good essay site

How to Write an Academic Essay in 6 Simple Steps

#scribendiinc

Written by  Scribendi

Are you wondering how to write an academic essay successfully? There are so many steps to writing an academic essay that it can be difficult to know where to start.

Here, we outline how to write an academic essay in 6 simple steps, from how to research for an academic essay to how to revise an essay and everything in between. 

Our essay writing tips are designed to help you learn how to write an academic essay that is ready for publication (after academic editing and academic proofreading , of course!).

Your paper isn't complete until you've done all the needed proofreading. Make sure you leave time for it after the writing process!

Download Our Pocket Checklist for Academic Papers. Just input your email below!

Types of academic writing.

With academic essay writing, there are certain conventions that writers are expected to follow. As such, it's important to know the basics of academic writing before you begin writing your essay.

Read More: What Is Academic Writing?

Before you begin writing your essay, you need to know what type of essay you are writing. This will help you follow the correct structure, which will make academic paper editing a faster and simpler process. 

Will you be writing a descriptive essay, an analytical essay, a persuasive essay, or a critical essay?

Read More: How to Master the 4 Types of Academic Writing

You can learn how to write academic essays by first mastering the four types of academic writing and then applying the correct rules to the appropriate type of essay writing.

Regardless of the type of essay you will be writing, all essays will include:

An introduction

At least three body paragraphs

A conclusion

A bibliography/reference list

To strengthen your essay writing skills, it can also help to learn how to research for an academic essay.

Step 1: Preparing to Write Your Essay

The essay writing process involves a few main stages:

Researching

As such, in learning how to write an academic essay, it is also important to learn how to research for an academic essay and how to revise an essay.

Read More: Online Research Tips for Students and Scholars

To beef up your research skills, remember these essay writing tips from the above article: 

Learn how to identify reliable sources.

Understand the nuances of open access.

Discover free academic journals and research databases.

Manage your references. 

Provide evidence for every claim so you can avoid plagiarism .

Read More: 17 Research Databases for Free Articles

You will want to do the research for your academic essay points, of course, but you will also want to research various journals for the publication of your paper.

Different journals have different guidelines and thus different requirements for writers. These can be related to style, formatting, and more. 

Knowing these before you begin writing can save you a lot of time if you also want to learn how to revise an essay. If you ensure your paper meets the guidelines of the journal you want to publish in, you will not have to revise it again later for this purpose. 

After the research stage, you can draft your thesis and introduction as well as outline the rest of your essay. This will put you in a good position to draft your body paragraphs and conclusion, craft your bibliography, and edit and proofread your paper.

Step 2: Writing the Essay Introduction and Thesis Statement

When learning how to write academic essays , learning how to write an introduction is key alongside learning how to research for an academic essay.

Your introduction should broadly introduce your topic. It will give an overview of your essay and the points that will be discussed. It is typically about 10% of the final word count of the text.

All introductions follow a general structure:

Topic statement

Thesis statement

Read More: How to Write an Introduction

Your topic statement should hook your reader, making them curious about your topic. They should want to learn more after reading this statement. To best hook your reader in academic essay writing, consider providing a fact, a bold statement, or an intriguing question. 

The discussion about your topic in the middle of your introduction should include some background information about your topic in the academic sphere. Your scope should be limited enough that you can address the topic within the length of your paper but broad enough that the content is understood by the reader.

Your thesis statement should be incredibly specific and only one to two sentences long. Here is another essay writing tip: if you are able to locate an effective thesis early on, it will save you time during the academic editing process.

Read More: How to Write a Great Thesis Statement

Step 3: Writing the Essay Body

When learning how to write academic essays, you must learn how to write a good body paragraph. That's because your essay will be primarily made up of them!

The body paragraphs of your essay will develop the argument you outlined in your thesis. They will do this by providing your ideas on a topic backed up by evidence of specific points.

These paragraphs will typically take up about 80% of your essay. As a result, a good essay writing tip is to learn how to properly structure a paragraph.

Each paragraph consists of the following:

A topic sentence

Supporting sentences

A transition

Read More: How to Write a Paragraph

In learning how to revise an essay, you should keep in mind the organization of your paragraphs.

Your first paragraph should contain your strongest argument.

The secondary paragraphs should contain supporting arguments.

The last paragraph should contain your second-strongest argument. 

Step 4: Writing the Essay Conclusion

Your essay conclusion is the final paragraph of your essay and primarily reminds your reader of your thesis. It also wraps up your essay and discusses your findings more generally.

The conclusion typically makes up about 10% of the text, like the introduction. It shows the reader that you have accomplished what you intended to at the outset of your essay.

Here are a couple more good essay writing tips for your conclusion:

Don't introduce any new ideas into your conclusion.

Don't undermine your argument with opposing ideas.

Read More: How to Write a Conclusion Paragraph in 3 Easy Steps

Now that you know how to write an academic essay, it's time to learn how to write a bibliography along with some academic editing and proofreading advice.

Step 5: Writing the Bibliography or Works Cited

The bibliography of your paper lists all the references you cited. It is typically alphabetized or numbered (depending on the style guide).

Read More: How to Write an Academic Essay with References

When learning how to write academic essays, you may notice that there are various style guides you may be required to use by a professor or journal, including unique or custom styles. 

Some of the most common style guides include:

Chicago style

For help organizing your references for academic essay writing, consider a software manager. They can help you collect and format your references correctly and consistently, both quickly and with minimal effort.

Read More: 6 Reference Manager Software Solutions for Your Research

As you learn how to research for an academic essay most effectively, you may notice that a reference manager can also help make academic paper editing easier.

Step 6: Revising Your Essay

Once you've finally drafted your entire essay . . . you're still not done! 

That's because editing and proofreading are the essential final steps of any writing process . 

An academic editor can help you identify core issues with your writing , including its structure, its flow, its clarity, and its overall readability. They can give you substantive feedback and essay writing tips to improve your document. Therefore, it's a good idea to have an editor review your first draft so you can improve it prior to proofreading.

A specialized academic editor can assess the content of your writing. As a subject-matter expert in your subject, they can offer field-specific insight and critical commentary. Specialized academic editors can also provide services that others may not, including:

Academic document formatting

Academic figure formatting

Academic reference formatting

An academic proofreader can help you perfect the final draft of your paper to ensure it is completely error free in terms of spelling and grammar. They can also identify any inconsistencies in your work but will not look for any issues in the content of your writing, only its mechanics. This is why you should have a proofreader revise your final draft so that it is ready to be seen by an audience. 

Read More: How to Find the Right Academic Paper Editor or Proofreader

When learning how to research and write an academic essay, it is important to remember that editing is a required step. Don ' t forget to allot time for editing after you ' ve written your paper.

Set yourself up for success with this guide on how to write an academic essay. With a solid draft, you'll have better chances of getting published and read in any journal of your choosing.

Our academic essay writing tips are sure to help you learn how to research an academic essay, how to write an academic essay, and how to revise an academic essay.

If your academic paper looks sloppy, your readers may assume your research is sloppy. Download our Pocket Proofreading Checklist for Academic Papers before you take that one last crucial look at your paper.

About the Author

Scribendi's in-house editors work with writers from all over the globe to perfect their writing. They know that no piece of writing is complete without a professional edit, and they love to see a good piece of writing transformed into a great one. Scribendi's in-house editors are unrivaled in both experience and education, having collectively edited millions of words and obtained numerous degrees. They love consuming caffeinated beverages, reading books of various genres, and relaxing in quiet, dimly lit spaces.

Have You Read?

"The Complete Beginner's Guide to Academic Writing"

Related Posts

21 Legit Research Databases for Free Journal Articles in 2024

How to Find the Right Academic Paper Editor or Proofreader

How to Master the 4 Types of Academic Writing

Upload your file(s) so we can calculate your word count, or enter your word count manually.

We will also recommend a service based on the file(s) you upload.

English is not my first language. I need English editing and proofreading so that I sound like a native speaker.

I need to have my journal article, dissertation, or term paper edited and proofread, or I need help with an admissions essay or proposal.

I have a novel, manuscript, play, or ebook. I need editing, copy editing, proofreading, a critique of my work, or a query package.

I need editing and proofreading for my white papers, reports, manuals, press releases, marketing materials, and other business documents.

I need to have my essay, project, assignment, or term paper edited and proofread.

I want to sound professional and to get hired. I have a resume, letter, email, or personal document that I need to have edited and proofread.

 Prices include your personal % discount.

 Prices include % sales tax ( ).

How to Write an Essay

Use the links below to jump directly to any section of this guide:

Essay Writing Fundamentals

How to prepare to write an essay, how to edit an essay, how to share and publish your essays, how to get essay writing help, how to find essay writing inspiration, resources for teaching essay writing.

Essays, short prose compositions on a particular theme or topic, are the bread and butter of academic life. You write them in class, for homework, and on standardized tests to show what you know. Unlike other kinds of academic writing (like the research paper) and creative writing (like short stories and poems), essays allow you to develop your original thoughts on a prompt or question. Essays come in many varieties: they can be expository (fleshing out an idea or claim), descriptive, (explaining a person, place, or thing), narrative (relating a personal experience), or persuasive (attempting to win over a reader). This guide is a collection of dozens of links about academic essay writing that we have researched, categorized, and annotated in order to help you improve your essay writing. 

Essays are different from other forms of writing; in turn, there are different kinds of essays. This section contains general resources for getting to know the essay and its variants. These resources introduce and define the essay as a genre, and will teach you what to expect from essay-based assessments.

Purdue OWL Online Writing Lab

One of the most trusted academic writing sites, Purdue OWL provides a concise introduction to the four most common types of academic essays.

"The Essay: History and Definition" (ThoughtCo)

This snappy article from ThoughtCo talks about the origins of the essay and different kinds of essays you might be asked to write. 

"What Is An Essay?" Video Lecture (Coursera)

The University of California at Irvine's free video lecture, available on Coursera, tells  you everything you need to know about the essay.

Wikipedia Article on the "Essay"

Wikipedia's article on the essay is comprehensive, providing both English-language and global perspectives on the essay form. Learn about the essay's history, forms, and styles.

"Understanding College and Academic Writing" (Aims Online Writing Lab)

This list of common academic writing assignments (including types of essay prompts) will help you know what to expect from essay-based assessments.

Before you start writing your essay, you need to figure out who you're writing for (audience), what you're writing about (topic/theme), and what you're going to say (argument and thesis). This section contains links to handouts, chapters, videos and more to help you prepare to write an essay.

How to Identify Your Audience

"Audience" (Univ. of North Carolina Writing Center)

This handout provides questions you can ask yourself to determine the audience for an academic writing assignment. It also suggests strategies for fitting your paper to your intended audience.

"Purpose, Audience, Tone, and Content" (Univ. of Minnesota Libraries)

This extensive book chapter from Writing for Success , available online through Minnesota Libraries Publishing, is followed by exercises to try out your new pre-writing skills.

"Determining Audience" (Aims Online Writing Lab)

This guide from a community college's writing center shows you how to know your audience, and how to incorporate that knowledge in your thesis statement.

"Know Your Audience" ( Paper Rater Blog)

This short blog post uses examples to show how implied audiences for essays differ. It reminds you to think of your instructor as an observer, who will know only the information you pass along.

How to Choose a Theme or Topic

"Research Tutorial: Developing Your Topic" (YouTube)

Take a look at this short video tutorial from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to understand the basics of developing a writing topic.

"How to Choose a Paper Topic" (WikiHow)

This simple, step-by-step guide (with pictures!) walks you through choosing a paper topic. It starts with a detailed description of brainstorming and ends with strategies to refine your broad topic.

"How to Read an Assignment: Moving From Assignment to Topic" (Harvard College Writing Center)

Did your teacher give you a prompt or other instructions? This guide helps you understand the relationship between an essay assignment and your essay's topic.

"Guidelines for Choosing a Topic" (CliffsNotes)

This study guide from CliffsNotes both discusses how to choose a topic and makes a useful distinction between "topic" and "thesis."

How to Come Up with an Argument

"Argument" (Univ. of North Carolina Writing Center)

Not sure what "argument" means in the context of academic writing? This page from the University of North Carolina is a good place to start.

"The Essay Guide: Finding an Argument" (Study Hub)

This handout explains why it's important to have an argument when beginning your essay, and provides tools to help you choose a viable argument.

"Writing a Thesis and Making an Argument" (University of Iowa)

This page from the University of Iowa's Writing Center contains exercises through which you can develop and refine your argument and thesis statement.

"Developing a Thesis" (Harvard College Writing Center)

This page from Harvard's Writing Center collates some helpful dos and don'ts of argumentative writing, from steps in constructing a thesis to avoiding vague and confrontational thesis statements.

"Suggestions for Developing Argumentative Essays" (Berkeley Student Learning Center)

This page offers concrete suggestions for each stage of the essay writing process, from topic selection to drafting and editing. 

How to Outline your Essay

"Outlines" (Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill via YouTube)

This short video tutorial from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows how to group your ideas into paragraphs or sections to begin the outlining process.

"Essay Outline" (Univ. of Washington Tacoma)

This two-page handout by a university professor simply defines the parts of an essay and then organizes them into an example outline.

"Types of Outlines and Samples" (Purdue OWL Online Writing Lab)

Purdue OWL gives examples of diverse outline strategies on this page, including the alphanumeric, full sentence, and decimal styles. 

"Outlining" (Harvard College Writing Center)

Once you have an argument, according to this handout, there are only three steps in the outline process: generalizing, ordering, and putting it all together. Then you're ready to write!

"Writing Essays" (Plymouth Univ.)

This packet, part of Plymouth University's Learning Development series, contains descriptions and diagrams relating to the outlining process.

"How to Write A Good Argumentative Essay: Logical Structure" (Criticalthinkingtutorials.com via YouTube)

This longer video tutorial gives an overview of how to structure your essay in order to support your argument or thesis. It is part of a longer course on academic writing hosted on Udemy.

Now that you've chosen and refined your topic and created an outline, use these resources to complete the writing process. Most essays contain introductions (which articulate your thesis statement), body paragraphs, and conclusions. Transitions facilitate the flow from one paragraph to the next so that support for your thesis builds throughout the essay. Sources and citations show where you got the evidence to support your thesis, which ensures that you avoid plagiarism. 

