what is considered a 3 page essay

The Length, Tips, and Steps for writing a 3/4 Page Essay or Paper

High school, college, and university life is rife with writing essays and research papers. In some cases, you will encounter as long as over 10-15-page research paper assignments. And as you might have also noticed, most professors, instructors, and teaching assistants like assigning short papers or essays below ten pages: mostly 3-8 pages long.

A commonly assigned paper is a 3-4-page essay, which falls under the short essays or paper category. We often find questions like “how many paragraphs or how long is a 3-4-page paper?” “What should I include in a 3-4-page paper to get the highest score?” or even “does a 3-4-page paper have an introduction and conclusion?”

If you are among those who often worry about what to include in a three or 4-page paper, this guide speaks directly to you. In a few minutes, you will be a pro at writing a 3 to 4-page essay. Better still, we have included topics and tips to help you ace your essay assignment without worrying whether you overwrote or underwrote your essay.

But before we even delve deeper, if you are running short of time and patience and need a custom-written essay that is 100% original, well-researched, cited, and proofread, do not hesitate to hire an essay writer on our website.

Let’s get started with exploring more about a 3-4-page paper.

What is a 3-4-page Paper or Essay?

As challenging as most students find essay writing, it comes with the gift you will carry through your professional life to your grave. Writing an essay demonstrates that you can comprehensively research, organize, and present facts on a given topic. It is a way of expressing yourself.

Many students, mostly our clients, often wonder what makes a 3 to 4-page essay and are afraid to ask an instructor. The instructor expects that you understand the limits and tests whether you can take instructions on not by looking at the length of your essay apart from the coherence of the content.

A 3-4-page paper is around 825-1200 words long with 4-5 points well-argued and organized in paragraphs, including the arguments and counterarguments. It is a complete essay with a title page, introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion paragraph, and reference list. The is typically longer than a typical 5-paragraph essay (250-550 words) and often has more points/paragraphs that are well-balanced, cited, and intertwined. It can be anything between 800 and 1200 words, meaning you can meet the lower threshold but cannot exceed the 1200-word limit.

If you are unsure about the exact word count for your paper, ask your instructor for clarification early enough.

When assigned to write a 3-4-page essay, you can either write a 3-full-page essay or a 4-full-page essay but do not exceed 4 pages or go below 3 pages.

A three-page paper is about 825-900 words long, while a four-page paper is about 1100 and 1200 words. This means that if you decide to meet the lower limit of 3 pages, you can write anything between 825 words and 900 words or even exceed through to any number of words up to 1200 words. Going beyond the word count can attract a deduction of grades, or your professor can mark until the word count is fulfilled, leaving out a potentially marks-rich section of your paper.

Given that a page has 3-4 paragraphs , a 3-page paper will have either 6 or 8 paragraphs, while a typical 4-page paper has 8 and 9 paragraphs, and a 3-4-page paper should have between 6 and 9 paragraphs.

How long it takes to complete a 3-4-page Essay or Paper?

We have mentioned that a 3-4-page essay has between 825 and 1200 words (double-spacing) and comprises 6-9 paragraphs. It is quite a short paper that requires a few hours to complete. Many factors contribute to how long it takes to complete an essay . Such factors include the deadline from class, your motivation, how well you understand the topic, availability of material, expertise in writing research papers and essays, organizational skills, typing speed, and many other factors.

You will most likely be assigned to write a 3-4-page paper in 1-2 days. However, you can complete your paper in a few hours if you plan your time well. For a professional, writing a 3-4 page essay can be done within an hour to three, especially if it is a last-minute writing help request .

A 3-4 double-spaced essay should take 3-4 hours to complete, assuming you write a page per hour. A professional would optimally require 2-3 hours to complete such an essay to the required standards. If it is a single-spaced essay, it will take between 6 hours and 8 hours to complete. The rationale here is that a single-spaced paper contains two double-spaced pages. You should take note of the spacing lest you miss the word count.

We’ve seen students coming to us for a last-minute request for us to fulfill their word count or paraphrase their essays to the right word count because they understood the word count at the last minute.

If you have a day to complete a 3-4 page essay, spend 3-4 hours planning and researching (prewriting process), 6-7 hours writing the essay, and 4-5 hours polishing, editing, and proofreading the essay. If you have two days, your prewriting process should take at least 5 hours, the writing process a day, and the post-writing stage should take at least 4-5 hours before submitting the essay.

Parts of a 3-4 Page Essay: The Structure

A 3-4-page essay or paper has the contents and structure of a typical essay. It comprises a title page formatted in APA, MLA, Harvard, or Chicago, the introduction paragraph, body paragraphs, conclusion paragraphs, and the reference list in the recommended referencing/formatting style. Let’s clarify the structure of a three- to four-page essay or paper.

• Title page. This is the first section of any academic paper and does not contribute to the word count. It should contain your details, details of the school, and information about your assignment, such as the title. Format it as required. It can be in APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Turabian, Oxford, or AGLC formatting, depending on what you have been advised to use or your subject.
• Introduction paragraph. This is the opening paragraph of your paper, and it should have an attention grabber or hook , background information, and the thesis statement . Sometimes, you can also use signposts in this section to let your readers know how your paper is organized.
• Body paragraphs. These are your essay's main paragraphs where you argue your thesis statement. Each body paragraph has a unique topic sentence followed by supporting details and a concluding sentence. Ensure that you stick to one idea per body paragraph. You should link the paragraphs using transition or linking words for a good flow. The body section comprises 80% of the word count.
• Conclusion paragraph. This is the last paragraph of your essay, making 10% of the word count and winding up the essay. You should restate your thesis .
• Reference list (works cited page or bibliography). Here is where you list all the scholarly resources you used in developing the essay. The reference list should be alphabetical as required by the formatting style you have chosen or have been directed to use.

When assigned to write an essay three or four pages long, ensure you have structured your paper as outlined above. Once you have broken down the paper and developed an essay outline , you can brainstorm ideas and write the paper fast.

