How long should you write an essay or paper?

Last Updated: 01 August 2023

One of the biggest concerns you may have when assigned any essay or paper is how long it will take to finish it. Writing an A-plus paper is tricky. One can take a few hours, while others take several or even days to complete.


So how long does it take to write an essay or a research paper? An hour? A day? A week? This article will comprehensively answer every question regarding how long it takes to complete a school assignment.


How Long Does It Take to Write an Essay?


Writing an A-plus essay or paper is not as easy as pie. It takes adequate preparation, including thorough research, writing, and editing. So, there is no definitive answer about how long it takes to complete the paper.


Various factors can influence how long it will take for you to finish an essay. For instance, the length of the paper. A 500-word essay will take less time than a 300 words essay.


Additionally, the complexity of the topic will determine whether you finish on time. Generally, topics in science and technology are much more challenging to complete because of what is needed.


Similarly, your writing skills will determine whether the essay will be done on time. If you are relatively new to writing, it will take much longer to complete the paper than someone who has been writing for years.


It will take less time to complete if you are working on a response essay, opinion piece, or something that doesn't need much research.


If you need to collect information about a topic before writing, you can easily do so for some topics. However, some topics are more obscure and, therefore, much harder to research.


Comprehension skills are also a vital determinant of the time it takes to write an essay or paper. While some people need to read a material once to understand what it means, others will have to read it a few times with more attention to extract the required information.


To determine how much time to set aside to finish your assignment, ask yourself the following questions:



The Formula for Writing an Essay Fast


If you want to calculate how long it will take to finish your essay, the following formula can help. 



Thus, if your average typing speed is 68 w/pm, the formula should look like this:



For tough topics, the calculation should be like this:



Please note that these are only estimates and are to give you a general idea of the time to set aside for working on your essay or paper. The time could be less or more, depending on your typing abilities.


Time it Takes to Write a 40-Page Thesis or Research Paper.


If you are an experienced writer, writing a 40-page thesis or research paper will take about three days, including regular breaks, after one or two hours to attend to essential things in your life.


For a slow writer, writing a 40-page paper will take about 8 days or more. This type of paper is equivalent to 11000 words. If you can write at least 1000 words a day, it will take 11 days to finish writing. Realistically, college professors assign longer time to complete papers that are this long. So, try as much as possible to avoid the last-minute rush and ensure your paper is done on time.


How Many Hours Does It Take to Write a 20-Page Research Paper?


If you are a slow writer, it will take about 120 hours to finish researching and writing a 20-page research paper. If you are typing the content on a computer, handwrite it will take about 4.2 hours and 8.3 hours.


How Long Does It Take to Write a One-Page Essay?


The time it takes to finish a one-page essay depends on your experience in writing. For an average writer typing on a keyboard, writing on paper takes 12 ½ minutes and about 25 minutes. However, if the essay requires in-depth research, references, etc., the time will increase to 1.7 hours.


What about a 7 pages essay? How long does it take to write it? A 7-page essay is much longer than a one-page one, so writing it will take longer. An average writer will take 1 hour and 30 minutes to finish while typing and 2.9 hours to write by hand. Most 7 pages of papers include dissertations, journal articles, and a thesis. Writing these types of essays is challenging because you have to go through many chapters to complete, and going through each of them requires hard work, dedication, and motivation. In addition, you will likely stare at an intimidating blank page along the way. Therefore, it will take an average of 11.7 hours or even a day to finish.


How Long Does It Take to Write a 3-paragraph Essay?


A three-paragraph essay is 500- 600 words or 1 page single-spaced or two pages double-spaced. Considering the word count and organization of the essay is crucial to how you plan to tackle it. A paragraph should not exceed 250 words, equivalent to six sentences. Ensure your sentences are not too long, which can be difficult for readers to comprehend.


So, before you write, you have to break down the three-paragraph essay into sections. The standard outline for such an essay is an introduction, body, and conclusion. Once you have a clear picture of what is needed in each section, you will have an easy time working on the paper. You could write it in one hour or take a day to finish it. This will depend on the difficulty level of the paper.


As you write, ensure the content in each paragraph is organized coherently and that there is a logical flow of ideas.


How to Organize Your Work


It's essential to do all you can to save time writing an essay. Writing will become an essay when you are aware of what to expect. Divide your work into sections to get an idea of how long it will take for you to complete an essay.



