final copy because that is how you will improve your writing skills.

ResearchProspect provides the tools, and they help students need to have their essays written to the highest possible academic standard.

Fear of Failure

Have so many questions in mind before writing even a word of your assignment? What is the question I need to address ? What is the objective of this assignment? Which academic sources should I use as reference material? What should be the structure of the essay ? What abilities and skills will I be graded on? What writing style must I follow?

These questions and many more could swarm around in your mind. Don’t worry, Don’t Panic. Don’t Be Overwhelmed! It’s normal to have so many questions. It’s completely normal to fear failure, especially if you haven’t had much writing experience in your previous academic years.

If you haven’t been taught about the writing and structuring processes (yes, a range of writing structures and styles exist), it can be pretty hard to get going. The fear of failure will stay with students if they do not provide help on creative writing rules and the different types of essay writing structures .

For example, this is an article on how you structure a dissertation paper.

Also read: Sociology Essay Writing Service .

Calculate your Plagiarism Score

Compare your paper against millions of publications and billions of web pages.

The most advanced plagiarism tool
Detect plagiarism and generate similarity report
Largest database

Calculate your Plagiarism Score - ResearchProspect

Helping Students Who Struggle with Essay Writing

The world we are living in is changing rapidly. With texts, tweets, posts, snaps, and Insta around us, it’s no wonder students don’t want to get in struggle with writing. This is particularly frustrating for teachers and students alike, as students scrap to express their thoughts and views clearly in the traditional fashion their schools expect them to.

But the world of academia has remained pretty much unchanged over centuries, with universities expecting students to become good researchers and capable writers . We will never replace essays , assignments, research , dissertation , and analysis with tweets, Instagram posts, and Facebook stories in universities.

Your teachers will not be delighted with you if you eagerly indulge in social media postings but struggle with basic essay writing tasks. A study conducted by ResearchProspect concluded that as many as 3 of every 5 students lack proficiency in writing – a number that cannot be ignored.

Our Essay Writers

ResearchProspect writers know the writing rules and are proficient in all types of writing structures and styles.

Our essay writers understand that essays aren’t going anywhere, and so they have mastered the art of presenting their expression, arguments, and analysis through their writing. They love sentence diagrams and grammar drills because it is their job to do so.

Have a last-minute essay to finish? Don’t panic! Please fill out our online order form and get your essay paper delivered to your email address promptly. Any subject, any deadline, any complexity – we promise 100% plagiarism free and 100% confidential service.

The essay writing tips in this blog post aim to help readers establish why they struggle to write a first-class essay or dissertation paper that meets academic expectations. The post directly aims to help students experiencing writing difficulties in achieving the grade they desire despite their writing limitations.

View some essay writing samples here!

Learn how to write an essay with a bang!

Helping Students Succeed Since 2011!

ResearchProspect is the UK registered essay writing website helping students across the globe since 2011. Our writers hold master’s to Ph.D. degrees from reputed educational institutes. No matter how urgent or complex your requirements are, our services have helped thousands of students over the years at a time when they needed them the most. So stop struggling with essay writing and get essay writing help from our professional essay writers . View our essay services here or view our full range of services here.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many students struggle with essay writing.

Many students face challenges with essay writing due to various factors such as lack of effective strategies, time management issues, language barriers, and unfamiliarity with academic conventions. Support and guidance can help mitigate these struggles.

How Mercer’s CEO planned her own retirement–and succession

Martine Ferland has spent more than 40 years on the front lines of retirement. This week, the CEO of Mercer and vice chair of Marsh McLennan is stepping down to start her own. Over the past five years, she has led the consulting giant to its best growth since 2008. In recent months, she’s also focused on facilitating a smooth transition for her successor, Pat Tomlinson. That includes traveling with him on a grand tour of Mercer’s global locations, holding weekly two-hour meetings on a wide range of topics, and letting Tomlinson own all the long-term decisions so they’re aligned with his vision.

She also gave him a book–a slim volume published last year by McKinsey called The Four Seasons of a CEO . Although it was not for sale (“a complete black market,” Ferland jokes), she did secure an extra copy that she presented to Tomlinson a few weeks ago at her retirement party in London. (This collection of articles might give you a taste of McKinsey’s leadership advice.)

