make my essay longer

Essay Extender for Students

Have you ever struggled to reach the specific word count while writing an essay? Our online essay extender can help you get the desired word count with just a few simple steps. All you have to do is:

• Copy and paste your essay.
• Choose how many words you need in your paper.
• Click the "Extend" button.

💎 5 Key Advantages of the Essay Extender

🙋 when to use the ai essay extender, 📜 essay extender free examples, 🖇️ essay word extender tips, 🔗 references.

Our essay word extender offers a range of benefits that can enhance your writing experience. Here are some of them:

With its user-friendly interface, our online essay extender can assist you in various ways. Check out these ideas on how you can use the tool.

1. To Increase the Word Count

One of the most common uses of our essay extender is to increase an essay's word count. You add words to the entire text or a specific part, for example, introduction, conclusion, or body paragraphs. This gives you more control over where you want to expand an essay and helps you tailor the extension to the academic requirements .

Our tool adds words without compromising the quality of their writing. Since it uses advanced AI algorithms, it extends the text while maintaining the coherence and flow of the original content.

2. To Add a New Part

AI essay extender can also help you add a new part to your essay. For example, if you have already written the introduction and body paragraphs but are struggling with the conclusion, our tool can generate it.

Similarly, if you need to add a new body paragraph to support your argument , our essay extender can generate a paragraph based on your prompt. This feature is particularly useful when you are short on time and need to complete your essay quickly.

3. To Get New Ideas

Sometimes, you only need a fresh perspective to improve your writing. Our essay extender can generate unique ideas by developing a body paragraph on any topic. This feature is helpful for those who are stuck with their writing and need some inspiration to continue. You can use this generated paragraph as a starting point and further develop it according to your ideas and arguments.

Wanna see how essay extender generator works in practice? Let's try it together. Imagine you're writing an argumentative essay on "Should all internships be paid?" We'll use our tool to add some words to a body paragraph and then develop an effective introduction.

All internships should be paid for the simple fact that interns are providing valuable work and skills to the company. It is unfair to expect young workers, who are often already struggling with student debt, to work for free. Interns are not just shadowing or observing; they actively contribute to the company's operations and success. By not compensating them, companies are perpetuating a cycle of unpaid labor and exploiting the enthusiasm and eagerness of young workers. Furthermore, paying interns shows that their time and contributions are valued, allowing them to gain practical experience without financial strain.

All internships should be paid for the simple fact that interns are providing valuable work and skills to the company. It is unfair to expect young workers, who are often already struggling with student debt, to work for free. Interns are not just shadowing or observing; they actively contribute to the company's operations and success. For example, a student who is completing an unpaid internship at a marketing firm may be responsible for creating social media content, conducting market research, and assisting with client meetings. These tasks require time, effort, and skills, and the intern should be compensated for their contributions. By not compensating them, companies are perpetuating a cycle of unpaid labor and exploiting the enthusiasm and eagerness of young workers. Moreover, unpaid internships often come with hidden costs that can be a significant burden for students. For instance, a student interning in a different city may have to cover transportation, housing, and other expenses on top of working for free. Furthermore, paying interns shows that their time and contributions are valued, allowing them to gain practical experience without financial strain. Companies should recognize the contributions interns bring to their organization and compensate them accordingly for their hard work.

Internships have become a common way for students to gain practical experience and valuable skills in their chosen field. However, the issue of whether these internships should be paid or not has sparked a debate. While some argue that unpaid internships provide valuable learning opportunities, others believe that all internships should be paid to ensure fair treatment of young workers. In this essay, we will explore why all internships should be paid, including the value that interns bring to organizations and the hidden costs of unpaid internships.

Check out these helpful tips to work on your academic writing skills and extend an essay manually.

• Expand your arguments . Instead of simply stating your point, provide more detailed examples to support your ideas.
• Use transitional phrases . Transition phrases such as "in addition," "furthermore," and "moreover" can help you connect your ideas and add more depth to your essay.
• Include relevant statistics and data . Adding statistics and data from reliable sources can boost the credibility of your essay and help you expand your arguments.
• Incorporate quotes . Including quotes from experts or authoritative individuals adds depth and weight to your essay.
• Provide background information . If you feel that certain concepts need more explanation, you can provide background information to help the reader better understand your points.

Remember, when expanding on your arguments, it is essential to do so smartly. This means providing detailed explanations and relevant examples that add length to your essay and strengthen your points.

❓ Essay Extender FAQ

Updated: Apr 12th, 2024

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On this page, you can find a free essay extender for students. With the help of this tool, you can increase the word count of any text – paste it into the related field and add the necessary details. The essay extender can add particular paragraphs or double your words in two clicks! Don’t miss the helpful tips and examples of text expansion.

How to make an Essay Longer – 21 Easy Tips!

Just about all the advice on the first page of google about how to make a paper longer sucks. No, really. The tricks they suggest suck so bad I can’t believe how bad it sucks.

Most advice on how to make your essay longer tells you to do gimmicky things that will lose you marks.

How do I know? Because I read it. And I (yes, I’m a professor) would instantly see through all those things.

Let me tell you: if you’re wasting time turning “15” into “fifteen” to get an extra 6 characters into your essay , increasing font size, or sticking fluffy adjectives into sentences to make your essay longer and increase word count, you’re stuffing up. You’re flushing marks down the drain.

So, here’s what you SHOULD do to make your essay longer.

How to Make an Essay Longer

1. make sure you included everything.

I can’t tell you how many of my students submit assignments and forget to include important points! Go back to your writing prompt . That’s the thing that you’re going to be graded on.

