how to best memorise an essay

How to memorise essays and long responses

Lauren Condon

Marketing Specialist at Atomi

When it comes to memorising essays or long responses for your exams, there are three big things to consider.

• Should you even try to memorise an essay?
• Do you know how to adapt your memorised response to the exam question?
• How on earth are you meant to memorise a 1,200 word essay??

It’s a lot to weigh up but we can help you out here. If you want an answer to the first question, here’s one we prepared earlier. But wait, there’s more! If you’re super keen to read more about question #2, then go ahead and click here .

And for that third point on how to actually memorise a long essay? Well, all you have to do is keep reading...

1. Break it down

Your essay/long response/creative writing piece could be anywhere between 800 and 1,200 words long. Yeah… that’s a lot. So when it comes to memorising the whole thing, it’s a lot easier to break the answer down into logical chunks and work on memorising it bit by bit.

So if you want to memorise your Discovery Essay, you might have something like this:

• Introduction
• Theme 1 with the assigned text
• Theme 1 with the related text
• Theme 2 with the assigned text
• Theme 2 with the related text

You’re going to want to memorise the paragraphs and pay attention to the structure then you can piece it all together in the exam. Having a killer structure makes it a lot easier to remember the overall bones of this situation and if you’re finding this effective, you can even break those body paragraphs down further like topic sentence > example > explanation > connection to thesis.

2. Use memory tricks

Now, there are lots of different strategies and approaches when it comes to memorising a long piece of writing. Moving in sections, you can try reading it out loud over again (slowly looking at the paper less and less) or the classic look-cover-write-check approach. If you’re really struggling, make some of your own flashcards that have the first sentence on one side and the next sentence on the back so you can test your progress.

You could also enlist the help of some creative mnemonics (memory tricks) to remind you which sentence or section needs to come next. Pick one keyword from each sentence in the paragraph and turn them into a silly sentence to help you remember the structure of the paragraph and to make sure you don’t forget one of your awesome points.

3. Play to your strengths

Not all of us are super geniuses that can just read an essay and then memorise the entire thing but we’re all going to have our own strengths. There’s going to be something whether it’s art, music, writing, performance or sport that just ‘clicks’ in your brain and this is what you want to capitalise on. So for me, I was really into debating and public speaking (hold back the jokes please) and was used to giving speeches and remembering them. So whenever I wanted to memorise a long response, I would write out the essay onto palm cards and then practice it out loud like a speech. Did it annoy my family? Yes. Was I too embarrassed to tell people my strategy? Yes. Did it work? Absolutely. 💯

Whatever your strengths are, find a way to connect them to your essay and come up with a creative way of learning your long response that will be much easier and more effective for you!

4. Start early

So you know how there’s that whole long-term/short-term memory divide? Yeah well that’s going to be pretty relevant when it comes to memorising. You’re going to have a much better chance of remembering your long response if you start early and practice it often, instead of trying to cram it in the night before… sorry.

The good news is, you still have a couple of months before the HSC so try to get your prepared response written, get good feedback from your teachers and then make it perfect so it’s ready to go for the HSC. Then, the next step is to start memorising the essay now and test yourself on it fairly regularly all the way up to your exams. This way, you have plenty of time to really lock it deep into your memory.

5. Test yourself

The final and maybe even most important step is to test yourself. And not with flashcards or the look-cover-check-repeat anymore. Once you’ve got the essay memorised pretty well, you want to spend the weeks coming up to HSC doing past questions so you can practice

• Having the essay memorised
• Being able to recall it under pressure
• Adapting it to any question so that all your hard work will actually pay off

For this to work, you really need to commit 100% to exam conditions (no cheating!) and it’s definitely worth sending those responses to your teacher to get them marked. That way, you will actually know if you’re doing a good job of remembering the core of your argument but also tailoring it perfectly to the question.

Any subject with essays or long responses can be super daunting so if you want to have a pre-written, adaptable response ready to go then it’s worth making sure you can actually memorise it for your exam. Remember to break down the essay into sections, play to your memory strengths and make sure you consistently test yourself all the way up to HSC. That should do the trick. 👌

Published on

July 28, 2017

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Essay Papers Writing Online

Mastering the art of essay writing – a comprehensive guide.

Essay writing is a fundamental skill that every student needs to master. Whether you’re in high school, college, or beyond, the ability to write a strong, coherent essay is essential for academic success. However, many students find the process of writing an essay daunting and overwhelming.

This comprehensive guide is here to help you navigate the intricate world of essay writing. From understanding the basics of essay structure to mastering the art of crafting a compelling thesis statement, we’ve got you covered. By the end of this guide, you’ll have the tools and knowledge you need to write an outstanding essay that will impress your teachers and classmates alike.

So, grab your pen and paper (or fire up your laptop) and let’s dive into the ultimate guide to writing an essay. Follow our tips and tricks, and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a skilled and confident essay writer!

The Art of Essay Writing: A Comprehensive Guide

Essay writing is a skill that requires practice, patience, and attention to detail. Whether you’re a student working on an assignment or a professional writing for publication, mastering the art of essay writing can help you communicate your ideas effectively and persuasively.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the key elements of a successful essay, including how to choose a topic, structure your essay, and craft a compelling thesis statement. We’ll also discuss the importance of research, editing, and proofreading, and provide tips for improving your writing style and grammar.

By following the advice in this guide, you can become a more confident and skilled essay writer, capable of producing high-quality, engaging essays that will impress your readers and achieve your goals.

Understanding the Essay Structure

When it comes to writing an essay, understanding the structure is key to producing a cohesive and well-organized piece of writing. An essay typically consists of three main parts: an introduction, the body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Introduction: The introduction is where you introduce your topic and provide some background information. It should also include your thesis statement, which is the main idea or argument that you will be discussing in the essay.

Body paragraphs: The body of the essay is where you present your supporting evidence and arguments. Each paragraph should focus on a separate point and include evidence to back up your claims. Remember to use transition words to link your ideas together cohesively.

Conclusion: The conclusion is where you wrap up your essay by summarizing your main points and restating your thesis. It is also a good place to make any final thoughts or reflections on the topic.

Understanding the structure of an essay will help you write more effectively and communicate your ideas clearly to your readers.