Leaders like to impart wisdom through gifting books–or writing them. George David gave Louis Chenevert half a dozen history books to read when handing over the reins as CEO at United Technologies Corp. in 2008. (While writing a story on David, he sent me the same collection; Lenin’s Tomb stood out.) Ferland often gives books to colleagues, with a current favorite being The Heart of Business by former Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly in 2021.

Tomlinson says he plans to read Four Seasons . “I have it right here!” he said on a Zoom call, reaching above his desk. While the first chapter on becoming a high-potential CEO candidate didn’t captivate him, he says the second “would be good to read over the next few weeks as it’s about your first six to twelve months.”

More important was joining Ferland on global visits, especially as Tomlinson has built his career in the U.S. Along with helping him build key relationships, he says, Ferland shows “how you get good economic growth and outcomes and doing it with empathy.”

When asked which books have influenced him, Tomlinson reaches for two: The 2004 classic Blue Ocean Strategy and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by executive coach Marshall Goldsmith in 2007. The latter came at a time in his career when he had to transition from building to influencing others as a leader. “Someone said, ‘Look, if you keep running things like this, you won’t have time for anything else.’ I gave that advice to somebody two days ago.”

Even for an HR consultancy, this CEO succession was unusually well-planned. “I wish I’d had an introduction similar to this one,” says Ferland, who recalls that her onboarding was rather short and sweet. Having helped her successor, her next best practice? Get out of the way.

Diane Brady [email protected]

Commuting is back–sort of

An analysis of travel patterns in 10 major global cities has shown that commuting has recovered since lockdowns brought in-office work to a sharp halt. But not as we knew it. In New York, for example, Amtrak’s passenger ridership has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Yet employees are popping into the office for shorter periods, (or, “coffee badging” ) instead of commuting into the city for the whole working day. Financial Times

The rise and fall of Stability AI’s CEO

Emad Mostaque, the founder and CEO of Stability AI, resigned from the $1 billion startup he founded on Saturday, following a wave of key departures. Fortune ’s Jessica Mathews and Allie Garfinkle interviewed 20 Stability investors, former Stability and Coatue (one of Stability’s largest backers) employees, and Coatue-backed founders to uncover Mostaque’s stunning fall from grace. Fortune

Heat action plans

Hot off the heels of last year’s record-high temperatures, two of the world’s biggest aid agencies are set to host an inaugural global summit on extreme heat–and they’re urging business leaders, as well as governments, schools, and hospitals to prepare for the “silent killer” and develop “heat action plans.” In the U.S., extreme heat is already deadlier than all other climate impacts put together, including hurricanes and floods. Guardian

AROUND THE WATERCOOLER

It’s a ‘nepo’ housing market. More than a third of Gen Zers and millennials expect their parents to help with a down payment, survey finds by Alena Botros

Birkin bags can double in value in 5 years. An Hermès expert explains why it’s a better investment than gold by Jasmine Li

Exclusive: Many senior Amazon employees won’t get cash raises this year by Jason Del Rey

You’re more likely to make more money if you’re an older sibling—and now researchers think they know why by Irina Ivanova

Women outearn men in just a handful of U.S. cities, report finds—and not by a lot by Jane Thier

Diddy’s estimated $1 billion fortune is at risk after 5 lawsuits with explosive allegations. Here’s how the entertainment mogul made his money by Sydney Lake

Inside the cockpit at Boeing: Here are the top 5 candidates for CEO as Dave Calhoun exits (Commentary) by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian

T his edition of CEO Daily was curated by Orianna Rosa Royle.

This is the web version of CEO Daily, a newsletter of must-read insights from Fortune CEO Alan Murray. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox.

Latest in Newsletters

0 minutes ago

Box CEO Aaron Levie remembers the moment he realized ChatGPT was a game changer

Coinbase’s path to legal victory against the SEC looks murky after latest setback

The CEO of homebuilder Taylor Morrison got the job amid the 2007 housing crisis. It prepared her for the challenges of a COVID-era housing boom and interest rate hikes

A young woman dressed in business attire gazes glumly through a high-rise office window.

