timed essay writing tips

9 Tips to Ace That Timed Essay

Exams are almost upon us, and a familiar sense of foreboding has settled over the campus. One exam element that can be particularly intimidating for some students is the timed essay: an exam question which demands a full essay on a topic that is typically revealed for the first time during the test. While these kinds of questions may seem scary, there are plenty of ways to make them easy for yourself. Read on for tips about how to prepare in advance of the exam and how to approach timed essays before, during, and after the writing process.

While Preparing for the Exam: Become familiar with the course content. If the professor hasn’t told you in advance what a timed essay prompt will be, it can be intimidating to think that you will have to write about a subject you’ve never seen before. However, this thinking process does not reflect the reality of the situation. In fact, even if your teacher hasn’t given you any hints about the essay question, you do know what it will be about: the concepts and ideas you’ve discussed in the course. Therefore, if you take the time to review your notes and ensure you understand everything that was discussed, it should be difficult for the essay question to catch you off guard. As soon as you read the question, relevant course concepts will start popping into your head, and you’ll just have to organize them into a coherent essay. Start planning if you can. Although the situation described above sometimes occurs, it’s also very common for professors to give their students a fairly detailed idea of what an essay question will involve in advance of the test day. (After all, professors want to mark high-quality essays written by well-prepared students!) This heads-up gives you a great chance to prepare for the exam. If you have the time, consider mapping out a possible essay in point form before the day of the exam arrives. Consider practicing writing under time pressure. You’ve probably written dozens of essays before--the only thing that sets a timed essay apart is that it’s timed. Students often struggle to complete the full essay within the time constraints, particularly if they have to write longhand when they’re accustomed to working on the computer. For this reason, it can be helpful to simulate the conditions of a timed exam before the actual day: pick a practice question, find some lined paper, set a stopwatch, and see how you do! Before You Start Writing: Read the question carefully. The most critical part of the essay-writing process actually happens before you write your first word. When you flip to the essay question, make sure you read it as carefully as you can, noting the difference between words such as ‘contrast’ and ‘analyze’ and highlighting any details which the professor specifically instructs you to include. It’s not uncommon for excellent essays to receive low marks because the student answered a question other than the one that was asked. Make a clear and specific plan. Some students react to the time pressure of essay exams by scribbling down their introduction as soon as they’ve read the question and figuring out their points as they go. While it might seem counter-intuitive, taking five or ten minutes before you start writing in order to draw up a plan will be an enormous time saver. Decide on your thesis, the topic of each paragraph, and the arguments which you intend to cover, then jot down some quick point-form notes. This process won’t take long, and, once you complete it, all that’s left will be to expand those notes into a well-organized essay. Without a clear plan, you run the risk of realizing partway through that you’ve drifted off topic or written yourself into a corner, and fixing these mistakes will consume a ton of extra time. Schedule a set time for each paragraph. On the topic of planning, it’s important to sketch out an idea of how long you want to spend on each section of your essay. (If you know the number of paragraphs you’ll need to write ahead of time, you can do this before the exam even starts!) Take note of the amount of time allotted for the exam and split it into reasonably-sized segments, leaving some time at the end for revision if possible. Without a schedule to follow, it’s easy to become too focused on a single paragraph and run out of time to finish the essay. While You’re Writing: Write clearly and double-space. This tip may seem basic, but it’s easy to forget and it can make a big difference. Both these measures won’t just make it easier for the marker to read your paper; they'll also help you write it. If you have time left at the end of the exam for review, having the ability to skim quickly through your work and write revisions in blank spaces will be incredibly helpful.

Keep yourself on schedule.  Remember the paragraph-based schedule we discussed above? It’ll be useless if you don’t do regular check-ins during the exam. Keep an eye on the clock to ensure you’re always on track. If you realize that you’re falling dangerously behind schedule, it might be necessary to cut some arguments or examples you planned to include. Although making these omissions can be painful, it’s better to leave out a few points from one section than to leave out an entire paragraph because you ran out of time. Don’t worry too much about editing and revision before you finish. When composing essays, many students stop and read over each paragraph once they finish it, making sure that it’s well-written and free of errors before advancing to the next one. This approach is entirely logical when there’s no time pressure involved, but it can actually work against you during an exam. Perfecting paragraphs is a time-consuming process, and, if you spend too much time editing before the essay is finished, you might have to rush through the last few sections or leave them out entirely. For this reason, it’s best to focus on producing a complete first draft before you worry about edits and revisions.

After You’ve Finished Writing: Re-read the question and ensure you’ve addressed all parts. The most important part of writing an essay exam is ensuring that you’re answering the question was posed. Even if you made sure you were interpreting everything correctly before you began, you may have forgotten to address a subquestion or integrate an example as you were writing. Before you submit, read the prompt again and make sure your completed essay matches up! Edit if you have time. If you have enough time left over, read your essay again and make corrections. When you’re working under time pressure, it’s easy to make grammar mistakes or produce hard-to-follow sentences; the final few minutes are your chance to clean up those errors. Unless if you finished way ahead of schedule, don’t worry about major revisions like reorganizing the structure of the essay--it’s better to hand in an essay with an imperfect structure than a paper that’s impossible to follow because you had to stop halfway through the revision process.

Remember to have the right perspective. Once you hand your exam to the professor, relax! It’s easy to work yourself up after an essay exam when you didn’t get the chance to read your work over or you feel like your arguments were weak. However, it’s important to keep in mind that your professor understands the circumstances under which the essay was written. They’re fully aware of the time pressure you were dealing with, and they will judge your work far differently than they would judge a typical essay with a deadline set weeks after the assignment date. If you did your best to write a complete, clear, and insightful essay within the time allotted, you should have nothing to worry about. Best of luck during the upcoming exam season!

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How to Write a Timed Essay

Last Updated: August 10, 2021

This article was co-authored by Arash Fayz . Arash Fayz is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of LA Tutors 123, an academic consulting and private tutoring company based in Los Angeles, California. Arash has over 10 years of educational consulting experience, managing the tutoring of students of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds to score higher on standardized tests and gain admission to their target schools. He has a BA in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of California, Los Angeles. This article has been viewed 21,683 times.

Whether it be in a class or for a standardized test, students are often required to write a timed essay. Writing a timed essay is as much about organization and time management as it is about the quality of writing. Visit Step 1 to get started.

Divide Up Your Time

• Make sure the prompts wants you to write an essay and not just a simple short answer that could consist of a few sentences to one full paragraph.
• Pick a position/argument to organize your essay. Think in terms of the pros and cons of the arguments and what supporting details lead you to the facts you'd like to present in the essay.
• Jot down an outline on some scrap paper
• Write the essay based on the outline! Don't ever write without some notes and knowledge of the subject at hand.
• Proofread your essay. No reader ever wants grammatical and spelling errors to be present.
• Submit on time.

• Read and understand the prompt = 1.5 minutes
• Pick a position = 1.5 minutes
• Jot down an outline = 2 minutes
• Write = 21 minutes
• Revise = 3 minutes
• Submit = 1 minute

• Introduction: 3 minutes
• Paragraph 1: 6 minutes
• Paragraph 2: 5 minutes
• Paragraph 3: 5 minutes
• Conclusion: 2 minutes

During the Essay

Proofreading the Essay

Submitting the Essay

Expert Q&A

• Wear a wristwatch during your timed essay. Not every testing room will have a clock on the wall or a proctor who announces the time remaining at regular intervals. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Don't panic if you go over time on a particular section. You can make it up by going a little faster on the next section. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Pay special attention to the outlining at the beginning. If you have a solid structure and direction, the argument will seem focused and organized even if it has been written faster than you would do without a time limit. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ Arash Fayz. Test Prep Tutor. Expert Interview. 1 November 2019.

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12: Timed Writing

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WHAT IS TIMED WRITING?

Also called timed essays, essay exams, or in-class essays, these essays require you to demonstrate disciplinary knowledge by producing a writing sample within a limited time period. Timed writing measures your raw writing ability and your skill at thinking under pressure. It also reflects your ability to quickly recall, synthesize, and analyze detailed material. One of the major skills that is being tested in a timed writing exam is your ability to write to a prompt. A prompt is simply the exam question or writing task. In a timed exam, your thesis will generally be your answer to the prompt.

WHY STRENGHTEN THIS SKILL?

Being skilled at timed writing is important because…

• oftentimes when you transfer to another college, you will be required to take a timed essay placement exam or graduate exit exam, so placing higher will save you time and money spent on taking additional classes and later enable you to get your degree.
• some large survey courses base the majority of the student grade on in-class timed exams.
• it improves your own mental agility—being able to think quickly and logically is an invaluable skill.
• in college and in life, you will be required to compose arguments (written and verbal) on the spot, so the better you are at it, the more convincing and successful you will be.
• American culture highly values polished written skills, so the more adept you are at crafting well written responses and proposals quickly, you’ll be the one who gets better grades, gets hired, gets the promotion, and will get more respect due to your effective communication skills.

HOW DO I DO IT?

Timed writing is challenging, so break down the task into manageable stages:

• Review the elements of an essay (so you are sure to craft a good one).
• Know how to successfully break down a prompt.
• Create a rough outline.
• Have a time management plan.

Reviewing the elements of an essay

Writing in a timed situation can be stressful so go in having a clear and confident sense of your goal: to produce a focused, organized, developed, proofread essay. Even in a timed situation, you will be expected to write an essay with the standard essay elements so here is a review of what to include:

Breaking down a prompt

In timed writing, you will be given a prompt. Be sure to use techniques to effectively break down and fully understand that prompt before you begin the writing task. This will ensure you do not write off topic or miss important elements of the assignment. It is essential to understand and identify key words within any writing prompt. Here are some commonly used command verbs used in prompts. It is not guaranteed these words will be used, but if they are, be sure you understand what each command is asking you to do: Key Words Commonly Used in Writing Assignments/Prompts: Describe: Write about the subject so the reader can easily visualize it; tell how it looks or happened. Use adjectives, adverbs and descriptive language to paint a mental image for you reader. Compare: Analyze the similarities and the differences between two or more items. Contrast: Look only at the differences between two or more items. Explain: Give the meaning of something often answering the question “why”? Discuss: Provide a broader range of possibilities that critically explore your topic. Argue: Present a point of view or take a position and prove it. Don’t be concerned about taking the “right” or “wrong” position; just support a position soundly and consistently. Analyze: Break the subject down into parts, and explain and critically examine the various parts. Criticize/Critique: Point out both the positive and negative aspects of the topic. Evaluate: Give your opinion of the value of the subject; discuss its strengths and weaknesses. Illustrate: Make the point or idea by giving examples. Trace: Tell about an event or process in chronological (time) order. Prove: Show that something is true by giving facts or logical reasons. State: Give the main points in a brief, clear form.

Steps to break down a prompt

Since you have a limited amount of time, do not waste any of it writing off topic. Follow exactly what was asked in the prompt. Try this approach:

• Read the prompt carefully and several times: do not “rush in” and start writing as this puts you in danger of writing off topic or missing important parts of the prompt. Take a moment and read the prompt through several times.(2) Sum up the topic in a few words: What is the focus of the prompt? Narrow down the focus of the prompt in a word or two to help you mentally focus as well.
• Circle and/or underline the key words: Circle or underline the command verbs or question words that are telling you do something or asking you about something.
• Identify and count the required steps in the writing task: this is a crucial step in timed writing. You don’t want to overlook any parts of the question and get little to no credit for your work as a result. Number the parts of the prompt you need to address in your essay and oftentimes you can even use this as an informal outline for the essay.

Practice: Use the method of breaking down a prompt

STEPS TO BREAK DOWN A PROMPT:

• Read the prompt carefully and several times
• Sum up the topic in a few words
• Circle and/or underline the key words
• Identify and count the required steps in the writing task

In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass contends “there can be no freedom without education.” Citing specific examples from the text, discuss this concept and examine how Douglass is a testament to this idea. Then explain how this concept can be applied today and what we can learn by applying Douglass’ words to a modern day example. (1) Read the prompt carefully and several times (2) Sum up the topic in a few words: _________________________________________________ (3) Circle and/or underline the key words (4) Identify and count the required steps in the writing task

(2) Sum up the topic in a few words: TOPIC = FREEDOM THROUGH EDUCATION In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass contends “there can be no freedom without education.” Citing specific examples from the text , (1) discuss this concept and (2) examine how Douglass is a testament to this idea. Then (3) explain how this concept can be applied today and (4) what we can learn by applying Douglass’ words to a modern day example.

Creating a rough outline

Outlining is the road map for the essay. And we all know that when you are rushing to get somewhere quickly, it is easier to get lost. Outlines make sure that you end up where you intended. For timed writing, you’ll make the most informal kind of outline in which you jot down your main points and possible supporting evidence. This kind of outline is for you only, and you don’t need to worry about making it more comprehensive if it does the job for you.

Practice: Rough Outline

Use the Douglass prompt you just broke down and create a rough outline for it.

Possible answers for MAKING A ROUGH OUTLINE:

Managing your time

Since taking a timed exam puts you in the situation of having a limited amount of time to create a focused, organized, well supported essay, you better have a clear plan of how you will use your allotted time before beginning the exam. Suggested breakdown of time:

10-15% of time: Prewriting: (1) Read the prompt carefully, circling key words, counting parts

(2) Make a rough outline to determine your thesis, main supporting points and strongest evidence.