Choosing the Right Topic for Your Essay

One of the most crucial steps in writing a successful essay is selecting the right topic. The topic you choose will determine the direction and focus of your writing, so it’s important to choose wisely. Here are some tips to help you select the perfect topic for your essay:

By following these tips and considering your interests, audience, and research, you can choose a topic that will inspire you to write an engaging and compelling essay.

Research and Gathering Information

When writing an essay, conducting thorough research and gathering relevant information is crucial. Here are some tips to help you with your research:

Crafting a Compelling Thesis Statement

When writing an essay, one of the most crucial elements is the thesis statement. This statement serves as the main point of your essay, summarizing the argument or position you will be taking. Crafting a compelling thesis statement is essential for a strong and cohesive essay. Here are some tips to help you create an effective thesis statement:

• Be specific: Your thesis statement should clearly state the main idea of your essay. Avoid vague or general statements.
• Make it arguable: A strong thesis statement is debatable and presents a clear position that can be supported with evidence.
• Avoid clichés: Stay away from overused phrases or clichés in your thesis statement. Instead, strive for originality and clarity.
• Keep it concise: Your thesis statement should be concise and to the point. Avoid unnecessary words or phrases.
• Take a stand: Your thesis statement should express a clear stance on the topic. Don’t be afraid to assert your position.

By following these guidelines, you can craft a compelling thesis statement that sets the tone for your essay and guides your reader through your argument.

Writing the Body of Your Essay

Once you have your introduction in place, it’s time to dive into the body of your essay. The body paragraphs are where you will present your main arguments or points to support your thesis statement.

Here are some tips for writing the body of your essay:

• Stick to One Main Idea: Each paragraph should focus on one main idea or argument. This will help keep your essay organized and easy to follow.
• Use Topic Sentences: Start each paragraph with a topic sentence that introduces the main idea of the paragraph.
• Provide Evidence: Support your main points with evidence such as facts, statistics, examples, or quotes from experts.
• Explain Your Points: Don’t just state your points; also explain how they support your thesis and why they are important.
• Use Transition Words: Use transition words and phrases to connect your ideas and create a smooth flow between paragraphs.

Remember to refer back to your thesis statement and make sure that each paragraph contributes to your overall argument. The body of your essay is where you can really showcase your critical thinking and analytical skills, so take the time to craft well-developed and coherent paragraphs.

Perfecting Your Essay with Editing and Proofreading

Editing and proofreading are essential steps in the essay writing process to ensure your work is polished and error-free. Here are some tips to help you perfect your essay:

• Take a Break: After writing your essay, take a break before starting the editing process. This will help you look at your work with fresh eyes.
• Focus on Structure: Check the overall structure of your essay, including the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. Make sure your ideas flow logically and cohesively.
• Check for Clarity: Ensure that your arguments are clear and easy to follow. Eliminate any jargon or confusing language that might obscure your message.
• Grammar and Punctuation: Review your essay for grammar and punctuation errors. Pay attention to subject-verb agreement, verb tense consistency, and proper punctuation usage.
• Use a Spell Checker: Run a spell check on your essay to catch any spelling mistakes. However, don’t rely solely on spell checkers as they may miss certain errors.
• Read Aloud: Read your essay aloud to yourself or have someone else read it to you. This can help you identify awkward phrasing or unclear sentences.
• Get Feedback: Consider getting feedback from a peer, teacher, or writing tutor. They can offer valuable insights and suggestions for improving your essay.

By following these editing and proofreading tips, you can ensure that your essay is well-crafted, organized, and free of errors, helping you make a strong impression on your readers.

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12 proven techniques to memorise an essay fast.

Proficiency in memorising is an essential ability for professionals and students. It helps students remember and retain information more easily, which improves academic performance. Effective essay memorisation significantly enhances academic and professional performance by enabling students to confidently and easily recall complex knowledge.

However, an essay might be difficult to memorise, particularly if there is a small timeframe. In addition, if you still need to write your essay and you have to memorise it too within a short deadline, it will be really difficult for you.  In such a situation, the best solution is to acquire  help with your essay  from experts so that you can invest your time in memorising. At the same time, professionals will write a comprehensive paper.  

Moreover, with proper techniques, you'll be amazed at how fast and simple it is to learn an essay. You'll be able to recall crucial information, quotes, and facts with e ase. Put aside last-minute rushing and use these tips to help you memorise your essay. 

How to Memorise an Essay Fast? 12 Proven Techniques

Like many other students, you may have tried to memorise an essay by rewriting notes, underlining material, and listening to lectures for numerous hours. However, what if you could assess a more successful and efficient method? 

The proven methods in this article can help you reach your objectives, whether you're a professional trying to improve your information retention ability or a student trying to raise your gr ades. Take the following strategies into action to discover the wonders and rapid essay memorisation. To help students memorise an essay fast, here are 12 proven techniques:

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Let’s continue reading about these core tricks in more detail.

1. Break Down the Essay into Chunks

One of the best strategies for memorisation of an essay is to divide it into manageable sections. This strategy enables you to concentrate on particular essay portions, which facilitates memorisation. You can set up an intellectual framework that will aid in the retention of the information by breaking the essay into smaller chunks.

Breaking an essay up into smaller pieces is great for several reasons.

You can remember the material much more efficiently if you focus on bite-sized portions.

By breaking the essay down into smaller portions, it's no longer so overwhelming to research an entire article by heart.

You can be greatly assured that you will not forget the complete essay as every phase is familiar.

By using this method to help you memorise an essay, you may quickly become proficient at it.  Ensure that you are ready up for exams, presentations, and different situations in which memorisation is necessary.

2. Create a Mind Map

A mind map is a diagram drawn in radial mode (tree-like) around one concept instead of drawing an idea from left to right like an o utline. It is an effective method for brainstorming, structuring and linking thoughts and a perfect strategy to memorise an essay in 10 minutes.

Use these steps to make a mind map for essay memorisation:

Start with your primary idea.

Include important ideas and subtopics.

Employ visual components.

Arrange and link thoughts.

Examine and improve it.

Benefits of Mind Mapping for Essay Memorisation

There are several advantages of using mind maps to help with essay memorisation:

Your ability to retain and recall information improves as you encode your thoughts in a more meaningful visual format.

Through spatial linkages or visual features, you can quickly generate a lot of strong links between concepts.

Mind maps provide a great summary and structure to read the article with one concise layout.

Since these maps can be made easily, they are perfect for cramming/last-minute study.