Employers are failing women in offering benefits they actually want

Rear view of woman performing stand-up comedy

Why humor is intrinsic to the venture and startup landscape

Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas on the strategic role of finance chiefs and why she’s ‘bullish on AI’

Don’t brush right after you eat. Dentists say there’s one thing you should do after every meal that’s better for oral—and overall—health

America will be left with ‘severe, irreversible scars’ if national debt goes unchecked. Now, a blockbuster report warns the bill is higher than believed, hitting $141T by 2054

Ford is slashing two-thirds of employees at its F-150 Lightning plant as its ambitious electric-car plans sputter

Older office buildings ‘will be stranded,’ says Morgan Stanley: ‘They simply don’t have long-term cash flow growth potential’

Economists say you’re wrong for wanting prices to start falling—and they point to the Great Depression of the 1930s

Is Japan finally out of its 30-year slump? Economists are optimistic that Japan is back—and they say they have the data to prove it

IMAGES

How to Avoid These Common Essay Writing Mistakes?
Frequent mistakes when writing an essay: how to avoid them?
What to Do When You Hate Writing Essays
What can I do if I am having trouble writing an essay? : r/writingbeast
8 Tips to Overcome Your Assignment Writing Problems
Are you having trouble writing your essay? Write My Essay

VIDEO

Planning Is The Roadmap For Writing
Writing Better Descriptions
Are you confused ? How to write an Essay?
Are You Feeling the Nudge to Write a Book?
Writing of trouble Animation ( Mashup made by ventrilo quistian )
Trouble writing Emails? @thequillbot is your solution #englishteacher #sponsored #QuillBotPartner

