Typically, in your first and second year at UCI, most, if any, of your essay writing will come in the form of assignments where you are asked to cap your thoughts, ideas, and references in about 3-5 pages. Perhaps toward the end of a writing course or as a final assignment, you may be asked to build on those smaller assignments to create a 25–50-page essay, which can undeniably seem pretty daunting at first. Even longer than those can be the “essays” written for a dissertation, publication, or scholarship.
No need to sweat, the UCI Writing Center has got you covered with a few helpful tips for making the transition from shorter written assignments to long-form writing.
What Counts as “Long-form Writing”?
Long-form writing or long-form content is traditionally understood as “an article that’s longer that 1,000 words.” That’s about 4 pages, doubled spaced. In academia however, the term “long-form writing” encapsulates those pieces that begin at around 10-25 pages all the way up to 100-200+ page dissertations. Long-form writing in this context can also be understood as those assignments that require a lengthy planning process, a large volume of texts and resources for citing, and possibly, additional help or guidance from a faculty member or mentor. Review our tips below for getting started and check out the quotes we’ve included throughout from real writing center graduate-level consultants who have plenty of experience in the subject of long-form writing!
General Tips
Write As You Go
We’ve all had the experience of pulling an all-nighter to get that final essay finished and submitted shortly before the due date. I’m also sure that, as writers, planners, and doomsday preppers, sometimes it may seem easier to start working only after we’ve perfectly outlined every bit of our paper. While outlining is essential and is a great place to start and revisit throughout the writing process, for long-form writing projects, it is much more useful to write as you go. ‘Writing as you go’ can include anything from freewriting, developing a paragraph, revising some sentences or organization. Especially with longer page limits and many more resources and materials to work through, writing as you go allows you to stay organized and on top of your writing which will help you feel less overwhelmed by the process from start to finish.
“Aim to figure out how much reading/research you’ll need to do before starting a new chapter! Creating a working outline that is broken down into distinct chapters and breaking up each of those chapters into distinct sections is a great way to start!” -Deni, CEWC Graduate Writing Tutor
“Use your argument as a through line (i.e., every idea should be moving the argument forward in some way, or else consider getting rid of it)” -Tariq, CEWC Graduate Writing Tutor
Pay Attention to Topic Sentences and Transitions
Topic sentences act as their own singular units to guide our readers into our body paragraphs. Each topic sentence is individual, and should be able to stand alone clearly, but it will also always be connected to the overall thesis in your writing. Each topic sentence also serves different purpose by providing distinct and specific singular points in their own respective paragraph, but they all ultimately support our writing and the main message we want to convey.
When composing a topic sentence, consider the following questions:
- What is the one thing I want the reader to learn in this paragraph?
- How will this one lesson support my overall thesis?
- Why are the two related/connected?
“Just like tree branches have common ground with the tree’s trunk, your topic sentences have natural common ground with your thesis. By referencing your thesis in each topic sentence to show connection, you will naturally and seamlessly transition from one paragraph to the next.” -Jess, CEWC Writing Consultant
Incorporate Headings, Subheadings, and Chapters
Using effective transitions can help you smoothly incorporate different examples, ideas, and resources into an essay of any length. Specifically, for long-form writing projects, using heading and subheadings throughout your paper can organize the content in your essay and guide your reader, and can also allow provide your reader a ‘short break’ in between reading longer pieces of text. To incorporate headings and subheadings, use a heading whenever you are switching subjects and want to outline the main idea of a section. Similarly, use subheadings to delineate the varying subsections underneath the main idea. Headings and subheadings enable longer texts and differing topics and subtopics to be clearly differentiated by your reader, yet linked in a way that can be clearly understood and appreciated.
“Create effective transitions between paragraphs to help the reader follow the different steps of your argument and create effective transitions between sentences for the same reason” -Jessie, CEWC Writing Consultant
Use Charts and Graphs in your Writing
Particularly useful for subjects outside of the Humanities, using charts and graphs throughout your writing can effectively break-up longer pieces of text, much like headings and subheadings can. Try to use charts and graphs where useful.
Try Organizational Tools
There are a number of organizational tools that can help you on your journey to completing your long-form writing project! Tools that enable you to track your deadlines, like Notion or Trello, can help you set and stay on top of your project timeline. Document management resources like Google Drive and Dropbox can help organize different chapters or drafts as you write, while citation managers like Zotero or Mendely can help you collect and organize resources or share research.
Don’t Underestimate the Editing Stage
Once you’ve finished the bulk of your draft, don’t forget to give yourself enough time during the editing stage to proofread your writing and work out any final problems or concerns. Sometimes, the editing stage can take weeks or even months to get through, so be sure you are giving yourself the time you need to thoroughly revise your final draft. For additional support, remember to make an appointment with us at the Writing Center!
“Sometimes I just write whatever comes to mind and then I edit out the parts I don’t need to use later on. I find that to be very effective!” – Pratichi, CEWC Graduate Writing Tutor