Go and check out exactly what your teacher asked you to write about. Did you write about every point they suggested?

Related Article: 17+ Great Ideas For An Essay About Yourself

2. Make Every Paragraph at least 4 Sentences

Scan over each paragraph. Do you have any paragraphs that are less than 4 sentences long? This is your low-hanging fruit for making your paper longer. You need to make these paragraphs longer and your page count will naturally increase.

The best paragraphs should be 4 – 7 sentences long .

If you’ve got a 1, 2 or 3 sentence paragraph, make sure you go back through it. What new points can you include to make your paragraph better? Maybe you can:

• Add a sentence at the start of the paragraph explaining what the paragraph is about;
• Add a sentence giving a real-life example of the points you’re trying to make
• Add a sentence giving an explanation of your points.

Or, you can try adding points explaining:

• Why the thing is true;
• Where the thing happened;
• How the thing happened;
• When the thing happened.

3. Define your Terms

Have you written a paragraph defining your key terms? If you’re writing an essay on modernism, write a paragraph defining modernism. If your essay is about education , write a paragraph giving a brief history of education. This will make your paper better – and longer!

You should have a paragraph or two right after your introduction defining and explaining what your topic is!

Now, if you are going to provide a definition for a term in college or university level writing , you need to read this article . In it, I show you how to write a full paragraph that defines a term in the right way using a research paper, not a dictionary!.

4. Get new Ideas from your Class Handouts

Below are the class handouts that you should go back through to add new ideas. They’re your most important sources. Go through all these sources and try to take down and more key points you can add:

• Handouts or worksheets in class?
• Readings or articles that they asked you to read?
• Lecture slides?

6. Get new Ideas from Friends

You will have many classmates working on the same essay as you. What ideas have your friends come up with? See if you can find out. You want it to seem like you’re working to help each other out. You don’t want to be a sponge, taking from them and not giving back. Help each other out so you both get better marks. I recommend being strategic about this:

• Offer to look over each others’ work and give suggestions;
• Trade key points in bullet point format;
• Brainstorm together to create a master list of key ideas.

8. Get new Ideas from Blogs

There are websites online about just about every topic that you can possibly imagine. That includes the topic you’re writing your essay on!

Let me ask you a question: Why would you waste your time trying to add padding to old sentences to increase your word count when you can write new ones that will win more marks?

It’s really so simple – google your essay topic or question and see what comes up. What have other people said on the topic? What ideas can you grab from others and use for yourself? You can also get new ideas from Google Scholar, which can provide you with a free to access research paper that will give you ideas as well. 

12. Use the Keep Writing Website

Keep Writing is a website where you can write your essay. But, it won’t let you delete anything. So you have to just keep on typing. This means you can just write ideas that roll off the top of your head. I gave this website a go to write this article you’re reading right now and it really did help me just write in a way that flowed nicely and added to my page count quickly. I must admit, after using the website, I copied the text and did some edits. But by that point I had a ton of words in there – more than enough – and I could shorten the essay by deleting the words that weren’t so good. I ended up having the opposite problem – too many words!

13. Include one new Example in Each Paragraph

Another thing you can do is go through each and every paragraph and add one more example and some supporting evidence. Even if you’ve included one example in each paragraph, that’s okay. You can still add more examples. In fact, teachers love to see examples and supporting evidence.

Good examples are what separates good and bad students.

Teachers love to see examples because you can only give examples if you understand the topic. So, when we see examples we go “Yes! You Got It! You understand it!”

16. Don’t add Pointless Words!

‘Padding’ is what we call it when you stick extra words in a sentence just to increase your word count. I’ve taken a sentence from earlier in this post and I’m going to show you the sentence as it is, then show it to you with padding.

Here’s the original:

“You’re going to need some new points to add to your essay. You should not try to make your sentences you’ve already written longer. You shouldn’t be trying to add in fluffy new words or saying things in a longer way.”

Here’s the padding:

“You’re going to need some new points to actually add to your essay , which actually is quite significant . You should not actually try to generally make your sentences you’ve already written longer , generally contrary to popular belief . You shouldn’t be trying to generally add in fluffy new words or saying things in a longer way , which is fairly significant. ”

Your teacher is going to read this and think “This student is a terrible writer.” And you’ll lose a ton of marks.

17. Don’t Change the Formatting

Increasing the line spacing, font size or character spacing will just make your paper worse. You should have ONE space between each word. Your line spacing should either be 2.0 or 1.5 spacing. That’s it. Those are your options. Stick to normal margins in Microsoft Word You should use font size 12. If you artificially change any of this, your teacher will see through it and grade you down .

Final Thoughts

Making an essay longer needs to be done in a way that will get you marks. I can’t believe that there are websites ranking high on google that recommend tricks like “make the space between lines bigger” and “increase your margins”.

If a student did that in my class, I’d fail them instantly. There are smarter and better ways to do it – whether you’re writing a grade 7 essay or dissertation chapter! Do it the right way and you’ll grow your marks and be on the way to success.

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 15 Animism Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 10 Magical Thinking Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ Social-Emotional Learning (Definition, Examples, Pros & Cons)
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ What is Educational Psychology?

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10 Ways to Increase Your Essay Word Count (AI Included)

Table of contents

One of the biggest challenges students face is writing long-form essays of 2,000 words or more.

Someone brought this up at a recent webinar I attended, and I couldn't help but think back to my freshman year. Several years ago, I had to write a long essay on an interesting but unfamiliar subject. It took me a lot longer than it should.

After writing hundreds of articles, essays and reports, I've developed my own list of 'smart hacks' to help increase word count on any written piece. 