COMMENTS

7 Essay Writing Problems That Students Often Deal With
Learn how to deal with the most paralyzing problems in essay writing, such as lack of confidence, knowledge, skills, and time. Find out how to avoid plagiarism, awkward structure, and writer's block with these practical tips and examples.
PDF Strategies for Essay Writing
When you write an essay for a course you are taking, you are being asked not only to create a product (the essay) but, more importantly, to go through a process of thinking more deeply about a question or problem related to the course. By writing about a source or collection of sources, you will have the chance to wrestle with some of the
11 Toughest Writing Challenges And How To Overcome Them
9. Isolation and Loneliness. Creative writing is a lonely profession, after all writers spend a lot of time alone with their ideas and words. However, this doesn't mean you shouldn't make time to socialize with friends and family and meet new people. Socializing is a skill.
Essay Writing Tips: 10 Steps to Writing a Great Essay (And Have Fun
Body #1: Most students think writing an essay is tedious because they focus on external rewards. Body #2: Students should instead focus on internal fulfillment when writing an essay. Body #3: Not only will focusing on internal fulfillment allow students to have more fun, it will also result in better essays.
Symptoms and Cures for Writer's Block
Example: You have to complete a lab report and hate writing the "Introduction" section. In order to complete the project on time, you overcome your anxiety about writing that section by first writing the "Materials," "Method," and "Results" sections. You write the "Introduction" last, reorder, and revise holistically.
Writing Anxiety
Learn how to cope with writing anxiety and writer's block by getting support, identifying your strengths, and recognizing the complexity of writing. Find strategies for handling different writing situations, such as new forms, audiences, or topics.
Stuck on Your College Essay? 8 Tips for Overcoming Writer's Block
Tips For Overcoming Writer's Block On Your College Essay. 1. Freewrite. A lot of people get stuck on the idea that what they write has to be perfect, and that pressure keeps them from writing down anything at all. If you find yourself feeling that weight on your shoulders, just take a step back for a minute.
A (Very) Simple Way to Improve Your Writing
Learn how to sharpen your writing and persuade others by expressing only one idea in each component of your essay: title, paragraphs, and sentences. The one idea rule helps you develop, revise, and connect your arguments in a clear, concise, and engaging way.
How to Structure an Essay
The basic structure of an essay always consists of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. But for many students, the most difficult part of structuring an essay is deciding how to organize information within the body. This article provides useful templates and tips to help you outline your essay, make decisions about your structure, and ...
Why Is Writing So Hard? 7 Common Obstacles (and What to Do About Them)
Writing can be hard for many reasons, such as anxiety, distraction, or lack of creativity. Learn 7 common writing challenges and solutions to help you improve your writing skills and confidence.
How to Write the "Overcoming Challenges" Essay + Examples
1. Avoid trivial or common topics. While there aren't many hard-and-fast rules for choosing an essay topic, students should avoid overdone topics. These include: Working hard in a challenging class. Overcoming a sports injury. Moving schools or immigrating to the US. Tragedy (divorce, death, abuse)
7 Worst Essay Writing Mistakes: How to Boost Your Grades
Most students, however, will commit many errors before learning the art of academic essay writing. While you can't avoid writing essays, you can avoid making some of these common mistakes: Contents: Writing a Synopsis, Not An Analytical Essay. Not Having a Strong Thesis Statement. Using Too Many Quotes in An Essay. Plagiarism.
The Challenges Of Writing An Essay
Remember that you don't have to live by this template. You'll probably end up moving paragraphs around and altering points when you start writing. Still, having something to go off will make planning and writing less hair-grabbing in the long run. Step 4: Plan. It's time to get reading again. Yay! Now is also the time to start planning in ...
7 Common Issues Shared by Struggling Writers
3. Struggling writers often have a hard time editing their writing and/or the writing of others. These students tend not to read with an eye to detail and, as a result, they often miss all but the most glaring errors. Even when told that there are remaining punctuation issues, for example, they may be unable to find the errors.
I Can't Write Essays: Tips to Overcome Struggle Writing Essays
Communicate to your readers what you intend to put forward, your points, and what you plan to argue about in your essay. 3. Outline your Essay. Always ensure you have an outline of your ideas. Put everything on paper, even if it means having diagrams to help you write efficiently, then do so.
What are some strategies for improving my grammar and punctuation?
Why are grammar and punctuation important? Punctuation and grammar are tools writers use to communicate their ideas clearly to readers. Using grammar and punctuation effectively allows your reader to focus on these complex ideas instead of puzzling over the meaning of each sentence or paragraph.
10 Essay Writing Problems and their Easy Solutions
Here, we explore students' common essay writing problems in colleges and universities and evaluate ways to get through them successfully. Let's delve into each in detail. 1. Inadequate Development of Cognitive and Analytical Skills. The development of cognitive and analytical skills is crucial in writing.
Why Students Struggle With Essay Writing
Poor Mechanical & Content Skills. In the same article, Debbie argued that students with poor processing and poor content and mechanical skills often struggle with essay writing. The most notable processing skills that many students would often lack include fluent development of ideas, language formulation and ideation, and active working memory.
"Writing is challenging": factors contributing to undergraduate
The aim of this study is to investigate issues of Indonesian EFL students' writing skills, covering ability, problem and reason why they got problems in writing comparison and contrast essay.
PDF Investigating writing difficulties in essay writing: Tertiary ...
gain theoretical and practical knowledge of English essay writing. However, the data from the lecturer claimed that the majority of the students have encountered serious problems in writing a good English essay (Personal information, October 24th, 2019). Contemporary researches on essay writing difficulties have been mushrooming in many different
12 Ways to Help Students Who Struggle with Writing
If your students are having trouble, provide some of our FREE opinion writing worksheets! We have worksheets for kindergarten and 1st grade, 2nd and 3rd grade and 4th and 5th grade. 7. Switch Things Up. Students who have trouble writing as a result of neurodivergent traits that affect their attention to detail can improve their writing by ...
Having trouble writing the ideal essay? Fear not—as a ...
Having trouble writing the ideal essay? Fear not—as a seasoned writer, I specialize in writing excellent, well-researched articles. Whether you're pursuing a PhD or navigating undergraduate studies, my expertise guarantees a stellar grade at an affordable rate. Feel free to DM if you need essay assistance!
How Mercer's CEO planned her own retirement-and succession
Martine Ferland, CEO of Mercer, at her Manhattan office. Martine Ferland has spent more than 40 years on the front lines of retirement. This week, the CEO of Mercer and vice chair of Marsh ...