3. Use Mnemonics

Mnemonics are an excellent memory-boosting technique that works especially well for memorising an essay in 30 minutes rapidly. By linking unfamiliar knowledge with something you already know, students can help themselves remember the new information. Students can encode information in a more significant and memorable way by using mnemonics, which makes it possible for them to quickly commit an article to memory.

How to Apply Mnemonics to Essay Memorisation

Following are the ways to apply mnemonics in memorising an essay:

Figure out the important information and supporting facts for the essay.

Based on the essay topic and your tastes, pick the best mnemonic.

Create the mind map, rhyme, acronym, or chain of associations that will aid in your retention of the important details.

You also need to recite that mnemonic over and over in your head. The more you practise, the better your brain will be at recalling it fast.

Review the essay to confirm that your mnemonic appropriately brings out the topic.

The advantages of using mnemonics to help in essay memorisation are as follows.

Increased determination

Shorter study sessions 

More self-assurance

You can increase your general learning efficiency and quickly memorise an essay by using mnemonic devices in your study sessions.

4. Repetition and Re-Reading

 When it involves memorising, the best way to memorise an essay is repetition and re-reading. This approach involves repeatedly studying and re-analysing the essay a couple of times to bring it to mind. Here are some key factors to remember:

Repetition allows you to create memories, where your brain and body end up familiarised with the phrases and terms, making it simpler to recall them.

Re-studying the essay more than one time enables your brain to recognise styles and connections among ideas, making it easier to bear in mind.

The more you study the essay, the greater familiarity you end up with the content, which boosts your self-belief and decreases anxiety.

How to Implement Repetition and Re-Reading?

Following are the strategies to implement repetition and re-reading:

Establish a timetable.

Begin with small chunks.

Make use of active recall.

Change up your surroundings.

5. Summarise and Paraphrase

There are two particularly effective strategies for swiftly memorising essays: summarising and paraphrasing. These techniques have been shown to improve recall and retention, enabling students to quickly retain complex material in memory.

To properly summarise a piece of writing, take the subsequent actions:

Determine the main idea after reading.

Divide the essay into three sections: introduction, main body and conclusion.

Determine the key points in every section.

Use bullet points to summarise the essay’s main themes.

Make sure you exactly and effectively deliver the main thoughts of the unique essay by going over and editing it.

How to Paraphrase an Essay?

To correctly paraphrase an essay, take the following moves:

Determine the most important concepts and essential details through closely studying the source text.

Determine the writer's language, tone, and fashion.

Rewrite the content in your own words by making  use of different sentence styles and synonyms.

Ensure the message and tone of the text you've paraphrased continue to be equal.

To ensure your paraphrase is correct and clear, go back and edit it.

Remember, you can develop a powerful memorisation strategy that strengthens your comprehension of the situation. You can also get in touch with  reliable essay writers in the UK  to proofread and edit your essay so that you can memorise an error-free document. 

6. Teach Someone Else

An excellent strategy for rapidly and effectively memorising an essay is the "Teach Someone Else" method. Using this technique, you describe the essay to someone else as though you were imparting knowledge. This method makes use of the psychological concept of active recall, which states that information is actively recalled from memory as opposed to being simply reread.

How Does it work?

Assign a friend, member of your family, or even a toy animal to the role of "student."

Act as even though you are teaching them the essay, going over the important thoughts, and arguments, and assisting details in your words.

While instructing, make an effort to remember the material without consulting your notes or the source text.

Make an effort to translate difficult concepts into plain, understandable language.

Encourage your "student" to ask questions so that you can both figure out what you don't grasp and where you need to practise more.

You can rapidly and efficiently memorise an article and remember the content for a long time by employing the "Teach Someone Else" technique. Students, professionals, and everyone else try to enhance their learning and retention abilities with this strategy. 

7. Use Flashcards

 Flashcards are a genuine technique for brief memorisation, and they could significantly improve essay memorisation. Students, experts, and those who need plenty of information to reminiscence will find this approach especially beneficial. You can successfully devote the essays to your long-term memory through the use of flashcards.

To create an effective flashcard, you should:

Divide the essay into its major points.

Make flashcards by writing essential words or phrases on one aspect and the relevant data on the alternative. 

Use clean, succinct language and concentrate on the most crucial ideas.

Sort the flashcards into sections or categories.

8. Record and Listen

Essay memorisation is probably difficult, mainly if there is not plenty of time to complete the task. Nonetheless, it is possible to perform it quickly and efficaciously with the suitable method. The "Record and Listen" technique is one such approach that is powerful in assisting students to rapidly memorise anything.

To maximise the advantages of this technique, ensure to:

Record a peaceful video of yourself.

Make sure to pay close attention to the tone and tempo of your recording.

Make detailed notes while focusing, paying attention to important aspects and ideas.

Repeat the recording process a couple of times, focusing on key aspects of your writing each time.

You can boost your comprehension and delivery of your essay by recording and listening to it. This will help you learn the essay without problems. Try it out and have a look at how it affects your academic performance!

9. Use Visualisation Techniques

College students can greatly enhance their potential to use efficient visualisation techniques that can help them learn an essay. This technique makes use of the mind's tendency to react to visible stimuli, which makes it beneficial for quick memorising.

The process of visualisation entails gathering up photos of the thoughts that are connected to specific facts, ideas, or arguments. Your mind establishes a robust association between the intellectual picture and the related statistics while you visualise those pictures.

Students can easily retrieve the content by creating a strong mind map of their essays with regular practice. Try visualisation and discover how powerful visual learning can be!

10. Create a Story

Exam preparation may be quite difficult, particularly when it comes to writing an extended essay. Another amazing  method that is quite successful in helping people quickly memorise an essay is the "Create a Story" method.

To use this approach, one needs to craft a story that includes the essay's major ideas. This method is based on the fact that tales are less difficult for the human mind to remember than discrete information. 

However, if it seems difficult to you to create a story out of your essay due to a heavy academic workload, you can  purchase your essays  from  essay writing companies   in the UK. Such companies have experts who write a winning document for you. So, you would have enough time to memorise it easily. 

11. Listen to Music

Even though memorising an essay can be difficult, listening to music while you work will help you remember and retain the information far better. This method, called the "Mnemonics of Music," makes use of the brain's innate love of melody and rhythm to encode information in a way that is more captivating and remembered. People can better connect an essay to their memory by using music that appeals to their auditory and visual learning types.

