There are few assignments as intimidating as writing an essay. It's even worse when you're taking a major test or you're close to a deadline and have to write a high-quality essay with little time to spare.

As scary as it seems, there's a secret to help you make quick work of the writing process. The rules for writing an essay are straightforward, and once you've learned those rules, you can write nearly half of any assignment in under two minutes. Here's how it's done.

Set up Your Essay Format

Open your go-to typing tool and create three section headers — one for each part of the essay:

• Introduction
• Body Paragraph
• Conclusion

Read on to learn how to add details to each of these sections.

Write the Introduction

The introduction is where you introduce your ideas and state an answer to the question.

In this section, you need to keep two things in mind:

1. Thesis statement
2. Background information

Add these to your outline.

The thesis statement is the roadmap for your paper. A thesis statement might sound like a hard thing to come up with, but it's actually less complicated than you think. On any given day, you make dozens of thesis statements. Do you have a favorite sports team? If you answer yes, you've made a thesis statement. Do you think the last season of Game of Thrones was poorly written? You're making a thesis statement.

The thesis statement is the answer to the question. It can also include your key reasons for answering the way you do.

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Outline Body Paragraphs

Body paragraphs are where you support your ideas.

In your body paragraphs, you are going to discuss an example that explains and supports your answer. You can have one body paragraph or several body paragraphs.

Regardless of the number, the way you build a body paragraph is the same.

1. Start with a topic sentence that introduces the main idea you will discuss in the paragraph.
2. Provide supporting evidence or examples
3. Explain why that evidence or example supports your point

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If you have multiple body paragraphs, you will create an outline for each.

Summarize in the Conclusion

The conclusion is where you summarize your argument.

Once you've outlined all your body paragraphs, you need a strong conclusion. Too often when you need to write a good essay quickly, the conclusion gets rushed and doesn't close your paper on a high note (or a high grade).

Be sure to take enough time to summarize the key points you've discussed throughout your essay. Finally, you want to leave your reader with a closing thought about why your ideas are important, inspiring, controversial, etc. The goal is to give the reader something intriguing to think about later.

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Write a Good Essay Quickly and with Confidence

Now that you know the rules to essay writing, it's time to put them into practice. If you follow this guide, you'll see that nearly half of your essay is already done! Remember to go back and connect the different pieces by adding details and examples.

Copy this basic outline, watch the videos above and start writing!

INTRODUCTION

• Thesis statement:
• Background information:

BODY PARAGRAPH 1

• Topic sentence:
• Evidence/Example:
• Why evidence supports topic:

BODY PARAGRAPH 2

• Topic sentence:
• Evidence/Example:
• Why evidence supports topic:

BODY PARAGRAPH 3

• Topic sentence:
• Evidence/Example:
• Why evidence supports topic:

CONCLUSION

• Summary of key points:
• Closing thought:

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