Your college years are probably some of the most prolific years of your life — most of us create more projects, papers and presentations than we ever have and ever will again. If you’re like me, your major requires you to write a lot of papers, which can be tough. Or, maybe you’re a business or STEM major and don’t write many papers at all, so when an essay or article is assigned you might get a little bit anxious. Regardless of our unique skill sets or concentrations, we all come across daunting writing assignments at some point in our college careers. With these tasks often comes writer’s block, revision struggles, or even just lack of motivation to get started. As an English major who battles all types of writing obstacles probably all too often, I have comprised a list of some of my favorite and most effective strategies and tips for writing.
1. Free writing
Grabbing a pen and paper, setting a timer for five minutes, and writing whatever comes to mind in a steady stream-of-consciousness style is the best cure for any writing obstacle. Whether I can’t decide on a thesis, organize my ideas or just bring myself to start my paper, free writing is always one of my first strategies.
2. Outlining
This one might seem a little obvious for many who have taken any standard high school English classes, but it’s definitely still worth mentioning. For some reason, I refused to try outlining until I got to college but, when I finally did, it changed my writing process forever. Now, I almost never write anything without an outline. If you think you don’t need this added step to organize your paper, you’re wrong. Outlining is especially helpful if you’re writing a research paper or anything that you need to use sources for — deciding where and when you’re incorporating all of your supporting evidence will save you a lot of work later on in your writing process.
3. Talking it out
Sometimes, the only thing you need to do to organize your thoughts is talk about your subject. Find a friend, a classmate or professor and discuss your opinions about whatever your topic is and your thesis will probably naturally occur to you during the course of your conversation. If you already have an idea about what your stance is but are struggling to identify supporting arguments, talking it out will probably open your mind up to some new ideas.
4. Take some time off to think
If you really can’t figure out what you want to write about or how you’re going to approach a paper, take a break and just think about it. Go for a drive, clean your room, take a shower — anything that gives you a chance to consider your topic without the pressure of a paper or laptop in front of your face. Not writing might not seem like the best writing advice, but it really does work if your goal is to overcome a bad case of writer’s block.
5. Set small goals
Personally, my biggest struggle is just sitting down and writing. I’ll know what I want to write about and what I want to say, but I just can’t bring myself to turn off netflix or get myself to the library and work. This is why it is so beneficial for me to set small goals when I’m writing. If I have a six page paper to write, I’ll tell myself that I’m just going to write one page per sitting. Once I get started, I almost always end up writing more than I intended. If you’re like me and committing to work is always an obstacle, make sure to set small goals for your writing. Eventually it will get there and you will most likely have a much more positive experience with your writing assignment.
6. Co-writing
There’s nothing better than a good co-write! Grab a friend or some classmates who also have writing goals and deadlines to work towards and head over to the library or your favorite coffee shop to do some work together. Although you’re not working on the same project together, it is extremely helpful to work in a productive writing environment like this. Sitting down with a fellow writer and committing yourself to working puts you in the best mindset to write a paper. Also, writing in the presence of other people gives you the opportunity to ask for feedback or opinions whenever the need arises.
7. Have someone read your essay back to you
This is one of the most valuable writing strategies I’ve learned since coming to college. The worst advice I could ever give you is to hand in an essay without reading it over, but, shockingly, I used to do this for every paper I wrote. Once I started revising, I realized that I had been cheating myself for so long by ignoring the chance to revisit and enhance my work. The best and most effective way to pick out errors and spots that could use some improvement is by asking someone else to read your essay back to you while you read along and take notes. There’s something about hearing your words in another person’s voice that forces you to see your writing through a different, more critical and illuminated perspective. You should always revise and, if you have the chance, you should always ask someone to read your essay back to you.
Hopefully, one or all of these strategies can be of use to you in your writing endeavors. If not, take some time to find out what works for you and get writing!