How Music Enhances Memorisation?

The sense of familiarity generated by music’s repetitive melodies and rhythmic patterns helps students recall information.

Music helps stimulate emotions, which ultimately assists memory development.

Due to its ability to stimulate both visual and auditory processing, music enables people to encode information using several senses.

This novel method can be the fastest way to memorise an essay for professionals, learners, and anybody else trying to get better at memorising.

12. Get Enough Sleep

Getting enough sleep is a highly useful approach that is often disregarded when it comes to memorising an essay. Even though it can seem paradoxical, sleep is a vital part of the learning process since it helps with memory consolidation. 

Here are the reasons why you need to prioritise your sleep:

Sleep reduces stress and anxiety and enhances memory, organisation, and retention by enabling the brain to absorb and organise information. Prioritise getting enough sleep as part of your study schedule to reach your academic goals and realise your full potential.

How Many Hours Does It Take to Memorise an Essay?

It will take 2 hours to learn a 600-word essay. However, if you have a day, it is even better. On the other hand, to learn a 1000–1100-word essay, you need to have five to six hours. 

Can you Memorise an Essay in One Night?

Memorising an essay depends on the total word count and the complexity of the topic. One can easily do it overnight by following a few tips and tricks. Although there are countless strategies for memorising, the simplest technique is the true mixture of practice and repetition.

How to Memorise a 100-Page Essay in One Night?

Make sure that you have no commitments, appointments, shopping plans or any other activity on that day.

Work hard and stay in the distraction-free zone.

Break an essay into 25-page sections.

Read the twenty-five pages for two hours. Disconnect for less than an hour. Get the next twenty-five pages done in two hours. Take a second break. 

Continue with the next 25 pages, take a short break and repeat to reach page 100.

The secret to swiftly memorising an essay is to approach the process strategically and purposefully. By implementing these techniques into your revision routine,  you may keep your essay in long-term memory and retrieve it when you need it. St udents who use proven techniques mentioned in this article can memorise their essays and give a self-assured and well-spoken presentation. These strategies will undoubtedly assist you in reaching your objectives, whether you're a professional trying to impress your readers or a student hoping to ace an exam. 

With these techniques under your belt, you'll be well on your way to achieving your objectives and realising your full potential. Moreover, you’ll feel more assured about your capacity to recall material easily. Thus, start now and experience the life-changing potential of quickly learning an essay by heart. A well-memorised essay could be all that stands between you and success!

Chris Bates

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• Memorization Skills

Quick Ways to Memorize Long Texts and Paragraphs

Last Updated: July 8, 2024 References

Breaking the Text into Chunks

Creating a memory palace.

• Other Memorization Techniques

Expert Q&A

This article was co-authored by Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed. and by wikiHow staff writer, Jennifer Mueller, JD . Alexander Ruiz is an Educational Consultant and the Educational Director of Link Educational Institute, a tutoring business based in Claremont, California that provides customizable educational plans, subject and test prep tutoring, and college application consulting. With over a decade and a half of experience in the education industry, Alexander coaches students to increase their self-awareness and emotional intelligence while achieving skills and the goal of achieving skills and higher education. He holds a BA in Psychology from Florida International University and an MA in Education from Georgia Southern University. There are 14 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 414,716 times.

If you've ever tried to memorize an essay, monologue, long answer, or other text, you likely just repeated the words over and over again until you could recite them from rote memory. However, this isn't necessarily the quickest way to memorize something and if you're working with a longer text you may not have the time it would take to keep repeating it aloud. Instead, use memorization techniques that suit your learning style and focus on recalling the text rather than rote memorization. [1] X Research source

Best Ways to Remember Long Text and Paragraphs

To memorize long passages, break the text into smaller chunks and practice them separately. When you're confident with one chunk of text, combine it with the next chunk of text and recite them again. Keep adding new chunks of text until you have it completely memorized.

• For example, if you're trying to memorize Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, your first chunk might be the first line of the speech, in which Lincoln talks about the founding of the United States. The second chunk might relate to Lincoln's description of the civil war, then the third to the battlefield Lincoln was consecrating that day. Despite being separate chunks, the second and third chunks make up the same paragraph. [3] X Research source
• Look for phrases you already know that you won't have to work as hard to commit to memory. For example, if you already remember the phrase "four score and seven years ago" from the Gettysburg Address, you don't need to worry about memorizing that.
• Sometimes it can also help to reformat the text. You might hand-write or type the text out with plenty of space between the chunks. You might even include separate headings for each of the chunks.

• Get a good familiarity with each of the chunks separately before you start to combine them. If there is a particular area of your original chunk that's giving you trouble, try separating it into even smaller chunks. Then you can combine those smaller chunks together once you've got them down.

• Practice the first and second chunk together until you can recite them flawlessly. Then you're ready to add the third chunk.

• If you run into rough spots, stop and go back over them until you can recite them smoothly. Then integrate that part into the rest of the chunk.
• Throughout the process, keep your eye out for transitions that you can use as triggers to combine the chunks together seamlessly. If these transitions aren't in the text, add them mentally to help you connect the chunks — just remember not to say them out loud.

• It's often easiest to use your home, since you're intimately familiar with the rooms and the objects inside.
• Your place can also be a fictitious place that you're deeply familiar with. For example, if you're a big fan of Harry Potter and have a familiar map in your head of Hogwarts, you could use that.
• Your "memory palace" doesn't have to be a single building or location. It can also be a route from one place to another. For example, you might use your route from home to work or school.

• For example, if you're trying to memorize Hamlet's soliloquy, you might imagine a letter "B" on the door of a room. When you open the room, there are arrows and slingshots pelting you from a large bag of gold coins. If you close the door and move down the hall, there are arms reaching out that grab you and carry you across a turbulent ocean. [8] X Research source

• If you encounter pieces that are difficult to remember, you may want to rethink the object you have associated with that piece or break it up into smaller pieces associated with multiple objects.

• This technique may take some practice to master. If you're up against a deadline, it may not be the best time to create a memory palace. However, once you've used it a few times, you may find it enables you to memorize text more quickly.
• If you used a route rather than a place, you can travel through the text you're trying to memorize every day as you head to work or school. You could even try it in reverse as you go back home. Then you'd be able to say you know the text "backward and forward."