How to Write an Introduction

"Introductions" (Univ. of North Carolina Writing Center)

This page identifies the role of the introduction in any successful paper, suggests strategies for writing introductions, and warns against less effective introductions.

"How to Write A Good Introduction" (Michigan State Writing Center)

Beginning with the most common missteps in writing introductions, this guide condenses the essentials of introduction composition into seven points.

"The Introductory Paragraph" (ThoughtCo)

This blog post from academic advisor and college enrollment counselor Grace Fleming focuses on ways to grab your reader's attention at the beginning of your essay.

"Introductions and Conclusions" (Univ. of Toronto)

This guide from the University of Toronto gives advice that applies to writing both introductions and conclusions, including dos and don'ts.

"How to Write Better Essays: No One Does Introductions Properly" ( The Guardian )

This news article interviews UK professors on student essay writing; they point to introductions as the area that needs the most improvement.

How to Write a Thesis Statement

"Writing an Effective Thesis Statement" (YouTube)

This short, simple video tutorial from a college composition instructor at Tulsa Community College explains what a thesis statement is and what it does. 

"Thesis Statement: Four Steps to a Great Essay" (YouTube)

This fantastic tutorial walks you through drafting a thesis, using an essay prompt on Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter as an example.

"How to Write a Thesis Statement" (WikiHow)

This step-by-step guide (with pictures!) walks you through coming up with, writing, and editing a thesis statement. It invites you think of your statement as a "working thesis" that can change.

"How to Write a Thesis Statement" (Univ. of Indiana Bloomington)

Ask yourself the questions on this page, part of Indiana Bloomington's Writing Tutorial Services, when you're writing and refining your thesis statement.

"Writing Tips: Thesis Statements" (Univ. of Illinois Center for Writing Studies)

This page gives plentiful examples of good to great thesis statements, and offers questions to ask yourself when formulating a thesis statement.

How to Write Body Paragraphs

"Body Paragraph" (Brightstorm)

This module of a free online course introduces you to the components of a body paragraph. These include the topic sentence, information, evidence, and analysis.

"Strong Body Paragraphs" (Washington Univ.)

This handout from Washington's Writing and Research Center offers in-depth descriptions of the parts of a successful body paragraph.

"Guide to Paragraph Structure" (Deakin Univ.)

This handout is notable for color-coding example body paragraphs to help you identify the functions various sentences perform.

"Writing Body Paragraphs" (Univ. of Minnesota Libraries)

The exercises in this section of Writing for Success  will help you practice writing good body paragraphs. It includes guidance on selecting primary support for your thesis.

"The Writing Process—Body Paragraphs" (Aims Online Writing Lab)

The information and exercises on this page will familiarize you with outlining and writing body paragraphs, and includes links to more information on topic sentences and transitions.

"The Five-Paragraph Essay" (ThoughtCo)

This blog post discusses body paragraphs in the context of one of the most common academic essay types in secondary schools.

How to Use Transitions

"Transitions" (Univ. of North Carolina Writing Center)

This page from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill explains what a transition is, and how to know if you need to improve your transitions.

"Using Transitions Effectively" (Washington Univ.)

This handout defines transitions, offers tips for using them, and contains a useful list of common transitional words and phrases grouped by function.

"Transitions" (Aims Online Writing Lab)

This page compares paragraphs without transitions to paragraphs with transitions, and in doing so shows how important these connective words and phrases are.

"Transitions in Academic Essays" (Scribbr)

This page lists four techniques that will help you make sure your reader follows your train of thought, including grouping similar information and using transition words.

"Transitions" (El Paso Community College)

This handout shows example transitions within paragraphs for context, and explains how transitions improve your essay's flow and voice.

"Make Your Paragraphs Flow to Improve Writing" (ThoughtCo)

This blog post, another from academic advisor and college enrollment counselor Grace Fleming, talks about transitions and other strategies to improve your essay's overall flow.

"Transition Words" (smartwords.org)

This handy word bank will help you find transition words when you're feeling stuck. It's grouped by the transition's function, whether that is to show agreement, opposition, condition, or consequence.

How to Write a Conclusion

"Parts of An Essay: Conclusions" (Brightstorm)

This module of a free online course explains how to conclude an academic essay. It suggests thinking about the "3Rs": return to hook, restate your thesis, and relate to the reader.

"Essay Conclusions" (Univ. of Maryland University College)

This overview of the academic essay conclusion contains helpful examples and links to further resources for writing good conclusions.

"How to End An Essay" (WikiHow)

This step-by-step guide (with pictures!) by an English Ph.D. walks you through writing a conclusion, from brainstorming to ending with a flourish.

"Ending the Essay: Conclusions" (Harvard College Writing Center)

This page collates useful strategies for writing an effective conclusion, and reminds you to "close the discussion without closing it off" to further conversation.

How to Include Sources and Citations

"Research and Citation Resources" (Purdue OWL Online Writing Lab)

Purdue OWL streamlines information about the three most common referencing styles (MLA, Chicago, and APA) and provides examples of how to cite different resources in each system.

EasyBib: Free Bibliography Generator

This online tool allows you to input information about your source and automatically generate citations in any style. Be sure to select your resource type before clicking the "cite it" button.

CitationMachine

Like EasyBib, this online tool allows you to input information about your source and automatically generate citations in any style. 

Modern Language Association Handbook (MLA)

Here, you'll find the definitive and up-to-date record of MLA referencing rules. Order through the link above, or check to see if your library has a copy.

Chicago Manual of Style

Here, you'll find the definitive and up-to-date record of Chicago referencing rules. You can take a look at the table of contents, then choose to subscribe or start a free trial.

How to Avoid Plagiarism

"What is Plagiarism?" (plagiarism.org)

This nonprofit website contains numerous resources for identifying and avoiding plagiarism, and reminds you that even common activities like copying images from another website to your own site may constitute plagiarism.

"Plagiarism" (University of Oxford)

This interactive page from the University of Oxford helps you check for plagiarism in your work, making it clear how to avoid citing another person's work without full acknowledgement.

"Avoiding Plagiarism" (MIT Comparative Media Studies)

This quick guide explains what plagiarism is, what its consequences are, and how to avoid it. It starts by defining three words—quotation, paraphrase, and summary—that all constitute citation.

"Harvard Guide to Using Sources" (Harvard Extension School)

This comprehensive website from Harvard brings together articles, videos, and handouts about referencing, citation, and plagiarism. 

Grammarly contains tons of helpful grammar and writing resources, including a free tool to automatically scan your essay to check for close affinities to published work. 

Noplag is another popular online tool that automatically scans your essay to check for signs of plagiarism. Simply copy and paste your essay into the box and click "start checking."

Once you've written your essay, you'll want to edit (improve content), proofread (check for spelling and grammar mistakes), and finalize your work until you're ready to hand it in. This section brings together tips and resources for navigating the editing process. 

"Writing a First Draft" (Academic Help)

This is an introduction to the drafting process from the site Academic Help, with tips for getting your ideas on paper before editing begins.

"Editing and Proofreading" (Univ. of North Carolina Writing Center)

This page provides general strategies for revising your writing. They've intentionally left seven errors in the handout, to give you practice in spotting them.

"How to Proofread Effectively" (ThoughtCo)

This article from ThoughtCo, along with those linked at the bottom, help describe common mistakes to check for when proofreading.

"7 Simple Edits That Make Your Writing 100% More Powerful" (SmartBlogger)

This blog post emphasizes the importance of powerful, concise language, and reminds you that even your personal writing heroes create clunky first drafts.

"Editing Tips for Effective Writing" (Univ. of Pennsylvania)

On this page from Penn's International Relations department, you'll find tips for effective prose, errors to watch out for, and reminders about formatting.

"Editing the Essay" (Harvard College Writing Center)

This article, the first of two parts, gives you applicable strategies for the editing process. It suggests reading your essay aloud, removing any jargon, and being unafraid to remove even "dazzling" sentences that don't belong.

"Guide to Editing and Proofreading" (Oxford Learning Institute)

This handout from Oxford covers the basics of editing and proofreading, and reminds you that neither task should be rushed. 

In addition to plagiarism-checkers, Grammarly has a plug-in for your web browser that checks your writing for common mistakes.

After you've prepared, written, and edited your essay, you might want to share it outside the classroom. This section alerts you to print and web opportunities to share your essays with the wider world, from online writing communities and blogs to published journals geared toward young writers.

Sharing Your Essays Online

Go Teen Writers

Go Teen Writers is an online community for writers aged 13 - 19. It was founded by Stephanie Morrill, an author of contemporary young adult novels. 

Tumblr is a blogging website where you can share your writing and interact with other writers online. It's easy to add photos, links, audio, and video components.

Writersky provides an online platform for publishing and reading other youth writers' work. Its current content is mostly devoted to fiction.

Publishing Your Essays Online

This teen literary journal publishes in print, on the web, and (more frequently), on a blog. It is committed to ensuring that "teens see their authentic experience reflected on its pages."

The Matador Review

This youth writing platform celebrates "alternative," unconventional writing. The link above will take you directly to the site's "submissions" page.

Teen Ink has a website, monthly newsprint magazine, and quarterly poetry magazine promoting the work of young writers.

The largest online reading platform, Wattpad enables you to publish your work and read others' work. Its inline commenting feature allows you to share thoughts as you read along.

Publishing Your Essays in Print

Canvas Teen Literary Journal

This quarterly literary magazine is published for young writers by young writers. They accept many kinds of writing, including essays.

The Claremont Review

This biannual international magazine, first published in 1992, publishes poetry, essays, and short stories from writers aged 13 - 19.

Skipping Stones

This young writers magazine, founded in 1988, celebrates themes relating to ecological and cultural diversity. It publishes poems, photos, articles, and stories.

The Telling Room

This nonprofit writing center based in Maine publishes children's work on their website and in book form. The link above directs you to the site's submissions page.

Essay Contests

Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards

This prestigious international writing contest for students in grades 7 - 12 has been committed to "supporting the future of creativity since 1923."

Society of Professional Journalists High School Essay Contest

An annual essay contest on the theme of journalism and media, the Society of Professional Journalists High School Essay Contest awards scholarships up to $1,000.

National YoungArts Foundation

Here, you'll find information on a government-sponsored writing competition for writers aged 15 - 18. The foundation welcomes submissions of creative nonfiction, novels, scripts, poetry, short story and spoken word.

Signet Classics Student Scholarship Essay Contest

With prompts on a different literary work each year, this competition from Signet Classics awards college scholarships up to $1,000.

"The Ultimate Guide to High School Essay Contests" (CollegeVine)

See this handy guide from CollegeVine for a list of more competitions you can enter with your academic essay, from the National Council of Teachers of English Achievement Awards to the National High School Essay Contest by the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Whether you're struggling to write academic essays or you think you're a pro, there are workshops and online tools that can help you become an even better writer. Even the most seasoned writers encounter writer's block, so be proactive and look through our curated list of resources to combat this common frustration.

Online Essay-writing Classes and Workshops

"Getting Started with Essay Writing" (Coursera)

Coursera offers lots of free, high-quality online classes taught by college professors. Here's one example, taught by instructors from the University of California Irvine.

"Writing and English" (Brightstorm)

Brightstorm's free video lectures are easy to navigate by topic. This unit on the parts of an essay features content on the essay hook, thesis, supporting evidence, and more.

"How to Write an Essay" (EdX)

EdX is another open online university course website with several two- to five-week courses on the essay. This one is geared toward English language learners.

Writer's Digest University

This renowned writers' website offers online workshops and interactive tutorials. The courses offered cover everything from how to get started through how to get published.

Writing.com

Signing up for this online writer's community gives you access to helpful resources as well as an international community of writers.

How to Overcome Writer's Block

"Symptoms and Cures for Writer's Block" (Purdue OWL)

Purdue OWL offers a list of signs you might have writer's block, along with ways to overcome it. Consider trying out some "invention strategies" or ways to curb writing anxiety.

"Overcoming Writer's Block: Three Tips" ( The Guardian )

These tips, geared toward academic writing specifically, are practical and effective. The authors advocate setting realistic goals, creating dedicated writing time, and participating in social writing.

"Writing Tips: Strategies for Overcoming Writer's Block" (Univ. of Illinois)

This page from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Center for Writing Studies acquaints you with strategies that do and do not work to overcome writer's block.

"Writer's Block" (Univ. of Toronto)

Ask yourself the questions on this page; if the answer is "yes," try out some of the article's strategies. Each question is accompanied by at least two possible solutions.

If you have essays to write but are short on ideas, this section's links to prompts, example student essays, and celebrated essays by professional writers might help. You'll find writing prompts from a variety of sources, student essays to inspire you, and a number of essay writing collections.

Essay Writing Prompts

"50 Argumentative Essay Topics" (ThoughtCo)

Take a look at this list and the others ThoughtCo has curated for different kinds of essays. As the author notes, "a number of these topics are controversial and that's the point."

"401 Prompts for Argumentative Writing" ( New York Times )

This list (and the linked lists to persuasive and narrative writing prompts), besides being impressive in length, is put together by actual high school English teachers.

"SAT Sample Essay Prompts" (College Board)

If you're a student in the U.S., your classroom essay prompts are likely modeled on the prompts in U.S. college entrance exams. Take a look at these official examples from the SAT.

"Popular College Application Essay Topics" (Princeton Review)

This page from the Princeton Review dissects recent Common Application essay topics and discusses strategies for answering them.

Example Student Essays

"501 Writing Prompts" (DePaul Univ.)

This nearly 200-page packet, compiled by the LearningExpress Skill Builder in Focus Writing Team, is stuffed with writing prompts, example essays, and commentary.

"Topics in English" (Kibin)

Kibin is a for-pay essay help website, but its example essays (organized by topic) are available for free. You'll find essays on everything from  A Christmas Carol  to perseverance.

"Student Writing Models" (Thoughtful Learning)

Thoughtful Learning, a website that offers a variety of teaching materials, provides sample student essays on various topics and organizes them by grade level.

"Five-Paragraph Essay" (ThoughtCo)

In this blog post by a former professor of English and rhetoric, ThoughtCo brings together examples of five-paragraph essays and commentary on the form.

The Best Essay Writing Collections

The Best American Essays of the Century by Joyce Carol Oates (Amazon)

This collection of American essays spanning the twentieth century was compiled by award winning author and Princeton professor Joyce Carol Oates.

