{"id":4639,"date":"2019-04-24T11:59:09","date_gmt":"2019-04-24T11:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/?p=4639"},"modified":"2022-10-23T04:59:44","modified_gmt":"2022-10-23T04:59:44","slug":"how-to-make-an-essay-longer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/how-to-make-an-essay-longer\/","title":{"rendered":"How to make an Essay Longer &#8211; 21 Easy Tips!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"feautrebox\">Just about all the advice on the first page of google about how to make a paper longer sucks. No, really. The tricks they suggest suck so bad I can\u2019t believe how bad it sucks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most advice on how to make your essay longer tells you to do gimmicky things that will lose you marks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/how-to-make-an-essay-longer-e1556106679623.jpg\" alt=\"how to make an essay longer\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>How do I know? Because I read it. And I (yes, I\u2019m a professor) would instantly see through all those things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let me tell you: if you\u2019re wasting time turning \u201c15\u201d into \u201cfifteen\u201d to get an extra 6 <a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/character-analysis-essay-examples\/\">characters into your essay<\/a>, increasing font size, or sticking fluffy adjectives into sentences to make your essay longer and increase word count, you\u2019re stuffing up. You\u2019re flushing marks down the drain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, here&#8217;s what you SHOULD do to make your essay longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Part2\">How to Make an Essay Longer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Make sure you Included Everything<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I can\u2019t tell you how many of my students submit assignments and forget to include important points! Go back to your <a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/writing-prompts\/\">writing prompt<\/a>. That\u2019s the thing that you\u2019re going to be graded on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Go and check out exactly what your teacher asked you to write about. Did you write about every point they suggested?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Related Article: <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/essay-about-yourself\/\">17+ Great Ideas For An Essay About Yourself<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Make Every Paragraph at least 4 Sentences<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Scan over each paragraph. Do you have any paragraphs that are less than 4 sentences long? This is your low-hanging fruit for making your paper longer. You need to make these paragraphs longer and your page count will naturally increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>The best paragraphs should be <a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/essay-paragraph-structure\/\">4 \u2013 7 sentences long<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve got a 1, 2 or 3 sentence paragraph, make sure you go back through it. What new points can you include to make your paragraph better? Maybe you can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Add a sentence at the start of the paragraph explaining what the paragraph is about;<\/li><li>Add a sentence giving a real-life example of the points you\u2019re trying to make<\/li><li>Add a sentence giving an explanation of your points.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Or, you can try adding points explaining:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Why the thing is true;<\/li><li>Where the thing happened;<\/li><li>How the thing happened;<\/li><li>When the thing happened.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Define your Terms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Have you written a paragraph defining your key terms? If you&#8217;re writing an essay on modernism, write a paragraph defining modernism. If your <a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/importance-of-education\/\">essay is about education<\/a>, write a paragraph giving a brief history of education. This will make your paper better &#8211; and longer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>You should have a paragraph or two right after your introduction defining and explaining what your topic is!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, if you are going to provide a <strong>definition<\/strong> for a term in <strong>college or university level writing<\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/dictionary-definitions\/\">you need to read this article<\/a>. In it, I show you how to write a full paragraph that defines a term in the right way using a research paper, not a dictionary!.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Get new Ideas from your Class Handouts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are the class handouts that you should go back through to add new ideas. They\u2019re your most important sources. Go through all these sources and try to take down and more key points you can add:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Handouts or worksheets in class?<\/li><li>Readings or articles that they asked you to read?<\/li><li>Lecture slides?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. Get new Ideas from Friends<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You will have many classmates working on the same essay as you. What ideas have your friends come up with? See if you can find out. You want it to seem like you\u2019re working to help each other out. You don\u2019t want to be a sponge, taking from them and not giving back. Help each other out so you both get better marks.<strong> I recommend being strategic about this:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Offer to look over each others\u2019 work and give suggestions;<\/li><li>Trade key points in bullet point format;<\/li><li>Brainstorm together to create a master list of key ideas.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">8. Get new Ideas from Blogs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are websites online about just about every topic that you can possibly imagine. That includes the topic you\u2019re <a href=\"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/evaluation-essay-template\/\">writing your essay<\/a> on!