Have you ever finished writing an essay only to find out that you have written only half of the requested length? Frustrating right? Yes, it can be frustrating. Many students battle with writing up to the length of the required words for an essay. This is especially so when you’re writing a long essay. This article will reveal tricks to make your essay longer.
Things to avoid when lengthening your essay
Students make many mistakes when trying to find ways to make essays longer. You will, however, need to know that the content of your essay is as important as the length of the essay. There are certain things to avoid when trying to increase the length of an essay. These include:
- Unnecessary repetition
Many students thinking of how to make essays longer usually make the mistake of repeating ideas. Doing this will lead you to lose marks. It will also show the instructor or lecturer that you do not know what you are doing; avoid it at all costs.
- Including irrelevant points
When looking for how to make an essay look longer, students include information that makes their essays lose focus. You should refrain from doing this because it will make your essay difficult to understand. Even if you have relevant points, they will be hidden among the irrelevant ones. Besides, the examiner would have lost interest before getting the relevant ideas.
- Using fluffs
Fluffs refer to words that have no use but are added to make a work lengthy. They will make the sentence longer, but your sentences will be harder to understand.
How to extend essay length
Having highlighted how not to increase your word length, you are probably wondering: “how do I lengthen my essay? These steps give you direction on how to lengthen an essay:
- Create an outline
Having an outline helps you to have a general idea of what your essay will look like. It will also help you have ideas before reaching word length. When you can put down your ideas, you will be better able to develop those ideas. An outline also ensures you remember what you want to write while writing other things.
- Get the attention of your reader
There are things to say to make your essay longer. In the introduction, for instance, you could begin with an anecdote. This is a short story that makes your essay interesting. Note, however, that the short story must be related to the essay you are writing.
You can also begin your essay using a rhetorical question or statement of fact. This will usually serve as a hook statement. A hook statement is that kind of statement that keeps your reader interested in knowing what you have to say. Refrain from including any irrelevant or pointless story to make your essay long.
- Illustrate
You can begin your essay by giving real-life examples. This will help your reader relate the essay to real-life situations. The reader will also be able to relate better to what you have written in the essay.
The examples you give must always be in context. Make sure that any example you are using is related to the essay you are writing. This will show that you understand what you have written well. It is also a good break for the examiner who has probably read a lot of boring essays.
- Be descriptive
One reason students sometimes need help to meet up with the length of words is that they shorten ideas that should be descriptive. Make your essay as descriptive as possible without losing the academic flavor it should have.
Not only have you increased the length of your essay, but you have also created a mental picture. For instance, instead of “mothers are sacrificial,” say: “mothers always go the extra mile for their children.” This gives a more descriptive picture of who a patriot is. It will also make your essay more interesting to the reader.
- Research intensively
If you have extensively researched the topic before writing, you will come across many relevant branches of that topic. Doing extensive research will help you come up with a lot of ideas. You might even need to cut down on what you have written because the length is beyond the required.
Conclusion
If you follow the steps in this article, you will find out that you will have more than enough to write. In trying to make your essay longer, don’t include irrelevant things. Extensively deal with the topic and leave no stone unturned. This you will achieve without adding fluff or plagiarizing.