Trying Other Memorization Techniques

• For example, if you were trying to memorize Hamlet's soliloquy from Shakespeare's Hamlet, you would write "t b, o n t b? t i t q — w 't n i t m t s t s a a o o f, o t t a a a s o t, a, b o, e t?" [11] X Research source Then you would see how many words you could get just from those first letters.
• Circle the letters that correspond to words you couldn't remember and then go back to the text. Use your favorite memorization technique to better commit those words to your memory in the context of the text, then try the first letters again.
• This trick is also useful if you're trying to recall something you memorized a long time ago but haven't thought about since. You might be surprised how much you'll recall.

• If you're musically inclined, you could try recording yourself playing the song. You may also be able to find an instrumental version of the song on your favorite streaming service.
• Educational programs, such as "Schoolhouse Rock," often create songs for historical documents and speeches. Search the internet or your favorite video streaming service and see what you can find.

• Feel free to gesticulate as well to really get into the emotion of the text. The more passion and emotion you attach to it, the better you'll be able to remember it.

• For example, if you were trying to memorize Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, you might think of an image of your father, an image of the United States, an image of the Statue of Liberty, and an equal sign to represent the first line: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
• If you enjoy emoji, you might try "translating" the text into emoji. Since those images are already familiar to you, it might make the text easier to remember.

• If you dislike the sound of your own voice, you can always get someone else to read the text for you. However, you'll get less of a benefit by listening to someone else's voice than you would if you listened to your own voice.
• If you're trying to memorize a relatively famous text, you may also be able to find recordings online of famous actors or other celebrities reading the text.

• Once you've found a method that works for you, practice it by memorizing speeches, monologues, or essays that spark your interest. The more you practice memorizing things, the better you'll get. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• After you've memorized something, make an effort to recite it at least once every few days so it sticks in your memory. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Tips from our Readers

• Try recording your own voice saying the text and play it back to yourself. After listening to it, practice saying it along with the recording.
• If you are learning a script, then try learning the other lines in between yours so that you can remember your cues.
• Try and write down a "spark word" from a section that helps trigger the memory of what the section is about.

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/backstage-experts-answer-ways-quickly-memorize-lines-6719/
• ↑ https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies/chunking
• ↑ http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm
• ↑ https://psychcentral.com/lib/memory-and-mnemonic-devices/
• ↑ https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-psychology/chapter/step-1-memory-encoding/
• ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4056179/
• ↑ https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56965/speech-to-be-or-not-to-be-that-is-the-question
• ↑ https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/enhancing-your-memory/
• ↑ http://www.productivity501.com/how-to-memorize-verbatim-text/294/
• ↑ https://poets.org/poem/hamlet-act-iii-scene-i-be-or-not-be
• ↑ https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/sciencecommunication/2017/10/20/want-to-remember-something-better-put-it-in-a-song/
• ↑ https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/7-easy-monologue-memorization-tips/
• ↑ Alexander Ruiz, M.Ed.. Educational Consultant. Expert Interview. 18 June 2020.
• ↑ https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09658211.2017.1383434

About This Article

To memorize a long text in the shortest time possible, start by splitting it into 1-2 sentence sections to make it easier to remember. Read the first section a few times. Then, cover the page and practice recalling the section from memory. You can say it aloud, in your head, or write it down on a new piece of paper. Once you’ve memorized the first section, move onto the next one. Whenever you start a new section, say or write the text from the beginning so you learn the flow between each section. Repeat the process until you’ve learned all of the sections of your text. For more tips, including how to memorize text by using pictures for each section, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to memorise English Essays effectively and adapt them to ANY question

Struggling to see how you'll write a whole essay in only 40 minutes? Not sure whether you should memorise an essay or go in blind? We got you! Here's our fool proof step-by-step guide to memorise essays that you can adapt to ANY question.

8 months ago   •   4 min read

Should I have a pre-written English Essay?

The answer to this is yes and no. NO you should not know have only one essay mindlessly memorised word for word that you just regurgitate back onto the page. But YES you do want to have several essay plans with quotes and analysis imprinted in the back of your head that you can call upon under pressure.

If you’re memorising an essay word for word, you’re giving yourself no room to adapt. Subsequently, your essay won't be relevant to the question, rendering all your hard work futile. Furthermore, you won't be able to tackle curveball questions that they are known to give, asking you to reference a certain theme or even worse, a certain scene or character.

In essence, you want to have a few template essays that you can quickly mould to perfectly fit any question.

What you should be doing

Step 1. form opinions and ideas about the text.

First is to actually have a thorough understanding of the text you are studying. Most importantly you need to be able to formulate original arguments and opinions regarding the essay.

I recommend starting by finding three practice essay questions and just having a think about how you would approach answering them. What themes or characters would you maybe reference? Where do you stand with the question, do you agree or disagree and why?

This will give you an idea about which themes or aspects of the text interest you and you can focus your analysis down on that.

Step 2. Study by theme

Pick four themes to focus your study efforts on. These themes will make the basis of your essays. Try to pick themes that somewhat relate together so that you can form a cohesive argument.

For example, you believe the composer uses their text to expose the fragility of human motivations by exploring notions of love and pride. You are examining two separate themes but they lead to the same argument, human motivations can be easily manipulated or changed.

For each of your four themes have a set of quotes and their analysis memorised. Even better, memorise a few possible topic sentences that you could pair up with these quotes.

Step 3. Break it down

Once you've collected your themes and quotes it's time to see how they all piece together in an essay. Find a practice essay question and spend some time creating a well-crafted essay. This will test how well your quotes and analysis work in an argument to an essay question.

When you finish try to get feedback on your work from either a teacher or tutor. You want this essay to be as well written as possible because this will form the base for future essays.

Once you are happy with your essay deconstruct it. This could be by highlighting key bits of analysis and quotes or turning them into dot-point summaries - chuckable portions that are easy to memorise. I found the best way was to use a table but you can experiment with what works for you (flowcharts, flashcards, dot points). By deconstructing it like this you aren't mindlessly memorising an essay word for word but actively visualising the inner workings of your words and imprinting key ideas into your mind.

Below are some examples of how you can format it. You will want to customise it based on the type of essay or module you are tackling.

Step 4. Practice, Practice, Practice...