The Best American Essays 2017 by Leslie Jamison (Amazon)

Leslie Jamison, the celebrated author of essay collection  The Empathy Exams , collects recent, high-profile essays into a single volume.

The Art of the Personal Essay by Phillip Lopate (Amazon)

Documentary writer Phillip Lopate curates this historical overview of the personal essay's development, from the classical era to the present.

The White Album by Joan Didion (Amazon)

This seminal essay collection was authored by one of the most acclaimed personal essayists of all time, American journalist Joan Didion.

Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace (Amazon)

Read this famous essay collection by David Foster Wallace, who is known for his experimentation with the essay form. He pushed the boundaries of personal essay, reportage, and political polemic.

"50 Successful Harvard Application Essays" (Staff of the The Harvard Crimson )

If you're looking for examples of exceptional college application essays, this volume from Harvard's daily student newspaper is one of the best collections on the market.

Are you an instructor looking for the best resources for teaching essay writing? This section contains resources for developing in-class activities and student homework assignments. You'll find content from both well-known university writing centers and online writing labs.

Essay Writing Classroom Activities for Students

"In-class Writing Exercises" (Univ. of North Carolina Writing Center)

This page lists exercises related to brainstorming, organizing, drafting, and revising. It also contains suggestions for how to implement the suggested exercises.

"Teaching with Writing" (Univ. of Minnesota Center for Writing)

Instructions and encouragement for using "freewriting," one-minute papers, logbooks, and other write-to-learn activities in the classroom can be found here.

"Writing Worksheets" (Berkeley Student Learning Center)

Berkeley offers this bank of writing worksheets to use in class. They are nested under headings for "Prewriting," "Revision," "Research Papers" and more.

"Using Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism" (DePaul University)

Use these activities and worksheets from DePaul's Teaching Commons when instructing students on proper academic citation practices.

Essay Writing Homework Activities for Students

"Grammar and Punctuation Exercises" (Aims Online Writing Lab)

These five interactive online activities allow students to practice editing and proofreading. They'll hone their skills in correcting comma splices and run-ons, identifying fragments, using correct pronoun agreement, and comma usage.

"Student Interactives" (Read Write Think)

Read Write Think hosts interactive tools, games, and videos for developing writing skills. They can practice organizing and summarizing, writing poetry, and developing lines of inquiry and analysis.

This free website offers writing and grammar activities for all grade levels. The lessons are designed to be used both for large classes and smaller groups.

"Writing Activities and Lessons for Every Grade" (Education World)

Education World's page on writing activities and lessons links you to more free, online resources for learning how to "W.R.I.T.E.": write, revise, inform, think, and edit.

• PDFs for all 136 Lit Terms we cover
• Downloads of 1966 LitCharts Lit Guides
• Teacher Editions for every Lit Guide
• Explanations and citation info for 41,447 quotes across 1966 books
• Downloadable (PDF) line-by-line translations of every Shakespeare play

Need something? Request a new guide .

How can we improve? Share feedback .

LitCharts is hiring!

How to Write the Perfect Essay

06 Feb, 2024 | Blog Articles , English Language Articles , Get the Edge , Humanities Articles , Writing Articles

You can keep adding to this plan, crossing bits out and linking the different bubbles when you spot connections between them. Even though you won’t have time to make a detailed plan under exam conditions, it can be helpful to draft a brief one, including a few key words, so that you don’t panic and go off topic when writing your essay.

If you don’t like the mind map format, there are plenty of others to choose from: you could make a table, a flowchart, or simply a list of bullet points.

Discover More

Thanks for signing up, step 2: have a clear structure.

Think about this while you’re planning: your essay is like an argument or a speech. It needs to have a logical structure, with all your points coming together to answer the question.

Start with the basics! It’s best to choose a few major points which will become your main paragraphs. Three main paragraphs is a good number for an exam essay, since you’ll be under time pressure. 

If you agree with the question overall, it can be helpful to organise your points in the following pattern:

• YES (agreement with the question)
• AND (another YES point)
• BUT (disagreement or complication)

If you disagree with the question overall, try:

• AND (another BUT point)

For example, you could structure the Of Mice and Men sample question, “To what extent is Curley’s wife portrayed as a victim in Of Mice and Men ?”, as follows:

• YES (descriptions of her appearance)
• AND (other people’s attitudes towards her)
• BUT (her position as the only woman on the ranch gives her power as she uses her femininity to her advantage)

If you wanted to write a longer essay, you could include additional paragraphs under the YES/AND categories, perhaps discussing the ways in which Curley’s wife reveals her vulnerability and insecurities, and shares her dreams with the other characters. Alternatively, you could also lengthen your essay by including another BUT paragraph about her cruel and manipulative streak.

Of course, this is not necessarily the only right way to answer this essay question – as long as you back up your points with evidence from the text, you can take any standpoint that makes sense.

Step 3: Back up your points with well-analysed quotations

You wouldn’t write a scientific report without including evidence to support your findings, so why should it be any different with an essay? Even though you aren’t strictly required to substantiate every single point you make with a quotation, there’s no harm in trying.

A close reading of your quotations can enrich your appreciation of the question and will be sure to impress examiners. When selecting the best quotations to use in your essay, keep an eye out for specific literary techniques. For example, you could highlight Curley’s wife’s use of a rhetorical question when she says, a”n’ what am I doin’? Standin’ here talking to a bunch of bindle stiffs.” This might look like:

The rhetorical question “an’ what am I doin’?” signifies that Curley’s wife is very insecure; she seems to be questioning her own life choices. Moreover, she does not expect anyone to respond to her question, highlighting her loneliness and isolation on the ranch.

Other literary techniques to look out for include:

• Tricolon – a group of three words or phrases placed close together for emphasis
• Tautology – using different words that mean the same thing: e.g. “frightening” and “terrifying”
• Parallelism – ABAB structure, often signifying movement from one concept to another
• Chiasmus – ABBA structure, drawing attention to a phrase
• Polysyndeton – many conjunctions in a sentence
• Asyndeton – lack of conjunctions, which can speed up the pace of a sentence
• Polyptoton – using the same word in different forms for emphasis: e.g. “done” and “doing”
• Alliteration – repetition of the same sound, including assonance (similar vowel sounds), plosive alliteration (“b”, “d” and “p” sounds) and sibilance (“s” sounds)
• Anaphora – repetition of words, often used to emphasise a particular point

Don’t worry if you can’t locate all of these literary devices in the work you’re analysing. You can also discuss more obvious techniques, like metaphor, simile and onomatopoeia. It’s not a problem if you can’t remember all the long names; it’s far more important to be able to confidently explain the effects of each technique and highlight its relevance to the question.

Step 4: Be creative and original throughout

Anyone can write an essay using the tips above, but the thing that really makes it “perfect” is your own unique take on the topic. If you’ve noticed something intriguing or unusual in your reading, point it out – if you find it interesting, chances are the examiner will too!

Creative writing and essay writing are more closely linked than you might imagine. Keep the idea that you’re writing a speech or argument in mind, and you’re guaranteed to grab your reader’s attention.

It’s important to set out your line of argument in your introduction, introducing your main points and the general direction your essay will take, but don’t forget to keep something back for the conclusion, too. Yes, you need to summarise your main points, but if you’re just repeating the things you said in your introduction, the body of the essay is rendered pointless.

Think of your conclusion as the climax of your speech, the bit everything else has been leading up to, rather than the boring plenary at the end of the interesting stuff.

To return to Of Mice and Men once more, here’s an example of the ideal difference between an introduction and a conclusion:

Introduction

In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men , Curley’s wife is portrayed as an ambiguous character. She could be viewed either as a cruel, seductive temptress or a lonely woman who is a victim of her society’s attitudes. Though she does seem to wield a form of sexual power, it is clear that Curley’s wife is largely a victim. This interpretation is supported by Steinbeck’s description of her appearance, other people’s attitudes, her dreams, and her evident loneliness and insecurity.

Overall, it is clear that Curley’s wife is a victim and is portrayed as such throughout the novel in the descriptions of her appearance, her dreams, other people’s judgemental attitudes, and her loneliness and insecurities. However, a character who was a victim and nothing else would be one-dimensional and Curley’s wife is not. Although she suffers in many ways, she is shown to assert herself through the manipulation of her femininity – a small rebellion against the victimisation she experiences.

Both refer back consistently to the question and summarise the essay’s main points. However, the conclusion adds something new which has been established in the main body of the essay and complicates the simple summary which is found in the introduction.

Hannah is an undergraduate English student at Somerville College, University of Oxford, and has a particular interest in postcolonial literature and the Gothic. She thinks literature is a crucial way of developing empathy and learning about the wider world. When she isn’t writing about 17th-century court masques, she enjoys acting, travelling and creative writing. 

Recommended articles

Demystifying the UK University Application Process for Educators

The UCAS applications process for UK universities can appear daunting for students and teachers alike. With that said, educators play an important role in students’ success with their university applications. As such, it is paramount that educators understand the UK...

How to Secure Strong References for Your UCAS Applications

References are a crucial component of your UCAS application, offering a holistic view of your potential as an applicant.  Your application will ask for references who can testify to your potential as a student and what you have to offer the university or college...

A Day in the Life of a History Student

It’s been over three years since I first sent my UCAS application off to Oxford University, meeting the early submission deadline by a slither and breathing a sigh of relief. Now, as a third-year History finalist on the cusp of exams, I can safely say that these...

Totally Free Essay Database

Most popular subjects.

• Film Studies (1689)
• Paintings (502)
• Music (438)
• Management (5467)
• Case Study (4174)
• Company Analysis (2977)
• Cultural Studies (595)
• Cultural Issues (210)
• Ethnicity Studies (166)
• Architecture (406)
• Fashion (194)
• Construction (129)

Diet & Nutrition

• Nutrition (340)
• Food Safety (145)
• World Cuisines & Food Culture (98)
• Economic Systems & Principles (896)
• Finance (636)
• Investment (527)
• Education Theories (725)
• Education Issues (705)
• Teacher Career (403)

Entertainment & Media

• Advertising (420)
• Documentaries (380)
• Media and Society (353)

Environment

• Environmental Studies (579)
• Ecology (571)
• Environmental Management (413)

Family, Life & Experiences

• Personal Experiences (342)
• Parenting (214)
• Marriage (163)

Health & Medicine

• Nursing (2773)
• Healthcare Research (2368)
• Public Health (1801)
• United States (1385)
• World History (1017)
• Criminology (964)
• Criminal Law (849)
• Business & Corporate Law (682)

Linguistics

• Languages (193)
• Language Use (166)
• Language Acquisition (146)
• American Literature (1987)
• World Literature (1439)
• Poems (887)
• Philosophical Theories (471)
• Philosophical Concept (365)
• Philosophers (270)

Politics & Government

• Government (1424)
• International Relations (1064)
• Social & Political Theory (584)
• Psychological Issues (1051)
• Cognition and Perception (550)
• Behavior (540)
• Religion, Culture & Society (767)
• World Religions (373)
• Theology (349)
• Biology (770)
• Scientific Method (710)
• Chemistry (406)
• Sociological Issues (1983)
• Sociological Theories (1085)
• Communications (837)
• Sports Culture (163)
• Sports Science (151)
• Sport Games (110)

Tech & Engineering

• Other Technology (576)
• Project Management (535)
• Technology Effect (501)
• Hospitality Industry (152)
• Trips and Tours (145)
• Tourism Destinations (116)

Transportation

• Air Transport (169)
• Transportation Industry (147)
• Land Transport (128)
• Modern Warfare (281)
• Terrorism (269)
• World War II (180)

Most Popular Essay Topics

Papers by essay type.

• Analytical Essay
• Application Essay
• Argumentative Essay
• Autobiography Essay
• Cause and Effect Essay
• Classification Essay
• Compare & Contrast Essay
• Creative Writing Essay
• Critical Essay
• Deductive Essay
• Definition Essay
• Descriptive Essay
• Evaluation Essay
• Exemplification Essay
• Explicatory Essay
• Exploratory Essay
• Expository Essay
• Inductive Essay
• Informative Essay
• Narrative Essay
• Opinion Essay
• Personal Essay
• Persuasive Essay
• Problem Solution Essay
• Proposal Essay
• Qualitative Research
• Quantitative Research
• Reflective Essay
• Response Essay
• Rhetorical Essay
• Satire Essay
• Self Evaluation Essay
• Synthesis Essay

Essays by Number of Pages

Samples by word count, view recent free essays, sufficient reason and causation principle.

• Subjects: Philosophy , Philosophy of Science
• Words: 2244

Societal Culture and Leadership

• Subjects: Cultural Studies , Culture
• Words: 3410

Lucid Dreaming: Impact on Sleep Disruption

• Subjects: Biology , Sciences
• Words: 1927

Nietzschean Genealogy: The Ineffective Form of Critique

• Subjects: Philosophical Concept , Philosophy
• Words: 2199

Fashion Industry: The Role of Marketer

• Subjects: Business , Professions

Ethical Violations in Research

• Subjects: Ethics , Sociology

Ethical Academic Research: Proper Citation of External Sources

The causal theory and the self-concept.

• Subjects: Psychological Influences , Psychology

Technology Implementation: The Role of People and Culture

• Subjects: Tech & Engineering , Technology Effect

The Novel “The Marrow Thieves” by Cherie Dimaline

• Subjects: Literature , World Literature

Patient’s Personal Information Safety

• Subjects: Administration and Regulation , Health & Medicine

Starbucks: The Lack of Willingness to Pay

• Subjects: Business , Product Marketing

Starbucks: The Marketing Research Report

• Subjects: Business , Marketing

Venture Capitalists: Benefits for Entrepreneurs

• Subjects: Business , Entrepreneurship
• Words: 1112

Zika Virus: Protection and Prevention

• Subjects: Health & Medicine , Healthcare Research

Ada Lovelace: Scientific Contributions

• Subjects: Computer Science , Tech & Engineering

Location’s Impact on Smitheford Pharmaceuticals

• Subjects: Business , Financial Management

The Great Resignation: Causes and Effects

• Subjects: Business , Employees Management
• Words: 1423

Starbucks: Market Saturation and Customer Interaction

• Subjects: Business , Case Study

The Junk Foods Advertisement Ban

• Subjects: Advertising Effect , Entertainment & Media

Frequently asked questions

Choose Your Test

• Search Blogs By Category
• College Admissions
• AP and IB Exams
• GPA and Coursework

Getting College Essay Help: Important Do's and Don’ts

College Essays

If you grow up to be a professional writer, everything you write will first go through an editor before being published. This is because the process of writing is really a process of re-writing —of rethinking and reexamining your work, usually with the help of someone else. So what does this mean for your student writing? And in particular, what does it mean for very important, but nonprofessional writing like your college essay? Should you ask your parents to look at your essay? Pay for an essay service?