Instantly increase your word count with this FREE AI tool > Instantly increase your word count with this FREE AI tool >

Let's dive into the word count expansion strategies I use today when I write various texts.

How NOT to increase word count

Adding fluff words.

Adding meaningless words only confuses the core arguments and distracts the evaluator. Whatever merit your actual content may have had will be obscured by a mountain of meaningless words.

The sentence in my essay read,

"Violent acts by adults are often caused by childhood exposure to violence.".  

If I try to forcedly add fluff words to expand the text, my sentence would sound stretched:

“Violent acts are often associated with the fact that adults who commit violent acts - acts that are seen as savage, harsh, rough, physically abusive, or otherwise unacceptable in society - have been exposed to similar harsh or extreme violence during their childhoods or when they were young”.

Voice and tone

Although passive voice makes a sentence longer, I have found that my writing is much sharper when I use active voice. Also, do not confuse the need to use a formal or academic tone with passive voice.

Quoting without context

This one is like digging yourself into a hole. I quoted so many out-of-context references that I found my essay running on all sorts of tangents. After spending hours trying to connect the dots between the tangents, I ended up having to rewrite the entire piece because I was unable to justify the distracting content. 

Mindless paraphrasing

You hear it from your professor, and spew it back at her. Mindlessly repeating content in different sections of an essay - as if your teacher wouldn't notice, won't really help you ace your courses.

Even more mistakes

After asking some of my classmates, I found out that some of them had resorted to even worse hacks that eventually got them in trouble:

• Using filler words - In order to fill more pages, some diverge from the specified format and increase fonts, margins, and spacing. You will lose credibility if you do this, and you will also lose points if you deviate from the writing style specified.
• Plagiarism - Plagiarizing large chunks from others' essays or research papers was not only seen as lazy, but it was a fast way from a not-so-great grade to a failed grade.
• Other sneaky tricks - These included whitening out gibberish text and increasing the size of periods. Teachers have seen it all and know every trick in the book.

The right way to increase word count

Eventually, my word count increased in a way that makes each word actually count (pardon the pun), and it turns out there are some pretty cool tricks to do that.

With the right tools and techniques, you spend less time on the heavy lifting, more time on the actual writing, and at the end of the day, you have a much more comprehensive essay that is a delight to read. 

1. Use an AI writing tool

Skip the manual paraphrasing and use a smart AI writing tool. For example, I added almost 50 words to a 125-word paragraph using Wordtune’s text expand feature .

How to add more sentences to a paragraph

One method to expand your word count is to find short paragraphs and adding more sentences that clarify what they mean. This task used to be pretty frustrating, but with the use of AI it's made simple. Start by going over the essay, and notice if there's a paragraph that stands out in terms of being lean and overly simplified. Paste that paragraph into the Wordtune editor, and click the 'Plus' icon.

You'll be able to expand the article in any number of ways, including adding a statistical fact, a joke, example, analogy, or a simple continuation of your idea. Then, simply scroll through the different suggestions that AI produces, and find the best one.

2. Take advantage of outlines

It may seem counter-intuitive, but completing your outline can help you meet your word count goal.

Say you need to turn a 200-word article into a 1,500-word essay. Make an outline of the article before trying to tackle this seemingly impossible task of writing the whole piece.This will give you a clearer picture of how your entire thesis works and how to logically support it.

As an example, suppose we're writing an essay on why kids shouldn't play phone games.

To begin, you need to summarize your message in a few sentences. For example:

‍ “Kids have susceptible brains, and games can change the whole chemistry of their brains in a bad way, causing them to go off on tantrums and screaming fits. Moreover, these games form addictive habits that will persist when the kids become older. By continuing to play phone games, the kids fail to develop emotionally, and may become unsocial introverted people. Moreover, there are signs that games make kids more violent and emotionally unstable. Since phones are always at reach, kids can continuously play throughout the day, not stopping even when eating lunch or when attending a school class.”

Before expanding it, write an outline to get a sense of its structure and flow. As a result, you can easily determine how much text is needed for each section, which ones require expanded text, and which ones can be kept brief.  This clarity not only helps me reduce anxiety, but also gives me a clear plan of action to finish this essay!

For example, for the paragraph on video games, my outline would look something like this:

Introduction (include statistics and research to argue that video games are harmful for kids) and state the thesis (250 words) Negative effects of video games on children: first build larger categories and then substantiate with smaller points, evidence and data within each point: - Effects on emotional development (200 words) - Effects on physical development (200 words) - Effects on social development (200 words) - Effects on intellectual development (200 words) Give counter-views Cite research that talks about potential positive effects of video games, if used the proper way and under supervision (250 words) Give solutions State why parents find it so hard to keep kids away from video games, especially mobile video games, and offer concrete solutions to set better boundaries with kids for video game usage (250 words) Conclusion Offer a strong conclusion that brings all of the essay together in a summary (250 words)

Note that I’ve planned to write a few hundred more words than the prescribed word limit, so I have scope to edit and tighten later on. 

3. Expand your text with intros and conclusions

I use this method all the time to get unstuck and write longer articles without worrying about word counts.

Let's say you finish expanding your outline, and the article is still short a few hundred words.

Two places you should consider expanding are the introduction and conclusion.

How does this work?

• In the introduction and conclusion, you can add free-flowing stories, ideas and paragraphs, without having to validate each sentence with technical reference, sources and quotes.
• You can use anecdotes, personal experiences, news articles, and research findings to introduce your topic, or to close it.
• You can also go into detail about why you were motivated to explore the topic in more depth and why it has helped you to develop your argument. We wrote about essay hooks in more detail here, so be sure to check it out.
• Remind readers why this entire argument matters at the human level in the conclusion. This is done by repeating the topic, the core of your argument, and why you have justified your thesis. 