This last step is the most important. Although it seems time-consuming and quite a pain, the only way to train your brain for under-pressure essay adaption is to write essays over and over again until it becomes instinct.

Use your above planner to do another practice essay under timed conditions and see how you go. You may find yourself short on time and struggling to compose your ideas. You may even come to find your first essay plan is rigid and your themes don't at all work with this new question. No biggie, go looking for some new quotes to add to your essay planner and edit your ideas to make them more adaptable.

Once you finish that essay, you guessed it, you'll attempt another one! You will want to do this at least three more times before your exam, practising using your quotes and ideas against new essay questions. If you get tired or are short on time you can just brainstorm how you would tackle the questions by dot-pointing your paragraphs. Eventually, this will become instinct and you'll do this effortlessly.

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5 Tips For Memorising Your Essay Before Exams

Your final exams are looming and along with it comes a million study tasks you really don’t want to face. Practice papers, drafts and essay scaffolds, most of which are mildly bearable at best. But how do you make it through the one soul wrenching, mind numbing task no one likes? I’m talking about memorising essays; a seemingly impossible feat that only a few students will master.

It’s true, memorising hundreds sometimes thousands of words is not easy. But it really doesn’t have to be as tough as you think! There’s a bunch of different methods out there, some work and some don’t. So check out these five tried and tested methods to find which ones work for you

1. Try something different

When you’re knee deep in study and feel like you’re just not making progress, try taking a break and come back with a different approach. Remember that sometimes the weirder ideas work best. Try recording your essay and playing it back to yourself. This is a pretty easy one that doesn’t take all your effort and you can listen to your essay on the bus, while running and when going to sleep. Sure, you might cringe at the sound of your own voice but once you get over the initial disgust it’s not all that bad and it’ll make the words stick in your mind.

2. Read before you sleep

This one is super useful when you’ve left the essay until the night before. Avoid wasting time on memorising it word for word. Instead, read over it a few times and pick up on the key ideas of each paragraph then hit the hay. Studies have shown that when we sleep for as little as 15 minutes after studying, our brains review and relearn the information while sleeping.

Additionally, our neural connections of the topic solidify 50% quicker than without sleeping. The catch is that the work you do before sleeping has to be legit, you have to be focused and alert, not falling asleep. When you wake up you’ll remember these key ideas and ready to pick up the rest a whole lot easier.

3. Read, cover, write, check

Again, this is more of a last minute tactic and rote learning like this doesn’t really work in the long run. If you want to be able remember your essay in three months time then jump down to no. 5.

But the read, cover, write, check method is pretty self explanatory and one you probably used in primary school. Read one sentence, cover it, write it or say it aloud and then check if you were right. Repeat for the following sentences until you’re able to regurgitate your entire essay in order.

4. Use key words

This one is good for cramming a lot of work into a little amount of time. Start by numbering each paragraph, then count how many sentences each paragraph contains. After that, take a look at each sentence and pull out a few trigger words eg. ‘Shakespeare displays this idea by overturning Othello’s loyalty.’ Pull out ‘displays overturning loyalty’. Then work on memorising just these trigger words, that way you can memorise 20 words per paragraph rather than 200.

5. Start early-ish

I know, I know, starting early is super unrealistic and you’ll probably only kick into gear with less than a week till the exam. Just keep in mind that effectively memorising actually takes a fair while. By giving the essay time to stew in your mind, you’ll later be able to recall it without spending hours at a time tediously forcing yourself to pick it up. Try to pump out that essay a few weeks prior to the exam date and give yourself as much time as possible to keep going over it.

by Matilda Reid

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Memorizing an essay is a useful skill for public speakers, performers, and students alike. When you have a deep understanding of the essay’s content and structure, you can deliver it confidently without the need for notes or other visual aids. In this article, we will explore three effective strategies for memorizing an essay: chunking, mnemonics, and rehearsal.

1. Chunking

Chunking is an efficient approach to learning that involves breaking down the essay into smaller sections or “chunks” instead of trying to memorize the entire piece at once. This method is based on the idea that our brains can process and retain information more effectively when it is presented in manageable portions.

To apply chunking to your essay, start by separating the text into meaningful sections such as paragraphs or groups of related ideas. Then, focus on memorizing one chunk at a time. As you become comfortable with each section, gradually combine them until you are able to recall the entire essay.

2. Mnemonics

Mnemonic devices are memory shortcuts that help your brain encode and recall complex information more easily. Some popular mnemonic techniques include:

– Acronyms: Create a memorable word or phrase using the first letter of each word in a list (e.g., HOMES for the Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior).

– Acrostics: Form a memorable sentence using the first letter of every word or key idea in your essay.

– Visual imagery: Associate mental images with specific parts of your essay – like imagining a vivid scene to represent each paragraph.

Experiment with different memory systems and choose the ones that work best for you. Incorporate them into your study routine when trying to memorize an essay.

3. Rehearsal

Repetition is key when it comes to memorization. Reading or reciting your essay repeatedly helps reinforce neural pathways in the brain, making it easier to recall its content over time.

Begin by reading your essay aloud several times to fully internalize its structure and phrasings. Afterward, practice reciting your essay from memory. It can be helpful to have a friend or family member present during this process, as they can help you stay on track and provide feedback on your delivery.

As you become more comfortable with the material, focus on aspects such as pacing, tone, and body language to enhance your presentation. Additionally, practice under various conditions (e.g., standing up, sitting down, in front of a mirror) to prepare yourself for different situations.

In conclusion, memorizing an essay is a challenging yet achievable task when employing proper techniques such as chunking, mnemonics, and rehearsals. By dedicating time and effort towards mastering these strategies, you will develop the confidence and skills necessary to present an essay seamlessly – whether it’s for a public speaking engagement or an academic exam.

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How To Study: The Essay Memorisation Framework

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As a medical student, I did have to undertake some exams that required writing essays. One of the questions I often get asked is how you can apply techniques such as active recall and spaced repetition – that I frequently discuss as being ‘the best’ revision techniques – to essay-based subjects. During my third year at university, I adopted the following approach to preparing for my own essay-based psychology exams – it proved highly effective in my own exams and I hope that you can make effective use of it too.

The system can be broadly broken down into two stages:

• The Creation Stage
• Objective to create first class essay plans for every conceivable essay title that they throw at us in the exam.

2.  The Memorisation Stage

• Objective of committing all of these essay plans to memory by systematically using active recall, spaced repetition, spider diagrams and flashcards.