If you are wondering what kind of help you can, and should, get with your personal statement, you've come to the right place! In this article, I'll talk about what kind of writing help is useful, ethical, and even expected for your college admission essay . I'll also point out who would make a good editor, what the differences between editing and proofreading are, what to expect from a good editor, and how to spot and stay away from a bad one.

Table of Contents

What Kind of Help for Your Essay Can You Get?

What's Good Editing?

What should an editor do for you, what kind of editing should you avoid, proofreading, what's good proofreading, what kind of proofreading should you avoid.

What Do Colleges Think Of You Getting Help With Your Essay?

Who Can/Should Help You?

Advice for editors.

Should You Pay Money For Essay Editing?

The Bottom Line

What's next, what kind of help with your essay can you get.

Rather than talking in general terms about "help," let's first clarify the two different ways that someone else can improve your writing . There is editing, which is the more intensive kind of assistance that you can use throughout the whole process. And then there's proofreading, which is the last step of really polishing your final product.

Let me go into some more detail about editing and proofreading, and then explain how good editors and proofreaders can help you."

Editing is helping the author (in this case, you) go from a rough draft to a finished work . Editing is the process of asking questions about what you're saying, how you're saying it, and how you're organizing your ideas. But not all editing is good editing . In fact, it's very easy for an editor to cross the line from supportive to overbearing and over-involved.

Ability to clarify assignments. A good editor is usually a good writer, and certainly has to be a good reader. For example, in this case, a good editor should make sure you understand the actual essay prompt you're supposed to be answering.

Open-endedness. Good editing is all about asking questions about your ideas and work, but without providing answers. It's about letting you stick to your story and message, and doesn't alter your point of view.

Think of an editor as a great travel guide. It can show you the many different places your trip could take you. It should explain any parts of the trip that could derail your trip or confuse the traveler. But it never dictates your path, never forces you to go somewhere you don't want to go, and never ignores your interests so that the trip no longer seems like it's your own. So what should good editors do?

Help Brainstorm Topics

Sometimes it's easier to bounce thoughts off of someone else. This doesn't mean that your editor gets to come up with ideas, but they can certainly respond to the various topic options you've come up with. This way, you're less likely to write about the most boring of your ideas, or to write about something that isn't actually important to you.

If you're wondering how to come up with options for your editor to consider, check out our guide to brainstorming topics for your college essay .

Help Revise Your Drafts

Here, your editor can't upset the delicate balance of not intervening too much or too little. It's tricky, but a great way to think about it is to remember: editing is about asking questions, not giving answers .

Revision questions should point out:

• Places where more detail or more description would help the reader connect with your essay
• Places where structure and logic don't flow, losing the reader's attention
• Places where there aren't transitions between paragraphs, confusing the reader
• Moments where your narrative or the arguments you're making are unclear

But pointing to potential problems is not the same as actually rewriting—editors let authors fix the problems themselves.

Bad editing is usually very heavy-handed editing. Instead of helping you find your best voice and ideas, a bad editor changes your writing into their own vision.

You may be dealing with a bad editor if they:

• Add material (examples, descriptions) that doesn't come from you
• Use a thesaurus to make your college essay sound "more mature"
• Add meaning or insight to the essay that doesn't come from you
• Tell you what to say and how to say it
• Write sentences, phrases, and paragraphs for you
• Change your voice in the essay so it no longer sounds like it was written by a teenager

Colleges can tell the difference between a 17-year-old's writing and a 50-year-old's writing. Not only that, they have access to your SAT or ACT Writing section, so they can compare your essay to something else you wrote. Writing that's a little more polished is great and expected. But a totally different voice and style will raise questions.

Where's the Line Between Helpful Editing and Unethical Over-Editing?

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether your college essay editor is doing the right thing. Here are some guidelines for staying on the ethical side of the line.

• An editor should say that the opening paragraph is kind of boring, and explain what exactly is making it drag. But it's overstepping for an editor to tell you exactly how to change it.
• An editor should point out where your prose is unclear or vague. But it's completely inappropriate for the editor to rewrite that section of your essay.
• An editor should let you know that a section is light on detail or description. But giving you similes and metaphors to beef up that description is a no-go.

Proofreading (also called copy-editing) is checking for errors in the last draft of a written work. It happens at the end of the process and is meant as the final polishing touch. Proofreading is meticulous and detail-oriented, focusing on small corrections. It sands off all the surface rough spots that could alienate the reader.

Because proofreading is usually concerned with making fixes on the word or sentence level, this is the only process where someone else can actually add to or take away things from your essay . This is because what they are adding or taking away tends to be one or two misplaced letters.

Laser focus. Proofreading is all about the tiny details, so the ability to really concentrate on finding small slip-ups is a must.

Excellent grammar and spelling skills. Proofreaders need to dot every "i" and cross every "t." Good proofreaders should correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. They should put foreign words in italics and surround quotations with quotation marks. They should check that you used the correct college's name, and that you adhered to any formatting requirements (name and date at the top of the page, uniform font and size, uniform spacing).

Limited interference. A proofreader needs to make sure that you followed any word limits. But if cuts need to be made to shorten the essay, that's your job and not the proofreader's.

A bad proofreader either tries to turn into an editor, or just lacks the skills and knowledge necessary to do the job.

Some signs that you're working with a bad proofreader are:

• If they suggest making major changes to the final draft of your essay. Proofreading happens when editing is already finished.
• If they aren't particularly good at spelling, or don't know grammar, or aren't detail-oriented enough to find someone else's small mistakes.
• If they start swapping out your words for fancier-sounding synonyms, or changing the voice and sound of your essay in other ways. A proofreader is there to check for errors, not to take the 17-year-old out of your writing.

What Do Colleges Think of Your Getting Help With Your Essay?

Admissions officers agree: light editing and proofreading are good—even required ! But they also want to make sure you're the one doing the work on your essay. They want essays with stories, voice, and themes that come from you. They want to see work that reflects your actual writing ability, and that focuses on what you find important.

On the Importance of Editing

Get feedback. Have a fresh pair of eyes give you some feedback. Don't allow someone else to rewrite your essay, but do take advantage of others' edits and opinions when they seem helpful. ( Bates College )

Read your essay aloud to someone. Reading the essay out loud offers a chance to hear how your essay sounds outside your head. This exercise reveals flaws in the essay's flow, highlights grammatical errors and helps you ensure that you are communicating the exact message you intended. ( Dickinson College )

On the Value of Proofreading

Share your essays with at least one or two people who know you well—such as a parent, teacher, counselor, or friend—and ask for feedback. Remember that you ultimately have control over your essays, and your essays should retain your own voice, but others may be able to catch mistakes that you missed and help suggest areas to cut if you are over the word limit. ( Yale University )

Proofread and then ask someone else to proofread for you. Although we want substance, we also want to be able to see that you can write a paper for our professors and avoid careless mistakes that would drive them crazy. ( Oberlin College )

On Watching Out for Too Much Outside Influence

Limit the number of people who review your essay. Too much input usually means your voice is lost in the writing style. ( Carleton College )

Ask for input (but not too much). Your parents, friends, guidance counselors, coaches, and teachers are great people to bounce ideas off of for your essay. They know how unique and spectacular you are, and they can help you decide how to articulate it. Keep in mind, however, that a 45-year-old lawyer writes quite differently from an 18-year-old student, so if your dad ends up writing the bulk of your essay, we're probably going to notice. ( Vanderbilt University )

Now let's talk about some potential people to approach for your college essay editing and proofreading needs. It's best to start close to home and slowly expand outward. Not only are your family and friends more invested in your success than strangers, but they also have a better handle on your interests and personality. This knowledge is key for judging whether your essay is expressing your true self.

Parents or Close Relatives

Your family may be full of potentially excellent editors! Parents are deeply committed to your well-being, and family members know you and your life well enough to offer details or incidents that can be included in your essay. On the other hand, the rewriting process necessarily involves criticism, which is sometimes hard to hear from someone very close to you.

A parent or close family member is a great choice for an editor if you can answer "yes" to the following questions. Is your parent or close relative a good writer or reader? Do you have a relationship where editing your essay won't create conflict? Are you able to constructively listen to criticism and suggestion from the parent?

One suggestion for defusing face-to-face discussions is to try working on the essay over email. Send your parent a draft, have them write you back some comments, and then you can pick which of their suggestions you want to use and which to discard.

Teachers or Tutors

A humanities teacher that you have a good relationship with is a great choice. I am purposefully saying humanities, and not just English, because teachers of Philosophy, History, Anthropology, and any other classes where you do a lot of writing, are all used to reviewing student work.

Moreover, any teacher or tutor that has been working with you for some time, knows you very well and can vet the essay to make sure it "sounds like you."

If your teacher or tutor has some experience with what college essays are supposed to be like, ask them to be your editor. If not, then ask whether they have time to proofread your final draft.

Guidance or College Counselor at Your School

The best thing about asking your counselor to edit your work is that this is their job. This means that they have a very good sense of what colleges are looking for in an application essay.

At the same time, school counselors tend to have relationships with admissions officers in many colleges, which again gives them insight into what works and which college is focused on what aspect of the application.

Unfortunately, in many schools the guidance counselor tends to be way overextended. If your ratio is 300 students to 1 college counselor, you're unlikely to get that person's undivided attention and focus. It is still useful to ask them for general advice about your potential topics, but don't expect them to be able to stay with your essay from first draft to final version.

Friends, Siblings, or Classmates

Although they most likely don't have much experience with what colleges are hoping to see, your peers are excellent sources for checking that your essay is you .

Friends and siblings are perfect for the read-aloud edit. Read your essay to them so they can listen for words and phrases that are stilted, pompous, or phrases that just don't sound like you.

You can even trade essays and give helpful advice on each other's work.

If your editor hasn't worked with college admissions essays very much, no worries! Any astute and attentive reader can still greatly help with your process. But, as in all things, beginners do better with some preparation.

First, your editor should read our advice about how to write a college essay introduction , how to spot and fix a bad college essay , and get a sense of what other students have written by going through some admissions essays that worked .

Then, as they read your essay, they can work through the following series of questions that will help them to guide you.

Introduction Questions

• Is the first sentence a killer opening line? Why or why not?
• Does the introduction hook the reader? Does it have a colorful, detailed, and interesting narrative? Or does it propose a compelling or surprising idea?
• Can you feel the author's voice in the introduction, or is the tone dry, dull, or overly formal? Show the places where the voice comes through.

Essay Body Questions

• Does the essay have a through-line? Is it built around a central argument, thought, idea, or focus? Can you put this idea into your own words?
• How is the essay organized? By logical progression? Chronologically? Do you feel order when you read it, or are there moments where you are confused or lose the thread of the essay?
• Does the essay have both narratives about the author's life and explanations and insight into what these stories reveal about the author's character, personality, goals, or dreams? If not, which is missing?
• Does the essay flow? Are there smooth transitions/clever links between paragraphs? Between the narrative and moments of insight?

Reader Response Questions

• Does the writer's personality come through? Do we know what the speaker cares about? Do we get a sense of "who he or she is"?
• Where did you feel most connected to the essay? Which parts of the essay gave you a "you are there" sensation by invoking your senses? What moments could you picture in your head well?
• Where are the details and examples vague and not specific enough?
• Did you get an "a-ha!" feeling anywhere in the essay? Is there a moment of insight that connected all the dots for you? Is there a good reveal or "twist" anywhere in the essay?
• What are the strengths of this essay? What needs the most improvement?

Should You Pay Money for Essay Editing?

One alternative to asking someone you know to help you with your college essay is the paid editor route. There are two different ways to pay for essay help: a private essay coach or a less personal editing service , like the many proliferating on the internet.

My advice is to think of these options as a last resort rather than your go-to first choice. I'll first go through the reasons why. Then, if you do decide to go with a paid editor, I'll help you decide between a coach and a service.

When to Consider a Paid Editor

In general, I think hiring someone to work on your essay makes a lot of sense if none of the people I discussed above are a possibility for you.

If you can't ask your parents. For example, if your parents aren't good writers, or if English isn't their first language. Or if you think getting your parents to help is going create unnecessary extra conflict in your relationship with them (applying to college is stressful as it is!)

If you can't ask your teacher or tutor. Maybe you don't have a trusted teacher or tutor that has time to look over your essay with focus. Or, for instance, your favorite humanities teacher has very limited experience with college essays and so won't know what admissions officers want to see.

If you can't ask your guidance counselor. This could be because your guidance counselor is way overwhelmed with other students.

If you can't share your essay with those who know you. It might be that your essay is on a very personal topic that you're unwilling to share with parents, teachers, or peers. Just make sure it doesn't fall into one of the bad-idea topics in our article on bad college essays .

If the cost isn't a consideration. Many of these services are quite expensive, and private coaches even more so. If you have finite resources, I'd say that hiring an SAT or ACT tutor (whether it's PrepScholar or someone else) is better way to spend your money . This is because there's no guarantee that a slightly better essay will sufficiently elevate the rest of your application, but a significantly higher SAT score will definitely raise your applicant profile much more.

Should You Hire an Essay Coach?

On the plus side, essay coaches have read dozens or even hundreds of college essays, so they have experience with the format. Also, because you'll be working closely with a specific person, it's more personal than sending your essay to a service, which will know even less about you.

But, on the minus side, you'll still be bouncing ideas off of someone who doesn't know that much about you . In general, if you can adequately get the help from someone you know, there is no advantage to paying someone to help you.

If you do decide to hire a coach, ask your school counselor, or older students that have used the service for recommendations. If you can't afford the coach's fees, ask whether they can work on a sliding scale —many do. And finally, beware those who guarantee admission to your school of choice—essay coaches don't have any special magic that can back up those promises.

Should You Send Your Essay to a Service?

On the plus side, essay editing services provide a similar product to essay coaches, and they cost significantly less . If you have some assurance that you'll be working with a good editor, the lack of face-to-face interaction won't prevent great results.