Prewriting Stage


This stage involves preparing to write an essay. It involves brainstorming topic ideas, researching vital information, and creating a proper outline. How long will it take you to finish all this? You can break it down like this:



So, the total time in the prewriting stage is 8 hours.


Writing


Now with all the information at your fingertips, writing will be easy. The length of an essay plays a key role here. For a 500-word essay, it will take about 1 hour for an average writer. But 3000 words will take about 4 hours with 20 minutes of breaks each hour. Remember, you can't write continuously. You need regular breaks if you want to be productive.


A breakdown of the writing stage will look like this:



Proofreading and Editing


After writing, you need to edit your work to ensure there are no errors that could cost you a good grade. The amount of time it takes to proofread your work will also depend on the length of the essay. But generally, it takes about 3 hours to proofread, edit and ensure the formatting is okay.


The more you write and practice taking these steps, the writing will become seamless, and thus, you will take much lesser time writing than you normally do. Please note that these steps are not systematic, and you can begin with any section. Therefore, don't beat yourself up. You struggle to start from the beginning.


Is it Possible to Write an Essay in an Hour?


But what if you want to write your essay quickly? Is this even possible? Yes. Indeed, it is possible to finish your essay in time. If you have a deadline looming and a no-nonsense professor who will not take any excuse, then yes, you can write an essay in one hour. This is especially true if the topic of the essay is simple. We have seen experienced writers finish a 20-page research paper in a single day and 15 pages essay in about 15 hours.


To complete the essay in one hour, you must do the following:


1. Avoid Distractions 


Distractions are time wasters. You will spend valuable time staring at your phone, listening to music, or watching tv instead of working on your paper. So, remove all these from your vicinity. Your mind should be focused on the paper. If you like working with some background noise, put it at a low volume so that they don't distract the flow of your thoughts.


Also, ensure your working area is clean and clutter-free, as this is a distraction.


2. Write the Title First


The title bears the theme of the paper and contributes to how the ideas and arguments will develop. If you are given a prompt, then coming up with a title is easy. You will write faster and more smoothly when you know where you are coming from. 


3. Create a Plan


Like everything in life, writing an essay fast requires a proper plan. Essay planning will help you organize your work and only allocate time to the things that matter. Therefore, begin by creating an outline. This could be researching and writing a thesis before writing the main body. Please take note that writing an outline is time-consuming. You have to decide what goes where and how. Once you figure this out, writing will be faster.


4. Don't Begin with an Introduction


Beginning with an introduction is a bad idea, especially when pressed for time. Even the most experienced writers struggle to write an essay from the beginning. Even though this is counterproductive, it's much easier to work backward than from the beginning.


5. Read the Given Instructions


The worst thing you can do is begin writing your essay or paper without adequately understanding the instructions. If you want to write the essay or paper fast, read your professor's instructions and paper requirements. When you begin the essay without reading instructions, you will realize you missed some critical elements and thus have to start from the beginning.


6. Write What You Know 


If you are staring at a blank page, the best way to begin writing is to write what you know. These are the ideas you already have about the topic. Not only will the ideas be accurate, but you will have an easier time writing without doing much research.


Please keep in mind that even though it's possible to complete an essay quickly, it is not ideal, and we don't recommend it. This is because you will not have prepared adequately for it; hence the quality will be poor. Writing a high-quality paper requires that you have the correct information, which you will only get after thorough research. Also, it would be best to organize those ideas coherently, which won't be possible quickly.


When to Start Writing


If you are yet to write your paper at the last minute, that's a good start. After you have been assigned an essay or paper, please do the following to tackle it.


1. Begin Early


Start working on the paper as soon as possible, even if it is writing an outline or doing preliminary research on the topic. You will have enough time to finish early and start proofreading and editing. This will increase your chances of getting a good grade on the paper.


2. Write in Stages


You can research your work and write in stages when you begin early. Start with an outline, then write an introduction. Once you are done, edit and rewrite it before moving to the next paragraph.


3. Use a Timeline


Come up with a timeline for writing the essay in stages. If the deadline is a week, divide your time to do the following.



As you process Everything in Readiness for Writing …


At some point, life will throw curveballs at you without warning. When this happens, you will ask about the time it takes to write an essay or later. Writing an essay can suck. But it is a necessary process for every student. No matter how much time is needed to write the paper, you must ensure it is perfect. Below are some related readings to get you going:



Please remember that writing an essay faster does not mean it’s better. If you want to earn a good grade, you dedicate ample time to write and review the work. 


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