Tips for Writing a 3/4 Page Essay Fast

In most cases, failing a 3-4-page essay with a 48-72-hour deadline is easier than failing a short or long paper with a longer deadline. Your mind technically sets to panic mode, especially if it is a paper that contributes most to your grades.

If you are assigned to write an essay that is three to four pages long, here are some tips to consider:

• Begin Early. You must begin the prewriting process after you are assigned the paper. You are still fresh with ideas from class and can brainstorm ideas without the fatigue of research and distractions.
• Choose a topic you can explore. If you are left to choose a topic on your own, go for an exciting topic you can spend time researching and sharing with anyone without limitations. Also, consider a topic with supporting materials such as books, peer-reviewed journals, and other scholarly resources.
• Schedule time and focus. You need to concentrate on your paper; the only best way could be to create a schedule. Decide on what you will do, in what order, and within a specific duration. When scheduling, remember to factor in writing and research when you are alert and active. You can do this early in the morning if you are an early riser or late into the night if you are a night owl. Besides, ensure that you reduce any distractions around you. Don’t log into social media, play games, or chat with friends until you finish the paper. You can listen to cool music and find the best place to do your assignment .
• Brainstorm and Research Widely. Using references, you will present ideas on a topic and need to support your assertions, claims, and arguments. Therefore, you need to brainstorm good ideas to make your paper weighty. Brainstorming helps you save time and write consistently because you develop the bigger picture. As you brainstorm, draw mind maps, concept maps, or flow charts to help you arrange ideas. You can then research and organize your resources before you begin writing. It is best to start by reading the non-scholarly sources to familiarize yourself with the topic before extending to the scholarly sources you can get points to use and cite in your 3-4-page paper. The research should yield enough to develop a preliminary thesis.
• Write first and edit later. The process will be manageable when writing the paper, courtesy of the previous steps. Assuming you have an outline, compartmentalize the information from the research and develop your paragraphs. Write the body paragraphs first, the introduction second, and the conclusion last, or choose whatever order you wish. Ensure that the body has 6-7 supporting ideas in its paragraphs. The body paragraphs should have a balanced length and must flow into one another. If you need to polish your preliminary thesis into a final one, do so after writing the body paragraphs because it should be the anchor.
• Polish the essay last. We said you leave editing and polishing for later. Well, take a break after writing to develop an objective mindset and break away from the monotony of writing. Check your paper for spelling, grammar, and punctuation. If there are any errors, strive to remove them. You can run the paper through editing software like Grammarly or Hemmingway Editor to spot and correct errors and omissions. Format the paper in APA, MLA, Harvard, or Chicago format. Ensure that you do a quick proofreading. If possible, read it aloud to yourself to spot more mistakes and make amendments.

Our writers use these tips when writing papers for our esteemed clients. We are a leading fast essay writing service catering to your urgent writing needs. The more you use these tips, the more you become great at writing essays. You can never hate writing essays once you master the entire process.

Topics for 3-4 page Essays that You Can Consider

Consider the topics outlined below if you want a quick topic for a three-page or four-page essay.

• The impacts of cryptocurrencies on cybersecurity
• Impacts of youth unemployment on teenage pregnancies
• Importance of being honest
• Private prison systems
• Benefits of the electoral college
• Importance of global peace on development
• Benefits of flexible working arrangements
• Importance of school uniforms
• How workforce diversity affects organizational Performance
• How to address work stress?
• Benefits of training police officers on computers
• Strategies to support homeless people
• Benefits of investing in books
• Children should be taught about investments and personal finance
• Negative impacts of helicopter parenting
• How to address mental health issues among school-going girls
• Social media and academic performance
• Benefits of pursuing STEM subjects
• Impacts of GMOs on food security
• Strategies to overcome homesickness
• How to overcome culture shock?
• Consumerism pollutes the planet
• Talks are better than Wars: Russia-Ukraine Conflict
• Causes and consequences of infidelity
• How to maintain a long-distance relationship?
• Overcoming low self-esteem
• Homelessness and unemployment
• Physical activity and obesity
• Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
• Consequences of Bulimia
• Portion control and weight loss
• Benefits of restriction what we eat
• Is gut instinct always correct?
• Disadvantages of birth control
• Should abandoned kids be adopted?
• Causes and consequences of police brutality
• Benefits of being earnest
• How to manage time as a student?
• Ways to pay for tuition without a loan
• Can someone learn programming on their own?
• Reasons to ban animal testing
• People should not be forced to get a vaccination
• How marketers influence what we eat
• Is Big Pharma controlling our lives?
• Causes and consequences of corruption
• Impacts of racism
• Causes and consequences of hate crimes
• Recycling should be compulsory
• Citizens should not be allowed to carry guns
• Consequences of white privilege
• Pros and cons of online retail
• Mobile phones and surveillance
• Impacts of state surveillance on citizens
• Should students be taught about taxation?
• How to prevent ocean pollution?
• Benefits of conserving endangered species
• Causes of increasing divorce rates
• Impacts of violent TV programs and games on the youth
• How family values influence how a child grows
• Impacts of stem cell research on chronic diseases
• The American Judiciary System
• Causes of the Russian-Ukraine war
• How to prevent drug trafficking?
• How human trafficking affects families
• Prostitution should be legalized
• Is microchipping a pet illegal?
• Benefits of keeping pets
• Consequences of the digital divide
• Should college education be free?
• Should students be forgiven their education loans?

There are many more essay topics that you can consider. Check out our list of compare and contrast topics , topics for learning disabilities , nutrition essay topics , social issues, and topics , or argumentative essay topics . Our blog section has an endless list of good topics you can write your 3/4-page essay about. If you need help writing your essay, ask for help from our website.

Parting Words

Writing a three to four-page paper or essay is not without any challenges. Students often find such papers challenging, especially if they do not know the word count and page limits to meet.