On the minus side, however, it can be difficult to gauge the quality of the service before working with them . If they are churning through many application essays without getting to know the students they are helping, you could end up with an over-edited essay that sounds just like everyone else's. In the worst case scenario, an unscrupulous service could send you back a plagiarized essay.

Getting recommendations from friends or a school counselor for reputable services is key to avoiding heavy-handed editing that writes essays for you or does too much to change your essay. Including a badly-edited essay like this in your application could cause problems if there are inconsistencies. For example, in interviews it might be clear you didn't write the essay, or the skill of the essay might not be reflected in your schoolwork and test scores.

Should You Buy an Essay Written by Someone Else?

Let me elaborate. There are super sketchy places on the internet where you can simply buy a pre-written essay. Don't do this!

For one thing, you'll be lying on an official, signed document. All college applications make you sign a statement saying something like this:

I certify that all information submitted in the admission process—including the application, the personal essay, any supplements, and any other supporting materials—is my own work, factually true, and honestly presented... I understand that I may be subject to a range of possible disciplinary actions, including admission revocation, expulsion, or revocation of course credit, grades, and degree, should the information I have certified be false. (From the Common Application )

For another thing, if your academic record doesn't match the essay's quality, the admissions officer will start thinking your whole application is riddled with lies.

Admission officers have full access to your writing portion of the SAT or ACT so that they can compare work that was done in proctored conditions with that done at home. They can tell if these were written by different people. Not only that, but there are now a number of search engines that faculty and admission officers can use to see if an essay contains strings of words that have appeared in other essays—you have no guarantee that the essay you bought wasn't also bought by 50 other students.

• You should get college essay help with both editing and proofreading
• A good editor will ask questions about your idea, logic, and structure, and will point out places where clarity is needed
• A good editor will absolutely not answer these questions, give you their own ideas, or write the essay or parts of the essay for you
• A good proofreader will find typos and check your formatting
• All of them agree that getting light editing and proofreading is necessary
• Parents, teachers, guidance or college counselor, and peers or siblings
• If you can't ask any of those, you can pay for college essay help, but watch out for services or coaches who over-edit you work
• Don't buy a pre-written essay! Colleges can tell, and it'll make your whole application sound false.

Ready to start working on your essay? Check out our explanation of the point of the personal essay and the role it plays on your applications and then explore our step-by-step guide to writing a great college essay .

Using the Common Application for your college applications? We have an excellent guide to the Common App essay prompts and useful advice on how to pick the Common App prompt that's right for you . Wondering how other people tackled these prompts? Then work through our roundup of over 130 real college essay examples published by colleges .

Stressed about whether to take the SAT again before submitting your application? Let us help you decide how many times to take this test . If you choose to go for it, we have the ultimate guide to studying for the SAT to give you the ins and outs of the best ways to study.

Trending Now

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

ACT vs. SAT: Which Test Should You Take?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Get Your Free

Find Your Target SAT Score

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

How to Get a Perfect SAT Score, by an Expert Full Scorer

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading and Writing

How to Improve Your Low SAT Score

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading and Writing

Find Your Target ACT Score

Complete Official Free ACT Practice Tests

How to Get a Perfect ACT Score, by a 36 Full Scorer

Get a 36 on ACT English

Get a 36 on ACT Math

Get a 36 on ACT Reading

Get a 36 on ACT Science

How to Improve Your Low ACT Score

Get a 24 on ACT English

Get a 24 on ACT Math

Get a 24 on ACT Reading

Get a 24 on ACT Science

Stay Informed

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

TRY OUR FREE APP

Write your book in Reedsy Studio. Try the beloved writing app for free today.

Craft your masterpiece in Reedsy Studio

Plan, write, edit, and format your book in our free app made for authors.

Blog • Perfecting your Craft

Last updated on Feb 07, 2023

The 50+ Best Writing Websites of 2024

The Internet is full of writing websites and blogs to help people reach their creative goals. If you’ve always dreamt of writing your own book  but don’t know how to get there — or if you’re in the process of writing, but feel unsure about what to do next — then it’s your lucky day! Here we have all the best writing websites of 2024 in one single place for your convenience. They’re also organized by category, and alphabetically within each of those categories, to make each one easier to find. Enjoy!

Best writing websites for writing craft and inspiration

1. Almost an Author

Offering up new content every day, Almost an Author covers a grand scope of writing topics. From genre-specific advice to emotional support on your writing journey, there's tons of useful info here for beginner and veteran writers alike.

2. Association of Writer & Writing Programs

Having just marked their 50th anniversary, AWP is one of the premier authorities on writing. The AWP website provides resources and ample opportunities for authors, teachers, and students at every point in their career. Here you’ll be able to find information about writing programs, career options, and conferences all over the world. Keep in mind, though, that access to some of these features is restricted to members only.

3. Creativity Portal

This is a wonderful hub for helpful resources that has been around for a whopping nineteen years! Here you can find writing prompts, creative coaching, printable writing templates, and interviews with authors that will help nourish the right side of your brain.

4. Daily Writing Tips

As the name suggests, this site offers daily writing tips ranging from open-ended prompts and exercises to grammar, spelling, punctuation, and vocabulary. It also covers all writing levels and professions , so it doesn't matter how far along you are in your writing career — DWT is sure to help you out.

Instead of spending thousands of dollars on a master’s degree, you can get your own "DIY MFA" right here! This site (founded by Gabriela Pereira ) aims to cover everything you would learn in a graduate program, while giving you the freedom to choose your own areas of concentration and allocate your time as you please. 

6. Electric Literature

While not exactly a craft-focused website — so no straight-up writing advice or prompts — this nonprofit digital publisher showcases literature-related essays, criticism, and recommended readings. If you're looking to brush up on both literary theory and recent literary trends, Electric Lit is the place for you.

7. Fiction University

This virtual university, run by award-winning author Janice Hardy, contains tons of advice and concrete examples to help authors build a strong writing foundation. It's full of blog posts by professionals who share their own processes and techniques, providing tips not just on what you should do as a writer, but on how  to make it happen.

8. Helping Writers Become Authors

Longtime author K.M. Weiland offers writing advice that ranges from outlining and structuring to characterization and dialogue — plus all the little details in between. She updates her blog faithfully with topical posts that would pique any writer's (or non-writer's) interest.

9. Insecure Writer's Support Group

Writing is intimidating for everyone , whether you're a multi-published author or you're just starting out. That's why getting support, guidance, and motivation throughout the process is vital! On IWSG, you'll discover a wealth of information on writing, publishing, marketing, and anything else you might need to ultimately overcome your insecurities.

10. Literary Hub

LitHub boasts a superb selection of content for all things literary. Here you can get all the latest book-related news, posts on design and the craft, your daily dose of fiction, and sparkling reviews of new works. One of this site's best features is its section on literature in translation — a great resource for those who want to read books and authors from around the world.

11. LitReactor

The LitReactor blog consists of writing classes, workshops, and a myriad of posts on writing and books ( some of which are even written by us! ). There’s also an online magazine that includes interviews, criticism and analysis, and seasonally appropriate reads and recommendations.

12. LitRejections

An unfortunate occupational hazard of with writing is rejection. This is where a site like LitRejections comes into play! It offers personal stories to help discouraged writers persevere through rejection, and maintain hope and motivation as they move forward in their careers.

13. Live Write Thrive

In this website by professional writer and editor C.S. Lakin, you’ll find plenty of nuanced writing anecdotes and tips. Lakin also supplies annotated critiques that can help you prep your book for publication.

14. NaNoWriMo

Besides serving as the official information hub for NaNoWriMo, this site also lends constant support for those struggling to "win" National Novel Writing Month . Make sure to check out the NaNoWriMo forums, which are chock-full of other people's personal writing tips and strategies to get you through November — and every other month of the year — as a writer.

15. Now Novel

This comprehensive website, founded by author Bridget McNulty , is a go-to for just about every writing-related question you might have. Here you'll also find advice, courses, and even an author dashboard where you can keep track of your own writing progress.

16. Positive Writer

If you often feel uncertain about your creative abilities, this is the site for you. Bryan Hutchinson created Positive Writer to encourage and inspire all those who want to write, no matter how much experience or confidence they have.

17. ProWritingAid

ProWritingAid offers a fantastic manuscript editing software that analyzes your writing and creates reports for you to learn from! This tool also includes a thesaurus, grammar checks, style suggestions, and more — you can learn all about it on the ProWritingAid blog, or in our review of the app !

18. She Writes

A well-established writing website with a feminist bent, She Writes is "the largest online community and content site for women writers... all around the world." The site features thoughtful posts and resources to help writers on their journeys, as well as a personal She Writes blog page for every user who signs up.

19. Well-Storied

Here you can find recent articles, workbooks, tutorials, and fascinating discussions on writing. Kristine Kieffer has an extensive archive of posts as well, where you can procure information on just about any topic related to books and writing.

20. The Write Practice

Fulfilling the promise of their name, every single post on this site emphasizes putting theory into practice! There's simply no better way to become a writer than by creating a routine, and that’s exactly what The Write Practice helps facilitate.

21. Writer’s Digest

Writer's Digest is one of the most encyclopedic writing websites out there — after all, the print magazine has been around for almost a century now! Here you’ll find genre and vocation-organized articles, events and competitions, webinars, templates, tutorials, and so much more.

22. Writer Unboxed

Writer Unboxed features articles by authors and industry professionals, focused specifically on the craft and business of fiction writing.

23. The Writing Cooperative

Plain and simple, this is a group of people who want to help each other become better writers. On Writing Cooperative, you will find articles that cover just about every aspect of the writing life. They also have monthly writing challenges to keep you incentivized, and there’s even a space where you can submit your own article to the blog!

24. Writing.com

This is an absolutely all-inclusive community for writers. It’s open to all levels and provides a supportive environment for all members , as well as portfolios to store and display their writing. Like most writing websites, it also includes a plethora of writing tools, contests, and rewards.

25. Catapult: Don’t Write Alone

Don’t Write Alone is a blog written by the Catapult team dedicated to helping writers grow their skills. As a publisher and magazine founded in 2005, Catapult has seen a lot of works and now they’re spilling all the details. From interviews, to craft essays, to writer lifestyle essays, Catapult covers it all.

26. Kirkus Review’s Writers’ Center

Kirkus Review is known for its prestigious $50,000 dollar annual prize and its bi-monthly issues where they critique hundreds of recently published books. But, did you know they also have a section of their website devoted to helping emerging writers grow their skills and navigate the publishing industry? They’re always up to date on the latest trends — if they aren’t creating new trends themselves.

27. Writers Write

An invaluable resource for creative writers, business writers, or bloggers, Writers Write offers over 1400 articles, courses, and workbooks to help you take your writing practice to the next level. Alongside their educational content, they offer book reviews, trivia on famous authors, and prompts. Sign up for their inspirational newsletters for regular hits of motivation that will keep you writing.

28. The Narrative Arc

Beginning as a home to Andie R. Cranford’s writing journey, The Narrative Arc is now a treasure trove of practical tips and prompts to inspire your creativity. Breakdowns of popular books are particularly handy for the budding author — but whether exploring writing for the first time or tightening the bolts on your Franken-novel, the site's ideas on craft are elegant and inspiring.

Best writing websites in the publishing industry

29. Agent Query

This database allows authors to perform in-depth searches for literary agents. You can narrow your search by genre and keywords, view full profiles , and see if any agents are currently accepting queries — all for free!

30. The Creative Penn

Besides being a bestselling author on various topics, Joanna Penn is also a leading voice in self-publishing. On her punnily named site, you’ll find abundant information related to writing , self-publishing, marketing, and everything else you might need to make a living as a writer.

31. Digital Pubbing

Digital Pubbing provides industry news, interviews with indie authors, and resources for learning all about ebooks and the publishing industry. In accordance with the name, this is the perfect site for any author hoping to absorb some serious digital knowledge.

32. The Independent Publishing Magazine

We know it might seem like we're repeating ourselves, but this website really is all about publishing (both independent and traditional, despite what the name indicates). Whatever info you need about self-publishing, traditional publishing, or hybrid publishing, you’ll definitely be able to find it here.

33. Publishers Weekly

And if you have a specific question about the publishing world, you’ll most likely find the answer here. This weekly magazine is packed full of news, reviews, announcements, and many other resources on the industry. It has been dubbed as "the Bible of the book business" and with its extensive archive, it’s easy to see why.

34. Publishing Perspectives

Publishing Perspectives is another leading source of publishing info, specializing in industry news and topical articles. Aimed at publishers, agents, and authors alike, it features a variety of posts that cover book fairs, distribution, education, and much more.

35. Query Shark

Not sure where your query letter is up to snuff ? Query Shark offers the opportunity to have your query critiqued, and to read detailed query critiques of other authors' letters, so you can get the best possible results for your book. Be warned, though, that this sharp-toothed feedback isn't for the weak of heart.

36. Writer Beware

This amazingly thorough site compiles information on schemes that affect authors , especially those run through email and the Internet. It’s sponsored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, but obviously applies to authors everywhere. If you're a fresh-faced author trying to get published, definitely check it out — it could save you from losing thousands of dollars in an elaborate scam.

37. The Darling Axe

When the industry professionals at The Darling Axe aren’t working on manuscripts, they flock to the internet to share their hot takes on the publishing industry. They also host writing contests throughout the year to build a writing community and give unpublished authors the chance to get feedback from professionals.

Best writing websites for marketing and design

38. David Gaughran

An experienced author of historical adventures, short stories, and popular books for writers, David Gaughran is one of the definitive writing experts out there. His eponymous blog contains plenty of info on marketing and self-publishing, plus workshops to help aspiring authors. And similar to Writer Beware, he's the noble opposition of online publishing scams and scammers — so if you're frustrated by these issues, you'll discover a blissfully sympathetic voice on his blog.

39. Kikolani

Focused specifically on marketing, Kikolani offers tips and strategies for bloggers who want to grow their presence and attract more readers. Here you’ll find information on brand development, social media, customer retention, and other useful tips that you can put to good use as a blogger. (If you're just getting started, though, we'd recommend this course .)

40. Kindlepreneur

Dave Chesson is — in his own words — a “digital marketing nut.” His blog has all the information you could ever need about Kindle book publishing , how to write to market, increasing your rankings on Amazon, and lots more practical tips and advice.

41. Storiad

Storiad is a marketing platform that helps authors and publishers sell books. Go here for essential information on writing apps, databases, tools, and budgeting to help you run your own publishing campaign from start to finish.

