Just before we press on with pressing on, remember; you really want to know what is required of you for all assignments.

So before commencing any class readings, even before the first lecture if possible, read all assignment questions. And then as you read the assigned material and attend lectures, keep in mind (regularly re-reading them, if necessary) the assignment question/s so you can underline/highlight/note down, etc. any pertinent material you may use in your essay/s.

Consider taking notes for each assignment separately, or otherwise having a visual highlight to find notes pertaining to each essay question quickly and easily.

(If in doubt about whether to mark up or note down something, do it anyway! You don’t want to have to spend ages leafing through readings or notes weeks later, struggling to find something you did or didn't highlight or make note of).

Also, consider writing any relevant thoughts, and getting any relevant quotes, into a document or app as you come across them. Anything you can do to regularly inch closer to completing the essay, the better!

And a quick note on referencing: cite as you write! Again, you want to continually be doing what you can do to complete it. Do not leave mad hours of stressful scrambling at the end, trying to track down where what quote came from. I will talk more about this point in detail soon.

Taking a minute to reference each quote as you include it, and doing it in the correct format, is a great way to be kind to your future self. Done and dusted!

Now, on actually writing the guts of it, some will find it easier to write a few words here and there; others will prefer (and be able to) to write more during extended sessions of "Deep Work."¹

Find out what works for you and build it into your days.

Before we talk in too much detail about writing though, let’s quickly spend a minute or two visualising how we might go about keeping on track, addressing the essay question without getting sidetracked.

What we want is a map that will keep us on track, preventing us from chasing mirages or going down rabbit holes. Something to pin our thoughts to and build a flowing, compelling case upon.

We want and need some structure.

Next Post: Structure

^{1. See Cal Newport's Deep Work: Rules for Focussed Work in a Distracted World for some great advice on how to maximise times of productive output.}

March 2018 (Updated January 2021)