If you are working against a deadline, you can now write the paper thanks to the steps, tips, and insights we have shared above. Instead of procrastinating or missing a deadline, plan early, schedule everything, and write the paper without pressure.

To write a 3/4–page paper faster, ensure that you plan everything. And if you need help, don’t hesitate to place an order by visiting our homepage and filling out the order form. With our writing service, you can beat deadlines and produce an excellent paper with suitable marks or higher grades.

Gradecrest is a professional writing service that provides original model papers. We offer personalized services along with research materials for assistance purposes only. All the materials from our website should be used with proper references. See our Terms of Use Page for proper details.

3 Page Essay: Examples, Topics, & Word Count

What does a three page essay look like? If you’re a student, you’ve probably asked yourself this question. 3 page essays are usually assigned to check one’s ability to formulate their thoughts. A three page essay word count is 700 to 750 words (12 pt double-spaced). A paper of 3 pages usually consists of 7 to 9 paragraphs.

When choosing a topic for a 3 pages essay, remember that it is quite a short piece. That’s why your topic shouldn’t be too complicated. You might want to focus on basketball, yourself, bullying, or responsibility.

If you’re searching for 3 page essay examples, look at the list below. We’ve gathered a collection of A+ samples for you to get inspired. Knock them dead!

3-page Essay Examples: 23064 Samples

Christian spirituality in lewis’s works about narnia.

• Subjects: Religion Theology

San Manuel Bueno, Mártir

• Subjects: Literature World Philosophy Literature

Terrorists and the Left and Right: Definitions & Examples

• Subjects: Terrorism Warfare

Mother Tongue by Amy Tan: What Does Your Language Say about Your Identity?

• Subjects: British Literature Literature

Abortion as a Controversial Issue

• Subjects: Health & Medicine Medical Ethics

The Situation at Segal Electric and Deming’s 14 Points

• Subjects: Business Business Critique

Sam Houston: Character Traits and Personality

• Subjects: Historical Figures History

Review of Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy

• Subjects: American Literature Literature

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis: A Book

Accounting and finance: importance of the studies in today’s society.

• Subjects: Accounting Business

Hassan and Amir: The Relations, Which Touch the Soul

• Subjects: Literature World Literature

Siemens: Motivation Within a Creative Environment

• Subjects: Business Management

Religious Convictions: Varied Views of Sayyid Qutb, Abd al Wahhab and John Wesley

• Subjects: Religion Sociology of Religion

“Emma” by Jane Austen: Main Character Analysis

Friendship of amir and hassan in the kite runner, lectio divina (genesis 18: 1- 5).

• Subjects: Religion Religious Writings

Concepts of the Rise and Fall of the Babylonian and Egyptian Empires

• Subjects: Ancient History History

Concepts of the Yield Management: Room Management

• Subjects: Business Employees Management

Concepts of Lessons from My Life as a Bully

• Subjects: Family, Life & Experiences Personal Experiences

African American Studies

• Subjects: Culture Ethnicity Studies

Lecture: Improving Your Confidence as a Speaker

• Subjects: Communications Sociology
• Words: 1160

Public Speaking in a Democracy

A practical handbook for the actor: gained knowledge to become an actor, argumentative paper on the pros of the death penalty.

• Subjects: Capital Punishment Debates Politics & Government

Concepts of Diary Account of the Whiskey Rebellion

• Subjects: History United States

My Changing Taste in Music

• Subjects: Art Music Genre

An Adventure with My Pet Pit-Bull Dog “Tiger”

• Subjects: Family, Life & Experiences Pets

History and Development of Dance

• Subjects: Art Dance
• Words: 1231

The Pfizer Company Business Model

• Subjects: Business Case Study

The Magic Ring

• Subjects: Art Film Studies

Wall Street (1987): Ethics Analysis

• Subjects: Entertainment & Media Movies

Memoirs of a Border Ranger

• Subjects: History Latin America

Looking at Women. Scott Russell Sanders

What are the stages of group development.

• Subjects: Sociological Theories Sociology

Walter Lee Younger: Character Analysis Essay

• Words: 1000

Teenage Alcoholism: Parental Influence and How to Get Rid of Vice

• Subjects: Psychology Psychology of Abuse
• Words: 1280

Why the Government Should Review and Add Laws Governing Diet Pills Introduction

• Subjects: Health & Medicine Pharmacology

Othello and Snow Country: Personal Opinion

• Subjects: Literature Plays

Comparing and contrasting “The Tyger” by William Blake with “Traveling through the Dark” by William Stafford

• Subjects: Comparative Literature Literature

Breaking Point of a Soul

• Subjects: Nazi Germany Warfare
• Words: 1326

Analysis of the reading experience for the “Framing Class”

Rhetorical analysis of the article.

• Subjects: Historical Fiction Comparison Literature

Team Building Issues

“who is a hero”.

• Subjects: Philosophical Concept Philosophy

Social, Cultural and Gender Inequality From a Global Perspective

• Subjects: Gender Inequality Sociology

The Effects of Quality Management on the Local and Global Competition

Egyptian hotel holiday policy, gambling projects: impact on the cultural transformations in america.

• Subjects: Economic Systems & Principles Economics

Analysis of the Performance of Domestic & Multinational US Restaurants

• Subjects: Economics Inflation

The Concept of Simple Stimulus Learning

• Subjects: Development Psychology

History of Children’s Literature in Western Culture

• Subjects: Cultural Diversity Culture

Critique of the Gersick’s Article

• Words: 1075

The M&M’s Company’s Marketing and Management Strategies

• Subjects: Business Strategy

The Impact of Computer-Based Technologies on Business Communication

• Words: 1567

Leasing Buildings Advantages and Disadvantages

• Subjects: Economics Regulation of Finance

“Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times” by Morris Rossabi

• Words: 1028

The Balkan Crisis: A Brief History

• Subjects: Modern Warfare Warfare

Critical Thinking Method vs. The Elements of Thought Questions: Finding Out Which Method Is More Effective

• Subjects: Applications of Psychology Psychology
• Words: 1068

Have Understanding of the Theory and Practice of Personal Selling

• Words: 1283

Theory and Practice of Personal Selling

Business strategies at the unilever company.