42. Writers & Artists

Part of the distinguished Bloomsbury, Writers & Artists has quite a few articles on writing and the self-publishing process. They also offer editorial services and events on many different topics, like genre-specific writing courses and how to get connected with agents.

43. Your Writer Platform

Naturally, this site is dedicated to building your very own writer platform. There are tons of tips, resources, tools, how-tos, and even individual consulting services to help you build the platform that works best for you and your marketing needs.

Best writing blogs by industry professionals

44. Goins, Writer

Bestselling author Jeff Goins created this blog to share his thoughts on writing and to inspire others to chase their creative dreams. He's especially good at breaking complex topics down into digestible bits — new writers, go here for your primers.

45. Jane Friedman

With copious experience in the publishing industry, Jane Friedman offers online classes and articles on the entire process of book publishing. She's a real goldmine of business knowledge, so keep her in mind for when you're ready to publish your book.

46. Nail Your Novel

As a bestselling former ghostwriter who now publishes under her own name, Roz Morris provides advice about writing, self-publishing, and of course, ghostwriting. If you're interested in becoming a ghostwriter, be sure to check out her courses!

47. Nathan Bransford

Nathan Bransford is a former literary agent who posts all about the inner workings of publishing, as well and information on agents and self-publishing. He also does consultations, edits, and critiques. 

48. Rachelle Gardner

Skillful agent Rachelle Gardner has negotiated over 200 contracts with over twenty publishers and helped more than 100 authors fulfill their dreams of publishing. On her blog, she offers writing, publishing, and social media coaching, along with general writing and publishing tips.

49. Kris Writes

For regular insights from a New York Times bestselling author, look no further than Kristine Kathryn Rusch's blog. On Mondays, she posts free short stories for authors to find inspiration in, and Wednesdays she posts in her “Business Musings” collection where she breaks down news from the publishing industry and offers her inside opinions. 

50. The Marginalian  

Maria Popova describes her site as “a record of my own becoming as a person — intellectually, creatively, spiritually, poetically — drawn from my extended marginalia on the search for meaning across literature, science, art, philosophy, and the various other tendrils of human thought and feeling.” She sends out a Sunday newsletter with thoughtful deconstruction of the week’s best liberal arts goings-on to help broaden her readers’ appreciation of the creative world.

51. John August

For all the screenwriters out there, John August co-hosts a weekly podcast with fellow screenwriter Craig Mazin discussing both the craft and business of screenwriting while breaking down popular movies. To help screenwriters really get a feel for the process of working with a studio, John has posted multiple versions of scripts from different stages in the production process on films and series he’s written, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , Big Fish , and Chernobyl .

What are some of your favorite writing websites? Let us know in the comments below!

Continue reading

Recommended posts from the Reedsy Blog

450+ Powerful Adjectives to Describe a Person (With Examples)

Want a handy list to help you bring your characters to life? Discover words that describe physical attributes, dispositions, and emotions.

How to Plot a Novel Like a NYT Bestselling Author

Need to plot your novel? Follow these 7 steps from New York Times bestselling author Caroline Leavitt.

How to Write an Autobiography: The Story of Your Life

Want to write your autobiography but aren’t sure where to start? This step-by-step guide will take you from opening lines to publishing it for everyone to read.

What is the Climax of a Story? Examples & Tips

The climax is perhaps a story's most crucial moment, but many writers struggle to stick the landing. Let's see what makes for a great story climax.

What is Tone in Literature? Definition & Examples

We show you, with supporting examples, how tone in literature influences readers' emotions and perceptions of a text.

Writing Cozy Mysteries: 7 Essential Tips & Tropes

We show you how to write a compelling cozy mystery with advice from published authors and supporting examples from literature.

Join a community of over 1 million authors

Reedsy is more than just a blog. Become a member today to discover how we can help you publish a beautiful book.

Bring your stories to life

Our free writing app lets you set writing goals and track your progress, so you can finally write that book!

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

Enter your email or get started with a social account:

Free Essay Examples Database by PapersOwl

The ways we can help you

Essay types.

Discover writing strategies that apply to narrative, descriptive, expository, persuasive, compare and contrast, cause and effect papers, and other essay types

Writing help

Hire a writer to get a unique essay crafted to your needs: any topic, any deadline, any instructions. In-time submission and high academic quality guaranteed.

Writing tools

Strengthen your writing with plagiarism checks, pinpoint paraphrasing errors & instant citations.

Study resources

• Essay writing guide
• Essay Structure
• Citation guide
• Essay Formatting
• Plagiarism 101
• Punctuation Guide
• Dissertation writing
• PowerPoint Presentation
• Research process

Essay samples by category

With regard to college paper subjects, there is no shortage of free essay themes available. Professors, instructors, and educators in universities, colleges, and schools appear to be resourceful engines, continuously generating an infinite array of essay topics.

Medicine And Health

• Women's Health
• Public Health
• Organ Donation
• Mental Health
• Impact of Technology
• Biotechnology
• Advantages of Technology
• Internet Privacy
• Gamification
• Cyber Security
• Computer Software
• Volunteering
• Socialization
• Social Work
• Social Status
• Social Responsibility
• Social Norm
• Social Networking
• Social Movements
• Social Issues
• Social Exclusion
• Social science
• Scientific method
• Radiation Therapy
• Political Science
• Pharmacology
• Superstition
• Supernatural
• Reincarnation
• Mother Teresa
• Good and evil
• Wuthering Heights
• Virginia Woolf
• Tennessee Williams
• Sandra Cisneros
• Phillis Wheatley
• Nathaniel Hawthorne
• United States Constitution
• Surveillance
• Prohibition
• Plessy v Ferguson
• Mass Incarceration
• Law Enforcement
• Thomas Jefferson
• Richard Nixon
• Public Speaking
• Political party
• Michelle Obama
• Mahatma Gandhi
• Study Abroad
• Special Education
• Recommendation
• Physical Education
• Higher Education
• Education System
• Female Education
• Swot Analysis
• Organization
• International Business
• Entrepreneurship
• Bussiness Plan
• Visual Arts
• Romanticism
• Renaissance
• Movie Review
• Architecture
• Relationships
• Entertainment

Still Need Help With Essay Writing?

1. Submit Instructions

2. Choose Essay Writer

3. Track Order

4. Check Paper

100% happiness guarantee, free paper examples by words:, last added essay samples, the versatile powerhouse: triceps brachii and its role in modern art.

The triceps brachii, the three-headed muscle of the upper arm, plays a crucial role in our daily lives. While its primary function is well-known in the realm of anatomy and fitness, a deeper exploration into its influence reveals its significance extends beyond mere physicality. By intertwining the physiology of the triceps brachii with the world of modern art, we can uncover a fascinating interplay that highlights the muscle's versatility and importance. The triceps brachii, with its three distinct heads—the long […]

Administrative Agencies and the Craft of Brewing: a Unique Perspective

The world of administrative agencies may seem distant from the art of brewing beer, yet both fields share surprising parallels in their quest for precision, safety, and innovation. Administrative agencies, much like master brewers, craft regulations and policies to ensure the safety and well-being of the public. By combining the main key of administrative agencies with the intricate process of brewing, we can gain a unique and refreshing perspective on their essential roles. Administrative agencies, akin to the meticulous brewmasters, […]

From Rags to Riches: the Satirical Tale of Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie, the quintessential American success story, is often revered for his meteoric rise from a humble weaver's son to one of the wealthiest men in history. Born in Scotland in 1835, young Andrew's family immigrated to the United States when he was just a boy. The Carnegies, like many immigrants of the time, were searching for the fabled land of opportunity, where streets were purportedly paved with gold. Instead, they found the grim reality of industrial America, where children […]

The Life and Influence of Origen of Alexandria

Origen of Alexandria, a profound and controversial figure in early Christian scholarship, left an indelible mark on the theological landscape of his time. Born around 185 AD in Alexandria, Egypt, Origen grew up in an intellectually vibrant environment, surrounded by a confluence of Greek philosophy, Jewish thought, and nascent Christian teachings. His father, Leonides, a devout Christian, played a significant role in shaping Origen's early religious education, fostering a deep love for scripture that would define his life's work. As […]

The Complex Landscape of Media Bias in the Washington Post

In the bustling world of journalism, The Washington Post stands as a towering institution, its pages a canvas where daily events, political machinations, and societal shifts are painted with words. Yet, like any publication of significant influence, it is not immune to the pervasive specter of media bias. The complex nature of this bias within The Washington Post offers a fascinating glimpse into the subtleties of modern journalism and the intricate balance between objective reporting and editorial slant. At the […]

Understanding the Beaver: Nature’s Ingenious Engineer

Amid the serene landscapes of North America and parts of Europe, the industrious beaver thrives, carving out a unique niche within the natural world. Known for their extraordinary ability to alter their environment, beavers are often referred to as nature’s engineers. Yet, a question often arises: is the beaver a rodent? To answer this, we must delve into the biological classification and distinctive characteristics that define these remarkable creatures. Beavers belong to the family Castoridae, a small yet fascinating family […]

The Essence of Water in the Human Body

The human body, an intricate marvel of biology, owes much of its complexity to a single, ubiquitous substance: water. Comprising approximately 60% of our body weight, water is an essential component that facilitates a myriad of physiological processes. This seemingly simple molecule, with its two hydrogen atoms bonded to one oxygen atom, is fundamental to life as we know it. From the moment we are born, water becomes a vital part of our existence. Newborns, in fact, have an even […]

Rosa Parks’ Revolutionary Reclining: the Day the Bus Became a Battlefield

Imagine a world where the simple act of sitting could shake the foundations of an entire society. No, I’m not talking about the latest ergonomic office chair that promises to revolutionize your work-from-home experience. I’m talking about a world where your choice of bus seat could turn you into an icon of resistance. This was precisely the world in which Rosa Parks found herself on December 1, 1955, a day that would eventually lead to her passing on October 24, […]

he Early Adventures and Diverse Influences that Shaped Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant's childhood, marked by an eclectic mix of cultural experiences and early exposure to basketball, played a pivotal role in molding him into a basketball legend. Born on August 23, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kobe was the youngest of three children and the only son of Joe and Pamela Bryant. His father, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, was a professional basketball player, which meant Kobe was introduced to the sport from an early age. In 1984, when Kobe was six years […]

The Impact and Symbolism of “Strange Fruit”

The haunting melody of "Strange Fruit," made famous by Billie Holiday, is not just a song but a powerful social commentary that echoes through history. This evocative piece of music highlights the brutal reality of racism and lynching in America. Understanding its significance requires delving into the cause and effect of the events it portrays and the lasting impact on society. "Strange Fruit" originated as a poem written by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish schoolteacher from the Bronx. He was deeply […]

Our writers will help you fix any mistakes and get an A+!

1. Tell Us Your Requirements

2. Pick your perfect writer

3. Get Your Paper and Pay

short deadlines

100% Plagiarism-Free

Certified writers

Essay Papers Writing Online

Websites to write essays easily and effortlessly with these top platforms.

Are you a student struggling with your essay assignments? Look no further! In today’s fast-paced world, finding reliable and efficient websites for essay writing can be a daunting task. With so many options available, it’s crucial to find the platform that suits your specific needs and guarantees top-notch quality. This guide will help you navigate through the vast sea of online essay writing services and provide you with a list of exceptional websites that will save you time, effort, and deliver outstanding results.

When it comes to writing essays, it’s imperative to find platforms that offer a seamless user experience, have a wide range of subject expertise, and boast professional writers with in-depth knowledge. Additionally, accessibility and affordability play a significant role in your decision-making process. You want a website that is available 24/7, easy to navigate, and offers competitive prices. These factors, combined with a commitment to originality, confidentiality, and prompt delivery, are the key components of a reliable essay writing website.

Whether you are a high school student working on your first essay or a graduate student seeking assistance with complex research papers, finding the right website can make a world of difference in your academic success. With the help of this guide, you will discover the top-notch essay writing platforms that have gained a stellar reputation for their exceptional services. Say goodbye to hours spent on endless research and stress – get ready to find the website that will turn your essay writing experience into a breeze!

Best Websites to Write Essays

When it comes to online platforms for academic writing, there are several outstanding options available. These platforms provide a space where individuals can showcase their writing skills and earn money by offering their services to students and professionals in need of essays or other written content. Whether you are a seasoned writer looking for new opportunities or a student in search of assistance with your assignments, these websites offer a wide range of features and benefits to meet your needs.

1. WritingHub

One of the top websites for essay writing is WritingHub. This platform offers a user-friendly interface and a large pool of talented writers specializing in various disciplines. With WritingHub, you can submit your essay requirements and receive bids from qualified writers. You can then choose the writer who best fits your needs based on their experience, ratings, and price. The platform also provides a messaging system for direct communication with your chosen writer, ensuring a personalized and efficient writing process.

2. AcademicPro

If you are seeking a platform that guarantees high-quality essays, AcademicPro is a great choice. This website prides itself on having a rigorous screening process to ensure that only the most skilled and experienced writers are accepted. AcademicPro also offers a money-back guarantee, so you can be confident that you will receive a well-written essay that meets your requirements. Additionally, the platform provides 24/7 customer support to address any concerns or questions you may have throughout the writing process.

3. EssayExperts

For those searching for a website that offers a wide range of writing services beyond essays, EssayExperts is an excellent option. In addition to essays, this platform offers assistance with research papers, dissertations, thesis statements, and more. EssayExperts boasts a team of highly qualified writers who have expertise in various academic fields. The platform also offers free revisions to ensure that you are completely satisfied with the final product.

4. ProEssayWriter

ProEssayWriter is a website that stands out for its efficiency and affordability. This platform offers a quick turnaround time without compromising the quality of the writing. ProEssayWriter also provides competitive prices, making it an attractive option for those on a budget. Additionally, the platform has a customer rating system, allowing you to see the feedback and ratings of previous clients to help you make an informed decision when choosing a writer.

5. EssayMasters

If you are looking for a website that guarantees original and plagiarism-free essays, EssayMasters is a top choice. This platform emphasizes the importance of authenticity and ensures that all essays are written from scratch. EssayMasters also offers a team of highly skilled writers who are experienced in various citation styles and can meet even the strictest formatting requirements. With their dedication to quality and originality, EssayMasters aims to exceed your expectations with every essay they deliver.