70-80% of time: Write the essay: (3) Write your essay following the outline.

(4) Skip lines in case you want to make some changes when you’re proofreading after you complete the essay.

10-15% of time: Proofreading: (5) Proofread your essay carefully adding missed evidence, catching misspellings, putting in left out words, revising confusing sentences, joining sentences, etc. Wait until the end to proofread. Focusing on sentence-level concerns as you compose the essay will slow you down too much and potentially sacrifice essay content.

We all know we are better at something when we practice. Were you a good driver the first time you got behind the wheel? If you’ve played a sport or an instrument over the years, how were your skills when you first started? The same is true for timed writing. The more you practice, the better, more confident, and more accomplished you become. Also, when you have a timed written exam coming up, you can ask your teacher for a practice prompt or you can create one yourself. The best preparation you can do is to take a practice timed exam on the topic you are being tested on. Also, if you take a practice exam ahead of time, you can even make an appointment with your instructor to go over the practice exam and get valuable advice and feedback you can then directly apply on the graded exam. Here are some practice prompts: Prompt—English 100 in-class essay (30 minutes) In his book, Jim Rogers explores the issue of music file sharing on the internet and he looks at how the record companies have tried to sue individuals, web sites, and internet service providers for copyright infringement. Do you feel any of these groups should be held financially responsible for sharing music? Why or why not? Do you feel anyone is harmed by music file sharing? Prompt—English 846 midterm (90 minutes) Analyzing their book YouTube , describe three moral or ethical concerns that Jean Burgess and Joshua Green address about YouTube. What are the authors’ views about these concerns? Respond to and analyze each of these concerns giving your opinion on each. Finally, looking at these concerns together, explain how you feel this does or should shape the management and future of YouTube. Prompt—English 110 midterm (75 minutes) J.T. Rogers’ play The Overwhelming is set during the 1994 Rwandan genocide of the Tutsis by the Hutus. Examine why you think the playwright decided to tell this tragic story of an African country through this family of Americans. Also, why construct the characters that he did: the middle-aged college professor trying to publish, his 17-year-old son who just lost his mother, and his second wife, a writer and an African-American woman? Examine how the use of these American characters affect and shape the larger story being told. Prompt—History 100 practice midterm (75 minutes) “History repeats itself. Has to. Nobody listens.” --Steve Turner A famous maxim says that those who fail to remember and learn from the events of history—economic failures, wars, injustices, strife—are doomed to repeat them. By learning from historical events, by listening to the message of history, a nation or people can avoid repeating the errors of the past. Identify one such significant past event that has been covered in the reading, discuss its effects and explain why we should remember it. Prompt—English 846 Final exam (2.5 hours) Select three (3) of the authors and texts we have read this semester and examine how each author argues that greed and materialism function in our lives in the U.S. Explain who is mainly guilty of greed and who is most affected and how. Finally, explain what you feel, and analyze the larger impact of your views. Prompt— English 100 Final exam (2.5 hours) Compare the different ways that four of the authors that we have read this semester used activism to change their current system and to bring about social change, and explain what we can learn about effective approaches through this comparison. Finally, argue which of the four you feel was the most successful as a revolutionary and as you make your case, be sure to define "revolutionary" and "success" according to you, and explain the implications and importance of your findings. Prompt— English 110 Final exam (2.5 hours) Select three (3) of the authors and texts we have read this semester (one poem, one short story, and one play), and compare the characters the authors have created in order to examine the pressures women in particular face. Describe the gender-based expectations placed on these women and examine the impact. Finally, examine the connecting patterns that transcend location and time era in regards to the attitudes toward and treatment of women.

STEPS TO BREAK DOWN A PROMPT :

Prompt—English 100 in-class essay (30 minutes) TOPIC = music file sharing In his book, Jim Rogers explores the issue of music file sharing on the internet and he looks at how the record companies have tried to sue individuals, web sites, and internet service providers for copyright infringement. (1) Do you feel any of these groups should be held financially responsible for sharing music? Why or why not? (2) Do you feel anyone is harmed by music file sharing? Prompt—English 846 midterm (90 minutes) TOPIC = 3 moral/ethical YouTube concerns Analyzing their book YouTube , (1) describe three moral or ethical concerns that Jean Burgess and Joshua Green address about YouTube. (2) What are the authors’ views about these concerns? (3) Respond to and analyze each of these concerns giving your opinion on each . Finally, looking at these concerns together , (4) explain how you feel this does or should shape the management and future of YouTube . Prompt—English 110 midterm (75 minutes) TOPIC = use of American characters J.T. Rogers’ play The Overwhelming is set during the 1994 Rwandan genocide of the Tutsis by the Hutus. (1) Examine why you think the playwright decided to tell this tragic story of an African country through this family of Americans . Also, (2) why construct the characters that he did : the middle-aged college professor trying to publish, his 17 year old son who just lost his mother, and his second wife, a writer and an African-American woman? (3) Examine how the use of these American characters affect and shape the larger story being told. Prompt—History 100 practice midterm (75 minutes) TOPIC = ONE significant past event “History repeats itself. Has to. Nobody listens.”

--Steve Turner

A famous maxim says that those who fail to remember and learn from the events of history—economic failures, wars, injustices, strife—are doomed to repeat them. By learning from historical events, by listening to the message of history, a nation or people can avoid repeating the errors of the past. (1) Identify one such significant past event that has been covered in the reading , (2) discuss its effects and (3) explain why we should remember it. Prompt—English 846 Final exam (2.5 hours) TOPIC = greed and materialism in 3 texts Select three (3) of the authors and texts we have read this semester and (1) examine how each author argues that greed and materialism function in our lives in the U.S . (2) Explain who is mainly guilty of greed (3) and who is most affected and how . Finally, (4) explain what you feel , and ( 5) analyze the larger impact of your views. Prompt— English 100 Final exam (2.5 hours) TOPIC = activism of 4 authors (1) Compare the different ways that four of the authors that we have read this semester used activism to change their current system and to bring about social change, and (2) explain what we can learn about effective approaches through this comparison. Finally, (3) argue which of the four you feel was the most successful as a revolutionary and as you make your case, be sure to define "revolutionary" and "success" according to you, and (4) explain the implications and importance of your findings. Prompt— English 110 Final exam (2.5 hours) TOPIC = pressures women face in 3 texts (1) Select three (3) of the authors and texts we have read this semester ( one poem, one short story, and one play ), and (2) compare the characters the authors have created in order to examine the pressures women in particular face . (3) Describe the gender-based expectations placed on these women and (4) examine the impact. Finally, (5) examine the connecting patterns that transcend location and time era in regards to the attitudes toward and treatment of women .

Additional tips

• Relax : You know what an essay is. You know that it has an introduction, several body paragraphs, and a conclusion. You have done essays before, and you know what you're doing now. The more you can take the exam in a calm and confident state, the better you will do.
• Bring a watch or timepiece: You want to be in control of your time and not the other way around, so be aware of the remaining time throughout the exam. Follow your time management plan but make adjustments as you see fit. For instance, if you budgeted 15 minutes for proofreading and in your last 15 minutes you don’t yet have a conclusion, donate 5 minutes of your proofreading time to your conclusion. Be in control of your time so you can be sure that you complete all your tasks in the time allotted.
• Check out the testing room in advance, if possible : This way, you’ll be better able to judge the amount of time you need to get there, and you’ll be more familiar with the test setting.
• Get plenty of sleep the previous night : no one does well when sleep deprived. Stay in the night before an exam, study but you shouldn’t be causing yourself stress by cramming last minute. Go to bed at a decent hour and be sure to have a healthy meal before the exam. Being physically prepared will improve your mental preparedness.
• If you are prone to distraction : sit apart from other test takers.
• Listen to music : some can focus better when listening to music. Check with your professor or the exam proctor ahead of time to see if it’s ok to listen to music using headphones during the exam.

Timed writing checklist

Here is a checklist with an overview of the timed writing advice you can review before taking a timed exam:

• Think about focus-thesis: form an arguable thesis that responds directly to the prompt and stay focused on proving it throughout the essay. Put your thesis in the introductory paragraph. Anything in the essay that doesn’t prove the thesis and wasn’t asked about in the prompt is off topic.
• Think about organization: choose an appropriate number of main supporting points you can adequately develop, present them in a logical order, and put each one into a separate paragraph.
• Think about development: create well-developed paragraphs including the elements of PIE: (P)oint: strong topic sentences, (I)nformation: convincing evidence, (E)xplanation: your own reasoning and analysis.
• Think about sentence crafting: save time at the end to proofread to correct any grammar, punctuation, or spelling errors and to improve sentence logic and flow.
• Break down the prompt: read it carefully, sum up the topic is a word or two, underline/circle key words (command and question words), and number the different parts or tasks. Address all parts in the response.
• Create a rough outline before you start writing, so you can stay focused on what was asked and be sure to address all parts of the prompt.
• Make a time management plan dividing your allotted time for three tasks: 10-15% for prewriting, 70-80% for writing, 10-15% for proofreading.
• Practice writing timed essays to strengthen skills before taking timed exams for a grade.

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As a highly competitive Ivy League institution, Princeton University is known for its rigorous academic environment and prestigious reputation. The admissions process is thorough and selective, and it's important to approach it with both preparation and genuine passion for what Princeton has to offer. When to Apply Princeton University has two main admissions cycles: Early Action and Regular Decision. The Early Action deadline is typically November 1st, and this is non-binding, meaning you can still apply to and accept offers from other universities if you're accepted. The Regular Decision deadline is usually January 1st. Application Requir ... Read More About Princeton Admissions Information

Swarthmore College Admissions Information

Swarthmore College is a highly selective liberal arts institution known for its rigorous academics and diverse intellectual community. To provide you with a comprehensive overview of the admissions process for Swarthmore College, here are the key details you need to know: When to Apply and Early Application: Swarthmore College operates on a regular decision application deadline for most applicants. The regular decision deadline is typically in early January, with admissions decisions released in late March. However, Swarthmore also offers an Early Decision (ED) program, which is a binding commitment to enroll if admitted. The Early Decision ... Read More About Swarthmore College Admissions Information

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How to Prepare for Timed Writing Exercises

One of the latest trends in the admissions world is requiring timed writing exercises. This new piece of the application puzzle has been popping up in the admissions process for competitive high schools and specialized BS and postgraduate programs.

The thought of crafting a succinct and meaningful response to a mystery prompt in one sitting is enough to send shivers down even the greatest of writers’ spines. luckily for you, there are still ways you can prepare for this unique assignment. , what’s the point.

The timed writing assignment serves to test your ability to write concisely, think critically on your feet, and articulate your thoughts in a clear and organized manner. With practice, you can train yourself to do this on command, and fairly well at that! 

What will the prompt be like?

Of course, it’s impossible to know the prompt before sitting down to complete the assignment. (That’s kind of the point!) That being said, here are a few examples of timed writing prompts circulating in the admissions world:

What is a topic, activity or idea that excites you? Tell us why. Examples may include hobbies, books, music, podcasts, movies, etc.    Tell us about the person who has most impacted your life and how.   Describe something you have accomplished over a significant amount of time.    Resilience is defined as the ability to adapt and learn from a difficulty. Reflect on a time when you have exhibited resilience. What growth did you see in yourself after this experience?   Describe a situation in which you came into contact with someone whose beliefs were different from your own. What did you learn from this experience and were your beliefs altered in any way? 

The common thread connecting all of these prompts is you! Admissions will likely provide a prompt that is fairly personal because they want to learn more about the person behind the application.

How does one prepare?

Set a timer for the amount of time you think you’ll have to complete the assignment. If you’re not sure how much time you’ll be given, start with ten minutes. Then attack it like this:

Choose a sample question for practice. Spend the first whole minute reading the prompt. Sit with it. Reflect on it. Make sure you fully understand what is being asked of you and then begin generating an initial concept of what you might like to say in response.

Next, jot down a quick thesis statement, the main point that you’d like to communicate through your writing. From there, think about:

• An introduction
• Two to three supporting points
• A conclusion

This outline is going to be very helpful for organization’s sake. Of course, since time is precious, there is a balance to be struck regarding how much time you take to construct beautiful verbose sentences. Try not to linger on every word, especially at the beginning of the writing process; an unexciting written word is always better than the perfect unique one that is stuck on the tip of your tongue! You’ll remember what it is you were thinking of about three hours after you’ve finished and submitted the exercise. (We don’t know why it works like this, it just does!) So, get out what you can and don’t stress over perfection.

Try, if you can, to leave yourself the last few minutes to read your response over and eliminate any obvious mistakes . Fill in any holes in your argument, double check your use of punctuation, and make sure you answered all parts of the question.

When you’re done, stand up, walk away from your computer, grab a snack, stretch, then come back. Reread everything you wrote. Consider what could be stronger and assess what someone reading this short essay might like to know that you hadn’t addressed. If you’d like, ask a trusted friend or relative to read your response and ask them for their honest assessment. 

Finally, there’s only one thing left to do, rinse and repeat. The more practice you have under your belt, the more likely you’ll be able to execute well on the day of the timed writing exercise. Try doing this exercise a few times a week, no fewer than five or six times before you have to sit down to do the real thing. 

We bet you’ll find that with each attempt, you’ll be able to work more quickly and better envision your draft using the outline format we mentioned above.