• Subjects: Business Company Analysis

Sexual Slavery and Prostitution During WWII and US Occupation in Japan

• Subjects: Warfare World War II

The Self Concept of Individuals

• Subjects: Cognition and Perception Psychology

A Critical Evaluation of Qualitative & Quantitative Research Designs

• Subjects: Sociological Issues Sociology
• Words: 1399

An Enemy of the People

• Words: 1016

Arguing against minimalism, and the notion that – less is more

• Subjects: Art Art Movement

Idealism and Realism

• Subjects: International Relations Theories Politics & Government

Modernization and Democratization

• Subjects: Politics & Government Social & Political Theory

Modern Liberalism and Modern Conservatism

• Subjects: Political Culture Politics & Government

Security System: Information and Property within Business

• Subjects: Computer Science Tech & Engineering

Convergence vs. Divergence of Culture and Literature – Examples

• Words: 1003

Discrimination Remedy at Workplace: Affirmative Action Programs, Reverse Discrimination and Comparable Worth

• Subjects: Business Workforce

Water Distribution System in Boston

• Subjects: Ecology Environment

Honesty in the Workplace

• Subjects: Business Business Ethics

Food Presentation as a Form of Art

• Subjects: Art Visual Arts

Concepts of Development of Jewish Culture

• Subjects: Culture Worldwide Cultures

Practices for Improving Employees Performance

Story analysis of “the outsiders” by s. e. hinton, implementation of physical restraints in the intensive care unit.

• Subjects: Health & Medicine Nursing

Mid-City at the Crossroads: Shaw Heritage Trail

• Words: 1023

Environmental Health and Safety

• Subjects: Environment Recycling

Solid Waste Management: Hazardous Waste Management

Connection between substance abuse and personality.

• Words: 1001

Companies Web Search: PWC, Northwestern Mutual and Target

• Subjects: Business Company Information

Handling Difficult In-Basket Activities

• Subjects: Education Teacher Career

Impediments to Political, Economic and Social Modernisation in Asia

Assessing academic progress after implementing technological changes.

• Subjects: Education Pedagogical Skills

The Global Economy: China

America’s war on drugs, is a college degree necessary.

• Subjects: Education Educational Stages

Competition Advantages for Producers and Consumers

• Subjects: Business Marketing

Technological Solutions to the Effects of Urban Sprawl

• Subjects: Environment Environmental Studies

Effects of Physical Education on Brain

• Subjects: Education Education Theories

Othello and Oedipus Rex Characters’ Traits

The vietnam war outcomes, groups and communities and their effect on individuality, black power and student rebellion.

• Subjects: Education Education Issues

The Future of Music Production

• Subjects: Art Music Industry

A Closer Look at the History of the Colonial America

The importance of referencing in university assignments.

• Subjects: Education Writing & Assignments

Short Detective Story

• Words: 2725

Do I Need God to be Moral or Happy?

• Subjects: Religion Religion, Culture & Society

Organizational Psychology Role in Recruiting

• Subjects: Psychological Issues Psychology

E-Business and Internet Technology

• Subjects: Business E-Commerce

McDonald’s Quality of Service: Just-In-Time Philosophy

Methamphetamine (meth).

• Subjects: Chemistry Sciences

Two Opposite Worlds: “Utopia” and “1984”

A high-toned old christian women by wallace stevens, multicultural competency and interactions among human.

• Subjects: Psychology Social Psychology Deviations

Thinking, Language, and Intelligence

• Words: 1130

Race and Ethnicity

• Subjects: Racism Sociology

Creation Myths: Theories of Myths

Cognitive and psychosocial development of children, professional workplace dilemma, recruitment and staff selection recommendations, symbolism and imagery in o captain my captain.

• Words: 1110

Basic Communication Skills at Work Places

Qualitative data collection, concepts of effective leadership, the ramifications of hosting refugees in the society in case of kenya.

• Subjects: Immigration Sociology

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• +1 (213) 221-0069
• [email protected]

How Long to Write a 3-Page Essay? A Guide how to write one

How long to Write a 3-Page Essay

The number of words that a three-page essay should have depends on several factors. The font size, style, and line and margin spacing are some of these factors.

A 750-word essay can fit on three pages if; the font style is Times New Roman, the font size is 12, and the lines are double-spaced. A well-experienced and expert ghostwriter for college papers from our essay writing service tells us that this is the standard formatting for a 3-page essay.

When the lines are single-spaced, a three-page essay should have a total of 1500 words. Since the two most widely used formats in the world (APA and MLA) require double-spaced lines, Times New Roman font style, and font size 12, it is fair to say that a three-page essay is 750 words long.

A three-page essay is mainly viewed as the standard length required for middle school essays. Three-page high school reports are viewed as short.

Three-page essays require writers to have short introductions and conclusions. This gives the writer a chance to construct and explain arguments effectively in the essay’s body part.

How many Paragraphs should a Three-Page Essay have?

The minimum number of paragraphs an essay should have is 3. No rule governs the maximum number of paragraphs that an essay should have.

Sticking to a certain number of paragraphs should be done if the instructor orders so. Paragraphs in academic essays are shorter than paragraphs in blog posts.

On average, paragraphs should have between 100-200 words.

A three-page essay with an average of 750 words should therefore have 5 paragraphs. This is according to the basic essay word-to-paragraph conversion.

The first paragraph is the introduction. This is where you introduce the subject matter of the essay. The next three paragraphs are the body of the essay.

This is where you build your essay with the main talking points of your topic. The last paragraph is the conclusion, where you conclude with what your essay has been all about.

How to write a 3-page essay fast, in an hour?