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>Let me ask you a question:<\/strong> Why would you waste your time trying to add padding to old sentences to increase your word count when you can write new ones that will win more marks?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s really so simple \u2013 google your essay topic or question and see what comes up. What have other people said on the topic? What ideas can you grab from others and use for yourself? You can also get new ideas from Google Scholar, which can provide you with a free to access research paper that will give you ideas as well.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">12. Use the Keep Writing Website<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/keepwriting.boxjar.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Keep Writing<\/a> is a website where you can write your essay. But, it won\u2019t let you delete anything. So you have to just keep on typing. This means you can just write ideas that roll off the top of your head. I gave this website a go to write this article you\u2019re reading right now and it really did help me just write in a way that flowed nicely and added to my page count quickly. I must admit, after using the website, I copied the text and did some edits. But by that point I had a ton of words in there \u2013 more than enough \u2013 and I could shorten the essay by deleting the words that weren\u2019t so good. I ended up having the opposite problem \u2013 too many words!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">13. Include one new Example in Each Paragraph<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Another thing you can do is go through each and every paragraph and add one more example and some supporting evidence. Even if you\u2019ve included one example in each paragraph, that\u2019s okay. You can still add more examples. In fact, teachers <em>love<\/em> to see examples and supporting evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p><strong>Good examples<\/strong> are what separates good and bad students.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Teachers love to see examples because you can only give examples if you <em>understand<\/em> the topic. So, when we see examples we go \u201cYes! You Got It! You understand it!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">16. Don\u2019t add Pointless Words!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Padding\u2019 is what we call it when you stick extra words in a sentence just to increase your word count. I\u2019ve taken a sentence from earlier in this post and I\u2019m going to show you the sentence as it is, then show it to you with padding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Here\u2019s the original:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cYou\u2019re going to need some new points to add to your essay. You should not try to make your sentences you\u2019ve already written longer. You shouldn\u2019t be trying to add in fluffy new words or saying things in a longer way.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Here\u2019s the padding:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cYou\u2019re going to need some new points to <strong>actually<\/strong> add to your essay<strong>, which actually is quite significant<\/strong>. You should not <strong>actually<\/strong> try to <strong>generally<\/strong> make your sentences you\u2019ve already written longer<strong>, generally contrary to popular belief<\/strong>. You shouldn\u2019t be trying to <strong>generally<\/strong> add in fluffy new words or saying things in a longer way<strong>, which is fairly significant.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Your teacher is going to read this and think \u201cThis student is a terrible writer.\u201d And you\u2019ll lose a ton of marks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">17. Don\u2019t Change the Formatting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Increasing the line spacing, font size or character spacing will just make your paper worse. You should have ONE space between each word. Your line spacing should <span style=\"font-size: 1rem; font-weight: inherit;\">either be 2.0 or 1.5 spacing. <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; font-weight: inherit;\">That\u2019s it. Those are your options. <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; font-weight: inherit;\">Stick to normal margins in Microsoft Word You should use <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; font-weight: inherit;\">font size 12. If you artificially change any of this, your teacher will see through it and grade you down<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; font-weight: inherit;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Making an essay longer needs to be done in a way that will get you marks. I can&#8217;t believe that there are websites ranking high on google that recommend tricks like &#8220;make the space between lines bigger&#8221; and &#8220;increase your margins&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If a student did that in my class, I&#8217;d fail them instantly. There are smarter and better ways to do it &#8211; whether you&#8217;re writing a grade 7 essay or dissertation chapter! Do it the right way and you&#8217;ll grow your marks and be on the way to success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Don&#8217;t read the terrible advice that&#8217;s out there. Here&#8217;s 21+ points on how to make an essay longer AND gain marks. No silly gimmicks. Actual advice that works.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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Drew (PhD)","author_link":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/author\/chris-drew-phd\/"},"uagb_comment_info":1,"uagb_excerpt":"Don't read the terrible advice that's out there. Here's 21+ points on how to make an essay longer AND gain marks. No silly gimmicks. Actual advice that works.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4639"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13746,"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4639\/revisions\/13746"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}