I’m developing an online course for students who want to improve their essay writing skills and would love your input about what you struggle the most with when writing an essay.
As a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of UCB in Literature and Creative Writing and an MFA student in Pacific University’s fiction writing program, I’ve written hundreds of essays. I’ve been a creative thesis and writing tutor for over five years now, helping students in subjects as diverse as nursing, psychology, and business. I’ve even worked as a science writer and journalist.
Needless to say, writing is my jam, and I want to help people forget the freak-out and write visionary college essays with confidence and style.
Let me hear what you struggle with most when writing essays so I can address those problem areas in my course!
I also love writing, but I find that it’s harder to write essays in certain subject areas than in others! When writing research papers (I’m personally referring to history research papers, but this probably applies to other subjects as well) it can be tough to make sure all your claims are backed up and that you don’t use any unsubstantiated evidence. Sometimes I have a good idea in my head, but sorting through hundreds of pages of sources to find the one quote I need can be tough!
Also, the hardest part for me hands down is getting up the motivation to sit down and just start the darn thing.
For me, it’s writing a good thesis statement and conclusion. I also struggle with writing papers that require more than the basic 5 paragraphs because I don’t know how many intros and bodies I should have.
I struggle with answering the question of “so what, who cares” when I write my essays. A well-written essay should have a purpose and should be able to answer those questions. I sometimes struggle with that because I feel like I’m writing just because my professor told me I had to write. What I learned is that you have to consider an audience in your writing that would appreciate your work. Answering “so what, who cares” may seem easy, but it is very easy to become sidetracked when writing and lose your overall purpose.
Definitely coming up with an argument. I also have trouble working from outlines and writing “rough drafts,” lol. I want every word to be perfect, so it usually ends up taking me a long time to write things. Not really a writing problem as much as an issue with perfectionism, though.
@NewBeginnings3 YES - thank you for saying that. It feels awful to be expending so much time, energy, and stress joules on a paper that’s just going to be graded and then never looked at again.
One of the main purposes of my course, aside from showing students how to write great essays painlessly, is to work up to writing essays that matter, essays that can affect change in some way, or that can be published.
The “who cares” question is really important. If you can lead your reader to feel that they care, you’re in a very powerful position as an essay writer. Thanks for your feedback!
@lhtanh98 - I certainly will! I’m glad you’re excited for it! I’m working really hard at the moment to finish a free 6-day email course that outlines my step-by-step method for writing essays. In that short course I’ll take students through brainstorming topic ideas, writing a complex thesis, finding the best sources quickly, and writing the paper with or without an outline. You can actually sign up for the email list now and get that mini-email-course when it comes out (which will happen before the holiday).
@OnMyWay2013 Thanks so much for your input on both of my questions. Perfection is the worst bear in the bag (is that even a saying?)! I think it can be really limiting. Other than it making writing take longer, are there other downsides (or upsides) to your experience with perfectionism?
You all are great! Your responses are a big help for me as I’m trying to design these classes for ambitious students who want to maximize their academic potential and totally win at college. Sounds like that’s you.
Upsides: When I do finally finish something, I can feel reasonably confident that I turned in something high-quality, or at least satisfied that I gave it my all. My grades usually reflect my effort, and professors / TAs have given me a lot of praise for the thoroughness of my assignments (particularly my essays, as a matter of fact).
Downsides: I waste a lot of time unnecessarily. I can get an essay prompt two weeks in advance, start planning and writing the moment see it, and still end up working until the last minute. Plus, it can be miserable sometimes, being so critical of everything I do and obsessing about the nuances and most minute details instead of enjoying the assignments. It’s the difference between doing a strictly-evaluated interview and having a conversation with a close family member; I get so caught up in how other people might interpret what I’m writing that I’m not comfortable with sharing my thoughts or work until they’re tailored to perfection.
@EssayEnthusiast That seems so cool. How can I sign up for the email list?
Although still a HS (foreign) student, I’m eager to learn more about writing. I usually edit while I’m still writing the first draft, and that habbit causes me a really long time to finish conveying my point. And when it actually comes down to the ‘real edit’, I have no clue how to perform.
I think the biggest challenge kids seem to face is not understanding the purpose of the essay.
I’ve read a lot of essays. Far too many of them are well written, but do not serve the purpose of “giving them a reason to say yes.” Every single word you write should have that intention in mind.
As I’ve said over and over again: it’s part of a college application. It’s not an Op Ed piece for the NY Times, it’s not a reality TV audition, it’s not a piece for your school’s literary magazine, it’s not Confession and it’s not therapy. It’s part of your college application. It should leave the reader just knowing that you would be a good fit for his/her school, and wanting to meet you.
Any word or phrase or sentence or paragraph that does not serve that purpose does not belong on your college essay.
@lhtanh98 I love hearing that you’re interested in boosting your writing skills. There’s no better time to start than right away.
Aiming for perfection while in the process of writing is tricky. But it’s hard to put words on the page that you’re not proud of. Trying to forget about the critiquing voice in your head while you write is supposed to be valuable, but I’ve never managed to turn it off. If it helps you revise faster later, it’s not as big of a problem. But if you still need to revise heavily after, it might help to just get it all out on the page in a rush and comb back through with more time and energy.
I post lots of tips and tricks for how to write better essays at my blog Creative Essay Crafting (just search it, I know they don’t like links being posted here).
I’d love to have you join the email list. I’m also going to be starting a course where I show students how to advance their college career quickly, like becoming an expert in your field, or publishing while still a student. Either way, my goal is to make earning A’s easier, writing essays less of a struggle, and going to college a huge boost for later success.
Thanks for your feedback! It is college class essays I’m interested in hearing about, especially because these are essays that can shape not only the college experience, but future careers too. Also, because I love to geek out on essay writing.
Intros and conclusions behave in fun ways. (I’m restraining my inner nerd.) This gives me a great idea for my next blog post, actually. I’m working on a course where I teach people how to write essays using a formula that simplifies the essay writing process. So I’ll make a note to spend time discussing the intro and conclusion. Essential, and one of the best areas for creativity.