The idea is that, by using these two stages, by the time the exams arrive you’ll have memorised so many essay plans that they will either come up in the exam or the essays will be similar enough that you will have the knowledge to draw up and form coherent and well-structured essay that answer the question effectively.

Creation Stage

There are three main questions in the creation stage:

How to decide what essay titles to pick/prepare

The objective here is to ‘scope the subject’ and find essay titles that cover the entire breadth of the syllabus. The easiest way to do this is to both look through the past papers and start by planning the essays that have come up in the past and then examine the syllabus and identify areas that lend themselves to essays. Once you’ve planned out those essays, you’ll have a better idea as to what style of questions are asked and what material is often covered. This should give you a breadth of essays titles that span the course – if you find that there is still an area of the syllabus that hasn’t been address, try to come up a suitable question and add it to your essay plans to compile.

How you plan the essay

Personally, I would give myself one day per essay plan. Although it’s best to try to have this process ongoing throughout the year, I did the bulk of my essay plan preparation in the Easter holidays (perhaps not ideal!).

My process involved starting off with a question then use Google to get as much information as possible about that particular topic. I would start off with Google because it can give you a good broad overview as well as useful links to review papers that would often provide key details or interesting examples.

Once I had created my essay plan I would then look at the lecture notes and the recommended reading. This meant that a lot of my material was more original than everyone else’s because most other people would’ve built their essays based around the lecture notes, whereas I was building my essays from a Google search supplemented by lecture notes.

Once I had got my research document, I would spend a few hours writing out the essay – consolidating all the information into this one essay that I am ultimately going to learn.

How you make sure your essay plan is really good.

But how do we make an essay plan good? There are 3 key ingredients in my opinions:

• Answering the question
• Adding a bit of spice.

The introduction is the most important part of the essay because you can address all three of these key ingredients and signal to the examiner how you are going to go about compiling the essay and answer the question.

Here is an example of one of the introductions from an essay that I prepared on whether judgement and decision making is cognitive (logical) or affective (emotional).

The historical view in the social sciences has always been that judgements are based solely on content information, with individuals being assumed to form judgements by systematically evaluating all available content information in an unbiased manner. However, over the past three decades a considerable amount of research has challenged this assumption by showing that judgments may be formed not only on the basis of content information (cognitive judgements) but also on the basis of feelings (affective judgement). It is now well accepted that judgement can be both affective and cognitive. Whether it is one or the other depends on a multitude of factors: (1) the salience of the affective feelings, (2) the representativeness of the affective feelings for the target, (3) the relevance of the feelings for the judgement, (4) the evaluative malleability of the judgement and (5) the level of processing intensity. I will discuss these in turn and ultimately argue that generally speaking in day-to-day life, the circumstances are generally those that result in affective rather than cognitive judgements and decision making.

As you can see, I signpost the essay explicitly using numbered points as well as answering the question and outlining to the examiner the direction that my argument is going to go.

The Memorisation Stage

By this point, you should have a good number of essay plans that you’ve created in documents – now the aim is to ‘upload’ those essay plans to our brain. I approached doing this using three main techniques:

Anki Flashcards

With my essays, I used Anki flashcards to memorise paragraphs and main points whether from an essay or key points from a particularly relevant research paper. The aim was to create blocks of content with every Anki flashcard being its’ own ‘block’ which I could then draw upon either for the essays that I had planned or for unfamiliar essays but ones which I could answer using the material from the flashcards.

However, specific paragraphs or points from research papers aren’t helpful unless you can associate them with particular essays – that’s where spider diagrams come into the equation…

Spider Diagrams

Having memorised content blocks from my essays using Anki flashcards, I made one page diagrams of every single essay. The idea being that you would be able to discern the structure of the essay through the spider diagram as well as notice key words that are relevant for that topic and/or that you find particularly helpful in triggering your memory about the key points that you need to raise in answering that question.

Every day I would draw out various spider diagrams from memory and if there were any books that I didn’t know, I would look them up in the master research document or in Anki and actively work on learning those parts.

Over time, this became a highly effective way to systematically use active recall to ensure that I knew absolutely everything.

Retrospective Revision Timetable

The final part of the system involved systematic spaced repetition. If you’ve seen any of my other content, I am a big proponent of retrospective revision timetables. This approach counters the conventional idea of planning a prospective revision timetable which has a number of issues – namely trying to predict the future and inflexibility, amongst others – and instead involves creating a spreadsheet that starts with a list of subjects, topics or essays that we have compiled through scoping our subject and then inputting the dates on which we study those areas as well as colour code the system to provide a visual representation as to which areas we might need to cover again. You can read more about these sorts of timetables  here , where I explain them in more depth.

This structure which combines active recall, spaced repetition, flashcards and spider diagrams was probably the most effective system that I used whilst at university. In the exam, about two thirds of the essays that we had to write, I had already planned. Although the other four essays that I had to write were ‘new’, I had built up such a systematic and in-depth knowledge of the subject that I could more easily draw upon ‘blocks’ of content from my Anki decks which I could then ‘drop’ into these essays to answer them effectively.

I hope this has provided you with a more logical structure with which to utilise active recall, spaced repetition, spider diagrams and flashcards to ensure that you can approach your essay-based exams with more confidence.

Please see the other blog posts in this ‘How To Study’ series for more hints, tips and guidance on studying and revising.

About The Author

I'm an ex-doctor turned YouTuber, Podcaster, entrepreneur and author. I've been creating YouTube videos for over 7 years and have a following of over 4 million over on my main channel.

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The Beginner's Guide to Writing an Essay | Steps & Examples

An academic essay is a focused piece of writing that develops an idea or argument using evidence, analysis, and interpretation.

There are many types of essays you might write as a student. The content and length of an essay depends on your level, subject of study, and course requirements. However, most essays at university level are argumentative — they aim to persuade the reader of a particular position or perspective on a topic.

The essay writing process consists of three main stages:

• Preparation: Decide on your topic, do your research, and create an essay outline.
• Writing : Set out your argument in the introduction, develop it with evidence in the main body, and wrap it up with a conclusion.
• Revision:  Check your essay on the content, organization, grammar, spelling, and formatting of your essay.

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Table of contents

Essay writing process, preparation for writing an essay, writing the introduction, writing the main body, writing the conclusion, essay checklist, lecture slides, frequently asked questions about writing an essay.

