It is no secret that students hate writing essays. For years, teachers have tried to improve the lot of the “essay writer” in school by providing helpful tips on how to write an essay in the most efficient and least painful manner. Unfortunately, nothing has completely changed. While there are various strategies that one can employ to make essay writing less terrible, there is one crucial step that most students seem to have overlooked. This is learning to like it. Learning to like writing essays means learning to enjoy the process of getting something down on paper. It takes time, but with that comes increased productivity and ultimately, pleasure.
Here are some helpful tips on how to learn to like writing essays. They may not fix the issue of a bad essay app or a dry English teacher; they can certainly make the process more tolerable. Ultimately, nothing beats actually liking what you are doing. So, with that, here are some ways that you can start liking the process of writing essays.
Start Small
It goes without saying that you should start by setting a small writing goal. The key is to start small and build up. One way to look at this is instead of saying that you will write an essay for a college professor, start by writing a short essay for your English teacher. Alternatively, you could write a letter to a friend or relative. These are all excellent starting points. They will help you build your writing confidence and make you feel like you are accomplishing something. Once you have written a couple of these short essays or letters, you can move on to more complex projects like an application or an interview. These are all excellent ways to improve your English skills as well as build up your writing portfolio. What is important is that you feel comfortable writing in a manner that is acceptable to the person(s) reading the work. This can take some time, but it is key to establishing a writing routine.
Take Breaks
It is important to take breaks while you are writing. You should not be constantly writing, especially not for long periods of time. This is why your English teacher recommends taking a short break after every 500 words. It would be ideal to take a short break after every paragraph. Taking regular breaks will increase your productivity and make you more relaxed during the process. When you take regular breaks, you also give your mind enough time to rest and refresh itself so that you can write better. This is why it is important to take regular breaks while you are writing.
Don’t Overthink It
Overthinking can be extremely debilitating when it comes to writing. You must take the basic information provided and run with it. You do not need to put too much thought into the process, especially not at the cost of quality. What is important is that you take the time to sit down, write the essay, and then examine it for quality afterwards. The more you think about it while you are writing, the more anxious and tense you will become. Ultimately, this can deteriorate the quality of your work. What you should be doing is writing and revising as you go along. This is exactly how good writers write. They do not sit and overthink about the process; they just get the work done. This is not meant to be rude or impolite towards yourself, but you should endeavor to follow this pattern. Once you do, you will find that writing an essay is a fairly straightforward and enjoyable process. You will start to see the benefits in your English grades as well as your overall quality of life. This is because quality requires a lot of effort, and when you are putting in the effort, you are likely to feel a sense of satisfaction. So, ultimately, the joy of learning to like writing essays will have its payoffs.
Practice
The best way to learn to like writing essays is by writing a lot. An excellent way to do this is by joining an essay-writing club with other students. The purpose of this club is to help each other improve their writing through constructive feedback and the sharing of knowledge. Practicing with a partner is also excellent because it forces you to examine each other’s work and offer feedback. This is something that students often avoid because it is difficult to critique another person’s work. In addition, having a partner is also beneficial because it allows you to gauge your own improvement and know when you are reaching a plateau in your learning. This is where the practice becomes crucial. Through constant and consistent practice, you will begin to see visible improvements in your essays. What is important is that you write a lot and continue to improve. This is a tedious process, but with patience and determination, it is certainly achievable. So, with that, here are some helpful tips on how to learn to like writing essays. So, why not give it a shot and see if you can’t finally like the process of writing an essay. Good luck out there.