In conclusion, these websites provide a platform for individuals to showcase their writing skills and offer their services to those who need assistance with essays or other written content. With their user-friendly interfaces, talented writers, and array of features, these websites are the go-to options for anyone in search of high-quality essays and academic writing services. Whether you are a writer looking for new opportunities or a student seeking help with your assignments, these platforms offer the necessary tools and support to ensure your success.

In the world of online essay writing services, EssayPro stands out as a reliable and efficient platform for students and professionals alike. With its user-friendly interface and a wide range of features, EssayPro provides a seamless experience for those seeking high-quality essays on various topics.

One of the key advantages of EssayPro is its team of experienced writers who are well-versed in different academic disciplines. They can tackle any subject and deliver well-researched and original essays that meet the highest standards of quality. Additionally, EssayPro allows users to choose their preferred writer based on their ratings, reviews, and area of expertise, ensuring that each assignment is in capable hands.

Another noteworthy feature of EssayPro is its efficient customer support system. The platform provides 24/7 assistance to address any inquiries or concerns that users may have. The support team is highly responsive and knowledgeable, ensuring a smooth communication process between the writers and the clients.

Furthermore, EssayPro values confidentiality and privacy, ensuring that all personal and payment information is protected. The platform uses secure encryption protocols to safeguard user data, giving users peace of mind when accessing the service.

• Quality essays written by experienced professionals
• Ability to choose preferred writer based on ratings and expertise
• 24/7 customer support for immediate assistance
• Strict confidentiality and privacy measures
• User-friendly interface for a seamless experience

Overall, EssayPro is a top-notch platform that offers a reliable and efficient solution for those in need of essay writing services. With its experienced writers, user-friendly interface, and excellent customer support, EssayPro is a go-to choice for students and professionals who value high-quality work.

PapersOwl is a well-established online platform that offers a range of services for academic writing. It provides a convenient and reliable solution for students looking to get their essays written professionally.

One of the key advantages of PapersOwl is the quality of the papers they deliver. Their team of experienced writers ensures that each essay is well-researched, properly structured, and written to a high standard. Students can expect to receive well-written and well-argued essays that demonstrate a thorough understanding of the topic.

Another advantage of PapersOwl is the professionalism and reliability of their writers. They have a rigorous selection process, which ensures that only the best writers are hired. This means that students can be confident that their essays will be handled by experts in their field. Additionally, PapersOwl provides a messaging system that allows students to communicate directly with the assigned writer, ensuring that any questions or concerns can be addressed promptly.

Timely delivery is also a key feature of PapersOwl. They understand the importance of meeting deadlines, and their writers are committed to delivering essays on time. This is particularly useful for students who may have tight deadlines and need their essays urgently.

However, there are a few drawbacks to using PapersOwl. One of these is the cost. The high quality and professionalism of their writers come at a price, and PapersOwl can be quite expensive compared to other platforms. Additionally, PapersOwl may not be suitable for urgent orders, as they prioritize quality over speed.

In conclusion, PapersOwl is a reputable platform for essay writing that offers high-quality papers, experienced writers, and timely delivery. While it may be more expensive than other options, it provides a reliable solution for students who value quality and professionalism in their academic writing.

EduBirdie is an online platform that provides essay writing services to students. It is a popular option for those who are looking for professional assistance and guidance in their academic writing tasks. With a team of experienced writers, EduBirdie offers a wide range of essay writing services to cater to the diverse needs of students. Whether you need help with research papers, term papers, or any other type of academic writing, EduBirdie has got you covered.

One of the key features of EduBirdie is its easy-to-use interface, which allows students to place their orders quickly and conveniently. The platform also offers a user-friendly messaging system, which enables students to communicate directly with their assigned writers. This ensures clear and effective communication, resulting in high-quality essays that meet the specific requirements and expectations of each student.

EduBirdie takes pride in its team of writers, who are highly qualified and knowledgeable in various academic disciplines. They have a deep understanding of different writing styles and formats, ensuring that each essay is well-written and properly structured. The writers at EduBirdie also conduct thorough research to gather relevant and up-to-date information, providing students with well-researched and informative essays.

Another important aspect of EduBirdie is its commitment to delivering plagiarism-free content. The platform has strict policies in place to ensure that all essays are original and written from scratch. This ensures that students receive unique and authentic essays that are free from any form of plagiarism. EduBirdie also provides plagiarism reports upon request, giving students peace of mind and confidence in the originality of their essays.

Overall, EduBirdie is a reliable and trustworthy platform for essay writing services. With its user-friendly interface, experienced writers, and commitment to plagiarism-free content, it is a top choice for students seeking professional writing assistance. Whether you need help with a single essay or multiple assignments, EduBirdie is here to help you achieve academic success.

EssayShark is a popular platform that offers students a convenient and reliable solution for their essay writing needs. With its user-friendly interface, vast pool of talented writers, and efficient system, EssayShark has earned a reputation as a go-to website for students seeking assistance with their academic writing tasks.

When it comes to finding the best essay writing service, EssayShark stands out for its commitment to quality and professionalism. The platform carefully selects its writers, ensuring they have the necessary expertise and qualifications to deliver top-notch essays. Whether you need help with an essay on literature, history, science, or any other subject, EssayShark has writers who can handle it all.

One of the key features that sets EssayShark apart is its bidding system. Rather than assigning writers to projects, the platform allows students to post their essay requirements and receive bids from available writers. This gives students the opportunity to choose the writer that best fits their needs and budget. It also promotes competition among writers, driving them to deliver their best work.

EssayShark offers a transparent and secure payment system, ensuring that students only release payment once they are satisfied with the completed essay. The platform also provides a messaging system that allows direct communication between students and writers, enabling them to collaborate effectively throughout the writing process.

With its reputation for delivering high-quality essays, personalized service, and reliable support, EssayShark has become a trusted platform for students around the world. Whether you need help with a simple essay or a complex research paper, EssayShark is a platform you can rely on to meet your essay writing needs.

GradeMiners

When it comes to finding a reliable platform for academic writing services, GradeMiners is a highly recommended option to consider. With a strong reputation in the industry, GradeMiners offers a wide range of writing services to meet the needs of students at various academic levels.

GradeMiners understands the importance of delivering high-quality essays that meet the academic standards and requirements of each client. Their team of professional writers possesses the expertise and knowledge to tackle a diverse range of topics and subjects.

One of the key benefits of using GradeMiners is their commitment to delivering plagiarism-free papers. Each essay is thoroughly checked using advanced plagiarism detection technology to ensure originality and authenticity.

Moreover, GradeMiners places a strong emphasis on meeting deadlines. Time management is crucial for students, and GradeMiners understands the importance of timely delivery. They strive to complete each order within the specified timeframe, allowing students to submit their essays without worry.

In addition to their writing services, GradeMiners also offers a range of other useful features. These include free revisions, 24/7 customer support, and a user-friendly interface that makes the ordering process simple and efficient.

Whether you need assistance with a research paper, an essay, or any other academic writing assignment, GradeMiners is a platform that can be trusted to deliver high-quality results. Their professionalism and dedication to customer satisfaction make them a top choice for students seeking reliable essay writing services.

ProEssayWriting

ProEssayWriting is a reliable online platform that offers professional essay writing services. If you are looking for assistance with your academic assignments, ProEssayWriting is here to help. With a team of experienced writers, this platform guarantees high-quality essays that meet all your requirements.

ProEssayWriting stands out from other essay writing services due to its attention to detail and commitment to customer satisfaction. Each essay is carefully crafted to ensure originality and relevance to the topic. The writers at ProEssayWriting are highly skilled in various subjects, allowing them to provide customized essays that are tailored to your needs.

When you choose ProEssayWriting, you can expect timely delivery and excellent customer support. The platform has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to place an order and track its progress. The customer support team is available 24/7 to address any concerns or questions you may have.

ProEssayWriting also prioritizes your confidentiality and privacy. Your personal information and order details are kept secure and confidential, ensuring that your identity remains protected. With ProEssayWriting, you can rest assured that your essay will be handled with professionalism and confidentiality.

Whether you need help with an essay, research paper, or any other academic assignment, ProEssayWriting is the platform to choose. Their experienced writers, attention to detail, and commitment to customer satisfaction make them a top choice for students seeking reliable essay writing services.

In the vast world of online essay writing platforms, BestEssays stands out as a top choice for students seeking high-quality papers.

BestEssays combines the best features of various online essay writing platforms to create a unique and comprehensive experience for users. With a team of talented writers and an easy-to-use website, BestEssays offers a seamless process from start to finish.

When it comes to essay writing services, BestEssays excels in providing personalized and customized solutions. Whether you need assistance with a simple essay or a complex research paper, BestEssays ensures that your requirements are met with precision and expertise.

One of the key strengths of BestEssays is its commitment to delivering plagiarism-free content. With a rigorous quality control process, every essay produced by BestEssays is thoroughly checked for originality and adherence to academic standards.

In addition to their commitment to quality, BestEssays understands the importance of meeting deadlines. With a track record of timely delivery, students can rely on BestEssays to receive their completed essays well before the submission date.

Moreover, BestEssays offers reliable customer support that is available 24/7. Whether you have a question about the progress of your essay or need assistance with the ordering process, the BestEssays support team is ready to assist you at any time.

Overall, BestEssays is a top-notch platform that combines excellent writing services, personalized solutions, plagiarism-free content, timely delivery, and reliable customer support. With BestEssays, students can trust that their academic needs will be met with professionalism and excellence.

Related Post

How to master the art of writing expository essays and captivate your audience, convenient and reliable source to purchase college essays online, step-by-step guide to crafting a powerful literary analysis essay, unlock success with a comprehensive business research paper example guide, unlock your writing potential with writers college – transform your passion into profession, “unlocking the secrets of academic success – navigating the world of research papers in college”, master the art of sociological expression – elevate your writing skills in sociology.

• Plagiarism Checker
• Paraphrasing

Essay Generator

• Image To Text

AI Essay Writer

Generating essays on harmful, dangerous or illegal topics not allowed, we tried our best to prevent these topics, if you find any essay topic that is generating any of these types of content, email us at [email protected] or contact us.

Table of Contents

AI Essay Writer by Prepostseo is an online tool that can help you quickly generate well-structured, unique, and relevant essays for your topic. The essay generator works on AI technology LLM which helps it to generate essays of different types and lengths.

How to Use the AI Essay Writer by Prepostseo?

Here are a few simple steps to generate your essay with the Prepostseo essay generator free tool;

Provide the “ Essay Topic ” in the designed input area of the essay writer.

Adjust the “ Length ” and “ Type ” for the essay you want to generate.

Optionally, you can enable the extra features named “ Add References ” and “ Humanize AI ”.

Start Prepostseo AI Essay writer by clicking the “ Write My Essay ” button.

Our essay generator will instantly provide you with an essay in the output box, which you can either “ Copy ” or “ Download ”.

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

site categories

George clooney pens op-ed calling for biden to step aside.

“He saved democracy in 2020,” wrote the longtime Democrat who helped fundraise for the president. “We need him to do it again in 2024.”

By Kevin Dolak

Kevin Dolak

• Share on Facebook
• Share to Flipboard
• Send an Email
• Show additional share options
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on Reddit
• Share on Tumblr
• Share on Whats App
• Print the Article
• Post a Comment

On Wednesday,  The New York Times  op-ed section  published a blunt essay  from George Clooney , in which the actor and director, one of Hollywood’s more engaged political players, forcefully argues for President Joe Biden to step aside in his campaign for reelection and allow a new candidate to take on Donald Trump in November.

Related Stories

Jason aldean dedicates "try that in a small town" to donald trump after assassination attempt, donald trump announces ohio senator j.d. vance as his running mate in bid for presidency.

“Was he tired? Yes. A cold? Maybe,” Clooney wrote of the debate performance that has sent Democrats into a panic and that is now dividing the party. “But our party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw. We’re all so terrified by the prospect of a second Trump term that we’ve opted to ignore every warning sign. The George Stephanopoulos interview only reinforced what we saw the week before. As Democrats, we collectively hold our breath or turn down the volume whenever we see the president, who we respect, walk off Air Force One or walk back to a mic to answer an unscripted question.”

Clooney writes that while it may seem unfair to point out Biden’s perceived cognitive decline given his advanced age, “it has to be fair” because Democracy is at stake. He asserts that running Biden at the top of the ticket will not only lose the Democrats the presidency, it will cost them the House and Senate majority, which is within the grasp of both major parties in November; Clooney says that every single senator and congressional representative that he has spoken to privately agrees with this prediction.

“We Democrats have a very exciting bench,” Clooney asserts. “We don’t anoint leaders or fall sway to a cult of personality; we vote for a president.”

The Oscar winner for the political thriller  Syriana  and nominee for  Good Night, and Good Luc k, which follows the conflict between journalist Edward R. Murrow and U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy, floated the idea of several prominent Democrats stepping up to lead the ticket in November. Clooney suggests in the essay that the nominating process at the 2024 Democratic National Convention could “enliven our party and wake up voters.”

In closing, Clooney gives Biden credit for steering the nation away from the paths of the Trump administration and says he must repeat the feat.

“Joe Biden is a hero; he saved democracy in 2020,” he wrote. “We need him to do it again in 2024.”

According to a news story on the op-ed that The New York Times published Wednesday, two sources said that the gala fundraiser was planned around Clooney’s schedule — not Biden’s — and the event’s timing demanded that in a short window of time, Biden fly from a Group of 7 gathering to California and back to Washington. Following the debate, Biden explained his dismal performance as the result of a cold and jet lag.

Roberts and Kimmel, along with Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg, have not yet commented on whether Biden should stay or step aside , despite several influential celebrity Democratic donors like Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, media mogul Barry Diller, Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel and millionaire Disney heiress Abigail Disney calling on the Democratic party to replace Biden on the ticket.

In response to Clooney’s op-ed later on Wednesday, Michael Douglas, a longtime Biden supporter who hosted a Hollywood fundraiser at his home for the president in April, said he too was “deeply, deeply concerned” about Biden’s reelection prospects after the debate, but he stopped short of withdrawing his support for Biden for 2024.

Following up on he r monologue in support of Biden on Monday’s show, The View ‘s Whoopi Goldberg said that she continues to support th president — even when Douglas and her   cohost Joy Behar said that Biden should have focused on Trump’s lies during the debate. To that notion, a flummoxed Goldberg said, “But then when he does that…You know, you can’t win in this game. I really feel bad for him. If he can’t do the job and we see he can’t do the job, then he’s gotta go, but until I can see that, I’m going to support him.”

