Writing Prompts – Page 445

5 Tips for Improving Your Essay-Writing Speed (With Help from Bilbo Baggins)

What do most students have in common with Bilbo Baggins? Besides enjoying at least six meals a day, the trait most students share with our favorite hobbit is the desperate need they sometimes have for more time. Time is what Bilbo begs for when he can’t solve Gollum’s riddle (right), the answer to the riddle being—of course—none other than time itself.

Sure, in the scene above, Bilbo is at serious risk of being eaten by Gollum, while most students just have a lot of reading and essay writing to do. Still, time is the important thing here, and it seems that neither students nor “hobbitses” (as Gollum would say) can ever get enough of it. If only there were some way to make writing an essay a faster process . . .

The bad news? I can’t get you more time. Not even Gandalf can manage that, and I’m certainly no Gandalf. But what I can actually do is teach you how to use less time to accomplish more when you’re writing an essay, which is pretty much exactly the same thing! So, if you’re feeling well fed and ready to learn, prepare yourself for an unexpected journey into the art of writing an essay as efficiently as possible.

Step 1: Make a plan.

Imagine that you’re going on a trip. Perhaps you’re even traveling to the Lonely Mountain to face a very vain dragon in hopes of reclaiming some treasure. Now, how would you rather make that journey: with a map or without one? I think we can both agree that using the map would save you quite a lot of time that would otherwise be spent wandering—right?

Just like any adventurous Took, you shouldn’t try to start writing an essay without first creating a map for yourself. Yes, it takes time to write an outline. However, this is time that you will more than make up later in the writing process and that will ultimately improve your essay-writing speed.

The key elements to have figured out before you begin writing are your thesis statement and the evidence and arguments you will be using to support that thesis statement. Once you have these things, you basically have a road map to your final destination: completion of your essay.

Step 2: Do your research.

This step should really be done in conjunction with the former step. After all, what’s the point of writing a thesis if you can’t support it with research? Your research, including direct quotations from primary sources, should be part of your outline. Finding quotations from scholarly articles and books to support your arguments before you actually start writing will make the actual process of writing much faster, as you will have fewer necessary interruptions. (No, Facebook is not a necessary interruption—nor is a second breakfast. Sorry.)

Step 3: Just write.

Okay. Your map is written, you’re out of your hobbit-hole door and into the world, and you’re ready to actually start writing an essay. You still want to know how to write faster? Well, friend, the key is to start by actually writing. Not agonizing over every clause, not questioning all life decisions made thus far, and certainly not watching Netflix. Just write. Try your best to communicate the ideas you’ve painstakingly outlined in your map, but most of all, just get those fingers typing and start writing. Write. There will be some clunky sentences, there will be some punctuation errors, and there may even be some paragraphs that don’t make the final cut. However, if you don’t start writing soon, there won’t be anything to cut, and then you’ll really want to know how to write faster.

Step 4: Tackle your essay in sections.

Of course, as good as the “just write” mentality is, it can only keep you going for so long. Writing an essay in one big chunk is like trying to travel from the Shire to the Lonely Mountain in a single day; that is to say, it is downright impossible without the aid of some kind of anachronistic aircraft, and very dangerous to even try doing. Instead of doing everything at once, think of your essay in terms of meaningful sections. Focus on completing just one section at a time, and give yourself time for short breaks between writing sessions. Dinner with dwarves, break. Meeting with Elrond, break. Goblin kidnapping, break. You get the idea!

Step 5: Take a break before editing your work.

Make sure that you give yourself some time away from your essay before returning to revise your first draft. Editing your essay with a fresh mind will make the process much quicker, as mistakes you made while writing will be much more obvious to your eye and to your well-rested brain. While it’s true that the time period needed to complete your essay will be longer, the amount of time you will actually have spent on your essay will be much, much shorter, leaving you lots of time to work on other things!

Epilogue

There you have it, folks: five ways to improve your essay-writing speed. You now know how to write faster—or, you know, how to complete an essay using less time overall. This more efficient method of writing an essay should give you more time to accomplish other important things, like rereading your favorite stories (cough—Tolkien!), working on your riddle-solving abilities, and perfecting your Gollum impersonation—all pursuits worthy of your extra time and devotion.

What You’ll Learn in Proofreading Class

Mark Twain, a former typesetter turned journalist, once quipped, “In the first place, God made idiots. This was for practice. Then he made proofreaders.”

That quote is often recounted on the first day of a proofreading class. It demonstrates an important lesson: great authors need a proofreader, even if they don’t always appreciate the profession.

A proofreading course from a reliable provider will teach you to confidently tackle the manuscripts of any future Mark Twains. A thorough course will help you develop many new techniques and refine the language skills you already had.

Many people think proofreading is all about finding typos and spelling mistakes, but there is, in fact, much more involved.

What to expect from proofreading class

The first lesson in a proofreading class usually covers what proofreading is and isn’t.