What are the pitfalls? 

Part of the challenge and beauty of the timed writing exercise is that you have to build up the confidence to commit to whatever topic you choose. It’s highly unlikely that you will have time to start over if you decide your idea isn’t giving as much as you had hoped, so whatever you decide to write about, stick with it and follow it through until the end. 

We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again: no one is submitting a perfect essay in a timed writing exercise. And admissions isn’t looking for perfection but is, rather, evaluating your ability to communicate within a set amount of time. Take a deep breath before you begin and trust yourself.

Any final tips?

If you’re applying to a specific specialized program, see if you can find examples online of past questions to get a better sense of what you can expect. The question will likely ask about your interest, motivation, and/or goals. It might be a good idea to draft a short list of reasons why you’re pursuing this career path, qualities that make you a great candidate for this line of work, and stories or anecdotes that demonstrate these reasons or qualities.

Thinking about this in advance might also help if you find yourself stumped by a question. If you find yourself in this kind of situation, we encourage you to think about the things you want admissions to know about you, then see if you can work backward and finesse your response to include some of those highlights. Happy writing! 🙂

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Time is always a limited resource. Sometimes you will write with a time limit because you only have an hour to take a test and there is a short essay section. But the most common timed writing occurs because you can only plan a limited amount of time to work on a paper because of your other commitments. Learning how to manage your time in these assignments will help you to keep a balance between your homework assignments and your personal life. 

When you are working with a limited amount of time, it is extra important to organize your time so that you can create a complete response. You do not have time to waste. Sometimes a time limit creates stress (especially in a test environment), so here are some tips to reduce your stress and focus the time you have in a productive way.

One of the challenges of timed writing is making quick decisions about content and organization. The brainstorming stage is limited and requires you to move swiftly into creating your paragraphs. Unlike most writing situations, you don't have weeks of preparation time to research ideas, revise, and get feedback on your essay. 

First, you need to be clear on what the prompt is asking you. This is true in any assignment, but it is especially important when you have limited time to make corrections. You need to recognize the type of writing (compare, describe, argue, explain) and create a thesis statement and supporting points that make a clear road map for what you will say. Additionally, you need to check the prompt to make sure that you are addressing all of the points. 

Once you have analyzed the prompt, you should be able to start creating your outline so you have all of the necessary pieces. 

Make a short list of the parts of the prompt if there are multiple questions. That is a good first step for creating a thesis and topic sentences that cover all of the necessary information. 

Understanding and including all of the parts of the prompt is important for two reasons.

The first reason is that the question is specifically designed to get you to write about the topic for a specific reason. A multi-part question signals to you the degree of complexity that the audience expects to find in your response. If you miss information from your response, your reader might assume that this means you don't know the information. 

Second, your audience may attribute missing information to a lack of language ability. This is especially true in a standardized test like the TOEFL or the GRE where the reader knows nothing about your ability other than what you show on the test. The reader might think that you chose not to write about pat of the question because you do not have the grammar or vocabulary to explain your ideas. This unfortunately might be your college professor's assuption as well, especially if a professor in a large class does not get many opportunities to speak with you one on one. 

Therefore, it's in your best interest to carefully read through the prompt and dissect it. Once you know what the reader expects, you can write a stronger response with more purposeful organization.

Outline Ideas

First of all, an outline will  always benefit you. You may think that the best idea is to immediately start writing because the time is limited, but that could lead to a very disorganized presentation of an answer. Read the prompt carefully and make a brief outline of ideas so that you know all parts of the prompt will be addressed and all of your most important details will be included. 

Your outline should include the important basics you will practice throughout this semester:

Timed Outlining

• Read the prompt carefully. 
• Brainstorm your ideas for each part of the prompt.
• Organize your ideas into a logical outline.
• Decide on what is the  most important to include.
• Write a thesis statement that directly answers the main part of the prompt.
• Write topic sentences for your main points.
• Write a restated thesis statement.

Exercise 1: Analyze Timed Writing Prompt

Read the prompts below. Identify the linguistic task. Break the prompt down into the individual parts. 

• Parks are created to protect natural spaces for future generations and for citizens to enjoy the outdoors. Why do you think society values separating these places and controlling them? Do you think that there is equal value in parks in rural areas like Yellowstone and parks in large cities like Central Park in New York? Why or why not?
• Compare your home city to Provo. What are the similarities and differences? Be careful not to include your opinion about which one is better.
• What piece of technology do you think has the biggest impact on your everday life? Why is that technology so important? What features does it have that support your daily activities? Do you think this technology is equally important to others your age? Why or why not?

Exercise 2: Timed Writing Practice

You have 30 minutes to respond to this prompt. Your answer should be around 300 words long. Before you begin, think about how you will use your timer to complete the task

Prompt: Describe an important holiday or tradition that you celebrate. This may be something specific to your family or something celebrated more widely in your country. Be sure to include details about  when ,  why , and  how  you celebrate.

This content is provided to you freely by BYU Open Learning Network.

Access it online or download it at https://open.byu.edu/academic_a_writing/timed_writing_2 .

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• Tips for Writing a Timed Essay

Mastering Timed Essays: Simple Tips for Success

Published on: May 11, 2023

Last updated on: May 13, 2023

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Timed essays are a reality for many students, especially during exams. However, writing a timed essay is a lot more challenging, especially if you are not accustomed to writing under strict time-limits.

To succeed in these situations, it's important to have a solid strategy in place. In this blog post, we'll provide you with some helpful tips and tricks for writing a timed essay.

So, let's dive in and learn some essential strategies for writing a timed essay!

Preparing For the Essay Before the Exams

The best way for succeeding in a timed essay is to prepare for it beforehand. This is where your study skills come in handy.

Here are some tips to help you prepare for the exam:

Study the Course Content

To prepare for a timed essay exam, it is important to have a solid understanding of the course content. You should study the materials that you have covered throughout the course, including lectures, readings, and assignments.

Take Effective Notes

Take notes on the key concepts and ideas that you have learned and review them to ensure that you have a strong grasp of the material. This will help you remember the most important points easily.

Practice Writing

Set aside some time to practice essay writing .

Provide yourself an easy essay topic related to the course and see how much you can write within a limited time. This will help you get a feel for the time constraints and develop strategies for managing your time effectively.

Watch this video to learn some more tips about preparing for your essay exam:

The Prewriting Stage

Now you are sitting in an exam, and a prompt has been handed out to you. Should you immediately start writing? No, that won’t help.

Before you start writing, you should follow the tips below. These will help you complete your timed essay more effectively.

Understand the Prompt

The prompt is the question or topic that you're being asked to write about, and it's essential that you comprehend it fully before you begin writing.

By fully understanding the prompt, you can avoid wasting time on irrelevant information or ideas that don't directly relate to the question. This will help you manage your time more effectively during the exam.

Here are two steps you should take to ensure that you’ve understood it completely and correctly:

Read the Prompt Carefully: Take the time to read the prompt several times, making note of any key words or phrases that stand out. Pay attention to the instructions or guidelines provided, as these will be essential in shaping your argument.

Break Down the Prompt: Try breaking the prompt down into smaller, more manageable parts. Identify the main topic or question being asked, as well as any subtopics or specific instructions provided.

Stuck On Finding An Essay Topic? Let Our Topic Generator Do The Work For You.

Let Commands Tool Generate It For You!

Plan Out Your Essay

Before you begin writing your timed essay, it's important to take a few minutes to plan out your approach.

Read this blog on importance of outlining to start writing with confidence!

Planning and outlining can help you organize your thoughts and develop a clear and focused argument. Which ultimately saves you time in the long run.

Start with the Main Points: Begin by identifying the main points that you want to address in your essay. These should be the most important arguments or ideas that support your thesis statement .

Think About Supporting Details: Once you've identified your main points, add supporting details and evidence to back up your argument. This could include quotes, statistics, or examples from the course materials.

Organize your Outline: Organize your outline in a logical and coherent manner to complete the essay structure . That is, you should group similar ideas together or organize your points chronologically or thematically.

Struggling To Start Your Essay? Let Our Outliner Tool Create A Clear Roadmap.

Writing Your Essay

Now that you've prepared and planned your essay, it's time to start writing. Here are some tips to help you write a timed essay in a well-structured and cohesive way:

Start with a Clear Thesis Statement: Your thesis statement should clearly state the main point or argument of your essay. This will help you stay focused and ensure that all of your supporting points are aligned with your overall argument. Try to review some thesis statement examples before writing your own so that you know how to nail it!

Use Topic Sentences: Each body paragraph should begin with a clear topic sentence that relates back to your thesis statement. This will help keep your essay organized and easy to follow.

Use Transitions: Transitions are important for connecting ideas between paragraphs and helping your essay flow smoothly. Use transitional phrases or words such as "furthermore," "however," or "in addition" to help your essay read cohesively.

Keep paragraphs focused: Each paragraph should focus on a single idea or point. Avoid including too many ideas or examples in one paragraph, as this can make your essay feel unfocused.

Don’t Fret Over Time: While writing, don’t worry about your time running out. Stress is the enemy of clear writing. If you are anxious about the time, you won’t be able to think and write clearly.

Edit and Revise the Essay

If you have time left once you have finished writing, go through your essay again to make improvements. Reading your essay and revising it can help you catch errors, clarify your arguments, and ensure that your essay is well-organized and cohesive.

Here are some tips on how to effectively edit and revise your essay within the time constraints:

Ensure that your Essay Addresses the Prompt: As you edit and revise your essay, make sure that it effectively addresses the prompt and answers the question that was asked.

Check your Organization and Structure: Ensure that your essay is well-organized and structured, with clear topic sentences and transitions between paragraphs.

Correct Mistakes As You Read Through: While reading your essay after finishing, you may find grammatical or spelling mistakes. Correct these mistakes as soon as you find them and move on.

Learn the dos and don'ts of academic writing to make sure your essay is written to perfection!

Writing a timed essay is difficult for a reason. It tests your skills by forcing you to think and write under pressure. The best way to face this challenge is to prepare and practice for the essay beforehand.

And when the time comes for writing the essay, you just need to follow the tips provided above to write a good essay. Understand the prompt, outline your essay, and start writing clearly and concisely, moving from intro to body paragraphs and conclusion . Finally, read through your finished essay and improve any words, sentences, and structure that are unclear.

By using these strategies, you can approach timed essays with confidence and produce a high-quality essay that earns you the best possible grade.

Finally, you can practice your writing skills with help from our essay writer . You can use this AI tool to generate sample essays and improve your own writing by comparison and imitation. Try it today.

Frequently Asked Questions About Persuasive Essays

How long should a persuasive essay be.

Generally speaking, persuasive essays should be between 500-750 words. However, the length of your essay will depend on the instructions given by your teacher or professor.

What Techniques Are Used In Persuasive Essays?

Persuasive techniques include facts and statistics, emotion and logic, personal stories, analogies and metaphors, pathos, ethos, and logos.

How Do I Make My Persuasive Essay More Convincing?

To make your essay more convincing, cite reliable sources, use persuasive language, and provide strong evidence and arguments.

How Is Persuasive Writing Different From Argumentative Writing?

The main difference between persuasive and argumentative writing is that persuasive writing seeks to convince or persuade the reader. On the other hand, argumentative writing seeks to debate an issue.

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For more than five years now, Cathy has been one of our most hardworking authors on the platform. With a Masters degree in mass communication, she knows the ins and outs of professional writing. Clients often leave her glowing reviews for being an amazing writer who takes her work very seriously.

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Strategies for Timed Essays

Timed essay tests can bring about a great deal of stress for students. The ticking clock is certainly a catalyst when it comes to test anxiety; however, the unknown components of an timed essay test are also daunting. The fact of the matter is, timed writing tasks will be a standard aspect of every student’s education at some point. Another fact, thankfully, is that there are strategies that students can employ to conquer these seemingly insurmountable timed essays.

Reread the prompt and put it into your own words

When students sit down to take an essay assessment, the clock begins counting down and nerves often take over. In a time-crunch, many students follow the impulse to put pencil to paper as quickly as possible and write until their wrists can take no more. The issue, however, arises when the completed essay fails to actually address the prompt or essay question. To avoid this, students should first carefully reread the prompt in an effort to put it into their own words. By rephrasing the question, students ensure that they fully comprehend what the prompt is asking and are able to more specifically begin to address it in their writing.

Spend 3-5 minutes drafting a simple outline

The few minutes that students spend sketching a plan for their essay will be returned twofold in the sense that, with this quick roadmap, they will have to spend less time figuring out the general direction of each paragraph since the essay is already loosely mapped out. The outline should include only bulleted information, not complete sentences. Page numbers for direct quotes or other references are also helpful on the outline. While each essay and outline will obviously vary, the same components are usually suggested for informational, argumentative, or expository responses.

• A general statement, in which the topic, subject, theme, or concept is very generally introduced.
• A specific statement, in which the general statement is given some specificity, elaboration, clarification, etc.
• A thesis statement, in which the argument, claim, or goal of the response is introduced.
• Transition words to organize the points, evidence, support, etc., in order of importance.
• Introduction to the text evidence by title and/or author.
• Direct quotes to support the original thesis statement or claim made in the introduction.
• Interpretation of the quotes and explicit statement of how the quotes support the claim or argument.
• A restatement of the thesis; advanced writers in middle and high school grades should work to rephrase the thesis statement. The overall claim or argument is the same; however, the wording is varied to avoid redundancy.
• A final confirmation of the texts that were referenced and how they specifically relate to the topic or prompt.
• A final statement to again generalize the purpose of the essay. **Students should get in the habit of using words directly from the prompt in their introduction and conclusion paragraphs to ensure that their responses are thoroughly and clearly connected to the prompt.

Reread each paragraph individually

It helps to read a response with fresh eyes to determine that writing is consistent and relative to the purpose of the prompt. If students have time at the end of a timed writing assessment, it is beneficial to reread each paragraph individually, referring back to the prompt in between paragraphs to ensure that each component (paragraph) serves its purpose and clearly answers the prompt.

Don’t get hung up on spelling

Unless otherwise specified by the teacher, students should avoid spending too much time contemplating spelling errors. Most often, timed essays are scored on content, including word choice, sentence structure or variation, and other content-driven writing skills. Therefore, perseverating over spelling is generally unnecessary. Instead, students should spend their time crafting and honing their argument.

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Timed Essays -- Top 5 Tips

• Plan your time wisely .
• Answer the right question .
• Collect your thoughts .
• Leave time to revise .
• Revise your thesis statement before you turn in your paper, so it looks like the conclusion you stumbled across was the one you planned from the start. (This small step can often make a huge difference.)

1 . Plan your time wisely.

If you are, at this moment, frantically cramming for tomorrow morning's exam, that first tip may not sound all that useful. But procrastination is probably the biggest reason why bright students sometimes get poor grades. Start early.

But you can also plan your time during the test itself. Your professor knows which paragraphs are harder to write, and will evaluate them accordingly. Does the question ask you to "evaluate"? If so, don't fill your page with a summary. Likewise, if the question asks for "evidence," don't spend all your time giving your own personal opinions.

• Start with the larger essay questions, so that you answer them before you burn out or run out of time. 
• If one essay question is worth 50% of the test score, spend 50% of your time on it.
• If you finish early, you can always go back and add more detail.   (As long as your additions and changes are legible, your instructor will probably be happy to see signs of revision.)

2) Answer the right question.

Before you begin your answer, you should be sure what the question is asking. I often grade a university composition competency test, and sometimes have to fail well-written papers that fail to address the topic the student has been given.

3) Collect your thoughts.

Resist the urge to start churning out words immediately. If you are going to get anywhere in an essay, you need to know where you are going.

To avoid time-consuming false starts , jot down an outline, or draw an idea map .  An idea map is like a family tree for your thesis.  Start with the "trunk" (a circle in the center of your paper).  Draw lines that connect that central idea to main branches (circles that represent subtopics), and keep fanning out in that manner.   If one particular branch is fruitful, cut it off and make it a separate entity.  

If a branch doesn't bear fruit, prune it off.   You should identify and avoid the deadwood in advance -- before you find yourself out on a limb.  (Sorry... I'll try to leaf the puns alone... but I wood knot want you to be board.)

Get right to the point .  Don't bury your best points under an avalanche of fluff.

4. Leave time to revise.

Too often, the only revision students do is crossing out their false starts, or explaining their way out of a corner by adding to the end of their essay.

Note: simply tacking on additional paragraphs or inserting words is not revision (see: " Revision vs. Editing ").

Sometimes, in the middle of a difficult paragraph, students will glance back at the question, and get a new idea. They will then hastily back out of their current paragraph, and provide a rough transition like: "But an even more important aspect is...".  They continue in this manner, like a builder who keeps breaking down walls to add new wings onto a house. 

• To avoid this problem before it starts, see the previous tip, or this nifty handout on " Blueprinting ."
• To handle this problem when it occurs, don't automatically add to the end of an essay -- write in the margins, or draw a line to indicate where you want to insert a new paragraph.
• Leave space to revise too -- write on every other line and leave the backs of pages blank, so you will have room to make legible insertions if you need to.
• Obviously, if you are writing your test on a computer, you should just insert and rearrange text as you would normally.

5) Revise your thesis statement

If inspiration strikes while you are in the middle of an essay, and your conclusion turns out to be nothing like you thought it would be, change your thesis statement to match your conclusion. (Assuming, of course, that your unexpected conclusion still addresses the assigned topic.)

When a writer realizes that an essay is veering off in a new direction, and handles it by tacking more paragraphs onto the end, the result can be extremely awkward.

• Joe Student writes a thesis statement that examines the relationship between "independence" and public morals.
• Midway through his essay, Joe hits upon a different idea that relates to "prosperity."
• To mask the transition, he writes a sentence that refers to "independence and prosperity", as if the two concepts are interchangeable. 
• After writing a few more paragraphs on "prosperity", Joe realizes he needs to unify the two ideas in his conclusion. He writes a new paragraph that examines the connections between independence and prosperity.
• He then writes a conclusion that "proves" that independence and prosperity are inseparable.

Unfortunately, Joe started out by making a claim about independence and public morals . If Joe tacks yet another paragraph onto the end of the paper, he will further dilute his conclusion. If he ignores the problem, his essay will appear disorganized.  Such hasty additions will rapidly obscure the original structure .

Joe will have to wrap up his essay with something ghastly like "Therefore, this essay has discussed such important issues as A, B, C and D, all of which shed an important light on [rephrase essay question here]."

To avoid linear additions , you should ideally avoid going off on tangents.  But even a very short paper is a result of a process. If you stumble onto a good idea in the middle of your paper, go back and change your thesis statement to account for your new ideas . Then, revise the subpoints and transitions so that your whole essay points towards that conclusion. Your professor will be pleased to see that you were able to make the connection, and your whole essay will be much stronger.

Dennis G. Jerz 04 May 2000 -- first posted 26 May 2000 -- typos corrected; puns added 26 Jul 2000 -- minor edits 04 Dec 2002 -- revision

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• June 15, 2023

Tips for Writing In-Class Essay Exams: Ace Timed Essay Tests

In-class essay exams are significant in the college grading methodology. These exams test your knowledge, understanding of study material, and ability to explain your knowledge in a specific duration. Doing well in these exams will improve your grades and overall academics. Students learn how to manage time and be precise in these time-bound tasks. These learnings will play a role in your future projects.

In-class essay exams are time-bound tasks, and you must finish them quickly and with quality to score good grades.

This article will present practical tips for writing in-class essay exams quickly and accurately. You will find actionable tips on how to prepare before the exam, practice answering, and manage your time to express the main point with specific evidence. Keep reading.

Writing a college essay involves several key steps. Start by understanding the essay prompt and brainstorming ideas. Create an outline to organize your thoughts and structure the essay logically. Craft a compelling introduction that grabs the reader’s attention, followed by body paragraphs that support your main points with evidence and examples. Ensure each paragraph flows coherently and relates back to the thesis statement. Conclude by summarizing your main arguments and reinforcing the essay’s significance. Finally, revise and edit for clarity, coherence, and grammar before submitting.

Before the Exam

Exam preparation is essential for success. By taking the time to prepare before the exam, you can increase your chances of doing well.

Here are three key tips for preparation before an in-class essay test:

1. Thoroughly Review Course Materials

Before the exam, make sure to carefully go through your course materials. This step is essential to become well-acquainted with the critical concepts and ideas that the exam might cover. Take the time to revisit your class notes, textbooks, and any relevant readings. This foundational knowledge will serve as the backbone for your essay responses.

2. Practice Essay Writing on Various Topics

To enhance your essay-writing skills, engage in practicing essays on a range of topics. This practice not only hones your ability to express ideas clearly but also helps you understand how to structure an essay effectively. Consider addressing diverse essay prompts and experimenting with different writing styles. This practice will make you more versatile in approaching essay questions during the exam.

3. Time Management Practice

Efficient time management is of utmost importance during an in-class essay exam. To excel in this area, it’s crucial to time yourself while practicing essay writing.

Establish realistic time limits for each phase of the essay-writing process: brainstorming, outlining, drafting, and proofreading. By mastering the art of allocating your time effectively, you ensure that you can successfully complete your essays within the confines of the exam’s time constraints.

Maintain a timer during your practice sessions to instill a sense of time-bound tasks. This will familiarize you with the entire process, making in-class essay writing second nature. Additionally, through consistent practice, you’ll stay composed and collected during the actual exam.

By following these three essential preparation tips, you’ll be well-prepared to tackle in-class essay exams with confidence and skill.

During the Exam

Once you have arrived for the exam, it is important to stay calm and focused. Take a few deep breaths and remind yourself that you are prepared.

Here are some tips for what to do during the exam:

1. Understand the question and plan before writing

Read the question carefully and understand the main topic and what it is asking you. Identify key words like “discuss,” “explain,” “compare,” or “prove” to know the intent of the question. Plan your answer once you understand the question. Create an outline for the answer and choose the main points that you will present and discuss. Arrange the points to ensure the logical flow of the answer so that your teacher can easily follow it.

2. Brainstorm a list of ideas and develop an outline for your essay.

To excel in in-class essay exams, it’s vital to master the art of brainstorming and crafting a structured outline. Begin by reading the prompt carefully to understand what’s required. Then, brainstorm a list of ideas related to the prompt. Group them to find common themes, and select the most relevant ones that align with the prompt.

Your outline acts as a blueprint, showing how your ideas will be organized and support your thesis. Remember, keep the essay prompt’s key words in mind for relevance. Familiarize yourself with various essay types, and practice with different prompts to refine your skills.

To brainstorm a list of ideas and develop an outline for your in-class essay exams, follow these steps:

• Analyze the prompt carefully, identifying key concepts and important ideas.
• Pick a topic you understand and find interesting for a smooth answering process.
• Brainstorm ideas related to the prompt without worrying about completeness.
• Group ideas with common themes or connections.
• Select the most relevant ideas, guided by the essay prompt.
• Use prompt keywords for focus and relevance.
• Be aware of different essay types for effective brainstorming and outlining.
• Practice with various prompts to refine your skills and gain comfort with the process.

Once you have a list of ideas and have organized them into groups, you can begin to develop an outline for your essay. Your outline should show how your ideas will be organized and how they will support your thesis statement.

Here is a simple outline template that you can use:

This is just a basic outline template, of course. You may need to adjust it to fit the specific essay question that you are being asked. But by following these tips, you can brainstorm and outline a clear, concise, and well-organized in-class essay.

3. Organize your essay in a logical way

In crafting a well-structured essay, several strategies can be employed for a logical flow. Here are some valuable tips:

• Choose an Organizational Pattern : Selecting an organizational pattern is crucial. Common options include:
• Chronological Order: This arranges your essay in the order of events. Use words like “first,” “second,” “next,” “then,” and “finally” to maintain the chronological flow.
• Spatial Order: Structure your essay based on location, utilizing terms like “above,” “below,” “beyond,” “behind,” “beside,” “between,” “in front of,” and “on top of.”
• Cause and Effect Order: Organize your essay by explaining causes or effects. Employ phrases like “because,” “as a result,” “therefore,” “consequently,” and “thus.”
• Problem-Solution Order: Identify a problem and propose a solution. Use words such as “first,” “second,” “next,” “then,” and “finally” for this structure.
• Compare and Contrast Order: Analyze and contrast two or more things. Include terms like “similarly,” “differently,” “on the other hand,” “in contrast,” and “however.”

Once you’ve made your choice, stick with it throughout your essay. Consistency in organization ensures a smooth, reader-friendly flow.

• Craft a Clear Thesis Statement : Your thesis statement is the central argument of your essay. It should be concise, clear, and open to debate. Place it in the introduction and support it with evidence in the body paragraph of your essay.
• Utilize Topic Sentences : Every paragraph should begin with a topic sentence, which encapsulates the main idea. These sentences should be reinforced with evidence within the paragraphs.
• Employ Concluding Sentences : A concluding sentence should sum up the primary idea of a paragraph and smoothly transition to the next one.

4. Stick to your central theme

Stick to your main points of the answer. Do not deviate from them and start giving different and irrelevant arguments. Support your ideas and argument with explanations, examples, and any case study. Your in-class essay must be focused on the central theme and present supporting ideas and concepts around that theme. Irrelevant ideas and concepts may dilute the context and logic of the answer and make it harder to follow.

5. Provide evidence

Provide evidence for your claims, thesis, and ideas. Supporting your ideas with evidence gains the trust of the teacher and increases the chances of better grades. Claims without concrete evidence look bluff and irrelevant to the question. Your arguments, thesis, and ideas will look hollow, vague, and unestablished without supporting evidence.

6. Write in a clear and concise style

To craft an essay with precision and brevity, consider these invaluable pointers:

• Trim Excess Phrases : Begin by removing superfluous wording. Employ plain language to express your thoughts. Favor the active voice and reduce wordiness. Avoid commencing sentences with “there is,” “there are,” or “it is,” and cut down on redundant nouns and filler words like “that,” “of,” or “up.”
• Keep It Simple : Opt for straightforward language and shun complexity. Leave out jargon and intricate sentences in favor of clarity and directness.
• Detail Is Key : Provide specific and vivid descriptions. Avoid vague or general language and enhance your writing with rich details.
• Conciseness Is King : Get to the point without delay and minimize excess words and phrases. Clarity often emerges from brevity.
• Activate Your Voice : Employ the active voice, which is concise and direct compared to the passive voice.
• Diversify Sentence Structure : Don’t rely on repetitive sentence structures. Vary your construction to keep your readers engaged.

Here are some specific examples to illustrate these principles:

• Instead of, “The aforementioned individual was in possession of a canine specimen,” say, “The man had a dog.”
• Rather than stating, “The car was fast,” express, “The car could reach speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour.”
• For conciseness, transform, “The reason why I am writing this letter is to inform you that I am resigning from my position” into “I am resigning from my position.”

Additionally, here are some extra tips to elevate your writing:

• Read your work aloud to spot awkward or unclear sentences.
• Consider using a recognized style guide like the Chicago Manual of Style, Associated Press Stylebook, or MLA Style Manual for detailed writing guidelines.

7. Proofread and Review your essay carefully before submitting it

Review your answer for any grammatical errors, irrelevant arguments, ideas, or thesis, and evidence-less claims. Check if the logical flow of the answer is clear. Revise any point or idea that is ambiguous and unclear. Add further clarifications to the ideas and thesis if needed. Remove texts that are irrelevant and vague to provide more clarity.

Proofreading writing assignments involves carefully reviewing your work for errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and syntax. It also includes checking for clarity, coherence, and consistency in ideas and arguments. Take time away from the document before proofreading to approach it with fresh eyes. Read the text aloud or use proofreading tools to catch mistakes. Focus on one type of error at a time to ensure thoroughness. Lastly, consider seeking feedback from peers or professors for an additional perspective on your work.

Bonus tips for writing in class essay test questions

• Incorporate the essay prompt’s keywords into your essay to demonstrate your comprehension of the question and direct address.
• Ensure you respond comprehensively to all facets of the exam questions. If it requires multiple actions like analysis, comparison, and contrast, tackle each in your essay.
• Don’t hesitate to assert your perspective. In in-class essay exams, seize the opportunity to showcase your knowledge and critical thinking.
• If you encounter a roadblock, take a deep breath and move forward to the next segment of your essay. You can always return to the challenging part later.
• Be prudent with your time. Avoid excessive focus on any single section of the essay. If time is running short, prioritize completing your conclusion.

A college writing center is a valuable resource that provides students with guidance and support for their writing assignments. It typically offers services such as one-on-one consultations with writing tutors who help students at various stages of the writing process, from brainstorming ideas to polishing final drafts. Writing centers also assist with improving writing skills, refining grammar and style, structuring essays, and citing sources correctly. They are designed to support students in enhancing their writing abilities and producing high-quality academic work.

Final Thoughts

Mastering and practicing the tips for writing in-class essay exams is crucial for every student aiming for better grades and academics. By following tips like understanding the question, outlining the answer, and providing evidence to your claims, a student can improve the quality of the answer.

Practicing writing in-class essays regularly can improve writing speed. Lastly, by reviewing the answer, you can ensure the quality of the answer.

Emily Watson

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More Ways to Do Timed Writing

At university, students often use sources in their papers and write about topics that they have explored in classes (Carson, 2001). This type of writing may differ from what students are asked to produce on standardized English tests. In fact, many ESL classes use timed-writing prompts that are often washback from these standardized tests. Typical ESL writing assignments often use “bare” prompts without any context and ask students to write about their personal experiences. Students may have memorized responses to these generic prompts (He & Shi, 2008). For these reasons, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), a popular standardized English test, has itself moved away from the practice of bare writing prompts, now including an integrated writing section where students read and listen before writing. Beyond this, there are other ways to make timed writing authentic and useful to students.

Faculty at the International English Center (IEC) are currently exploring different timed-writing prompts because, with a well-developed prompt, timed writing can be an effective classroom practice. From an assessment perspective, timed writing allows for more test security and can provide a clearer measure of students’ proficiency since they don’t receive outside help. Additionally, timed writing can also help develop students’ writing fluency. This fluency will serve them well at university where they will be able to complete writing assignments more efficiently. The question then is how to use timed-writing tasks effectively to assess students’ skills and to build writing fluency. This article will provide several ways of structuring timed-writing activities which can inspire both students and faculty:    

1.     Watch a Video : By providing input in the form of a video, faculty can build the students’ schema and provide content for their writing. These integrated listening and writing tasks, while still timed, are a better approximation of authentic university writing assignments. Research suggests that students may perform much better on these integrated-skills writing tasks, compared to independent writing tasks (Cumming et al., 2005; Plakans, 2008). For an example lesson for academic ESL students, see Staley (2018).

2.     Brainstorm : Faculty can also use timed writing as a way to generate ideas for other, more formal writing tasks. For example, before writing an argumentative essay on globalization, students could write for twenty minutes about what they know about globalization. The focus of these activities is not on accuracy, but on fluency. By using the timed writing to brainstorm and activate schema, students have an opportunity to think through their ideas before writing more formally.

3.     Finish an Example Essay : Faculty can use timed writing to focus students’ attention on organization and development. Rather than asking students to write an entire essay in 30-40 minutes, faculty could provide part of a sample essay and ask students to complete a body paragraph or conclusion. Then, students can demonstrate their understanding of the basic essay structure.

4.     Practice Other Styles : Students will often have weeks to produce academic papers at university; however, they will need to quickly write emails, discussion posts, etc. Faculty can promote these other styles of writing in their timed-writing assignments.

5.     Focus on Grammar : If grammar has been the focus of several lessons, then faculty could give a timed-writing prompt that elicits a certain grammar structure. The grade could be based primarily on the grammar in the writing.

6.     Write Dialog Journals : In dialog journals, students write the instructor letters about whatever they feel is important to communicate. The instructor responds to the content of the letter, creating a private dialog between the student and teacher. This activity gives students space to share something personal. These journals can be a powerful practice that builds rapport.

7.     Use Infographics : Infographics can quickly give students statistics to incorporate into their writing. This activity, inspired by Matthew Burrows at the IEC, can help students formulate ideas. It can also show how well students can cite and use outside sources. Consider providing an infographic with a traditional TOEFL-like prompt and see the difference in the development in students’ writing as they utilize this simple source. Here is an example infographic that I made using Canva, a graphic-design website.

8.     Free write : Faculty members can also give students time to free write. Like speed reading, the practice of just writing quickly and focusing on fluency is beneficial. Some research suggests that this informal practice will help students with their subsequent academic essays (Huang, 2010).

9.     Describe the Writing Process : Students can describe their own writing process, detailing how they find sources, what online tools they use, and where they receive outside help from. This can be done both before and after a formal writing assignment. Before a formal writing assignment, this can assist students with their time management and help them better reflect on their own writing process. After, it could be part of a self-reflection.

Faculty are currently doing some or all of these activities in their classes, but hopefully putting this list together in one place will remind people of all the choices there are for timed writing. It can be an inspiration for renewed creativity when making timed-writing activities. Hopefully, by having a variety of prompts, students themselves will be inspired to produce more developed and engaging timed-writing assignments.

Carson, J. (2001). A task analysis of reading and writing in academic contexts. In D. Belcher & A. Hirvela (Eds.), Linking literacies: Perspectives on L2 reading-writing connections (pp. 48-83). Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.

Cumming, A. Kantor, R., Kyoko B., Erdosy, U., Eouanzoui, K., & James, M. (2005). Differences in written  discourse in  independent and integrated  prototype  tasks  for next  generation TOEFL. Assessing Writing, 10 (1), 5-43.

He, L., & Shi, L. (2008). ESL students’ perceptions and experiences of standardized English writing tests. Assessing Writing , 13 (2), 130-149.

Hwang, J. A. (2010). A case study of the influence of freewriting on writing fluency and confidence of EFL college-level students.  University of Hawai'I Second Language Studies Paper 28 (2) .

Plakans, L. (2008). Comparing composing processes in writing-only and reading-to-write test tasks. Assessing Writing , 13 (2), 111-129.

Staley, K. (2018). Transitioning IEC Students to Mainstream University Coursework. Flatiron Forum. Retrieved from: https://www.colorado.edu/flatironsforum/2018/05/14/transitioning-iec-stu...

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Getting Comfortable with Timed Essays: Tips for Timed Writing

My mind raced as I stared at the blank page in front of me. I raised my hand, “Mr. Pontoon, I’m feeling sick. Can I go to the nurse?”

“No,” he replied abruptly. “Darn!” I thought, “I just wasted 15 seconds with that ploy, and still my paper is blank. I know—maybe I’ll pee my pants. That’ll get me out of this timed essay writing assignment.” I leaned back, grunted and let her rip.

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I waited for a puddle to collect underneath my chair and raised my hand again, “Excuse me, Mr. Pontoon, I just urinated.”

“Well, finish your writing, and I’ll let you go change,” he countered without flinching. He was obviously used to these tactics.

If you’re looking for paragraph writing lesson plans or simple writing assignment lesson plans , follow the links.

Two more minutes had passed. The page was still blank. My thighs were chaffing. I smelled like urine.

Luckily, I remembered the gun I brought with me to school that day. That would get me out of this assignment—Beep! Beep! Beep!

 I woke up sweating, covered in soiled sheets. It was just a dream, but I knew right then I better find a way to get comfortable with timed essays or my life would be ruined.

During lunch that day, I strolled nervously down to room 232 and sought advice from the guru of timed essays himself, Mr. Maven. He began with a philosophical bit about how the skills for successfully writing timed essays coincided with the same skills needed to be successful in life:

“Time management is essential!” he pleaded, “the great ones, the achievers, the pioneers all know how to manage their time!” “They have a plan and they follow it. They don’t just go haphazardly about their work. What’s your plan when writing a timed essay?”

I think my dumbfounded look showed I had no idea what he was talking about. He continued,

“Look here Sonny, if you don’t have a plan, you’re going to feel stressed, and the more stressed you feel, the more time you waste, the more time you waste, the more stressed you feel, the more stressed you feel the more-”

“OK, I get the point. Can you help me develop a plan?

“First, read the question carefully. Determine what type of essay you need to write. Most often, timed tests are asking for a persuasive essay or a narrative essay. Sometimes you will be asked to explain a process, make a comparison, or give a description.”

“So I don’t just start writing immediately?” I questioned, feeling uneasy about the thought of wasting precious writing time. Maven interrupted my thoughts,

“Make sure you allot a certain amount of time for brainstorming, outlining, and organizing-”

I interjected, “Excuse me, Mr. Maven. It’s timed. Why would I waste time making an outline?” He shook his head, looked down, and sighed,

“Because my boy, that five minutes you take preparing an outline will save you 10 times the minutes in writing. The outline allows you to create your essay in your mind before it’s created on your paper. That’s another trait of the great ones. They always see the creation before it’s been created.”

“Thanks, Mr. Maven. I’m starting to feel more comfortable now that I know how to plan my timed essay: I simply determine the type of essay to write, do some brainstorming, make an outline, and write until the time is up.” I stood up and coolly started for the door.

Mr. Maven shouted.

I turned, startled, “What’s wrong Mr. Maven?”

“You don’t write til the end of the time! You must leave time for proofreading and editing!”

“But it’s timed, Mr. Maven!” I continued as he shook his head in disgust, “I can write a lot during the five minutes that some people waste on proofreading and editing. The test graders want long essays, right?” I was beginning to lose confidence in my declaration as a tear began to form in Mr. Maven’s eye.

“Son, let me ask you a simple question. Do you think a 1000 word essay riddled with spelling and grammar errors is better to turn in than an 800 word essay written correctly and clearly?”

Maven folded his arms as I realized the full stupidity of my comment.

 “OK,” I said, “so I take 5-10 minutes brainstorming and outlining; I then write the essay and leave 5-10 minutes for proofreading and editing?” Mr. Maven looked pleased, so I continued, “Is there anything else I need to do to feel comfortable writing timed essays?”

“Well, actually knowing how to write comes in handy, and that can only come through practice,”Maven smiled and wrapped up our discussion,

“That’s another characteristic of the great ones, practice and preparation. So I would recommend you come to class, listen to your writing teachers, and practice writing timed essays. When you practice, write with a purpose and focus on a specific aspect of writing you need to improve.”

I shook Mr. Maven’s hand and thanked him. From that point forward I felt completely comfortable writing timed essays.

Last Updated on November 19, 2015 by Trenton Lorcher

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Homeschool Help and Curriculum

Relevant Timed-Essay Prompts for High Schoolers

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By request, here are some relevant timed-essay prompts for high schoolers.

We paid attention to one of the bits of advice that our homeschool graduates told us long ago: Teens need to learn to write timed essays.

Those early homeschool grads headed off to college to face “blue book essays” (remember those)? Blue books were literally  lined-page booklets with plain blue covers. On test day, the college students were given an essay prompt and a time limit. Their job was to write a coherent essay explaining all they knew about that prompt, with as many facts, quotes, examples and details as possible.

That kind of test can be pretty stressful for young college students who do not have much experience writing extemporaneously and under time pressure.

Our young homeschool graduates learned the ropes quickly but asked us to condition their siblings for writing timed essays. That way, their siblings’ college adjustment process would be easier.

Therefore, that is exactly what we did. We included timed-essay writing in each of the 7Sisters essay writing guides:

• Intermediate Guide to High School Essay Writing
• Advanced Guide to High School Essay Writing

BTW- Homeschoolers need to do a lot writing during high school.

Of course, there’s not ONE right way to handle the numbers and types of writing but we have found that these types of writing benefits teens, whether they are college-bound or non-college-bound :

• Essay writing – yearly: to teach clarity of communication and thinking (more on why to cover essay writing here )
• Research paper writing – yearly: to teach information gathering, thinking and organizational skills
• Short story writing – yearly: to teach creativity and fun
• Poetry writing – yearly: to teach powerful word usage and creativity
• Professional writing skills – senior year: to teach practical writing they will need in their adult lives
• College application essays – senior year: 7Sisters college-essay writing curriculum can help prepare teens for this special kind of essay. (Start with this post on college admissions essays .)

Here is a post with suggestions on how many papers that teens should write at various grade and interest/ability levels.

What are timed essays for homeschool high schoolers?

Timed essays are a test of a student’s knowledge, as well as the ability to apply that knowledge to a specific problem or question. In other words, timed essays are quite different than multiple choice tests where students are simply regurgitating information. Instead, in timed-essays, teens are showing they UNDERSTAND the information they have been learning.

With timed essays, therefore, students are given a prompt or problem, such as:

For American History class: The Declaration of Independence was a first-of-its-kind document. Explain the Declaration and why it was so important to American History. For Biology class: Viruses can be a big problem. Explain the structure of viruses, how they replicate and what makes them contagious. For Literature class: Some people think that The Chronicles of Narnia are books suitable only for children. Do you agree or disagree? Why? For Music Appreciation: Who is your favorite composer and why?

Then students use that prompt to write an essay in the five-paragraph format:

• Introduction with the prompt, thesis and three points
• First paragraph detailing thoughts on Point One
• Second paragraph detailing thoughts on Point Two
• Third paragraph detailing thoughts on Point Three

Incidentally, homeschool high schoolers gain solid skill in this kind of writing in 7Sisters essay writing curricula. (With practice, even reluctant writers can learn to be confident writing essays .)

Most of the time when students are writing their timed essays, they will not have access to their notes, internet or other resources

This is because timed essays are a test. Teachers want to know if a student has actually learned the material well enough that they understand it and can apply it to a prompt or problem.

To prepare for a timed essay test in a particular subject:

Students should study their course material just like they do for any test. However, it will also be good for them to be able to explain what they are learning to a peer (or their parents). If they can explain what they are learning, they most likely understand it fairly well.

• Not only that, but if they are able teens can prepare for essay tests by:
• Memorizing a few details or facts (dates, locations, biological structures, etc)
• Know two or three of specific examples or illustrations about the material being tested
• BONUS: If there is a famous quote and they memorize it, that can add some sparkle to the essay

During the test:

7Sisters essay writing curriculum coaches teens through the timed-essay process, along with practice essays. Basically, though teens will use their five-paragraph essay-writing skills. The more practice they get during high school, the easier it is when they get to college. 

One important tip that parents can teach their teens: Take a deep breath before writing! Oxygen helps clear the brain and lower the stress hormones. (Hopefully teens remember this from their Health curriculum .)

However, the timed-essay prompts in 7Sisters Essay Writing curriculum are not testing for knowledge!

Rather, the timed-essay prompts are simply opportunities for writing essays:

• In five-paragraph format
• Without notes or internet
• Under time pressure

In other words, the information is not what is important in these essays as much as getting teens highly comfortable with writing in the timed-essay format. Thus, there are not really right answers, only right format.

So, when your homeschool high schoolers are working on their timed essays, remind them to breathe, relax a little and remember that this is practice and skill building!

Each of the 7Sisters Essay Writing Guides include a timed-essay section, along with prompts. However, sometimes it is fun to have more essay prompt choices.

How long do you give your homeschooler to work on a timed essay?

That is up to you. You know your homeschool high schooler and where they are in their writing process. Think about giving a ninth grader longer than a twelfth grader. Give a struggling or special needs writer a long time and with breaks (use whatever adaptations they need, of course).

However, if you have a teen who tends towards perfectionism – they might think they need hours and hours to create their timed essay. This is a good time to talk about goals for timed essays:

• Instead, the goal is sharing the information they know as best they can within the time limit
• That means: NO timed essay is perfect and that is okay
• Although by college, they will not really be thinking about this because they have the format internalized.

Therefore, based on some 7th Sisters’ teens, here are relevant timed-essay prompts for high schoolers

There’s not ONE right way to practice writing with writing prompts on the timed essays. You can always switch out the prompts that are included in writing guides. You can create your own prompts based on your plans for your high schooler ‘s core subjects for the year or their interests.

Remember: these are prompts that have the purpose of getting comfortable writing timed essays.

With that in mind, we asked our 7th Sisters in the 7SistersHomeschool Facebook group what their teens are interested in, so we could create some relevant prompts. (Hey, if you are not already a member of the Facebook group, join us! Lots of encouragement…and a great place to ask questions!)

Here are a few ideas for interest-based prompts:

• Imagine you have a new friend at church whose family is not familiar with church camps. How can you explain camps to the parents and convince them they should let your friend go with you next summer?
• Church camps can provide life-changing events for young people. How has attending church camp affected your life?
• Many churches have an active youth group for their teens. Does your church have a youth group? If so, are you part of the group? Do you enjoy it? Why or why not?
• Social media can be fun. Research has shown that in some cases, it can be harmful to teens’ mental health. What is your opinion about social media? Why?
• Online gaming can be fun and a way to de-stress. It can also be addicting. Imagine you need to explain the pros and cons of gaming to your parents. What would you tell them?
• Do you enjoy fitness programs and working out? How would you explain the benefits to a friend who is just starting to think about fitness?
• Imagine that the leader of your church worship team heard that you sing well (or play an instrument well). The leader would like you to join the worship team. How would you talk to your parents about it?
• What is your hobby? Imagine explaining your hobby to new friends. How could you interest them in joining you?
• You want to get a part-time job but your parents are not sure that you can work and keep up your grades. How will you discuss the pros and cons of the job with your parents?

Here are some ideas for core subject prompts:

Language arts.

• Imagine you are convincing your friend to read your favorite book. Explain why you love this book.
• Some people say that fantasy novels are not quality literature and should not be included in high school Literature courses. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
• Think about books or writers that have changed the world around them. Do you know of one that has had influence for positive or negative change? Explain the book or writer and how they have been influential.
• Imagine you like math enough to think about a college major in mathematics. What would be the benefits of being a mathematics major in college?

Social Studies

• Pick an event in the history unit you just studied. Who were the key people involved. Why do you think they made the choices they made? Do you agree with their choices?
• Think of a topic in the science unit you just completed. Imagine you had to explain that topic to your parents. Share as much detail as you can.
• What are the benefits of learning to play an instrument? Talk about the instrument that you play and explain why a friend might want to learn to play it also.
• Some people think that the Arts are not true school subjects but rather, a waste of students’ time. What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Here are a few irritation-based prompts:

• Sometimes teens will enjoy writing about things that irritate them. Being irritated and questioning things is often part of the adolescent developmental process , so why not make the most of it?
• Some teens feel that church music is boring (or vapid…whatever they complain about). How do you feel about music at your church? Why? What would you change, if you could change something in your church’s music?
• Algebra can be a frustrating subject for many teens. Some of them ask, “When will I ever use algebra in my adult life?” How do you feel about algebra? Should you be able to drop the subject? Why or why not?
• What is the most irritating book you have had to read for your literature class. Should students be required to read it? Why or why not?
• Some people feel that so many academic subjects are required for high schoolers that they do not have time to learn practical skills for careers and life. Do you agree? Why or why not?

BTW- Each 7Sisters Writing Guide include rubric to help you grade your high schoolers’ essays. Also, rubrics help teens to be clear on expectations for their work. Thus, they can check their own work before handing it in. This helps build homeschool high schoolers’ editing skills. For more information and encouragement on goals and grading high school writing, check out this episode of Homeschool Highschool Podcast.

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Life-changing tips for essay writing time management

You realize that you need to start essay writing , but in front of your eyes is only the title, followed by a blank page. A familiar, not for the first time, panic surge hits. What brought you to this situation? We can blame it on nothing but poor time management.

When you’re writing an essay, either taking your time or in a hurry, good time management helps a lot. If you don’t manage your time well, it can cause problems.

Efficient management of time for essay writing

Set the timer: to 45 minutes. Key points to consider for essay writing:

• Manage time wisely
• Within the time allowed, you must strategize, write, and carefully revise your essay

Using effective time management in essay writing ensures that each step is done without being rushed. It also lets you add more detailed analysis and thoughtful points to your essay.

Develop an essay structure within the limitations of time

Develop an essay structure within the limitations of time for essay writing.

• Time allocation . Allocate 10-20% of your total time (e.g., 5-10 minutes for a 45-minute essay) to preparing an outline. This preliminary step accelerates your essay writing process by offering a roadmap. Instead of counting solely on random thoughts, you have a structured pathway to follow.
• Importance of outlining . The process of outlining is crucial for keeping a coherent and logical flow in your essay writing. Given the focus on supporting your main arguments or demonstrating understanding, presenting information in a clear, direct manner is vital. Preparing an outline ensures that the writing is well-structured, coherent, and executed efficiently — a main concern in timed essays.
• Role of the outline . Investing initial time in creating an outline isn’t just about selecting a structure. It’s about laying the groundwork for a smoother essay-writing journey. The outline serves as a strategic framework, allowing you to systematically organize your thoughts and evidence. Think of yourself as an essay architect; each point is placed intentionally to strengthen your overarching argument.
• Efficiency and organization . Timed essays, due to their inherent rush, can benefit greatly from this organized approach. Even though it might seem counterintuitive to spend valuable time outlining, the benefits — a well-organized, logical progression, and a high-quality essay — are undeniable. Your outline serves as a powerful framework, supporting your ideas and ensuring your essay writing is both confident and clear.
• Application of the outline . Employ your outline as a key tool to organize your ideas lucidly. The primary objective during essay writing is to ensure a seamless flow of ideas, culminating in a well-rounded conclusion.

To better illustrate the outlined approach in essay writing, consider the following example:

Some tips for preparing a compelling conclusion in essay writing:

• It’s an untruth to believe that once you’ve reached the conclusion in essay writing, the job is done. The purpose of the conclusion is not only to prevent your essay from appearing incomplete but also to ensure full coverage. Instead of introducing new elements, you can simply repeat your thesis.
• Though essay writing might sometimes encourage general statements about society or future implications, it’s essential to keep control of the conclusion. Grand claims can seem out of place, especially in a well-researched essay where particularity has been important.
• In essay writing, it’s beneficial to acknowledge any aspects you might not have delved into deeply or areas of potential uncertainty. While suggesting the exploration of related topics in following discussions can improve understanding, it’s crucial to ensure it doesn’t detract from or change the essence of your current conclusion.

Checklist for timed essays

What do you need to accomplish in essay writing that will improve your ability to prepare an essay that not only meets the criteria but also stands as a testament to your analytical prowess and writing acumen? Let’s dive into the elements that constitute this invaluable ‘Timed essay checklist’ and get ready to triumph in the world of timed essay writing.

• Understand the prompt. If you do anything slowly at all, it’s this, because if you fail to answer the prompt, you have a huge problem on your hands.
• Thesis clarity . Is your thesis statement clear and concise?
• Outline . You’ve carefully made a well-organized outline that acts as a guiding light for your essay. It helps you lead your ideas and arguments in a clear and organized way.
• Topic sentences . Do your body paragraphs start with strong topic sentences?
• Evidence . If you have a lot of evidence for a certain position, go with that one. It will help your time management if you have plenty of evidence to support your thesis.
• Logical flow . Does your essay exhibit a smooth and logical progression of ideas? Avoid adding new ideas that aren’t in your outline. It’s too late to change any of that, and you’ll waste a lot of time. This is part of why you want to be sure your outline is great at the outset!
• Counterarguments . Have you addressed potential counterarguments?
• Coherence . Are your ideas interconnected and well-organized? It’s important to write your essay with the final product in mind. Unlike with a take-home essay you write on the computer, you will not have a chance to fine-tune your timed essay. Fix confusing phrases in your head before you write them.
• Conclusion recap . Think closely about how you summarize the conclusion. Make sure it effectively goes back over your main points and thesis shortly and clearly. This helps strengthen the central message and purpose of your essay.
• Proofread your essay . You can’t take 24 hours away from a timed essay before you make your final edit, so when reviewing your work, try your best to tackle it from a new perspective. For this important step, consider using our platform’s expert proofreading service . It enhances your essay’s clarity and correctness, ensuring it sticks to high academic standards. This final improvement can be the key to confidently submitting an essay that’s not only well-written but also thoroughly polished.
• Time management . Did you allocate time effectively for outlining, writing, and revising?
• Originality . Is your essay a genuine representation of your own thoughts and analysis?
• Word count . Does your essay meet the required word count?

To absorb the art of timed essay writing involves a systematic approach. Writing timed essays requires adopting a structured and organized method. Essay writing isn’t just about basic writing skills; it’s about employing a step-by-step process that covers various aspects of essay composition to ensure efficiency and effectiveness within a limited time frame.

Examples of benchmarks for your timed essay

When dealing with timed essay writing, it’s not just about being good at writing. You also need to manage your time well, like conducting a well-planned orchestra. To help you master the art of essay writing within a limited timeframe, here is one way to allocate your time for the written work, which is split into 4 parts:

• Understanding Prompt & Thesis (25%). Thoroughly comprehend the prompt and craft a clear thesis.
• Outline & Introduction (25%). Create a structured outline and write an engaging introduction.
• Body Paragraphs & Conclusion (45%). Devote the majority of time to crafting body paragraphs and a succinct conclusion.
• Revision & Final Touches (5%). Allocate a small portion for reviewing, proofreading, and finding errors or improvements.

Move on to the next task after time is up for each benchmark. This way, you will be able to stay on track and complete every step before the time runs out. This streamlined approach ensures effective time management for well-structured and impactful essay writing.

Course in English

When writing an essay, especially a take-home one, you can assess your time management skills by considering the following 7 aspects:ts:

• Plan ahead . If you have a two-week deadline for your essay, it is advisable to start writing during the first week. Use the first week of research to ensure completion. At the same time, aim to produce an outline of the essay in the same timeframe. The more time spent thinking about the essay’s thesis, structure, and supporting evidence, the stronger the final essay will be.
• Equilibrium tasks alongside other commitments.  When working on an essay you can do at home, your skill in managing time is clear when you balance your schoolwork with other things you need to do. This shows you can decide what’s important and make sure your essay work doesn’t become more important than other things you have to do. Significant to mention that schoolwork is one of the tasks you can’t afford to drop. Just ask yourself: What tasks hold the highest priority for you today? Which tasks take precedence over the week?
• Set aside your phone . It’s okay to look at your phone now and then, but it’s better not to use it when you’re writing an essay. Phones are known to be highly distracting, so managing your usage contributes to a more focused work environment, increasing your chances of success. If you require time management tools, consider alternatives to using a watch, as this can help minimize distractions and enhance your productivity.
• Acknowledge your writing efforts, but avoid excessive rewards. When you’ve finished a page or two, give yourself a pat on the back or maybe enjoy a tasty snack.
• Fulfill your standards. Consider the essay’s length and establish achievable goals. As you begin writing, gauge your progress to stay in sync. If research is necessary, define criteria for the research process as well.
• Allocate extra time. Allow for breaks or extra time for unexpected challenges or revisions.
• Deadline consideration. Finish your essay at least a few days before the submission deadline to allow enough time to revise and improve your essay to ensure it is coherent, grammatical, and stylistic. Remember that when you write, you want to clear blind spots. Only time will help you do this.

Ineffective approaches to handling time for your take-home essay

When you’re working on an essay writing task at home, you can identify poor time management if you’re neglecting these five crucial aspects:

• Delaying or putting things off. Delaying the start of the essay until close to the deadline indicates poor time management. As a student, you handle a lot: activities outside of school, friends, family stuff, and taking care of yourself. Teachers get this, which is why they give you enough time to do your essay. If a big part of the time they’ve given you has gone by, and you’ve only done the title and header, it suggests that you might be putting things off.
• Overwhelm. If you’re feeling really stressed because you’re rushing at the last minute, it shows that you didn’t plan and organize things well enough. Essays can be quite long, and the worst part is they don’t write themselves. The idea of sitting down to actually write the essay can feel scary. It might seem easier to postpone it. However, when you start feeling afraid, that’s when procrastination begins, and when you put things off, it leads to rushing, which is not a good thing.
• Unfocused writing. Not planning your time well can make your writing feel all over the place without a clear order. Not giving enough time often means you start writing without a good plan, which makes your essay messy and not make sense. Going between ideas suddenly and not connecting them well makes it tough for readers to understand your points. Writing in a hurry is shallow and doesn’t analyze deeply, so your essay seems like it’s missing something and not really thought through. To prevent this, ensure you have enough time to plan, make an outline, and write a clear essay that shows your ideas well.
• Lack of revision. When you don’t have much time to revise, it’s hard to make your arguments better and fix mistakes.
• Late submissions . Handing in essays near or after the deadline signals poor time management. Rushed work due to underestimated time frames can harm quality and lead to stress. This cycle affects reputation and opportunities.

Recognizing these signs empowers you to improve your time management skills for more successful take-home essay writing. By identifying these indicators, you can strategically plan your work process, adopt effective strategies for time-sharing and task prioritization, and ultimately achieve better outcomes in your essay-writing endeavors.

Benefits of good essay time management

• By effectively managing your time, you can allocate dedicated periods for each task, leading to increased productivity.
• Planning your time well helps you do careful research, thoughtful writing, and detailed revisions. This makes your essay better overall.
• Having enough time lets you brainstorm and come up with creative ideas, making your essay more unique and interesting.
• Effectively organizing your essay time creates space for other responsibilities, fostering a healthier balance between your academic and personal life.
• Managing your essay time well boosts your confidence and helps you approach academic challenges with a positive mindset.
• You can ask friends or teachers for advice, which makes your essay better in terms of what you’re saying and how you’re organizing it.

Drawbacks of poor time management

The obvious downside of composing your essay writing during a time crunch is the potential failure to complete it on time. Nevertheless, struggling to create your essay under such pressure comes with some hidden challenges related to essay writing.

Rushed Essays are Fluffy

When essays are written in haste, they are often full of fluff rather than substance. If you increase the font size to 13, expand the margins by 4%, or write sentences that are empty-headed and meaningless, it won’t help. Using unclear words not only makes your argument harder to understand but also weakens the power of your essay. In contrast, a well-planned and brief essay lets your ideas shine without extra frills.

It’s important to realize that teachers can tell the difference between fluff and substantial content in your writing, and they’ll evaluate your work based on your adherence to the task at hand and the essential elements.

Rush-time essays are unpolished

Hurrying to finish before a close deadline can lead to a hurried essay, not leaving much space for good planning and editing. Not having enough time for reflection and refinement can lead to overlooked errors, weak arguments, and incoherent ideas. Editing your work immediately after you have finished it is a bad idea because you have not considered your blind spots. A blind spot is an error in a piece of writing that you cannot see because you are close to it in time. So if you have several tasks to do or several essays to write, it can help to take a break while you are doing another task. You can then go back to the original task with a fresh perspective and identify the errors you made earlier.

When trying to go fast, you might forget about the important parts of explaining clearly and thinking carefully. It is crucial to realize that, even in the face of urgency, investing some time in planning, structuring, and revising can significantly improve the quality of the work, ultimately ensuring that your ideas are presented in the most impactful and polished form.

Rushed essays won’t meet college standards

Many of us have seen people who did really well in high school, getting all A’s, but then had a hard time in college when it came to essay writing. It wasn’t because they weren’t smart enough; it was more because they depended too much on their natural skills and didn’t develop good habits in essay writing.

Moving to college requires changing how you approach essay writing because the coursework gets more complicated, you have more essays to write, and you’re expected to learn on your own more. Being talented is important, but it’s not enough if you don’t also have the discipline to work in a structured way and manage your time well for essay writing.

To excel in college essay writing, you should:

• Decide your goals . Understand what you want to achieve every time you write an essay.
• Use planning tools . Adopt calendars or task management apps to keep track of essay assignments.
• Break tasks down. Split big essay tasks into smaller, more manageable parts.
• Practice regularly . The more essays you write, the better you become.

By practicing these essay writing skills from the start, you’ll not only perform better in college but also in your future work. This way, your natural abilities will be completed by strong, efficient work habits.

Managing your essay writing time – main points

Starting a timed essay journey needs clear directions. Following a checklist becomes essential to navigate the challenges and ensure vital elements aren’t overlooked. This checklist encompasses crucial aspects, contributing to a well-rounded and impressive essay.

Commonly asked questions

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Pro Tips for Writing a Timed Essay

Many students come to college or university unprepared, so they often need to turn to professional assignment writing services to get their essays

Many students come to college or university unprepared, so they often need to turn to professional assignment writing services to get their essays and research papers done on time. But what assistance can you get at an exam or a test that you sit in class? Another type of work that you can hardly seek help with is a timed essay – the one that needs to be finished in one sit, without leaving the screen of your laptop. 

So, with no professional help at hand, how can you effectively write a timed essay? Experts working at https://grademiners.com/ give valuable tips and guidance for students facing such educational challenges. 

What Skills Do Timed Essays Train? 

First, to succeed in this task, you need to understand what it is meant for. Panic and anxiety can distract you from the writing purpose and goal, but keeping your focus is a significant contributor to your success. As writers of the best assignment service believe, knowing your subject and focusing on the expected outcome can give you a great stimulus to write a paper well.

So, in most cases, timed essays are meant to test the students’ knowledge of the recently learned educational material and see how well they handle stress. Yes, it’s an essential life skill that everyone should develop, though some people don’t cope with stress and dread such timed assignments throughout their whole lives. But as a student, you have the upper hand in this area as you can focus on skill training and get the maximum value from timed essay writing in college. 

How to Nail a Timed Essay? 

Here are the tips we’ve collected from the most experienced employees of the best writing services . Many of them often need to compose urgent essays for students, so they know much about timed writing. Here’s what they recommend. 

#1 Understand the prompt

The most crucial first step is to read the prompt attentively. Many students rush through the prompt and lose essential points because they don’t understand the question correctly. Make sure to dedicate enough time to this stage as it determines whether you write the right thing or not. Start writing only once you’re 100% sure you’ve got the task.  

#2 Outline 

Now it’s time to make up a little sketch of a plan. There’s no time for full-scale outlining, but you will still need a visual guideline to refer to in the writing process. There is no need to return to the prompt every time you forget some part of the task. If you compose a quick outline, you will have all ideas before you, avoiding distractions from writing for a quick refreshment of the prompt. 

#3 Don’t focus on mechanics 

Students are used to checking their grammar, style, and spelling at every step, but timed writing is an absolutely different thing. In this practice, you need to lay out all your ideas first, returning to a revision and quick check at the very end of the exercise. So, please don’t mind your spelling or syntax in the writing process but write everything clearly (if it’s handwriting). Double-space your writing on a laptop to simplify the check afterward. 

#4 Mind the timing 

All experienced writers recommend dividing your time wisely at the beginning of the writing process. Let’s suppose you have 30 minutes for everything. Then it’s better to leave 10 minutes for the prompt’s study and revision; in this way, you will have 20 minutes for the actual writing phase. Give 5 minutes to the introduction, 5 minutes to a conclusion, and 10 minutes to the main body. Stick to that timing and don’t violate it, as you risk submitting a non-finished essay by dedicating too much time to one part at the expense of the other. 

#5 Revise and edit after writing  

Always reserve a couple of minutes for careful reading, and don’t spend that time on the quick rewriting of some parts. You need that time to check for typos and errors, as submitting without a check is a dangerous affair. Read your text from the end to the beginning; it’s much simpler to capture errors this way. 

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize 

Again, let’s return to where we started; a timed essay is just another type of test that you need to pass to advance as a learner, a person, and a professional. Don’t dread such assignments as they give you a chance to see your other self – a person who acts in stressful conditions and has little time for making decisions. Once you stop panicking and start writing, you will see how simple it is to tame the weak human nature and become a better self.  

Introducing Benjamin Oaks – the man of many talents, including academic writing. Graderminer to the backbone, Benjamin takes great pride in helping new generations of college graduates in the U.S. to get their diploma successfully and be able to pay off college loans faster. Also, Benjamin is a cool guy to talk to on non-work related topics, from sports to high cuisine.

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Tips for Guiding Students to Use Writing Time Effectively

Thinking like a coach can help new teachers alleviate some of the common struggles students have with writing assignments.

For many new elementary and middle school language arts teachers, writing time is one of the most difficult parts of the day. Students have trouble getting started, teachers are unsure of their instructional focus, and there’s not much progress. This hurts my writing teacher heart because I know that writing time can be a wonderful time for students and teachers, filled with excitement and productivity.

When working with teachers on their writing instruction, I often hear many of the same struggles:

• The variety of needs is too high.
• Some students can’t keep up with the class.
• I’m not sure how to help them.

All of these issues can be brought back to, and helped by, getting to know your students as writers.

Imagine a coach starting the first practice with a new soccer team. The coach has never seen this team in action, but they have a child this age who has played soccer before, so they believe they have an idea of what the children will need to work on and get started with a drill. A few minutes go by, and the coach notices that one player is standing still with his hand in the air, one is speeding through the drill over and over again, a few others are trying their best, and a few more are doing it completely incorrectly.

As much as this coach’s heart was in the right place, they missed one important step: assessing the ability of the players. Wouldn’t that drill have gone more smoothly, or perhaps not have been started at all, if the coach had watched the players kick the ball around for a bit or play a short scrimmage? Seeing the players in action might have allowed the coach to choose a practice strategy more appropriate for the level of the team as whole.

Just as a coach needs to know their players, a teacher must know their writers. You must be aware of students’ understanding of the writing process, their ability to work independently and self-start, and their skill level with writing, as well as what’s important in each student’s life.

Here are three ways to get to know your students that will allow you to better support them as writers and help alleviate the common struggles of writing time.

Identity Work

You want to know your students not only as writers but as people. Learning about their families, activities, favorites, and places where they choose to spend time will help you interact with them as writers, and it will help them choose topics and story events. As students share about themselves with the class, they’ll also get to know each other, which helps create a safe space for students to be writers.

Here are some examples of activities for students to share about themselves.

For grades K–3: 

• Heart Map: Using a template in the shape of a heart, students draw or write about people, places, or things that they love.
• Poster: This can be an All About Me pre-made form or a blank poster paper on which students can do the same as above.

For grades 3–8:

• Word Splash: Using a paper template or a digital source, students can list words that have to do with their identity—their likes, culture, family, hobbies, etc.
• Questionnaire: Ask students about themselves to get to know them better.

After completing these activities, have students share with the class what they feel comfortable sharing. Students can do this as a whole class, in small groups, or with partners, taking turns on different days. Partners/groups can also switch throughout writing time. In the upper grades, students can share digitally and then discuss.

Pre-assessment

A pretest at the beginning of a math unit provides a starting point for progress monitoring, as well as a data source for student skill level. A pre-assessment in writing will do the same. Have students write something for you that’s appropriate to their grade level, with only a little guidance (the same guidance for each student) and zero support. This will serve as your baseline for the unit.

For first grade, for example, use the narrative: “Tell me a story about a time in your life. It can be about a time you felt sad, happy, scared, or excited. Be sure to include a beginning, middle, and end, just like the authors do in stories that we read.”

For fifth grade, assign an opinion piece: “Write a persuasive essay on something about which you feel strongly. Once you have chosen your topic, choose your audience and make a plan for your writing. Then, draft your essay, including everything you have previously learned about writing a persuasive essay.”

Writing pre-assessments is most effective when you administer them with a class that has built community, where students feel safe. It’s also important to calm students’ anxiety by letting them know that this writing is not being graded; it’s just to help you, their teacher, get to know them as writers.

Analyzing your students’ writing pieces will give you an understanding of the skills they’ve mastered and those they still need to develop. This will allow you to tailor your teaching to the class and their needs as writers. There are some examples of pre-assessments and assessment rubrics in Writing Pathways , by Lucy Calkins.

Observation

As you watch your writers during independent writing time, you’ll gain valuable information that will inform your work with individual students as well as the class as a whole. This observation occurs throughout the year.

As they work, observe the following for each student:

• Time management
• Independence
• Volume of writing
• Skill level—generating ideas, planning, sentence structure, structure of writing piece, elaboration, craft, mechanics

When you allow your students to show you what they can do as writers, you’ll no longer have the struggles you once had. You won’t be wondering how you can help them, because you’ll be aware of their strengths and needs. Knowing your students will help you to choose teaching points that will be most effective for all of them.

So, if you’re struggling with writing time in your ELA block, try the above helpful strategies and see how knowing your students as writers helps alleviate the problems and bring forward new practices in writing instruction. Before you know it, you’ll see a class of busy, excited writers.

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Taylor Swift’s ‘Poets’ Arrives With a Promotional Blitz (and a Second LP)

The pop superstar’s latest album was preceded by a satellite radio channel, a word game, a return to TikTok and an actual library. For her fans, more is always welcome.

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By Ben Sisario

Taylor Swift was already the most ubiquitous pop star in the galaxy, her presence dominating the music charts, the concert calendar, the Super Bowl, the Grammys.

Then it came time for her to promote a new album.

In the days leading up to the release of “The Tortured Poets Department” on Friday, Swift became all but inescapable, online and seemingly everywhere else. Her lyrics were the basis for an Apple Music word game . A Spotify-sponsored, Swift-branded “ library installation ,” in muted pink and gray, popped up in a shopping complex in Los Angeles. In Chicago, a QR code painted on a brick wall directed fans to another Easter egg on YouTube. Videos on Swift’s social media accounts, showing antique typewriters and globes with pins, were dissected for clues about her music. SiriusXM added a Swift radio station; of course it’s called Channel 13 (Taylor’s Version).

About the only thing Swift didn’t do was an interview with a journalist.

At this stage in Swift’s career, an album release is more than just a moment to sell music; it’s all but a given that “The Tortured Poets Department” will open with gigantic sales numbers, many of them for “ghost white,” “phantom clear” and other collector-ready vinyl variants . More than that, the album’s arrival is a test of the celebrity-industrial complex overall, with tech platforms and media outlets racing to capture whatever piece of the fan frenzy they can get.

Threads, the newish social media platform from Meta, primed Swifties for their idol’s arrival there, and offered fans who shared Swift’s first Threads post a custom badge. Swift stunned the music industry last week by breaking ranks with her record label, Universal, and returning her music to TikTok, which Universal and other industry groups have said pays far too little in royalties. Overnight, TikTok unveiled “The Ultimate Taylor Swift In-App Experience,” offering fans digital goodies like a “Tortured Poets-inspired animation” on their feed.

Before the album’s release on Friday, Swift revealed that a music video — for “Fortnight,” the first single, featuring Post Malone — would arrive on Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern time. At 2 a.m., she had another surprise: 15 more songs. “I’d written so much tortured poetry in the past 2 years and wanted to share it all with you,” she wrote in a social media post , bringing “The Anthology” edition of the album to 31 tracks.

“The Tortured Poets Department,” which Swift, 34, announced in a Grammy acceptance speech in February — she had the Instagram post ready to go — lands as Swift’s profile continues to rise to ever-higher levels of cultural saturation.

Her Eras Tour , begun last year, has been a global phenomenon, crashing Ticketmaster and lifting local economies ; by some estimates, it might bring in as much as $2 billion in ticket sales — by far a new record — before it ends later this year. Swift’s romance with the Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has been breathlessly tracked from its first flirtations last summer to their smooch on the Super Bowl field in February. The mere thought that Swift might endorse a presidential candidate this year sent conspiracy-minded politicos reeling .

“The Tortured Poets Department” — don’t even ask about the missing apostrophe — arrived accompanied by a poem written by Stevie Nicks that begins, “He was in love with her/Or at least she thought so.” That establishes what many fans correctly anticipated as the album’s theme of heartbreak and relationship rot, Swift’s signature topic. “I love you/It’s ruining my life,” she sings on “Fortnight.”

Fans were especially primed for the fifth track, “So Long, London,” given that (1) Swift has said she often sequences her most vulnerable and emotionally intense songs fifth on an LP, and (2) the title suggested it may be about Joe Alwyn, the English actor who was Swift’s boyfriend for about six years, reportedly until early 2023 . Indeed, “So Long” is an epic breakup tune, with lines like “You left me at the house by the heath” and “I’m pissed off you let me give you all that youth for free.” Tracks from the album leaked on Wednesday, and fans have also interpreted some songs as being about Matty Healy , the frontman of the band the 1975, whom Swift was briefly linked to last year.

The album’s title song starts with a classic Swift detail of a memento from a lost love: “You left your typewriter at my apartment/Straight from the tortured poets department.” It also name-drops Dylan Thomas, Patti Smith and, somewhat surprisingly given that company, Charlie Puth, the singer-songwriter who crooned the hook on Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again,” a No. 1 hit in 2015. (Swift has praised Wiz Khalifa and that song in the past.)

Other big moments include “Florida!!!,” featuring Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine, in which Swift declares — after seven big percussive bangs — that the state “is one hell of a drug.” Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, the producers and songwriters who have been Swift’s primary collaborators in recent years, both worked on “Tortured Poets,” bringing their signature mix of moody, pulsating electronic tracks and delicate acoustic moments, like a bare piano on “Loml” (as in “love of my life”).

As the ninth LP Swift has released in five years, “Tortured Poets” is the latest entry in a remarkable creative streak. That includes five new studio albums and four rerecordings of her old music — each of which sailed to No. 1. When Swift played SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles in August, she spoke from the stage about her recording spurt, saying that the forced break from touring during the Covid-19 pandemic had spurred her to connect with fans by releasing more music.

“And so I decided, in order to keep that connection going,” she said , “if I couldn’t play live shows with you, I was going to make and release as many albums as humanly possible.”

That was two albums ago.

Ben Sisario covers the music industry. He has been writing for The Times since 1998. More about Ben Sisario

Inside the World of Taylor Swift

A Triumph at the Grammys: Taylor Swift made history  by winning her fourth album of the year at the 2024 edition of the awards, an event that saw women take many of the top awards .

‘The T ortured Poets Department’: Poets reacted to Swift’s new album name , weighing in on the pertinent question: What do the tortured poets think ?  

In the Public Eye: The budding romance between Swift and the football player Travis Kelce created a monocultural vortex that reached its apex  at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. Ahead of kickoff, we revisited some key moments in their relationship .

Politics (Taylor’s Version): After months of anticipation, Swift made her first foray into the 2024 election for Super Tuesday with a bipartisan message on Instagram . The singer, who some believe has enough influence  to affect the result of the election , has yet to endorse a presidential candidate.

Conspiracy Theories: In recent months, conspiracy theories about Swift and her relationship with Kelce have proliferated , largely driven by supporters of former President Donald Trump . The pop star's fans are shaking them off .

Top 7 Tips for Aspiring Authors in 2024

B eing a beginner writer can be overwhelming at times. From creating a fine piece of content to finding a publication willing to publish it to marketing and promotion, the circle never ends!

But being a writer also comes with lots of admiration. While this might not be visible with your first publication, you can do an excellent job with time!

The landscape of writing and publishing has undergone various transformations, and essay writing websites have significantly contributed to it. These platforms have revolutionized how students approach academic assignments and help aspiring authors worldwide navigate the complexities.

Are you an aspiring writer looking forward to creating an identity for yourself? Are you looking forward to your first few publications? Do you want a few tips on how to become an aspiring author? If yes, this is the article for you!

Here, we will list the top 7 tips for new writers like you and how you can navigate the publishing world! We will provide insightful tips before writing and publishing your first draft! Let’s get started!

To be a good writer, you must also be a good reader! There are thousands of books, writings, and blogs, so how will your writing make a difference and create an impression among the readers? The first publishing tip for our aspiring writers is to read widely and analytically.

Read blogs, articles, and books of different genres to collect ideas, information, and insights.

There are a number of resources available to you. You can find them in academic essays, term paper writers, blogs and websites, PDFs, and books.

Once you have the information, you can analyze the aspects that each of those publications might have missed and how your writing can be helpful for individuals. Writing is not limited to information; it’s about what uniqueness you can bring to your writing compared to others. How can one benefit from buying your book or reading your blog instead of the other? The answer to that is uniqueness.

To ensure that your content is unique, you must be able to resonate with your audience and give them precisely what they prefer!

In the digital landscape, the publishing process starts immediately from your web presence. Upon reading your book, people might search for you to learn about your thoughts, insights, and the motivation behind your writing. Building an author platform allows you to connect with your readers more deeply. You can create a portfolio website or a social media account to let your readers connect with you.

A website is a better suit because it appears professional. You can also build your social media profile simultaneously. In this digital age, an author platform will work as your portfolio and showcase your credibility to your audience.

Writing is a competitive task! You’ll have to ensure your writing is unique, different, and precisely what your readers want! But how do you know exactly who your audience is and their preferences? The answer to that is market research. Market research is the best way to analyze the markets, their demand, the trending subject, and what writing could work. As a beginner, one publishing guide we would like to give our audience is being relatable to the audience. Once you’ve reached your footsteps in the writing industry, you can explore and discover your ideas and interests. But, first, to begin introducing yourself, it would be better to align your writing with the market’s demand and offer it similarly.

Networking is a great medium when it comes to building connections. And, in the case of writers, it’s no different. You can connect with like-minded people with similar plans, ideas, and motivation. Building a network with fellow writers will keep you motivated, and you can know that you’re not alone! Further, discussing or chatting with them can help you in many ways. You can learn about their writing techniques and the perspective they bring into the writing. This information can be beneficial for you as you get started with your writing.

Writing or completing a book is just a part of becoming a writer. The next step is making sure that your writing gets published. Doing the whole job of writing and publishing can be overwhelming and complicated. As a writer, you might not have experience going through the publishing and every aspect of it! This is why you must contact agents and publishers willing to publish your writing. These literary agents will charge a cost for their work, but you don’t have to do any of the work. They will look out for everything from creating a copy of your book to sending it to different bookstores and collecting the payment. So, once you decide on writing and have your first draft ready, it’s a good idea to reach out to publications and build a connection with them.

The power of marketing cannot be understated in today’s world. Marketing has the potential to make or break your product.

Often, we’ve found ourselves getting influenced by the marketing of the product, making it so compelling to purchase it. Marketing is not just limited to a good and service. In the case of books and blogs, effective marketing can drive more audience and hook them!

If you’re a first-time author, you might have to implement a few marketing strategies to introduce yourself and your writing to the market. The book publishing process can start by hinting on social media or through a marketing medium like an advertisement! A compelling marketing strategy can help you gain a wider audience before publishing. And marketing is a long-term process! It’s important every time you write a new book—launch it! Marketing should be taken hand-in-hand to bring the best outcome.

Suppose you publish the first book and only get a little interaction, engagement, and recognition than you thought you might! This should be a different ending point of your writing journey. You may take time or even a few books to gain your audience and earn recognition. Writing is just like any other job! You must persist in working hard and staying resilient. This is something we recommend to not just new writers. There are cases where famous authors had their books gone unappreciated. Sometimes, it’s solely upon readers on what they enjoy and what they claim to be a good read. As a writer, it’s your responsibility to do your best and try every way to get the best of your reader’s attention.

Writing is a fun job to do, and we understand it. While there might be a bit of a challenge, from crafting your first content to publishing it, these practical tips can be helpful!

Here, we learned about the importance of proper research and the need for a platform to showcase you and your work. Further, we warned you about why understanding the market is essential and why you must connect with fellow eaters.

We also learned how to research agents and publishers to get our work published. Lastly, we concluded that marketing is necessary and that we should not give up on these processes.

These tips help you navigate the writing and become a fine author.

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