Jackie Strause contributed to this story.

July 10, 10 a.m. Updated to include Michael Douglas’ The View quotes.

July 10, 11 a.m. Updated to include details about the planning of the Clooney-hosted fundraiser.

THR Newsletters

Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day

More from The Hollywood Reporter

How the shock alec baldwin case dismissal impacts other ‘rust’ main players, jack black cancels tenacious d tour after being “blindsided” by partner kyle gass’ trump comment, the task ahead for the new u.k. government – and why the culture secretary is not “minister for fun”, tenacious d australia concert postponed after trump shooting joke, as local politician calls for band to be deported, richard simmons cause of death under investigation, joe biden grows defiant, apologizes for “bullseye” comment about trump in nbc news interview.

Essay Editing Service

Get accepted at your dream school.

Expert essay editors polish your writing to reflect the work you put into it. Professional college essay editing will:

• Make sure that your essay will get read
• Make sure you'll leave a positive impression
• Make you stand out from your peers

• College Essay Editing & Coaching

Professional editors

Same day delivery, 100% happiness guarantee.

College Essay Editing Services

Our college essay editing package.

The first draft is always the hardest. Work with an admissions essay coach who will give you practical, step-by-step guidance on how to develop your essay and make your story come alive.

Your coach will…

• Read your profile
• Review your essay draft
• Share feedback to help you refine your topic, structure, and voice
• Leave in-text feedback and suggestions
• Proofread for grammar and punctuation
• Give you a roadmap to guide your revisions

We’ll help you show your best traits to college admissions officers and prove that you’re college-ready! With help from our essay coaches, you’ll improve your chances of getting accepted – so what are you waiting for?

Meet Scribbr's essay experts

At Scribbr, you can rest assured that only the best editors will work on your college essay.

All our 800+ editors have passed the challenging Scribbr Academy, which has a passing rate of only 2%.

We handpick your college essay editor on several criteria, including field of study.

Janice holds a PhD in German studies from Duke University. As a former professor, she has helped many students refine their application essays for competitive degree programs and study-abroad programs. Today, she helps students improve their writing skills at Scribbr. In her spare time, when she's not writing or editing, she enjoys working on the small family farm that she owns and operates.

Alexandra earned an Erasmus Mundus MA in cultural narratives and a BA in English from Emory University. As a teacher, editor, and writing coach, she has spent nearly a decade helping students find their voice and express their ideas.

Originally from Maryland, Amy headed west to attend Scripps College in California, where she earned a bachelor's degree in music and gender studies. In 2009, she began working for the admissions office of her alma mater, where she focused on reviewing applications and interviewing prospective students.

“Extremely professional and timely”

Extremely professional and timely! Regis did an amazing job bringing my admission essay to life. It went from overly wordy and unclear to very professional and concise. If I don’t get into my desired program, it won’t be because of my essay.

How it works

Get quality feedback in 4 easy steps, upload your college essay.

Upload your college essay , and tell us a little about yourself. We’ll match you with a certified college essay coach.

Sit back and relax

Your coach will edit your essay and share in-depth advice to help you strengthen your structure, content, and narrative.

Receive your feedback

We’ll send back your fully edited essay. Applying to college is nerve-racking, but at Scribbr you never have to wait for long.

Revise and submit your essay

Thanks to your coach’s feedback, you’ll feel clear about the next steps and confident when you hit “send” on your application.

Scribbr & academic integrity

Scribbr is committed to protecting academic integrity. Our proofreading service, our AI writing tools ( plagiarism checker , paraphrasing tool , grammar checker , summarizer,  Citation Generator ) as well as our free Knowledge Base content are designed to help students produce quality academic papers.

We make every effort to prevent our software from being used for fraudulent or manipulative purposes.

Your questions, answered.

We know that waiting for feedback can be nerve-racking. If you select our faster deadline option, you’ll hear from your personal statement editor in 12 hours or less – including on weekends and holidays. 

We never engage in rewriting or adding text at Scribbr. Our personal statement editors will make grammatical corrections and leave suggestions using Word’s track changes and commenting feature. However, we always make sure that your perspective and voice remain front and center in your essay.

We know that waiting for feedback can be nerve-racking. If you select our faster deadline option, you’ll hear from your college essay coach in 12 hours or less – including on weekends and holidays.

Yes. All our college essay coaches are subject-matter experts and can help you make decisions regarding the content of your essay. Your coach will help you make a strong case for your admission.

Our essay coaches will provide feedback on…

• Whether your topic is appropriate and how to strengthen it
• Whether your essay demonstrates positive traits and authenticity
• Whether the narrative flows smoothly and grabs the reader’s attention
• How to dig deeper and show self-reflection and insight
• What content is missing and should be added
• What content is weak and should be removed
• How to shorten your essay to meet a word count limit

However, we will never…

• Write or rewrite content for you
• Research or fact-check your essay’s content

If you have any questions, feel free to email [email protected].

Yes! Our essay coaches can help you reduce your word count by up to 25%. You can choose to receive this feedback through direct edits or suggestions in comments – just select your choice when you upload your essay.

When you submit your essay to our College Essay Editing & Coaching service, you’ll be asked to indicate what type of content feedback you would like to receive. You can choose from three options:

Dig deep and challenge me

Give me the standard treatment

Tread lightly

Whichever option you choose, you’ll receive in-depth content feedback from your essay coach. However, the type of feedback your essay coach provides may differ, and the option you should choose depends on what outcome you want from the review. You can always elaborate on what type of feedback you want in your note to your essay coach.

Learn more about the three options below.

Choose from three options

If you choose this option, we’ll challenge you to write the best possible essay – no content suggestions are off-limits, including reorienting your topic or reframing your story. Students who choose this option aren’t afraid to go back to the drawing board if it’ll increase their chances of getting accepted. You may have to roll up your sleeves and do some more work on your essay, but your essay will be much stronger because of it.

Select this option if your priority is to have the best possible essay, even if it requires some extra work on your side.

We’ll strike a balance between “dig deep and challenge me” and “tread lightly.” We may suggest changes to your structure and narrative, including removing weak content, elaborating on certain sections, and adding content to strengthen your arguments. You may have to rework sentences and paragraphs, but we won’t suggest major content changes.

With this option, we’ll focus on improving your essay in a way that requires little additional work from you. We’ll provide you with targeted suggestions for how to refine your essay’s structure and narrative, but we will work within your current structure and topic. While you may have to make a few tweaks here and there, we’ll aim to return you a polished draft that’s ready to be submitted to your chosen colleges.

Select this option if you are fairly satisfied with your essay and don’t want to make major changes or if you have limited time to revise.

At Scribbr, we promise to make every customer 100% happy with the service we offer. Our philosophy: Your complaint is always justified – no denial, no doubts.

Our customer support team is here to find the solution that helps you the most, whether that’s a free new edit or a refund for the service.

Get in touch, with real people

We answer your questions quickly and personally from 9:00 to 23:00 CET

• Start live chat
• Email [email protected]
• Call +1 (510) 822-8066
• WhatsApp +31 20 261 6040

Knowledge Base

Finish your college essay with scribbr’s top-rated guides.

College Essay

How to Write a College Essay

What colleges look for in an essay, choosing your college essay topic, college essay format & structure.

BREAKING: Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez found guilty in bribery trial

Biden says his 'mental acuity has been pretty damn good' in defending his decision to stay in the race

WASHINGTON — After having tempered attacks on Donald Trump following Saturday’s assassination attempt, President Joe Biden plunged back into campaign mode Monday, defending his decision to remain in the presidential race despite calls for him to exit.

In an interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt, Biden at times grew combative and said he isn't leaving the race even though some Democratic leaders have expressed fears that he can't win.

“I’m old,” Biden said. “But I’m only three years older than Trump, No. 1. And No. 2, my mental acuity’s been pretty damn good. I’ve gotten more done than any president has in a long, long time in 3½ years. So I’m willing to be judged on that.”

“I understand. I understand why people say, 'God, he’s 81 years old. Whoa. What’s he gonna be when he’s 83 years old, or 84 years?' It’s a legitimate question to ask."

The interview is the latest in a series of events, rallies and Q&As Biden has done since his dismal performance during his debate with Trump on June 27. Alarmed by his halting delivery, some Democratic lawmakers have questioned whether he has the vigor to carry the fight against Trump.

Biden made it plain that he won't yield.

Democratic voters picked him to head the ticket during the primary season, he said.

“I listen to them,” he said.

Holt asked Biden whom he consults when it comes to issues like remaining in the race or dropping out.

“Me,” Biden said. “I’ve been doing this a long time.”

What's more, Biden said, he's not losing.

"Look — we knew this — this was going to be a close race from the moment he announced," Biden said.

"The polling data shows a lot of different things, but there’s no wide gap between us. It’s essentially a toss-up race," he said.

A new national NBC News poll found that Trump leads Biden by 2 percentage points — within its margin of error.

The poll also revealed, however, that more than 60% of Democrats say they'd prefer someone else at the top of the ticket, while 80% of all voters said they were concerned about Biden's mental and physical capacities.

In his postdebate push to prove he's cogent and competent, Biden has at times stoked concerns about both.

In a few hours Thursday , he referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "President Putin" and his vice president, Kamala Harris, as "Vice President Trump."

During the interview with NBC News, Biden mumbled at some points, and his voice trailed off at others.

"What I’m doing is going out and demonstrating to the American people that I have command of all my faculties, that I don’t need notes. I don’t need telepro— I can go out and answer any questions at all."

He called on the news media to hold Trump to a similar degree of scrutiny.

Referring to fact checks showing that Trump made multiple erroneous claims during the debate, he said: "Why doesn't the press ever talk about that?"

"I had a bad, bad night. I wasn’t feeling well at all. And — and I had been — without making — I screwed up," Biden said.

In deference to the shooting, Biden’s campaign temporarily pulled down its advertising while he phoned Trump to ask about his condition and wish him well.

Biden then delivered a speech from the Oval Office on Sunday urging Americans to avoid overheated political rhetoric that may give rise to anti-democratic violent acts.

But his combative tone during the interview suggested that any pause in hard-edge campaigning is over. Biden referred to his opponent as “Donald” over the weekend. He’s now back to “Trump.”

“I’m not the guy who said, “I want to be a dictator on Day 1,’” Biden said, referring to Trump. “I’m not the guy who refused to accept the outcome of the [2020] election. I’m not the guy who said he wouldn’t accept the outcome of this election.”

“You can’t only love your country when you win,” he added.

Peter Nicholas is a senior White House reporter for NBC News.

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Jesse Wegman

The Supreme Court Is Gaslighting Us All

By Jesse Wegman

Mr. Wegman is a member of the editorial board.

At the close of one of the most consequential and least constitutional terms in the Supreme Court’s history, it’s hard to ignore one particularly offensive trend: the right-wing justices’ repeated and patronizing attempts to minimize the importance of their unprecedented decisions.

There’s nothing to see here, they regularly seem to say; everyone who is upset at their decisions is being hysterical and should just calm down. Take a few recent examples:

In his majority opinion in the case about presidential immunity , Chief Justice John Roberts mocked the three liberal dissenters for striking “a tone of chilling doom that is wholly disproportionate to what the court actually does today.” (Reality check: The immunity ruling — which gave presidents carte blanche to break most criminal laws when carrying out their official duties — is not grounded in any clause of the Constitution. It went far beyond what even the most pessimistic court observers expected; the dissenters, if anything, responded with restraint.)

During oral arguments in a case that pitted Idaho’s near-total abortion ban against the federally guaranteed right of a woman to end her pregnancy if necessary to stabilize a dire medical crisis, Justice Samuel Alito dismissed the government’s concerns. “Nobody’s suggesting that the woman is not an individual and she doesn’t — she doesn’t deserve stabilization,” the justice who wrote the opinion striking down Roe v. Wade said with his trademark irritation . “Nobody’s suggesting that.” (Reality check: That is precisely what Idaho was suggesting, by arguing that federal law doesn’t pre-empt the state ban.)

Or take the chief justice again, writing for the court in upholding a federal law that prohibits domestic abusers from possessing guns. A federal appeals court had struck down the law as unconstitutional. “Some courts have misunderstood the methodology of our recent Second Amendment cases,” the chief justice wrote, explaining why the lower court had been wrong. “These precedents were not meant to suggest a law trapped in amber.” (Reality check: The lower court was following the letter of a Supreme Court ruling from two years ago, which held that any gun law without an almost exact analogue from the founding era — like laws that apply to domestic abusers — is unconstitutional.)

Behavior like this has a name: gaslighting, a form of psychological manipulation that involves making people doubt their own, accurate perception of reality. If the term has gotten a workout in recent years, that’s because a lot of people are engaging in it. The right-wing justices have become masters of the form, telling the American people again and again not to believe what they see with their own eyes.

“The court is trying to distance itself from the monsters it created,” Mary Anne Franks, a law professor at George Washington University and the author of “ The Cult of the Constitution ,” told me. “They’re trying to say, ‘We don’t know where you got these crazy ideas from!’ But of course we do know where they got them from.”

In the latest gun case, United States v. Rahimi , the crazy ideas came straight from the source: the Supreme Court’s jaw-dropping 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen . For a gun law to be compatible with the Second Amendment, the decision said, the government “must demonstrate that the regulation is consistent with this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.” In other words, if the American founders didn’t pass a specific gun law in the 18th century, then we in the 21st century can’t either. Applying that reasoning, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit determined that there were no founding-era laws keeping guns from domestic abusers, and so today’s law doing so could not stand.

The Bruen decision was written by Justice Clarence Thomas and signed by all five of his conservative colleagues. But when the Fifth Circuit’s decision protecting the gun rights of domestic abusers came before the court, the justices blinked. Eight of them, including the court’s three liberals, agreed that such laws are well within the federal government’s authority to enact. Only Justice Thomas held his ground and insisted on finding an exact historical analogue. Give him credit for consistency at least.

If you find it hard to square the command in the Bruen case with the result in the Rahimi case, you’re not alone. Lower federal courts across the country have been flailing for two years as judges play amateur historians and try to figure out whether Americans two centuries ago passed laws that are similar enough to those today. In her concurrence, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said what the court’s majority would not.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .