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can i write an essay in 7 hours

How to Write a Last Minute Essay

←What If I Don’t Have Anything Interesting to Write About in My College Essay?

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can i write an essay in 7 hours

Ooops! You waited until the very last minute to begin the college application process, and it’s probably stressing you out. But never fear – CollegeVine is here to make sure that your procrastination impacts your essay as minimally as possible.

We’ve included a guide for the 30-day essay, the 15-day essay, and the 3-day essay. If you have multiple essays to write in a short time, you can follow the appropriate guide for multiple prompts simultaneously, or offset it by a few days.

The 30-Day Essay

At this point, you want to focus on ideas. You have the freedom to spend a few days figuring out which direction your essay is going to take, so take your time to think about what you want to convey in your essay. Find four to five topics to begin with—you can ask your parents, friends, and teachers about what they find interesting about you in order to speed this process up. Try to choose anecdotes from your life that, in retrospect, you learned from, and these stories will inform your topic. Even the shortest, most insignificant moment can make a great essay if it shaped you in some way. If you are writing a “why this school” essay, make a list of reasons why you are applying. Do appropriate research to find strong reasons that show your genuine interest in the school. 

Now that you have a few potential topics, think about how each one would respond to the prompt. Spend 15 minutes outlining each one, using your prompt to guide the outline. In essays that ask you to tell a story, a good topic should write itself and finding a strong essay idea will nearly always be more productive than forcing a story to respond to the prompt. For “why this school” essays, focus on the structure and connection between your reasons. Giving this step the necessary hours now will pay off later. Narrow your list of potential topics to your top one to three choices.

Now it’s time to put pen to paper. If you’re having a hard time, try writing in different environments—coffee shops, your room, or a library, for example—and alternate between topics, and remember that at least at this stage, more words is better than fewer; there will be a step to polish your writing later. 

By day 14, you should have written one rough essay for every “top choice” topic you decided on during day 5. This means that you should now have anywhere between one to three potential essays for a single prompt.

If you do have more than one essay written, it is now time to choose a single essay. Out of the two or three essays you have written in the past couple days, there is probably one that speaks to you more than the rest. If you’re having a hard time, think about which of the topics you’d like to spend another two weeks with, and try to figure out which one says the most about you. Essays with twice the number of words allowed or more should be ruled out; the anecdote is probably too long, or the topic requires too much detail to be effective.

Break days! Distance is important when writing. Take a break from your essays so that you can continue to edit with a fresh mind. These are great days to give your essay to other people to edit—school faculty members who know you well, a coach/music teacher, your parents, and one or two friends. If you are over the word limit, ask specifically for these editors to help you cut down the essay.

Reading your essay with a fresh mind should help you catch big, structural edits. Your first round of edits should involve content edits; you’re looking for what the essay really says about you as a person, and whether that was what you were trying to get across. How does the sentence flow? Does the essay move itself?

Break day! Get some more distance from your writing.

At this point, you might have received some edits back from the people you handed your essay to. Go through each of the edits and decide which suggestions you plan to take, and which seem to alter your personal voice or which don’t match the essay stylistically. Try to stay objective as you review these edits—some of them will be detrimental. If you can’t see why the change was made, it’s probably best to ignore it. If multiple people give you the same feedback, however, you may want to give it some thought.

Implement the edits that you liked. Then read through the essay again and make sure that there are no structural edits or content edits that still need to happen.

These days are the middle stage of your editing process. You’re looking for words that don’t fit the style of the essay, or which could be improved, as well as sentence flow problems. Are all your sentences the same length? Is one paragraph not as well written as the rest of the essay? This should also be the time that you cut words. If you are still more than 70 words over, try to cut full sentences. Otherwise, start by cutting unnecessary phrases and words.

Start doing smaller grammatical edits. A great way to catch edits is to record yourself reading your essay aloud and then listening to the recording. As you go through this process, highlight, mark, and comment on your essay. Afterwards, go through and use your notes to fix word flow, word choice, and grammatical mistakes.

Break day! It’s close to the deadline, we know. Take a break anyway – you need and deserve it.

Last minute edits! Spend some quality time with your essay by just reading it every few hours. Try to catch any small mistakes or random sentence flow problems. (If you suddenly realize that you hate your essay, reference the 3-Day Essay below. Be sure that you aren’t being hyper-critical, though—you may just hate the essay because you’ve spent so much time on it).

Congratulations! Your essay is done! It’s time for you to catch a break. 

The 15-Day Essay

Spend a few hours working on a list of ideas that could become potential essays. Choose one and make an outline.

Write your essay!

Ask a few people who you think would give constructive comments to read your essay— teachers, parents, and  friends. Spend some time doing content and structure edits. Figure out what you want the essay to convey about your personality, and determine whether your essay actually gets this across.

Do some structural editing. Pay attention to sentence flow, the length of paragraphs, overall organization. If your essay is too long, try to cut down on unnecessary information. Pay close attention to the way that you have structured paragraphs and make sure each one makes sense.

Take a break!

Synthesize the comments you received on your essay. Decide which suggestions you want to use and which ones you don’t. If you can’t figure out why a particular suggestion was made, ask the person who gave it. After you’ve gone through all the feedback, edit your essay accordingly.

Cut your essay down to the word limit – ask yourself which anecdotes, details, and adjectives are truly necessary. If you’re having trouble, reference the editors that you spoke to previously.

Work on grammatical and other small edits. Look for minor things that need to be corrected, such as punctuation and word choice. This process requires a few dedicated hours. Aim to really spend some time polishing your language. Reading your essay aloud can be a productive way to accomplish this.

Take a break from your essay!

Spend the whole day with your essay. Every few hours, do a reread and see if you can catch any small last minute edits. Don’t try to change anything major—you don’t have time!

Submit the essay and take a good nap. You’ve finished! 

The 3-Day Essay

Don’t panic. This is doable, but it’ll be a busy few days. Spend the morning coming up with ideas for your essay. Choose one, and use the afternoon to write it. Email this draft to teachers, and show it to your parents. Then, take a few hours off, and later at night, read it through to edit for content. Does the essay say what you intended it to?

Check your email throughout the day. When you get edits back, start incorporating those into the essay. Be picky about which ones you choose to include because you don’t want to take your own voice out of the essay. Spend the day doing structural edits. Every hour, take a thirty minute break from editing. By the end of the day, you should have an essay that fits within the word limit and also has a strong flow. The organization should be good, and you should be able to see how the essay builds upon itself.

DO NOT OPEN EDITS. If any of your readers have replied to your email, don’t open them at all. At this point, the extra edits will just freak you out, and you don’t have time to do major fixes. The name of the game today is small edits; look for grammar, word changes, and minor sentence structure changes. When you’re finally done, take a breath; you can finally relax. 

The 1-Day Essay 

Of course, writing a college essay the day before it’s due is far from ideal, but we know there are probably some of you out there who will find yourself in this situation. Don’t worry, it is not hopeless. Instead of trying to fit a step-by-step plan into a tight timespan, we’ve compiled some general tips to help you churn out that essay in one day. 

Choose your prompts strategically.

If you already know what you’re going to write about, great! Move on to the next tip. If not, see if you might have already written an essay to any of the available prompts. Especially if the prompts are open-ended, you may have already addressed a potential topic in previous school papers. Look through your files to see if you have any essays that you might be able to recycle. The key here is recycle : it goes without saying that you shouldn’t use a previously-written essay word for word for your college submission. You should still take time to tailor it to the prompt and make sure that it conveys your message clearly, whether it’s illustrating your strengths or expressing why you wish to attend that particular college. 

Make an outline. 

Yes, you may feel that you don’t have time for extensive planning, and that you should just jump in and get everything on paper. Try to rein in this urge and take one hour to make a brief outline, spelling out your “thesis” and all the points you want to address. This will help keep your thoughts in order as you write, especially in such a time-constricted context. 

Get that distance, re-read, and edit. 

It’s always tempting to just click submit once you’re done with a project you worked long and hard on, to feel that relief when you know it’s done. However, especially given the rushed nature of a last-minute essay like this, the revision and editing process is crucial, even if it’ll be minimal. Blatant errors will reflect poorly in your application! 

So when you’re done writing, set it aside for a few hours. Then, reread it, and make any necessary corrections—grammar mistakes, typos, sentence flow. When you’re sure it sounds they way you want it to, then you can submit. 

Wrapping it Up

Procrastinating on your college essays isn’t the best way to go, but it can be saved. If you haven’t started applying yet, start your college essays as early as possible! Longer breaks between editing sessions will allow you to get the distance necessary to be objective, and to produce the best quality essay you can.

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

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  • How to Write a College Essay Fast | Tips & Examples

How to Write a College Essay Fast | Tips & Examples

Published on November 5, 2021 by Kirsten Courault . Revised on December 8, 2023.

Table of contents

Organize: set yourself deadlines with breaks, brainstorm: your values and related stories, outline: choose a montage or narrative essay structure, write: be specific, personal, and unique, revise: content, clarity, and grammar, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about college application essays.

Whether you have hours, days, or weeks, set deadlines for yourself with built-in breaks. In general, you should divide your time accordingly:

  • 10% brainstorming
  • 10% outlining
  • 40% writing
  • 30% revising
  • 10% taking breaks between stages

If you have a few hours …

Brainstorming 15–30 minutes
Outlining 15–30 minutes
Writing 2–3 hours
Revising 1–2 hours

If you have a few days …

Brainstorming Day 1
Outlining Day 1
Writing Days 1, 2, and 3
Revising Days 2 and 3

If you have a week …

Brainstorming Days 1 and 2
Outlining Days 1 and 2
Writing Days 2–5
Revising Days 6–7

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

To brainstorm your topic fast, start by doing the following exercises.

Questions Example brainstorm
Top 5 things I want colleges to know about me
My top 5 core identities
related to my personality and character
3 things that make me different from other applicants
5 meaningful life moments from the past 3–4 years
If you already have a prompt, brainstorm 3–5 stories that relate to your prompt. prompt #1: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

Choose the stories that have the most compelling value or narrative. Make sure these stories are:

  • Meaningful to you
  • Specific (not a broad summary of your life)
  • Unique to you (another student couldn’t replicate it)

If you have a single story that showcases how you overcame a challenge or chronicles your personal growth over time, you should use a narrative structure . This type of essay tells a story, usually in chronological order. If you have very limited time, this structure is easier.

If there’s a common theme among several of your stories, you could use a montage structure , which strings together several stories (for example, to showcase different aspects of your identity). If you have more than a few hours to work on your essay, you may want to try out this structure.

To make your essay stand out , write your story in a way that no other student can replicate. As you write, keep these tips in mind:

  • Zoom in on specific moments rather than summarizing a long period of time.
  • Be vulnerable and share your honest feelings and thoughts.
  • Use your authentic voice and an appropriate tone .
  • Keep the focus on you, not another person.
  • Describe sensory details to create vivid scenes.

Make sure to build in enough time to revise your essay . Ideally, you should aim for three rounds of revision to check for content, clarity, and grammar.

If you don’t have time to fix everything, focus on making sure your writing is clear and grammatically correct. You can do this with the help of a grammar checker and paraphrasing tool . If you want to check your entire document at once, you can use an essay checker .

In your first reading, focus on content:

  • Does it answer the prompt?
  • Does it focus on me, not someone else?
  • Does it have a clear and well-structured narrative?
  • Do my stories “show, not tell”?

In your second reading, focus on clarity and flow:

  • Is my essay easy to read?
  • Are my word choice and tone conversational but respectful?
  • Do I have a good mixture of complex and simple sentence structures?

In your third reading, focus on grammar and punctuation:

  • Is my writing grammatically correct?
  • If I bend language rules, is it clear that it’s intentional and not a mistake?

If you have time, get help from an essay coach or editor; they’ll have specialized knowledge of college admissions essays and be able to give objective expert feedback. Scribbr essay editors can help you revise your essay in 12 hours or less.

Meeting the word count

If your college essay goes over the word count limit , cut any sentences with tangents or irrelevant details. Delete unnecessary words that clutter your essay. Scribbr’s essay editors can also help reduce your word count by up to 25%.

If you’re struggling to reach the word count for your college essay, add vivid personal stories or share your feelings and insight to give your essay more depth and authenticity.

If you want to know more about academic writing , effective communication , or parts of speech , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Academic writing

  • Writing process
  • Transition words
  • Passive voice
  • Paraphrasing

 Communication

  • How to end an email
  • Ms, mrs, miss
  • How to start an email
  • I hope this email finds you well
  • Hope you are doing well

 Parts of speech

  • Personal pronouns
  • Conjunctions

If you’ve got to write your college essay fast , don’t panic. First, set yourself deadlines: you should spend about 10% of your remaining time on brainstorming, 10% on outlining, 40% writing, 30% revising, and 10% taking breaks in between stages.

Second, brainstorm stories and values based on your essay prompt.

Third, outline your essay based on the montage or narrative essay structure .

Fourth, write specific, personal, and unique stories that would be hard for other students to replicate.

Fifth, revise your essay and make sure it’s clearly written.

Last, if possible, get feedback from an essay coach . Scribbr essay editors can help you revise your essay in 12 hours or less.

If your college essay goes over the word count limit , cut any sentences with tangents or irrelevant details. Delete unnecessary words that clutter your essay.

When revising your college essay , first check for big-picture issues regarding your message and content. Then, check for flow, tone, style , and clarity. Finally, focus on eliminating grammar and punctuation errors .

Cite this Scribbr article

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

Courault, K. (2023, December 08). How to Write a College Essay Fast | Tips & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved September 30, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/college-essay/write-essay-fast/

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Kirsten Courault

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How to Write a Good Essay in a Short Amount of Time

Last Updated: September 17, 2024 Approved

This article was co-authored by Megan Morgan, PhD . Megan Morgan is a Graduate Program Academic Advisor in the School of Public & International Affairs at the University of Georgia. She earned her PhD in English from the University of Georgia in 2015. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 16 testimonials and 80% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 902,291 times.

Sometimes, you need to be able to write a good essay in a short amount of time for a timed exam, such as the Advanced Placement exams in high school. At other times, you might find yourself in the uncomfortable situation of having to write an essay fast because you procrastinated or let it sneak up on you. Although an essay written at the last minute will almost never be as good as an essay you spent more time on, putting together a decent essay quickly is still feasible. With a little planning and a lot of hard work, you can write an essay that’s good (or good enough!) in just a short time.

Doing the Prep Work for Your Essay

Step 1 Develop a plan.

  • Be honest about your strengths and weaknesses when devising your plan. [1] X Research source For example, if you are a good researcher but not great at editing, spend less time on the research section in favor of spending more time on the revising section.
  • Make sure to schedule breaks for yourself to refresh your brain and recharge yourself.
  • An example of a plan for a one-day essay writing project might look like this:
  • 8:00 – 9:30 – Consider an essay question and argument for the topic.
  • 9:30 – 9:45 – Take a short break.
  • 10:00 – 12:00 – Conduct research.
  • 12:00 – 13:00 – Outline the essay.
  • 13:00 – 14:00 – Take a lunch break.
  • 14:00 – 19:00 – Write your essay.
  • 19:00 – 20:00 – Take a dinner break.
  • 20:00 – 22:30 – Revise and copy edit your essay.
  • 22:30 – 23:00 – Print and prepare your essay submission. [2] X Research source

Step 2 Consider the essay question.

  • Make sure you understand what the question is asking for! If you provide a summary when the essay prompt asked you to “analyze,” you’re unlikely to do very well.
  • If you don’t have an essay topic, choose a subject that interests you and consider the essay question afterward. You are more likely to write a good essay on a topic that you’re interested in.

Step 3 Develop your argument or thesis statement.

  • If you don’t have much experience with your topic, it might be difficult to develop an argument. You can still consider your argument and then use your research to support or refute the claims you want to make.
  • A good exercise to help you quickly figure out your essay question and argument is to write “I am studying (choose a topic) because I want to know (what do you want to know) in order to show (this is where your argument goes).”
  • For example, “I am studying the medieval witch trials because I want to know how lawyers employed evidence in their cases in order to show that the trial process influenced modern medical techniques and legal practices.”
  • Consider counter-arguments in order to strengthen your essay.

Step 4 Research your essay topic.

  • Since you don’t have a lot of time to write, focus on one or two places where you can do research. For example, the library and internet offer many different options for sources. [4] X Research source
  • Just make sure that you use reliable sources, such as peer-reviewed journals, government and university websites, and newspapers and magazines written by professionals. Don’t use personal blogs, obviously biased sources, or sources that don’t have professional credentials.
  • You can draw upon information you know to speed up the research process. Simply find a (reliable!) source to support it and include it in your sources. [5] X Research source
  • Doing preliminary research online can point you to sources in a library such as books and journal articles. It can also point you in the direction of web sources including newspaper article archives or other research on your topic.
  • If you're reading books, "gut" the book to get through it quickly and move on to other sources. To "gut" a book, skim the introduction and conclusion to find the main arguments, and then pick a few details from the body of the book to use as evidence. [6] X Research source
  • Take notes on your research sources. These will show that you’ve legitimately researched the topic while giving credit to the person who forwarded the idea. [7] X Research source This is especially important if you plan to use direct quotes and will also help you add footnotes and bibliographic information to your essay without having to look them up in the sources.

Step 5 Write an outline of your essay.

  • Structure your outline as you will your essay, with an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
  • The more detail you put into your outline, the easier and more quickly you can write the essay. For example, instead of just writing a basic paragraph about the body, flesh it out into bullet points or sentences that presents argument and supporting evidence.

Writing an Untimed Essay

Step 1 Set a fixed amount of time to write.

  • Nothing will keep you from finishing an essay on time like goofing off online or ending up watching eight straight hours of Cartoon Network. Turn the TV off, switch your phone to silent, and exit out of Facebook and other social media/chat sites.
  • Make sure you have all your material nearby when you start to write. Getting up to fetch a book or a piece of paper or a snack will eat into your precious time.

Step 2 Write a catchy...

  • The most important part of your introduction is your argument or thesis statement. This tells the reader the point your trying to make in the essay.
  • Write a “hook” that will grab the reader’s attention to start, then introduce the argument with a few relevant facts woven into the narrative. End by stating how you will demonstrate your points. [9] X Research source
  • An example of a hook could be, “People say Napoleon had a complex because of his size, but he was actually an average height for the time in which he lived.”
  • It's sometimes helpful to write the introduction after you have written the body so you know how to introduce the topic and your arguments best.
  • A good rule of thumb is to not have the introduction be more the 10% of your essay. Thus, for a five page essay, you shouldn’t write more than one paragraph.

Step 3 Write the body of the essay.

  • Pick two to three main points to help make your argument or thesis statement. Any fewer and you won’t have enough evidence for your argument and any more may make you not explore each point thoroughly enough.
  • Keep your evidence to support the main points concise. Going off on explanatory tangents will cost you precious time.
  • Support your main points with the evidence compiled during your research. Make sure to explain how the evidence supports your claims!
  • If haven’t reached your word limit, pick a main point and conduct more research on it to expand on your point. [10] X Research source

Step 4 Write as clearly as possible.

  • Avoid "fat" language when you write. Text that includes long prepositional phrases, passive verbs, and paragraphs that don't further your argument waste time that you could spend writing or revising your essay.

Step 5 Allow yourself to “free-write” to optimize your time.

  • Free-writing can also help you overcome writer’s block that results from not knowing how to say something. If you’re struggling with getting the wording of an idea just right, write it as well as you can and come back to it later.

Step 6 Write the essay conclusion.

  • The essay conclusion should also be relatively short. Aim for the conclusion to be 5-10% of your essay’s total length.
  • Aim to do more in your conclusion than just restate your thesis and the evidence you used. You could acknowledge the limitations of your argument, suggest a direction for future research, or expand the relevance of your topic to a wider field.
  • Just as you drew in reader with good introduction, end your conclusion with a sentence that make a lasting impression on your reader.

Step 7 Revise and proofread your essay.

  • Re-read the entire essay. Make sure that you are still arguing the same thing at the end of the essay that you are at the beginning. If not, go back and adjust your thesis.
  • Make sure that your paragraphs build on one another and don’t feel haphazard. You can use transitions and strong topic sentences to help you draw connections between your paragraphs.
  • Spelling and grammar are the easiest mistakes to revise, but they cost you a lot of reader goodwill if you don’t fix them. [12] X Research source

Writing a Timed Essay

Step 1 Plan your work.

  • Read the prompt carefully! If the question asks you to take a position, take one. If it asks you to evaluate the events that led to the downfall of Rome, don’t just give a summary of Roman history. [13] X Research source
  • Jot down an idea map. You probably won’t have time to make a formal outline. However, having an idea of the main points that you want to touch on and how they relate will help you structure the essay. If you can’t figure out how to connect your main points, that’s a sign you need to think a little bit more before you start writing.
  • Figure out your argument. Once you’ve noted down some main points, figure out what you want to say about them. Even timed essays need a unified argument or thesis.

Step 2 Time your writing strategically.

  • For example, you wouldn’t want to spend the same amount of time and effort on a 3-paragraph essay question worth 20% as you would a 2-page essay question worth 60%.
  • If you see a question that you feel will be more difficult for you, it could be a good idea to tackle it first. This will get the hard stuff out of the way while you’re still fresh.

Step 3 Cut the fluff.

  • If you notice that your introductory paragraph starts with something broad or hugely general, such as “Throughout the history of time, humans have been fascinated by science,” cut it.
  • Don’t put anything in a timed essay that doesn’t support your point. If you are talking about the importance of religious belief in modern society, don’t dilute your point by also referencing socialism, Hollywood, and banana farming.

Step 4 Explain connections between evidence and claims.

  • Claim. This is the main argument of the paragraph. It is probably located in your topic sentence.
  • Evidence. This is the supporting detail that proves your claim.
  • Explanation. This connects the evidence back to your claim and explains why the evidence proves what you say it does.
  • If anything in your paragraph doesn’t fit one of these three elements, it’s a good sign you don’t need it in the paragraph.

Step 5 Leave time to revise.

  • Does the essay actually demonstrate and support what your thesis says is the main argument? It’s not uncommon for ideas to evolve as you write. If this has happened, tweak your thesis accordingly.
  • Do the paragraphs flow smoothly from one to the next? Timed essays don’t have the same standards that regular essays do, but your reader should still be able to follow your argument in a logical progression without feeling yanked around or lost.
  • Do you offer a conclusion that sums up your argument? Don’t leave the essay hanging without a conclusion. Even if it’s very brief, a conclusion will help your essay feel complete.

Community Q&A

Community Answer

  • Transition words such as "furthermore", "indeed", and "in fact" can make your flow better. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • Don't fluff up your essay too much. A reader will want you to get to the point as quickly as possible. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
  • When starting a new paragraph, don't forget to indent. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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About This Article

Megan Morgan, PhD

If you need to write a good essay in a short amount of time, try to plan your argument and avoid distractions while you're writing. Before you start your essay, decide your thesis statement or the main argument you want to make. This will help you narrow down your research and write the essay quicker. Find a quiet place to work, turn your phone off, and avoid any other distractions. Make sure you schedule short breaks to avoid burn out. If you get stuck, write whatever you can, even if you think it’s really bad or doesn’t make sense. It will be much easier to edit once you’ve gotten the words on the page. Make sure you leave a few hours to revise and spellcheck your essay. For more tips from our Teaching co-author, including how to write a timed essay, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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can i write an essay in 7 hours

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  1. How To Complete A Good Essay In 2 Hours

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  3. How To Write an Essay in an Hour

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  4. Writing the Synthesis Essay on the AP English Language Test

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VIDEO

  1. 2019 Chemistry Essay 7(b)i

  2. How to Write an Essay in 10 Minutes: Tips to help you pass your next exam! Letstute

  3. 10 Easy Lines on Teacher in English

  4. How to Make an Essay Longer: Professional Tips from EduBirdie

  5. From Outline to Outstanding

  6. writing 2,500 words in 4 HOURS!

COMMENTS

  1. How to write a 3,000 word essay in a day - Save the Student

    Writing 3,000 words can take anywhere between six and 24 hours. It all depends on the topic and how much research needs to be done for your essay. If you've already done your preparation and have collected your sources, the writing part should take around six to 10 hours.

  2. How to Write Any College Paper at the Last Minute - Owlcation

    How to Write a 6-to-12-Page Essay in a Matter of Hours. Schedule your time. Compose your thesis and intro paragraph. Do your research. Write your body paragraphs. Create a conclusion. Take a troubleshooting break. Add your finishing touches.

  3. How to Write a Last Minute Essay | CollegeVine Blog

    Did you put your college essays off until the last minute? Procrastinators, read the CollegeVine guide to writing a last minute essay!

  4. How to Write a College Essay Fast | Tips & Examples - Scribbr

    The college application process can be frantic. But even if you’re short on time, it’s still possible to write a great college admissions essay. Whether you have a week, a few days, or just a few hours until the deadline, follow these steps to get it done.

  5. How to Write a Good Essay in a Short Amount of Time - wikiHow

    Although an essay written at the last minute will almost never be as good as an essay you spent more time on, putting together a decent essay quickly is still feasible. With a little planning and a lot of hard work, you can write an essay that’s good (or good enough!) in just a short time.

  6. How to Write an Essay in an Hour: 7 Hacks to Save You Time

    Key Takeaway: To write an essay in an hour, you’ll need to keep writing, manage your time well, create a clear outline, develop a strong thesis, focus on key points, write the body paragraphs first, and leave time for proofreading. The more you write, the faster you’ll become.