Add these elements to your introduction and conclusion, and you will quickly reach your essay quota.

Here's an example from the Wordtune blog of an anecdote placed as part of the intro:

4. Use examples to illustrate your point

It is always helpful to provide examples to illustrate complex academic or technical points. As well as adding color and descriptiveness to your own words, examples help your arguments come to life in a way that academic writing cannot. Having read several essays about the same topic, your evaluator will probably find it enjoyable to read something more creative and genuine. 

Examples also help readers visualize your narrative. The situations can be real or imagined, but they must be authentic, relatable, and most importantly, relevant to your topic. Providing examples from your real-life experience will demonstrate to the teacher that you understand your topic.

I started this article by describing my experience as a freshman. The challenges I faced as a student are similar to those you are currently facing, so sharing my journey will help you learn from my mistakes.

5. Invest in serious research 

Research is the most effective way to increase a paper's word count. 

The more research you conduct, the more ideas, perspectives, and information you have to base your arguments on. 

Research takes time and effort, which you may or may not have. 

Here's where my smart tools come into play.

No matter how long a paper is, Wordtune Read will give you all the key highlights.

The following is a composite screenshot of how Wordtune Read summarized the effects of video games on children from a long and complex article. The key highlights on the right help you distill the core messages of the research in minutes, condensing hours of reading into minutes.

In just a few steps, you can add at least two supporting arguments or stats for each point you have in your outline. And just like that, you have several hundred very relevant words, added almost effortlessly to your essay.

6. Ask 'Why' questions

At this stage, the research has already provided you with some solid perspectives, but there's nothing like adding some original perspectives to the existing body of research. Asking ‘why’ questions is an effective way to do this. In addition to strengthening your arguments, it will also enhance your essay with relevant and original content.

Think back to the example of the negative effects of video games on children. Let's say one of the arguments you have is "phone games cause emotional issues". Use a series of 'why' questions to dig deeper into the text. 

Ask questions like: "why is that true?", "Why is it important?", etc. For each answer, ask another why question and develop some original angles based on the insights that may emerge. 

While it beats manual paraphrasing in terms of speed, I felt it also improved the overall quality of the writing.

7. Address the counter view

It's a foolproof way to score brownie points with tutors and also add some value - and word count - to your essay. 

Counter views or counterpoints are positions diametrically opposed to your own.

I argue, for example, that video games negatively affect children in the essay about video games. There is always some literature available (and there is always some literature available) on the counter-side of why and under what circumstances video games can actually have a positive impact on children. I am able to write a pretty solid section on that topic. 

By balancing the pros and cons of both arguments, I will also be able to bridge the two points of view.

Just like that, you've added about 200 words to your essay!

8. Use quotes and references

While the bibliography section doesn’t usually count towards the overall essay word count, there are some easy tricks you can use to maximize the references. Once you are done with the essay, run through your list of citations and find interesting quotes that you may have missed, which you can now incorporate.

9. Get feedback from a friend

If you're like me, working on the same essay for a long time with complete immersion means you develop blind spots to obvious misses and flaws in your text. This could be especially problematic for non-native English speakers .

Ask a trusted friend or peer to look over your essay again. Share your essay on Gdoc with your friends and find out if they spot something that seems missing, out of place, or that stands out like a sore thumb.

Also, ask them to question your assumptions in the essay - this may give you new angles and perspectives to explore, thus expanding the word count even further.

Your friends will help you find the problematic paragraphs in your writing and make them more concise and effective .

10. Add text while editing

Once you have finished writing your essay, you can use the review stage to edit and add text to your essay.

This is another great opportunity to use your AI writing tool, and get suggestions for ways to make your sentences more fluent . You can also replace superfluous words with stronger vocabulary, and pick alternative ways to word sentences that contain repetitive words.

Try and spot long, convoluted sentences and break them up to smaller sentences.

Keep it long and interesting

Essays that meet the prescribed criteria, including word count, indicate to your teachers that you not only possess subject matter knowledge, but also writing, grammar, logic, research, and communication skills.

You can find interesting angles even in the most mundane sounding topics if you challenge yourself to do the work and not worry too much about the word count. With the 11 smart hacks - including use of the smart writing tools - essay writing and meeting the specified word count becomes much easier! 

Learning how to expand a text in an interesting way - and not just by adding fluff - makes you a better writer regardless of the format - essays, reports, statements of purpose - even books! 

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How to Make an Essay Longer Without It Feeling Forced

Ever struggled to meet the word count requirement for your essay? You're not alone. Whether it's a minimum size or a certain number of pages, it can feel like a daunting task to stretch your writing without watering it down. But fear not! This article is here to help. We'll explore some practical tips and tricks to make your essay longer without sacrificing quality. From expanding on your main points to incorporating more evidence, we've got you covered. Say goodbye to staring at a blank screen and hello to meeting your paper length with confidence!

How to Make Your Essay Longer: Practical Tips

Students may aim to make their essays longer to fulfill the word count criteria their teachers or professors set. Meeting these requirements is crucial as it can affect their grades or evaluation. Moreover, longer papers offer more room for in-depth exploration of topics, allowing students to showcase their understanding comprehensively. By expanding their papers, students can provide more evidence and examples to strengthen their arguments, making their points more persuasive. Additionally, longer papers may be seen as a sign of dedication and effort, potentially earning students favorable recognition from their instructors.

