How To Write A Free Response Essay Effortlessly: Writing Secrets

If you are tasked with writing a free response essay, below you will find some writing secrets which will enable you to write it effortlessly:

  • Take notes during your research phase. When you are researching for your essay, use many index cards to take copious notes. Having separate colors for the cards so that you can keep your thoughts separated by major ideas and supporting details, or designate one color for each idea. Make sure that if you write down a quote or a statistic that you keep the bibliographic information at the top of the card or on the opposite side. After each day of research, note the bibliographic information in a separate bibliographic file so that you never lose the information. This will help you to keep your references organized later and will make it significantly easier for you to write you references.
  • Craft an outline. The outline is a critical component which many students neglect. The paper will be as good as the outline you create. Write the introduction at the top of your outline paper. This introduction needs to basically encompass your thesis statement, but a bit more expanded. Make sure that beneath the introduction you have your headings. And beneath each heading should be the supporting subheadings. You can use all of your note cards and physically switch them around until you find which order best illustrates the points you are trying to make.
  • Write your rough draft. No matter what your topic might be, writing the rough draft poses a serious challenge for many students because they fear they are not prepared for the final paper or do not have sufficient information to write the first draft. Whatever you might think, just remember that your first draft needs to get out somehow. No first draft is perfect. But if you get the first draft, anything at all, down on paper, you will be able to start working with it, moulding it, and shaping it into a great essay. Use your note cards for this section. Make sure the paper is accurate and that your facts are written down correctly. If you are looking at the content and you feel that one section is too small or one is too long, review them and break them up or revise them until you are satisfied that you have the strongest argument presented.


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