The length of your essay should not be a concern when writing. All you have to do is follow the assignment instructions, and your paper will be fine.

Considering the work that is needed to write a good essay eventually, one hour is basically not enough. One can follow the following process to ensure that when they start writing essays, they do it quickly within a short period.

1. Plan your time well

It is not always a good idea to jump into writing your essay. Even if you have the best ideas in your mind, it is always essential to plan your time.

Planning your time helps manage all the steps needed in essay writing, meaning no step will consume more time than planned. Planning your time is the best way to beat the deadlines provided by instructors.

2. Read Extensively

Once you have known the topic and the other requirements of the essay besides the length, examine the topic and conduct research on that topic.

Papers requiring extensive research may require visiting the library or online resources to gain vast knowledge on a particular topic.

Simple essays may only require reviewing your notes or getting quotes from specific books.

When conducting research, you must take notes. Writing down points you have gathered from different resources helps you save a lot of time when you begin writing down your essay. 

3. Formulate a Thesis Statement

A thesis is an argument about your essay’s topic backed by arguments. This gives you time to develop other sections of your paper and use the idea to quickly build a draft of the essay.

The thesis statement also helps you to perfectly organize your paper so that the reader will follow it easily.

4. Use the Thesis to Create Topic Sentences

Around your thesis, formulate topic statements that you will use to build up sentences and paragraphs. A good thesis will help you include the most supportive ideas in your essay.

Good topic sentences are not only the best starting point in your essay paragraphs but also make the format and flow of the essay great.

5. Begin Writing your Essay

There is no need to draft a copy considering the time given. With the above processes already done, writing your essay should be easy and fast.

Always, with a good plan and quality essay, writing your 3-page essay should take at least 40 minutes. This is enough time to wrap up your essay with perfection.

When writing the introduction, always make sure that you catch the reader’s attention.

Begin your essay with something unique, specific, or unusual that will likely interest the reader and continue reading your essay.

After the introduction, moves on to the body paragraphs of your essay. Each paragraph should contain a topic from the thesis.

Each topic should be backed up with evidence too. Evidence usually helps support the arguments you present on a topic.

Evidence can include facts or observations of a phenomenon. Quotes from books and journals can also be presented as evidence.

Essay conclusions should always be brief. The main points should be restated differently than they were in the thesis. Avoid repeating points already stated in your essay in your conclusion.

Conclusions should always be written to leave an impression on readers. Quotes, sarcasm, and wise saying such as proverbs can be used in essay conclusions.

6. Check the Length

To ensure you meet the three-page requirement, it is always advisable to check your length.

If you do not meet the requirement, you should consider extending your essay slightly more. You can add to the introduction, conclusion, or any paragraph you feel you’ve not exhausted. 

7. Proofread and Edit your Essay

Many people prefer writing fast and editing their essays slowly. Read your essay and correct errors that you may have made while writing your essay.

Check word spelling, and tautology, among other grammatical errors. Editing is always easy if the above process is followed to the latter.

It is important to note that writing a good three-page essay is not easy. Only experienced and expert writers can manage.

As a student, if you are at a point of asking yourself if you can complete a three-page essay in an hour, then it means you are rushing to beat the deadline. Writing essays within a short time depends on your ability to understand a topic and formulate a thesis statement.

Your writing skill and the time it will take to find the necessary resources determine how long you will take to write an essay.

Get help from essay writing services, which also charge a high cost on narrow deadlines, if you need an essay in one hour or two and feel you can’t complete it.

Essays that require short research pieces take longer to write than essays that require larger research pieces. The short research pieces are usually hard to find.

8. Use AI Tool for Assistance

The online community seems divided on whether or not to use AI-based tools for writing. The number of users of such tools is increasing daily because these tools make work easy.

This makes it an option for students to use when they want to ace their writing process.

You can use an online paraphrasing tool that works on AI for your assistance. Such a tool becomes an option and can do well if you combine it with your own input.

Please note that you can correct your sentences while following best essay writing practices. This will overall help you write professionally and appropriately.

How Long Does it Take to Write a 3-Page Paper Double-Spaced?

A three-page, double-spaced essay will have approximately 750 words. The time the essay takes to be completed usually depends on several factors:

• Availability of research materials.
• Typing or writing speed.
• Your ability to understand the topic of the easy and break it down.
• Your ability to make your essay simple and direct. There is no time to change the direction your essay takes.

Skilled and professional writers can complete a 750-word essay within an hour or less.

As a student, you must take more time to write your essay to ensure that you write a good essay that will earn you a good grade. There is no need to hurry.

What does a 3-page Essay look like?

A three-page essay should have five paragraphs. The first paragraph is the introduction. The next three paragraphs are the body of your essay.

The last paragraph is the conclusion. How other inclusions in your essay, such as titles and references, look depends on the writing format used.

3-page research paper examples

• Effects of social media on the youths.
• Should higher education be made free?
• Has the plastic ban made any impact on the country?
• Urbanization has led to increased pollution.
• Has the “Black Lives Matter” campaign yielded any fruits?
• Family planning should be made mandatory in third-world countries.
• Divisive politics are dragging most states behind.
• Drug abuse among teenage girls is rising rapidly.
• Why do early pregnancies represent our rotten societies?

Jessica Smart

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College Essays

Figuring out your college essay can be one of the most difficult parts of applying to college. Even once you've read the prompt and picked a topic, you might wonder: if you write too much or too little, will you blow your chance of admission? How long should a college essay be?

Whether you're a terse writer or a loquacious one, we can advise you on college essay length. In this guide, we'll cover what the standard college essay length is, how much word limits matter, and what to do if you aren't sure how long a specific essay should be.

How Long Is a College Essay? First, Check the Word Limit

You might be used to turning in your writing assignments on a page-limit basis (for example, a 10-page paper). While some colleges provide page limits for their college essays, most use a word limit instead. This makes sure there's a standard length for all the essays that a college receives, regardless of formatting or font.