Increase Font Size and Spacing

Adjusting the font size and spacing of your text can subtly but effectively increase the overall length of your paper. By slightly enlarging the font size and expanding spacing between lines and paragraphs, you can offer extra bulk to your document without significantly altering its content. Please consult our essay outline guide for more ideas on how to expand your paper's structure.

Replace Contractions with Full Words

Contractions, such as "can't" instead of "cannot" or "it's" instead of "it is," often take up less space. By replacing these contractions with their full-word equivalents, you can make your essay longer by adding additional characters.

Add Transitional Phrases

Transitional phrases help connect different parts of your essay, guiding the reader through your arguments and making your writing flow more smoothly. Adding more of these phrases between paragraphs or sections can improve your paper's coherence, and including extra words can increase its word count.

Need to Make Your Essay Longer?

Professional writers know how to do papers that fit into the required length.

Use Synonyms for Shorter Words

Look for opportunities to replace shorter words with longer synonyms without changing the meaning of your sentences. For example, "big" could become "substantial," or "important" could be replaced with "significant." This simple technique can help add size to your paper without sacrificing clarity.

Include Personal Anecdotes

Incorporating personal anecdotes or experiences related to your topic can make your essay more engaging and provide additional content to expand upon. You can augment the depth of your writing by sharing relevant stories or reflections and meaningfully increasing its word count.

Reference Pop Culture or Current Events

Bringing references to popular culture or recent events can enrich your essay and demonstrate your awareness of contemporary issues. By integrating relevant examples or discussions from the media, you can expand your analysis and provide fresh insights, thus extending the volume of your paper.

Provide Detailed Explanations

Take the time to thoroughly explain your ideas and arguments, providing additional context or background information where necessary. By offering detailed explanations, you enhance the clarity of your writing and tally substance and depth, ultimately increasing the word count of your paper.

Use Footnotes or Endnotes

If there are additional points or information that you want to include but don't necessarily fit within the main body of your essay, consider using footnotes or endnotes. These can be used to provide supplementary details, citations, or explanations without disrupting the flow of your primary argument, effectively expanding the content of your paper.

Address Counterarguments

Acknowledging and addressing potential counterarguments demonstrates a thorough understanding of your topic and strengthens your own arguments. By engaging with opposing viewpoints and presenting rebuttals, you not only bolster the persuasiveness of your essay but also bring complexity and word count to your analysis.

Incorporate Quotes from Primary Sources

Introducing quotes from primary sources, such as books, articles, or interviews, can incorporate credibility and depth to your arguments. By directly citing authoritative sources, you provide additional evidence to support your claims and expand the scope of your discussion, increasing your essay's extent.

Include Visuals like Graphs or Charts

Visual aids, such as graphs, charts, or tables, can be used to illustrate data or complex information clearly and concisely. Incorporating visuals enhances the visual appeal of your essay and provides supplementary content to expand upon, contributing to its overall word count.

Still Can’t Fit Into the Word Count?

Don’t waste any more time, and use our writing service to get an essay of a proper length.

Explore Alternative Interpretations

Consider exploring alternative interpretations or perspectives related to your topic. Presenting different viewpoints or analyzing your subject from various angles adds richness and complexity to your essay, ultimately increasing its size and depth of analysis. While trying to manipulate the word count of your paper using these techniques, keep in mind the punctuation marks .

Offer Comparisons or Contrasts

Drawing comparisons or contrasts between different ideas, theories, or examples can enrich your essay and provide additional content to discuss. By highlighting similarities and differences, you add nuance to your arguments and expand the scope of your analysis, thereby increasing the volume of your composition.

Simplify Complex Concepts

Break down complex ideas or concepts into simpler terms that are easier to understand. By providing clear explanations and examples, you not only improve the accessibility of your writing but also encompass substance and depth, ultimately increasing the word count of your document.

Define Technical Terms

If your essay includes specialized terminology or jargon, take the time to define these terms for your readers. By providing clear definitions and explanations, you ensure that your audience understands the concepts you're discussing and integrate additional content to your manuscript, thus increasing its range.

Discuss Opposing Viewpoints

Engaging with opposing viewpoints and discussing their merits can enrich your essay and demonstrate your critical thinking skills. By acknowledging alternative perspectives and presenting counterarguments, you enclose complexity and depth to your analysis, ultimately increasing the reach of your writing.

Extend Implications of Findings

Consider the broader implications of your arguments or findings and explore their significance in greater detail. By discussing the potential consequences or applications of your research, you subsume depth and complexity to your analysis, ultimately increasing the magnitude of your essay.

Expand Examples and Evidence

Provide additional examples, evidence, or case studies to support your arguments and illustrate your points. By offering more detailed and varied examples, you strengthen your claims and make your essay longer, ultimately increasing its word count and persuasiveness. If you still can’t fit into the word limit and none of these tips help, simply say, ‘ write my essay for me ,’ and our writers will produce a cogent paper of the required length.

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How To Make An Essay Longer

To make an essay longer, focus on quality: elaborate on arguments, add evidence, consider counterarguments, deepen analysis, and clarify points. Use examples, expand introductions and conclusions, and enhance transitions for better flow and comprehension. ‍

Struggling with an essay that just won't stretch to the required length? You're not alone.Studyfy is your ally in this common academic predicament.

Most students have experienced looking at their word count and thinking about how to reach the maximum limit without using filler content. This guide tackles that problem head-on with practical solutions and insights.

We’ll introduce you to plenty of useful techniques so you can increase your word count effortlessly and without compromising your essay’s quality.

