The dreaded essay (or paper)

[Roxie Faye]

So..... I'm currently procrastinating on a ten page paper due tomorrow. I hate the class, I dislike the teacher because I'm under the impression she doesn't like me, and I don't want to try in this class.

Have you ever had a massive essay or paper due, and you just couldn't bring yourself to do it? Do you have any tricks or mind-games for slogging through the work?

What's the longest paper you've ever written? Got any funny stories about an essay? Share those too. =)


Aside from the current paper which I'm hating on, the longest one I've ever written was 18 pages - 20 with citations (yeah, I had a lot). The weirdest time writing a paper was for a final several years ago (pulled an all nighter) when the fire alarm went off twice that night. =/

[Claire]

[SIZE="1"]The best way to force yourself to write anything is to plan it out with a pencil and paper. Once you've got some momentum, you can switch to a computer and finish the whole thing. It really helps if your topic is something you know about, so that finding the words isn't difficult. If you don't have that kind of prompt, then writing down ideas by hand is even more helpful.

This is how I've been doing all of my papers in college, both essays and works for my creative writing class.

I think the longest essays I've written so far were five pages double spaced, which was over the minimum page requirement. The first time I felt pretty confident about my topic, but the second time was a big surprise.

With short stories, it's more difficult to keep the pages to the minimum. I always go over, even ignoring the 12 pt double spaced formatting and shrinking everything.

Right now I'm worried about a paper due Friday at midnight. I'm sure I can handle the topic, but the whole assignment is kind of vague and I'm not sure how easy it will be to manage four pages.[/SIZE]

[Zombie_Nosh]

Pulling an all nighter right now myself. It's after 3AM, and I'm about half way through. After last time, I promised myself I wouldn't let it come to this again... I was foolish.

The only tip I've got is to stay the Hell away from the internet. But, if you're anything like me (and EVERYBODY I know), then you'll be well able to procrastine even without the www's and the .com's.

[Nony]

Umm, well, I don't really have what you'd call [i]helpful[/i] advice. The way I get through papers like that is by just sitting at my computer and waiting for the inspiration to come. The actual writing of the paper typically doesn't take that long, but thinking about it can take all day...

I've had papers I really didn't want to write, but the one class I just did not like was one from last quarter, World Literature. Part of the pain was that it was an online class, and the other was that there were several books I had to read and subsequently write about that I absolutely hated.
I ended up essentially failing the class, but not 'cause of a paper. I missed the final, durp. :V

[eleanor]

[font=trebuchet ms] There is no one "right" way to go about writing a paper, so there is no "best" way to writing it either. The writing process can be wildly different between two people, but this is my way:

- create a very detailed outline, including quotes and phrases that basically make up the full sentences in my first draft
- continually edit my thesis to fit my outline. In most cases, my original thesis changes pretty dramatically by the time I'm done with my outline, and then changes a little more when I move from outline to paper.
- make sure all my transition are crystal clear and smooth. (this is an essay-writing rule no one can escape: write for your reader)
- make sure everything you write relates to your thesis, unless at one point you are posing questions that other scholars could possibly address (although this is more suited for concluding paragraphs)
- the conclusion is not just a neat summary of your paper, it's where you also explain how your research changes/effects the particular field you're writing in/pose more questions/etc.

Honestly the longest paper I've had to write so far was a 10-page paper in high school. In college the longest I've had to write was 8 pages. But a lot of people are surprised at how much time I put into writing papers.

In one of my classes last year, I had to write a 2-page double-spaced paper every week. My friends brushed it off as very easy, since it was just 1 page singe-spaced, but for me it was one of the most challening/rewarding classes, writing-wise. IMO short papers are often harder to write than longer ones, because it takes good control of simple but expressive language and tight organization to convey the same amount of information in a shorter space. I literally spent anywhere from 2-8 hours working on each of these papers, and my professor was ruthless with grading. He gave everyone Cs on the first paper, which pretty much gave me a panic attack at first. But it takes those kinds of professors, who actually want to challenge your level of writing, that makes a writer improve.

Also for me it takes freaking stamina to crunch out a paper. orz

Just last night I forced myself to stay awake until 7 AM (with 2 hours of sleep from the previous night) to write a paper so I could have substantial time to edit it the next day. And today, I've spent about 4 hours completely restructuring and rewriting it. Tomorrow I'm taking it through another round of editing and turning it in at 11 PM.

Whenever people say they writing critical essays is really easy/"they don't need to edit," I seriously doubt they are good writers.[/font]

[Raiha]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]The essay comes from a French word which boils down to 'the search for the truth.' It doesn't necessarily mean you'll find the truth at the end of your writings, but you should do your best.

I like essays, if only because as an English major, I'm forced to. If I didn't I would've cut myself to death already. I've written 25 page short stories for my Critical Thinking/Creative Writing courses, and the longest actual research paper was a 15 page beauty on mold growth.

Go figure.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Cat]

[quote name='Clurr'][SIZE=1]The best way to force yourself to write anything is to plan it out with a pencil and paper. Once you've got some momentum, you can switch to a computer and finish the whole thing. It really helps if your topic is something you know about, so that finding the words isn't difficult. If you don't have that kind of prompt, then writing down ideas by hand is even more helpful.

This is how I've been doing all of my papers in college, both essays and works for my creative writing class.
[/SIZE][/quote]

I agree with this. You can never go wrong with planing. I usually do one word outlines to get me started or some times a sentence outline. After this I will start the paper and finish it quickly.

The longest paper I ever wrote was 8 or 9 pages for my writing 102 class a few years back. It was on the metaphors used by Edgar Allen Poe in his short story The Black Cat. What a landmine I had walked into. The essay was actually suppose to be 10 pages the least but I had trouble because to the more obscure topic. Luckly the teacher like it so much she over looked the page count and gave a high grade. Usually if it wasn't the right length it would be marked down.

The problem I have and it gets me into trouble is I wait until the last minute to do projects or essays. I one of those people who does better work under pressure. I plan something out through a week or two I will get a lower grade then if I did it the night before. I think I just get lazy. :catgirl:

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]This is how I write a paper:

I open Microsoft Word.
I write the paper.
I save periodically.
I print the paper.
I save a final time.
I close Microsoft Word.

The longest paper I had the displeasure of writing was a History final that came in at 36 double spaced pages. Asshat professor.

I usually require some kind of droning music to keep me in the mood for writing the paper. It keeps me focused without being distracting.[/color]

[Skye]

[quote name='DeathKnight'][color=crimson]This is how I write a paper:

I open Microsoft Word.
I write the paper.
I save periodically.
I print the paper.
I save a final time.
I close Microsoft Word.

I usually require some kind of droning music to keep me in the mood for writing the paper. It keeps me focused without being distracting.[/color][/QUOTE]

[size=1]Agreed on both. I get annoyed when professors want your rough draft and your final draft because I end up editing bit by bit as I go, not writing, editing, and then rewriting.

The longest paper I've ever written was this semester for my English 1102 class; 10 page minimum on a subculture of our choosing. I chose Theater. Whoo.

I can't help but laugh at the people who initially think that a 100 word maximum paper is going to be easy, especially on a subject you have a lot of info for. Keeping it to 100 words is rather tricky.[/size]

[eleanor]

[quote name='Stephanie'][size=1]
I can't help but laugh at the people who initially think that a 100 word maximum paper is going to be easy, especially on a subject you have a lot of info for. Keeping it to 100 words is rather tricky.[/size][/QUOTE]

[font=trebuchet ms] uh...does that even count as a paper? seriously.[/font]