In the simplest terms, your college essay should be pretty close to, but not exceeding, the word limit in length. Think within 50 words as the lower bound, with the word limit as the upper bound. So for a 500-word limit essay, try to get somewhere between 450-500 words. If they give you a range, stay within that range.

College essay prompts usually provide the word limit right in the prompt or in the instructions.

For example, the University of Illinois says :

"You'll answer two to three prompts as part of your application. The questions you'll answer will depend on whether you're applying to a major or to our undeclared program , and if you've selected a second choice . Each response should be approximately 150 words."

As exemplified by the University of Illinois, the shortest word limits for college essays are usually around 150 words (less than half a single-spaced page). Rarely will you see a word limit higher than around 650 words (over one single-spaced page). College essays are usually pretty short: between 150 and 650 words. Admissions officers have to read a lot of them, after all!

Weigh your words carefully, because they are limited!

How Flexible Is the Word Limit?

But how flexible is the word limit? What if your poignant anecdote is just 10 words too long—or 100 too short?

Can I Go Over the Word Limit?

If you are attaching a document and you need one or two extra words, you can probably get away with exceeding the word limit by such a small amount. Some colleges will actually tell you that exceeding the word limit by 1-2 words is fine. However, I advise against exceeding the word limit unless it's explicitly allowed for a few reasons:

First, you might not be able to. If you have to copy-paste it into a text box, your essay might get cut off and you'll have to trim it down anyway.

If you exceed the word limit in a noticeable way, the admissions counselor may just stop reading your essay past that point. This is not good for you.

Following directions is actually a very important part of the college application process. You need to follow directions to get your letters of recommendation, upload your essays, send supplemental materials, get your test scores sent, and so on and so forth. So it's just a good general rule to follow whatever instructions you've been given by the institution. Better safe than sorry!

Can I Go Under the Word Limit?

If you can truly get your point across well beneath the word limit, it's probably fine. Brevity is not necessarily a bad thing in writing just so long as you are clear, cogent, and communicate what you want to.

However, most college essays have pretty tight word limits anyways. So if you're writing 300 words for an essay with a 500-word limit, ask yourself: is there anything more you could say to elaborate on or support your points? Consult with a parent, friend, or teacher on where you could elaborate with more detail or expand your points.

Also, if the college gives you a word range, you absolutely need to at least hit the bottom end of the range. So if you get a range from the institution, like 400-500 words, you need to write at least 400 words. If you write less, it will come across like you have nothing to say, which is not an impression you want to give.

What If There Is No Word Limit?

Some colleges don't give you a word limit for one or more of your essay prompts. This can be a little stressful, but the prompts generally fall into a few categories:

Writing Sample

Some colleges don't provide a hard-and-fast word limit because they want a writing sample from one of your classes. In this case, a word limit would be very limiting to you in terms of which assignments you could select from.

For an example of this kind of prompt, check out essay Option B at Amherst :

"Submit a graded paper from your junior or senior year that best represents your writing skills and analytical abilities. We are particularly interested in your ability to construct a tightly reasoned, persuasive argument that calls upon literary, sociological or historical evidence. You should NOT submit a laboratory report, journal entry, creative writing sample or in-class essay."

While there is usually no word limit per se, colleges sometimes provide a general page guideline for writing samples. In the FAQ for Option B , Amherst clarifies, "There is no hard-and-fast rule for official page limit. Typically, we anticipate a paper of 4-5 pages will provide adequate length to demonstrate your analytical abilities. Somewhat longer papers can also be submitted, but in most cases should not exceed 8-10 pages."

So even though there's no word limit, they'd like somewhere in the 4-10 pages range. High school students are not usually writing papers that are longer than 10 pages anyways, so that isn't very limiting.

Implicit Length Guideline

Sometimes, while there's no word (or even page) limit, there's still an implicit length guideline. What do I mean by this?

See, for example, this Western Washington University prompt :

“Describe one or more activities you have been involved in that have been particularly meaningful. What does your involvement say about the communities, identities or causes that are important to you?”

While there’s no page or word limit listed here, further down on page the ‘essay tips’ section explains that “ most essay responses are about 500 words, ” though “this is only a recommendation, not a firm limit.” This gives you an idea of what’s reasonable. A little longer or shorter than 500 words would be appropriate here. That’s what I mean by an “implicit” word limit—there is a reasonable length you could go to within the boundaries of the prompt.

But what's the proper coffee-to-paragraph ratio?

Treasure Hunt

There is also the classic "treasure hunt" prompt. No, it's not a prompt about a treasure hunt. It's a prompt where there are no length guidelines given, but if you hunt around on the rest of the website you can find length guidelines.

For example, the University of Chicago provides seven "Extended Essay" prompts . You must write an essay in response to one prompt of your choosing, but nowhere on the page is there any guidance about word count or page limit.

However, many colleges provide additional details about their expectations for application materials, including essays, on FAQ pages, which is true of the University of Chicago. On the school’s admissions Frequently Asked Questions page , they provide the following length guidelines for the supplemental essays: 

“We suggest that you note any word limits for Coalition or Common Application essays; however, there are no strict word limits on the UChicago Supplement essays. For the extended essay (where you choose one of several prompts), we suggest that you aim for around 650 words. While we won't, as a rule, stop reading after 650 words, we're only human and cannot promise that an overly wordy essay will hold our attention indefinitely. For the “Why UChicago?” essay, we suggest about 250-500 words. The ideas in your writing matter more than the exact number of words you use!”

So there you go! You want to be (loosely) in the realm of 650 for the extended essay, and 250-500 words for the “Why UChicago?” essay.

Help! There Really Is No Guidance on Length

If you really can't find any length guidelines anywhere on the admissions website and you're at a loss, I advise calling the admissions office. They may not be able to give you an exact number (in fact, they probably won't), but they will probably at least be able to tell you how long most of the essays they see are. (And keep you from writing a panicked, 20-page dissertation about your relationship with your dog).

