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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 Callaghan, PhD . Megan Morgan is an Academic Advising and Writing expert based in Augusta, Georgia. She has over 7 years of university teaching experience and more than 15 years of professional editing experience. She works as an intern for the Law Library of Congress, and is also a Professional Writing Center Consultant at Augusta University. Her key academic interests involve reference and subject librarianship, government information, and information organization. She provides personalized writing instruction, workshops, and support for AU students, faculty, and staff. Previously, she worked as a Graduate Program Administrator at the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs. She was a Graduate Advisor for three degrees in the departments of Political Science and International Affairs at the University of Georgia College of Arts and Sciences. She earned her Master’s in Library and Information Science from Valdosta State University. She also received both a PhD and MA in English from The University of Georgia, and a BA in English and Creative Writing from the Mississippi University for Women. She wrote her PhD dissertation on narrative structure and social change in novels by 18th-century British women writers. 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 902,723 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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

↑ https://www.savethestudent.org/extra-guides/how-to-write-a-3000-word-essay-in-a-day.html
↑ https://www.slate.com/articles/technology/the_browser/2011/08/slowpoke.2.html
↑ https://amst522.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/how-to-gut-a-book-or-the-best-advise-my-grad-school-advisor-ever-gave-me/
↑ https://www.slate.com/articles/technology/the_browser/2011/08/slowpoke.html
↑ https://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/academic1/timed-essays-top-5-tips-for-writing-academic-essays-under-pressure/

About this article

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