The aim of proofreading is to ensure that you do not submit articles filled with spelling errors and bad grammar. Ideally, an editor will have already worked on the text to make sure the message is clear.

Many people confuse editing and proofreading, but the basic difference is that editing concentrates on the content, making sure the discussion or story is logical and coherent. Proofreading focuses on eliminating errors without changing the content.

Proofreading is usually the final stage in any publication process, so proofreaders have the responsibility to be consistently accurate.

Perfection takes more than practice

Imagine you have to work on a 60,000-word manuscript. That’s about the length of a short novel. How can you possibly make sure that every word is spelled correctly and occurs in exactly the right place within its sentence?

In a proofreading class, you will learn techniques for ensuring accuracy. One useful method for new proofreaders, especially for finding omitted and repeated words, is to read the text out loud. (Don’t worry, you won’t be asked to do this with a whole novel when you’re starting out.) The idea is to get you to slow down and look at each individual word.

Usually, when we read, our eyes skim over the text, picking up patterns of words. As long as the first and last letters of the word are in the right place and the word looks about the right length, we will be able to recognize it.

You can esaliy undresatnd tihs setnecne, for emxalpe.

After some practice, you will train your eyes and brain to carefully examine the letters of each word without reading aloud. You’ll get steadily quicker, too.

Combining speed with accuracy

While proofreaders have to consider every word carefully, they have to work efficiently, too. For that reason, you will learn some useful shortcuts in a proofreading class.

For example, you will learn to look out for many commonly confused words. There are the obvious homophones (words that sound the same but are spelled differently), such as “their,” “there,” and “they’re.” But there are also many less noticeable bad grammar examples that even a spell-checker won’t pick up:

“principle” instead of “principal” (and vice versa)
“affect” instead of “effect”
“accept” instead of “except”
“complement” instead of “compliment”

The same, only different

Just to make it even more confusing, a proofreading class will also teach you that even some correctly spelled words will be wrong in some circumstances. Take “color” and “colour,” for example. Some publishers will only accept the American English spelling (“color”), while others insist on British English (“colour”).

As a proofreader, you will have to adapt to each publisher’s preferences. Fortunately, most major publishers, including universities, provide an overview of their particular demands in a style guide. Other publishers follow established style guides, such as the Chicago Manual of Style.

In a proofreading class, you will learn about the different spelling rules of the many varieties of English and get a crash course in the most common style guides. Be sure to sign up for an accredited training course with a good reputation.

The Benefits of Taking an Editing Class

If you’re getting tired of your daily routine job, it may be time to switch things up, and if you have a penchant for grammar, language, and organization, you might consider taking an editing class. Not convinced that editing is the best step for you? Read on to discover the many types of editing you can do and the benefits of this flexible job.

Editing class flexibility

If you think it’s time for you to stop working around someone else’s schedule, an editing class online could suit your needs perfectly. With an online course, you can work according to your own schedule and at your own pace. If you want to get the course completed as quickly as possible, you can. If you need to go a little slower, you can do that as well. Better still, you can access the course from any computer at any time, so you aren’t tied down to your home desktop.

Flexible opportunities

Flexibility doesn’t end when your editing class does. Once you have the skills and training to become an editor, you have a wide range of career opportunities. In fact, you have the same choices you would have as a writer. For every writing style and genre, there needs to be an editor. Like a writer, you can pick the style and genre you would like to work with.

Editors also have considerable mobility. Any city that has writers needs editors. Depending on the company you’re working for, you may also have the option to telecommute. This means you don’t need to live in the same city in which the company is located. Instead, you can complete all of your duties online.

Another option is deciding between freelance editing and working in-house. Most times, this will determine if you can telecommute. Freelancing is a great way to become your own boss and choose your own hours, clients, and markets. However, it is less stable than a job in-house. When taking your editing class, you’ll find out about the different pros and cons of both to help you make the best decision for your lifestyle.

Independence

If you choose editing as a career, you will gain a high level of independence. This means not only choosing your own office (even if that means a coffee shop) but also making decisions in the editing process. While this responsibility can be intimidating for some, others will find it thrilling and exciting after working under direction from a boss.

Become part of the creative process

As an editor, you get to become part of the process of creating culture and artistic production. Every written form contributes to the richness of culture, and when you edit, you ensure that these contributions appear in their finest form.

If you already have a passion for editing, you’ll understand the thought that goes into ensuring each sentence is in its most well-crafted state.

Low up-front costs

Taking an editing class isn’t costly and will certainly generate larger returns in the long run. Most online editing classes don’t require the purchase of extra workbooks. It’s an affordable way to begin making money doing what you love to do.

A few things to remember

Despite the flexibility and independence, you’ll still be working on a deadline. Editors need to be able to handle the pressures of dealing with tight deadlines and working through corrections with writers. Make sure you can work with people regardless of pressure. A good editing class will ensure you have all the tools you need to get the job done efficiently and well.

Ready to begin your new career with an editing class? Don’t wait; sign up today.