At times we find often find ourselves without any motivation to do anything. And this can seem even more stressful when you have pending tasks that require a lot of thinking and research, such as writing an essay for one of your college courses.
It is a very common feeling we all go through simply because we feel like there’s a lot of steps that are involved in the process of writing an essay.
While that is true, the steps are not that complicated to go through once you know how to tackle them.
Being motivated can seem like a hard task, but it is also needed so you can finish things like homework and assignments. It serves as a driving force that enables you to have your end goal in mind. More importantly, it makes things a lot more enjoyable to do.
In this article, I will go into detail on how to stay motivated when you have to write a college essay. These tips will help you finish that pending essay no matter how much you have been dreading it. Also, you can check myessaywriting.com for more tips, which will help you.
1. Deconstruct the entire process
One of the biggest reasons why a student feels demotivated when it comes to writing an essay because they feel overwhelmed with the writing process.
You don’t have to finish the entire essay, regardless of how long it is, in one go. That can be a difficult task, especially when the word limit is higher.
You can break down the writing process into different steps, and tackle those steps each day.
Break the process down into 4 important parts:
- Research
- Outline
- Writing (this can also be broken down further if it is a very long essay)
- Final edits and proofreading
You will find that essay writing will be so much simpler and easier to handle this way. Following this strategy will not only keep you motivated, but it will also help with getting better ideas because your mind will not be overworked to the max this way.
2. Stick to a writing schedule
Once you have a deconstructed writing process in front of you, and you know what to do, you can now allocate a certain time in the day to only work on the essay.
This will give you a sense of discipline, and will also give you a great idea of when you will be finishing the essay.
You can choose a time in the day when you feel most productive, and when you feel like your mind works the best. You will notice a significant improvement not only in your motivation levels but also in the quality of your writing.
Make it a point to stick to this schedule so you make progress little by little every day.
3. Draft the outline
Before you begin writing the essay itself, it is important that you draft the outline first. This may seem like a redundant step but it should not be skipped.
An outline has a lot of benefits and will help simplify things.
You will jot down all your ideas in the different sections of the outline, i.e., the introduction, the body, and conclusion, in separate bullet points.
This practice will help you visualize what the essay will look like, and provide you a general pathway.
It will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed because you already know what the essay is going to be like at this point. You simply will have to elaborate on the jotted-down points.
4. Take care of your writing anxiety
Lots of people go through the stress and anxiety of writing. It is a super normal feeling, and there is nothing to be ashamed about.
You may have had some bad experiences, and the process of writing brings up the negative emotions you have associated to writing.
This will not help you build motivation in any way, in fact, it will do more damage than you think.
You have to counter this problem because otherwise, it will serve as a major obstacle in your essay writing.
Figure out what it is about writing that gives you anxiety, and deal with that problem.
Whether it is the fear of your work not being good enough, or a strict teacher, or a difficult topic; it can all be dealt with a little help.
You don’t have to compare yourself to other students, and your essays can easily be good, or even better than someone else’s if you put in just a little bit of time and effort.
Get some help from sites like PaperHelp if you are struggling with writing anxiety.
5. Write the introduction at the end
This may sound counter-intuitive but it makes perfect sense.
The introduction, in its essence, is actually a summary of the entire essay. And you can write a summary better when you know the context which you will be summarizing.
Leave the introduction in the last because by then you will have written the entire essay and you will have a great idea about how to write the thesis statement.
After writing the body, you can also come up with better ideas on how to write the hook.
6. Make the process worthwhile
Try to make the process of writing as fun as possible. You can change locations, or work with a friend in order to make essay writing more enjoyable.
Once you realize that you actually get a lot of enjoyment and fun out of essay writing, you will begin to look forward to it!
You can also do this on your own in your room. Make sure everything is tidied up, and you have some good music playing in the background that will lift your spirits.