In general, 500 words or so is pretty safe for a college essay. It's a fairly standard word limit length, in fact. (And if you're wondering, that's about a page and a half double-spaced.) 500 words is long enough to develop a basic idea while still getting a point across quickly—important when admissions counselors have thousands of essays to read!

"See? It says 500 words right there in tiny font!"

The Final Word: How Long Should a College Essay Be?

The best college essay length is usually pretty straightforward: you want to be right under or at the provided word limit. If you go substantially past the word limit, you risk having your essay cut off by an online application form or having the admissions officer just not finish it. And if you're too far under the word limit, you may not be elaborating enough.

What if there is no word limit? Then how long should a college essay be? In general, around 500 words is a pretty safe approximate word amount for a college essay—it's one of the most common word limits, after all!

Here's guidance for special cases and hunting down word limits:

If it's a writing sample of your graded academic work, the length either doesn't matter or there should be some loose page guidelines.

There also may be implicit length guidelines. For example, if a prompt says to write three paragraphs, you'll know that writing six sentences is definitely too short, and two single-spaced pages is definitely too long.

You might not be able to find length guidelines in the prompt, but you could still hunt them up elsewhere on the website. Try checking FAQs or googling your chosen school name with "admissions essay word limit."

If there really is no word limit, you can call the school to try to get some guidance.

With this advice, you can be sure you've got the right college essay length on lockdown!

Hey, writing about yourself can even be fun!

What's Next?

Need to ask a teacher or friend for help with your essay? See our do's and dont's to getting college essay advice .

If you're lacking in essay inspiration, see our guide to brainstorming college essay ideas . And here's our guide to starting out your essay perfectly!

Looking for college essay examples? See 11 places to find college essay examples and 145 essay examples with analysis !

Ellen has extensive education mentorship experience and is deeply committed to helping students succeed in all areas of life. She received a BA from Harvard in Folklore and Mythology and is currently pursuing graduate studies at Columbia University.

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How long? How many paragraphs? And how long to write a 3/4 pages Paper

It is common to be assigned to write short research papers and essays in high school, college, or university. Such papers are limited to a few pages slightly below 5 pages, mostly three to four pages long. It is the most challenging assignment and an easy one if you understand its bells and whistles.

When assigned to write a 3-4-page paper and you don’t know what it means, how to begin and conclude it, and how many paragraphs to include, you came to the right place.

In this short guide, we take you through everything you need to know about planning and writing a 3-4-page paper. If you want assistance writing your paper, we have handpicked custom paper writers whom you can entrust with your essay or paper. Regardless of the topic, deadline, or whether it is a last-minute paper, you will get help.

What comprises a standard 3-4 Page Paper?

We can understand what makes 3 to 4 pages of an essay or paper by defining how many words, paragraphs, points, and the time it takes to write.

Taking into consideration that it is a common assignment in the college, you need to be sure what word count to meet when asked to write a 3-4-page paper. Some people think you are asked to write a 3.5-page paper, while others believe you have been asked to write either 3 or 4 pages.

A 3 to 4-page paper means that you must write either three pages or four pages of paper detailing your arguments or points on a specific topic, either assigned or chosen by yourself. It bears more than five paragraphs and allows you to write your arguments and counterarguments as necessary. In terms of word count, a 3-4-page paper is about 825 to 1100 words in length if we consider a standard page to be 275 words. 

However, if we use 300 words as the standard word count for a page, a 3-4-page paper is around 900 to 1200 words long. In terms of paragraphs, a 3-4-page paper or essay has between 7 and 9 paragraphs or up to10 paragraphs.

When asked to write a 3-4 page paper, write either three pages, 3.5 pages, or four pages but do not go beyond four pages. The spacing of your essay will depend upon the instructions.

 Use the correct number of words per the preferred or directed spacing if it is double or single-spaced. For example, that is 275 words for a double-spaced page written in font size 12 and font type Times New Roman or Arial or 550 words per page with the same font size and style.

Other factors that come to play when writing the paper include the margin size, character spacing, and spacing between paragraphs. Remember that the 3-4 pages cover the content and do not include the cover and reference pages. You can use subheadings within such a paper for clarity and an organized flow of ideas.

How long does it take to write a 3-4 pages paper?

The exact amount of time it takes to write a 3-4-page paper depends on factors such as the topic, availability of research materials, the scope of research, experience with writing papers, the actual deadline, typing speed, and organization skills.

Organizational skills influence the time you will take to finish a 3-4-page research paper because it determines how you break down and research the essay.

As standard practice, you should complete your paper or essay before the deadline set by your professor or instructor. Then, plan your prewriting, writing, and post-writing activities depending on the time you must write the paper or essay.

During the prewriting stage, you must select the topic, understand it, research it, brainstorm ideas and points, and develop an outline. And in the writing stage, you should focus on writing a good title, developing the introduction, working on the body paragraphs, and writing the conclusion. This stage calls for writing fast and editing later. Finally, in the post-writing phase, you should focus on editing, formatting, and proofreading your essay or research paper. These are the most effective tips you can use when writing your 3 to 4 pages paper or essay. When it is an urgent task, schedule your time effectively based on these three stages of writing.

Given these stages, let us now consider the time to write such a paper. Ideally, you will write a 3-4-page paper within 1-2 hours if you are an expert or have excellent typing, research, and organization skills. However, if you are slow, completing such a paper should take 3 to 4 hours. See our article on the time it takes to write 1000 words , a type of 3-4 page paper.

How to write a 3-4 pages long research paper fast

Remember, a typical 3-4-page paper double-spaced (12-point font and 1-inch margin) has approximately 825 words to 1100 words. So, if you are asked to write a 3-4-page paper discussing how feminist theories might be used to explain female delinquency, a reflection paper, or an analytical essay, and you want to do it fast, follow the tips below.

