Time Management for Writing
Generating a Plan of Action
Understanding the assignment: When you receive an assignment, carefully read it over as soon as you can. Mark down the important facts of the assignment, including the due date, page length or word count, and sources required. Some professors will assign check-point due dates for outlines or early drafts; be sure to include these in your survey. Finally, note any questions that you have about the subject or logistics to ask your teaching team.
Estimating the time requirements: The writing process can generally be broken down into the following stages:
- Research
- Drafting
- Writing
- Revisions
- Proofreading
These stages can further be broken down into individual tasks, or items that can be accomplished in the course of a single writing session. For example, brainstorming, organizing evidence, and outlining might all fit under the drafting umbrella. Considering your due dates and the assignment requirements, explicitly write out how long you anticipate spending on each stage of the writing process.
Instituting the Plan
Schedule time dedicated to writing: Considering your due dates and your current schedule, plan out recurring, non-negotiable time dedicated to writing. This may look like 30 minutes every day, 1 hour Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, or any other plan that allows you to complete your work according to your due date and estimated time requirements.
Make the Most of your Writing Sessions: During your planned writing sessions, find a space you find conducive to working, ensure that you have all the materials that you need when you start (including coffee, water, or snacks!), and minimize electronic distractions by avoiding the internet, closing unnecessary tabs, and putting your phone away.
Be flexible: Sometimes the tasks that you laid out will take more or less time that you anticipated. This is normal! Make a note of how long a task actually takes you and adjust your plan accordingly.
Dealing with Writer’s Block
I can’t think of a topic: Try these techniques: brainstorming, clustering, and freewriting. Play around with these techniques; some might work for you and some might not. You may find that what jump starts your ideas varies from assignment to assignment.
I am bored by the assignment: If you are inspired by a topic that is related to the topic, try talking to your professor about your interpretation of the prompt. If not, consider what you might gain from completing the assignment anyways: exposure to a specific kind of writing, deeper knowledge of a topic, or application to topics in which you are ultimately more interested.
I am overwhelmed by the size of the assignment: A great by-product of estimating your time requirements is that you have also broken your large assignment into smaller micro-tasks. Instead of thinking about the entire assignment every time you sit down to write, work to accomplish something more manageable, like brainstorming content or writing a single body paragraph.
I don’t know how to start writing: Every person has a unique writing process. Some people like to start at the introduction and write linearly, while others begin in the middle of a body paragraph. If you are itching to write about something, start there! For your first draft, follow the flow of your writing and try not to worry about writing a perfect essay on your first draft. Revisions are a great time to review your sentence flow, supporting details, and overarching structure.
I think I need a little extra help: Writing is a learning process! Try talking to your teaching team if you feel like you are struggling with the subject matter. For more resources on the writing process, including drop-in tutoring and other hands-on help, check out the Hume Center for Writing and Speaking.
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Time Management for Writing
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