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What are methods to use for writing longer essays?

I'm asking because writing is my weak point. I can tell you exactly what I mean but when it comes to writing I like to keep it short and simple. #college

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yoonji’s Answer, CareerVillage.org Team

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Hi De'andre,


Patrick gave you some great tips! Pre-work are structuring are critical and go hand-in-hand. I'll just dig deeper on these points and provide specific suggestions.


It's important to read in-depth about the topic. You can ask your instructor for tips on reading materials so you can have a more comprehensive understanding of the topic. Check the bibliography for other reading materials on interesting points the author makes. Look for other leading minds on the subject and review their work. You want to do a deep dive into the books and articles that are critical to your argument. I suggest skimming your supplementary materials for interesting points.


Start with a rough outline with your thesis statement and then write out your key supporting points. Under each of your supporting points, add interesting materials you come across from your readings, notes you took in class, and important quotes that support your argument or provide a different perspective to the corresponding argument. This will help you build and see the high-level overview of the essay. Once you feel like you have a solid outline, then I'd start writing out the essay. My experience is that it will be much easier if you pre-read and structure your paper using these tips from myself and Patrick.


Good luck!

yoonji, CareerVillage.org Team recommends the following next steps:

Draft an outline of your paper. Add interesting points/arguments from your reading materials. Weave in your ideas and class notes as well.
Pre-read and search for good articles and books that will support your thesis.
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Patrick’s Answer

Writing is not easy, but it's a skill you can learn and develop with practice! A few thoughts on writing longer pieces.

- I too am a concise writer. But when you sit down to write about a topic, ask yourself the hard question: "how well do I understand this?" Sometimes a writer is concise because they haven't done the pre-work of really deeply understanding the topic at hand. Deeper knowledge of a topic will often naturally yield more length. And once you know a lot about something, it's actually more difficult to be concise, hence the famous quote: "If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter."

- Once you understand a topic, spend some time structuring the essay. If you want to write 10 pages, outline your essay, and make detailed bullet points for all the things you want to cover. A useful exercise is: summarize your essay or the argument you're making in 100 words. Then, try to do it in 500 words. This will help give you a rough idea of how much space to devote to each section or idea.

- Remember: the more pre-work like this you do, the easier you'll find it to write essays of any length, so you're not sipping your fourth coffee at 10pm stuck somewhere on page 3 with total writer's block (I've been there!)
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