How To Make Your Essay Longer With In-Depth Research

One of the first approaches you can use to make your essay longer is to research your points. Remember these pointers:

• Conduct meticulous and thorough research on your essay’s topic to find new and overlooked information and insights.
• Make sure you use insights that strengthen your argument further, and not just information to use as filler and is irrelevant. 

Dig a little deeper, and you’ll surely find something you might have overlooked and can add to your paper. 

Ways To Make Your Essay Longer With Elaboration

Another way to make your essay longer is to elaborate more. This means you should explore the points you argue in greater detail. Keep these tips in mind:

• Break down your arguments : Detail each of your arguments and break them down into sub-points. For example, if you’re writing about sustainable energies, you can elaborate on the different types of sustainable energy sources that exist.
• The power of descriptive language : By using descriptive language, you can lengthen your essay because you’re painting a more vivid picture of your topic. You’re adding more detail and nuance. 
• Use real-world examples : These can help add substance, and they will strengthen the validity of your argument.
• Add background information : When adding new arguments to a topic, you can easily provide background information on whatever it is you want to add. This will help make your essay longer but can also add context, which will help the reader understand your point better.
• Use anecdotes : If done right and added in the right places, sharing personal stories can make your essay better. 

Using Counter Arguments In Your Essay

You can make an essay longer by using counterarguments. This strategy not only elongates your word count, it has the potential to increase your essay’s quality and persuasiveness.

Consider the following: 

• Find popular counter-views: Find common counterarguments against your thesis statement. If you know them, you’ll be better equipped to deconstruct and counter them to a larger paper's word count.
• Show the strength of your view : Properly, you can introduce the strength of your perspective through the counterargument. For example, use strong evidence to oppose the view and then show why your stance deserves to be considered.

Using Quotations and Analysis

If you’re looking for other ways how to make a paper longer, you can use quotes. Quotations and further analysis is a great strategy to add more content to your essay. So, how exactly can you achieve this? Check these pointers out: 

• Choose relevant quotes : Of course, you’ll have to select quotations and transition words that are related to your topic. You want quotes that capture the core ideas of your argument. If you’re writing about the environment, you’d want to quote an expert environmentalist and so on.
• Give analysis on your quotes : When you’ve presented a quotation, try providing analysis on it. Discuss its meaning and implications, and demonstrate why it backs up your claims. 

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A Blueprint For A Longer Essay

Another way to tackle how to lengthen an essay's word count is to make a detailed outline before writing so you can plan the number of words you’ll be writing from the start. This will motivate and reassure you that you’re hitting the word count.

Seek Writing Help

Finding writing assistance from professionals can be an easy and effective strategy to make your essay longer. For example, you can send a “ do my essay ” request on Studyfy to get in touch with a professional writer at any time. Here are some tips to remember when seeking help. 

• Look for credibility : Be sure you’re getting writing help from reputable people. Take a look at their customer feedback and reputation to make sure they deliver what they promise. 
• Be clear with what you need : Make sure they know that you want a longer essay. Be clear with your instructions.
• Guidance, not plagiarism : Use professional help for assistance, professional insights, and inspiration. You should use their work as a reference and foundation to build your writing and reach that desired word count.
• Make use of expert feedback : Make sure you use the feedback that is given to you and practice it. 

If you don’t have much time or energy, turning to writing professionals can be a great deal of help at desperate times of trying to fill out the minimum page count. 

Using Complex Sentence Structures and Richer Vocabulary to Up Your Required Word Count

Another strategy you can use if you’re keen on knowing how to make your essays longer is enriching your essay with vocabulary and complex sentence structures. What does this mean? Check out these tips: 

• Employ varied language and use synonyms : You can avoid repeating your words by using synonyms to convey similar phrases and meanings. This will add length and keep your audience engaged. With that, try utilizing transition words, transitional phrases and relevant quotations to reach supporting evidence.
• Use complex sentences : By using complex sentences and clauses in your writing, you can add more nuance to your writing and you can convey more insights. Vary your sentences from short to more detailed and lengthy. Balance this out with easy readability. Make sure that your essay is still easy to understand, regardless of a more nuanced writing style.

Taking Advantage of Examples and Case Studies when Essay Writing

If you want more words to make your essay longer, then using examples and case studies and integrating them into your essay is a great strategy to reach your word count goal.

These can strengthen your argument since they provide tangible evidence. They don’t solely make your essay longer. Here’s what you need to remember: 

• Select relevant examples and case studies : You should, of course, use examples that back up your arguments. Make sure they are recent examples as well. Imagine yourself writing on technology. If you’re using an example, you should use one from recent years.
• Go into detail when demonstrating case studies : When you use a case study, you should go into detail and include the context, process, and outcomes. You will add length to your essay, but you will also simultaneously make it more nuanced and strengthen your points.

Using Visual Elements

If done effectively, you can make your writing more engaging. Still confused? Don’t forget you can pay for essay services on Studyfy right now for an extra hand. So, what can you use?

You can use graphs, charts, and even image s to strengthen your essay and make it longer. For example, when you’re finishing up a scientific essay, you can use graphs to showcase statistics and data.

Writing Detailed Intros and Conclusions

Since your introduction and conclusion are decisive elements in your essay, you can make do by increasing their length without compromising their strength and quality. Do keep these tips in mind: 

• For the introduction : Provide more context so that you can present your thesis in a stronger light. Write hints about what you’ll discuss in your body text.
• For the conclusion : To make your conclusion longer, you can elaborate on the arguments you’ve developed over the body. You should present a “developed” and concluding version of those arguments. Reflect on what you’ve written without introducing new information. You can create a detailed and persuasive call to action to invite readers to explore the topic more. 