The writing process of preparation, writing, and revisions applies to every essay or paper, but the time and effort spent on each stage depends on the type of essay .

For example, if you’ve been assigned a five-paragraph expository essay for a high school class, you’ll probably spend the most time on the writing stage; for a college-level argumentative essay , on the other hand, you’ll need to spend more time researching your topic and developing an original argument before you start writing.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Before you start writing, you should make sure you have a clear idea of what you want to say and how you’re going to say it. There are a few key steps you can follow to make sure you’re prepared:

• Understand your assignment: What is the goal of this essay? What is the length and deadline of the assignment? Is there anything you need to clarify with your teacher or professor?
• Define a topic: If you’re allowed to choose your own topic , try to pick something that you already know a bit about and that will hold your interest.
• Do your research: Read  primary and secondary sources and take notes to help you work out your position and angle on the topic. You’ll use these as evidence for your points.
• Come up with a thesis:  The thesis is the central point or argument that you want to make. A clear thesis is essential for a focused essay—you should keep referring back to it as you write.
• Create an outline: Map out the rough structure of your essay in an outline . This makes it easier to start writing and keeps you on track as you go.

Once you’ve got a clear idea of what you want to discuss, in what order, and what evidence you’ll use, you’re ready to start writing.

The introduction sets the tone for your essay. It should grab the reader’s interest and inform them of what to expect. The introduction generally comprises 10–20% of the text.

1. Hook your reader

The first sentence of the introduction should pique your reader’s interest and curiosity. This sentence is sometimes called the hook. It might be an intriguing question, a surprising fact, or a bold statement emphasizing the relevance of the topic.

Let’s say we’re writing an essay about the development of Braille (the raised-dot reading and writing system used by visually impaired people). Our hook can make a strong statement about the topic:

The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability.

2. Provide background on your topic

Next, it’s important to give context that will help your reader understand your argument. This might involve providing background information, giving an overview of important academic work or debates on the topic, and explaining difficult terms. Don’t provide too much detail in the introduction—you can elaborate in the body of your essay.

3. Present the thesis statement

Next, you should formulate your thesis statement— the central argument you’re going to make. The thesis statement provides focus and signals your position on the topic. It is usually one or two sentences long. The thesis statement for our essay on Braille could look like this:

As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness.

4. Map the structure

In longer essays, you can end the introduction by briefly describing what will be covered in each part of the essay. This guides the reader through your structure and gives a preview of how your argument will develop.

The invention of Braille marked a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by blind and visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

Write your essay introduction

The body of your essay is where you make arguments supporting your thesis, provide evidence, and develop your ideas. Its purpose is to present, interpret, and analyze the information and sources you have gathered to support your argument.

Length of the body text

The length of the body depends on the type of essay. On average, the body comprises 60–80% of your essay. For a high school essay, this could be just three paragraphs, but for a graduate school essay of 6,000 words, the body could take up 8–10 pages.

Paragraph structure

To give your essay a clear structure , it is important to organize it into paragraphs . Each paragraph should be centered around one main point or idea.

That idea is introduced in a  topic sentence . The topic sentence should generally lead on from the previous paragraph and introduce the point to be made in this paragraph. Transition words can be used to create clear connections between sentences.

After the topic sentence, present evidence such as data, examples, or quotes from relevant sources. Be sure to interpret and explain the evidence, and show how it helps develop your overall argument.

Lack of access to reading and writing put blind people at a serious disadvantage in nineteenth-century society. Text was one of the primary methods through which people engaged with culture, communicated with others, and accessed information; without a well-developed reading system that did not rely on sight, blind people were excluded from social participation (Weygand, 2009). While disabled people in general suffered from discrimination, blindness was widely viewed as the worst disability, and it was commonly believed that blind people were incapable of pursuing a profession or improving themselves through culture (Weygand, 2009). This demonstrates the importance of reading and writing to social status at the time: without access to text, it was considered impossible to fully participate in society. Blind people were excluded from the sighted world, but also entirely dependent on sighted people for information and education.

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The conclusion is the final paragraph of an essay. It should generally take up no more than 10–15% of the text . A strong essay conclusion :

• Returns to your thesis
• Ties together your main points
• Shows why your argument matters

A great conclusion should finish with a memorable or impactful sentence that leaves the reader with a strong final impression.

What not to include in a conclusion

To make your essay’s conclusion as strong as possible, there are a few things you should avoid. The most common mistakes are:

• Including new arguments or evidence
• Undermining your arguments (e.g. “This is just one approach of many”)
• Using concluding phrases like “To sum up…” or “In conclusion…”

Braille paved the way for dramatic cultural changes in the way blind people were treated and the opportunities available to them. Louis Braille’s innovation was to reimagine existing reading systems from a blind perspective, and the success of this invention required sighted teachers to adapt to their students’ reality instead of the other way around. In this sense, Braille helped drive broader social changes in the status of blindness. New accessibility tools provide practical advantages to those who need them, but they can also change the perspectives and attitudes of those who do not.

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Checklist: Essay

My essay follows the requirements of the assignment (topic and length ).

My introduction sparks the reader’s interest and provides any necessary background information on the topic.

My introduction contains a thesis statement that states the focus and position of the essay.

I use paragraphs to structure the essay.

I use topic sentences to introduce each paragraph.

Each paragraph has a single focus and a clear connection to the thesis statement.

I make clear transitions between paragraphs and ideas.

My conclusion doesn’t just repeat my points, but draws connections between arguments.

I don’t introduce new arguments or evidence in the conclusion.

I have given an in-text citation for every quote or piece of information I got from another source.

I have included a reference page at the end of my essay, listing full details of all my sources.

My citations and references are correctly formatted according to the required citation style .

My essay has an interesting and informative title.

I have followed all formatting guidelines (e.g. font, page numbers, line spacing).

Your essay meets all the most important requirements. Our editors can give it a final check to help you submit with confidence.

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An essay is a focused piece of writing that explains, argues, describes, or narrates.

In high school, you may have to write many different types of essays to develop your writing skills.

Academic essays at college level are usually argumentative : you develop a clear thesis about your topic and make a case for your position using evidence, analysis and interpretation.

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:

• An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
• Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
• A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

A topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the main point of a paragraph . Everything else in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

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