Development

Make sure your sections are well organized, and every argument is fully developed. If they’re not, this might explain why you’re not reaching your word count limit. Need extra help? Don’t forget to take advantage of Studyfy’s custom writing service right now. Elaborate a point completely. Be meticulous and diligent with the development of your points.

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Can you teach me how to make my essay longer without sacrificing quality? 

Make sure that your points strengthen your arguments. Elaborate carefully. If you need help, use our college admission essay writing service for expert writing help.

Does this guide include everything I need to know?

Yes. Use our table of contents to jump to the techniques you feel keen on using. You'll find everything you need to know on how to make paper longer. We offer key points, supporting evidence and more examples to help you achieve the desired essay length.

How do I make my essay longer and keep it coherent?

You can make an essay longer and maintain its focus by going back to your thesis statement and main arguments when adding new material. Make sure they strengthen your arguments. 

What should I avoid doing?

When finding ways how to make your paper longer, avoid using filler content, and don't repeat words and sentences.

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Home / Guides / Writing Guides / Writing Tips / How to Make an Essay Longer the Smart Way

How to Make an Essay Longer the Smart Way

Meeting an essay’s required page or word count can sometimes be a struggle, especially if you’re juggling multiple papers or exams. In a pinch, students often rely on tricks like increasing margin size or making their font slightly bigger. Though these tricks do increase page length, there are easier (and smarter) ways to write a longer, high-quality essay. Making a paper meet minimum word or page counts doesn’t have to be an agonizing process—you can add length while also adding clarity and depth.

Here are 10 tips on how you can write a longer and a smarter essay, even if the deadline is fast approaching:

Tip #1: Look Back at Your Prompt/Rubric/etc.

If you’ve been provided a comprehensive prompt or rubric for an essay, read it, and read it again. Think about the following:

• Did you answer all of the questions in the prompt?
• Did you provide supporting evidence to back up whatever claims you made?
• Did you leave out any information that might increase the reader’s understanding of your argument?
• Did you meet all requirements (besides length) for the paper?

If the answer isn’t a decisive “yes” to every question on this list, go back and revise.

Tip #2: Go Back Through Your Introduction and Conclusion

Often times, ideas evolve while writing a paper. If the first thing you wrote was the introduction, go back and reread the first paragraph. You might decide that you left out key information that aids the reader in understanding your argument. When looking back on the conclusion, make sure you’ve both summarized the main points within the essay and provided your reader with a solution to consider. If you don’t feel you’ve done this, go back through and revise the paper.

Tip #3: Have Someone Proofread Your Essay

Even if you’re short on time ask a friend, sibling, or parent to read through your paper, specifically noting any points they find confusing. Then, go back and revise the parts that were unclear, adding in more information to provide readers with further clarity. You have a more comprehensive understanding of what you’re writing about than your reader, so having someone else look over your paper can be a helpful way to ensure that you haven’t missed any important details.

Tip #4: Use Quotations

Chances are, you have already used quotes in your paper. Quotations are a great way to enhance your argument while also driving up a paper’s word count, but don’t add quotes just for the sake of doing so. If you’re short on words, read through your source materials again to see if you’ve missed any valuable quotes. You can also do a little more research to see if there are any other sources you can add to provide the reader with more evidence toward your argument. Longer quotes aren’t necessarily better, but if you’re really in a bind, you might want to lengthen some of the quotes that are already included.

Tip #5: Review Your Outline

Did you make an outline to plan the essay when you first started? Go back through that initial outline and make sure you’ve hit all of your intended points. It’s possible that you’ve left out an important piece of your argument that would both increase page count and make for a better essay.

Tip #6: Include More Transitional Phrases

Graders often look for traditional words linking sentences to each other, like “therefore,” “even though”, and “on the other hand.” Read through your essay and make sure the sentences flow smoothly into each other. If they don’t, go back and add in transitional phrases like the ones listed above. Your writing will be easier to read, and you’ll get closer to the minimum page requirement in the process.

Tip #7: Read Your Paper Out Loud

This might sound like a silly tip, but when you read your paper out loud, you become increasingly aware of any grammatical or syntactical issues. When you rephrase sentences to fix these, you might end up increasing the paper length a bit. In the process of reading out loud, you also might realize that you didn’t include sufficient details within a particular paragraph. If that’s the case, go back in and add more to increase length.

Tip #8: Take a Break From Your Essay

You’ve probably been staring at your computer screen for hours, hoping words will magically pop into your head. Take a break. Eat a snack, go for a walk, or talk to a friend on the phone. You’ll come back to the essay with a fresh perspective after some time away, and you might have new ideas after you’ve had time away from your paper.

Tip #9: Ask Your Instructor for Help

Most teachers, teaching assistants, and professors are willing to look over papers for students before the final submission date. If there is still time, ask if you can make an appointment to go over your paper or head over to office hours. Your instructor might offer tips on how to better answer the prompt, and this in turn may also increase the word count of the paper.

Tip #10: Use multiple examples to back up your argument

If you’ve only used one source or anecdote to explain a given point, find a second source to provide additional evidence for the reader. This method will help drive up a paper’s word count while also providing further support for your argument.

Although hitting a minimum page count can sometimes be challenging, you can do it the smart way by increasing the information you provide to the reader—there’s no reason to resort to tricks like increasing line spacing or font size. If you’re really in a bind at the last minute, you might want to break up some of your paragraphs. This increases length while also making text more manageable for a reader. But after going through the tips on this list, your paper should be adequate in length without you having to even consider spacing.

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How to Make an Essay Longer

7-minute read

• 10th May 2023

So you have an essay due the next day. You’ve been holed up in your dorm all day writing it, and now you’ve finished the conclusion. You shake your fist in celebratory fashion as you punctuate the paper’s last sentence. However, your jaw drops in horror when you focus on the word count. The essay rubric states that you must write at least 1,500 words, but you’ve written only 1,000 ! How can this be? You worked so hard to do what the assignment asked you. We know the feeling, and we’re sure every college student experiences it at least once.

So with time running out, you can do the following:

●  Submit the essay and hope the professor doesn’t notice

●  Add some gibberish sentences to get close enough to the required word count

We don’t recommend these options. Making an essay longer seems daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. That’s why we’re providing this post on expanding your essay while keeping it relevant to the topic. We’ll share our helpful tips, and by the end of the post, you’ll know what to do next time your essay falls short of the word count.

1. Add Content to the Essay

Adding more details is a great starting point for increasing the word count. Review your essay and see whether you should have addressed additional points about the topic. Could you include a few more arguments?  

You’ll likely have to review your sources to find additional claims. We understand that you might not want to do this, especially if the clock reads midnight and your class starts in nine hours. However, adding more content not only increases the word count; it also makes your essay more credible. 

If you need to add content, make sure it’s relevant to the topic. Consider the following example:

Personal details about the source’s author are irrelevant. Submitting such details will only earn you the wrath of your professor’s red ink. Let’s try an alternative:

Expanding on the citation with personal insight about screen time adds punch while keeping the discussion relevant. Additional details must move your essay forward the way dialogue and narrative do for a work of fiction.  

2. Add Transitional Sentences and Phrases

Your essay might be short of words because it lacks transitional phrases, so you should add some to the mix. In fact, every academic paper should include a healthy blend of transitional sentences and transitional words/phrases . Not sure what we mean by that? You know words and phrases such as however , moreover , and in addition . 

As with details, transitional phrases help to move the essay forward, so make sure to use them correctly. Let’s take an example from an essay about the late Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic:

As you can see, the writer uses transitional phrases correctly, adding value and words to the essay. When you use them correctly, transitional sentences and phrases improve the flow of your writing , enhancing readability. Professors expect coherent essays that flow smoothly, so transitional sentences and phrases are mandatory, regardless of word count. 

That being said, it can be easy to overuse linking words, particularly if you’re a non-native writer. Check out this interesting article from Fabio Cerpeloni, who argues that linking words can impact the readability of your text . 

3. Spell Out Words and Numbers

If you have contractions in your essay, such as can’t , won’t , and couldn’t , write them out in full. You shouldn’t use contractions at all in academic writing because they’re considered informal. Although using full versions of words seems to be a miniscule measure, doing so can go a long way to increasing your word count. And as a rule, you can also spell out numbers one through eleven. Again, doing this will help expand your essay.

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To save time switching out your contractions, make sure you’re familiar with Microsoft Word’s find and replace tool .  

4. Add More Examples

Using at least two examples, you should aim to support every argument you present. If you have only one example for an argument, add a couple more. Provide citations to support your claims; otherwise, your professor will question your knowledge. As with details, examples will strengthen your essay. It’s a win–win situation!

If the essay has enough citations but still needs more words, you could try paraphrasing claims from sources. Just be sure to paraphrase effectively . You wouldn’t want to fall into the trap of plagiarism!

5. Review the Introduction and Conclusion

Now that you’ve written the essay, go back to the introduction and the conclusion. You might be able to expand on them and provide extra details. Remember that the introduction serves as a lead-in to the essay. In other words, it captures your readers’ attention and makes them want to keep reading. If your introduction appears weak, add details that will engage the reader properly.

And for the conclusion, provide a takeaway for the reader and offer a call to action. For example, what are the most important things to remember about your essay? The conclusion may lack punch, so add some details to improve it.

6. Expand Your Research on the Topic

The amount of research you’ve done could affect the word count. One way to check this is by reviewing your reference list. It should have at least five sources, so if yours has fewer, you need to do more research. Again, it’s not something you’d like to do in the middle of the night; however, sacrifices must be made if your essay needs more research. We guarantee your professor will notice if you haven’t done enough research. Here’s an extra tip: adding details will be much easier if you’re fully knowledgeable about the topic. Trust us on this!

While making an essay longer may seem daunting, doing so is easier if you’ve adequately researched the topic. The essay likely needs more ideas or examples, so go ahead and add them. Additional details will lend value, improve flow, and make your essay more credible. The most important thing to remember is that any details you add must be relevant. Simply adding fluff will weaken your essay and cost you marks. So never submit an essay with a low word count; your professor will notice! And after all, expanding on an essay is part of mastering essay writing skills .

We recommend not waiting until the last minute to check that your essay meets the required word count. Adding details or doing additional research the night before will only spell trouble. We understand the difficulty of making time when multiple papers are due in the same week. However, college life will test your time management skills like nothing else! Use your time wisely!

1.  Why do essays fall short of the required word count?

This is often due to a lack of details and transitional sentences. Review your essay to see whether it’s missing important examples that can strengthen your claims.

2.  Can I simply add “fluff” to increase the word count?

Anything you add to the essay must be relevant and must add value. Your professor is no fool, after all!

3. I hear proofreading is essential before submitting my essay. Can anyone help me with this?

We suggest our proofreading experts at Proofed! They can check your writing for grammar and punctuation errors and ensure perfect spelling and concision. Consider submitting a 500-word document for free today!

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