• Begin by choosing a good topic for your essay and doing some light research to familiarize yourself with the topic.
• Come up with a thesis statement that outlines the main agenda of your paper.
• Develop a good title for your essay or research paper . You can brainstorm and come up with good titles based on your research. If you are unsure about the title, consult with your instructor or professor.
• Research again and write an outline for your paper . The outline should determine what falls where. Limit your research to finding references that you can use to support the facts in your paper. Come up with compelling topic sentences and find journals and articles with ideas that can support your thesis.
• Write your paper beginning with the introduction paragraph, then the body paragraphs, and finally, conclude with the concluding paragraph. When developing the body paragraphs, stick to the paragraph writing rules and organize your facts well. Your conclusion should restate your thesis, reaffirm your position or perspective on the topic, and have a closing tone or some call-to-action. As for the introduction, you can use the funnel format for efficiency.
• Edit, proofread, and format your paper. As a final step, which is your post-writing stage, quickly edit and proofread your paper. Check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes and correct them. Also, check and eliminate all the typos, run-on sentences, and ambiguous sentences, and reorganize the paper for a better flow. Next, read aloud the paper if you are in an environment that allows you to, or read it with a loud inner voice if you cannot shout to yourself. Finally, check the font size, margin size, line spacing, spaces between paragraphs, indentation, in-text citations, and the overall organization of the paper to ensure it aligns with the specific formatting style, such as APA, MLA, Chicago, or Harvard referencing style.

Our experts have used the tips listed above, and we can confirm that you can use them to write a masterpiece of an essay or research paper three to four pages long within less than 3 hours.

What does a 3-8 Page Essay or Research Paper Look Like?

If you are wondering what goes into a 3-4 page research paper or essay, you should think of the structure of such a paper.

An essay or research paper has an introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs. Each of these sections or paragraphs are building block of the paper.

Related Blogposts:

• How to write an analytical essay.
• Mastering the academic essay writing conventions
• Reading critically for essays and papers.
• Steps for writing a book critique.
• How to list things in an essay.

In your introduction, begin your 3-4 page paper using a hook or an attention grabber. For example, you can use a shocking fact, statistic, or fact to hook your readers into reading your paper. Immediately after the first sentence, follow it with a few sentences highlighting why the topic is essential or the background information. Then signpost your ideas by highlighting how you have organized the paper and finalize the paragraph by stating your thesis statement .

When writing the body paragraphs, fill in the supporting sentences to complete the topic sentences you wrote in the outline. Finally, finalize the paragraphs by writing a concluding sentence that transitions your readers to the next paragraph. You should align your paragraphs just like the typical format for writing a 5-paragraph essay .

To find a balance, ensure that your body paragraphs are at least 150-160 words long, and the introduction and conclusion paragraphs should be 10% of the word count.

This means the intro and conclusion paragraphs should each be between 90 and 120 words long. Finally, the last sentence of your essay should afford your readers some sense of closure and have a call to action.

 Final Take

It could be an essay or research paper on school uniforms, animal rights, gun control, technology, etc. When assigned to write a 3-4-page paper, follow the guidelines and tips prescribed above and score the best grades.

Notably, when writing such short papers, it is easy to be tempted to postpone or procrastinate writing until the last minute. Avoid such temptation by planning your time and writing the paper before the deadline.

Also, we have your back when push comes to shove, and you only need to pay someone to write your 3- or 4-page paper ASAP. EssayManiacs as paper writing experts to manage papers with any deadline. Check out our essay services page and select one that fits your context and requirements.

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How Long Is an Essay? The Ultimate Essay Length Guide

It’s safe to say that most students struggle with the word limit within an essay. Sometimes, it’s hard to find ideas for a text and meet the word requirement for every part of the paper. With so many factors influencing essay length, it’s easy to get confused.

Luckily, our custom-writing team has your back. In this article, our custom-writing experts will answer all your questions regarding essay length. We will also help you write papers with an ideal number of words!

📜 Is Essay Length Important?

📏 essay parts: recommended length.

• 🤔 How to Make Essays Shorter or Longer
• 📑 Essay Length & Formatting
• ❓ Different Academic Levels FAQ
• 📚 Essay Length: Different Types
• ⭐ Other Aspects
• 📝 Essay Examples

🔍 References

Often, the phrase “word limit” causes panic among students. After all, if an essay is too long or too short, your grade will be lowered. However, in reality, there’s nothing to worry about. When it comes to words, limitations are beneficial for both the students and the professors.

Let’s see what exactly it means.

Many people believe that the longer an essay is, the better. However, according to Frontiers, research shows that it’s a bias that couldn’t be further from the truth. A perfect-length paper is one that allows students to express their ideas and showcase their knowledge fully while keeping it clean and simple.

What Influences Essay Length

Various factors determine the length of an essay. Here are the most important ones:

Let’s start with the essentials. Usually, assignment length is given as a number of words rather than pages. Unless your supervisor or instructor mentions any specific limitations, it’s acceptable to be 10% below or above the word limit.

It’s also worth knowing the 80/20 rule . According to it, the body should constitute 80% of the text, while the intro and the conclusion take up the remaining 20%.

Keep reading to learn more about the recommended length of each essay part. The main numbers are shown in the table below:

How Long Should an Introduction Be?

An introduction is the first section and the face of your essay. For that reason, it needs to be compelling and well-thought-out. Usually, it consists of 3 to 5 sentences or 50 to 80 words .

An introduction must have a hook, some background information, and a thesis statement. While the attention grabber and the thesis are usually brief, you may need 2 to 3 sentences for the background. To avoid going overboard, try to stay on topic and don’t add any filler.

How Long Is a Body Paragraph in an Essay?

The length of a body paragraph may vary. Sometimes, it can be limited to a single sentence. In other cases, it may take up a whole page. Usually, it’s recommended to have between 80 and 200 words (5-8 sentences) per body paragraph.

Since the paper’s body contains the most information, it’s necessary to explain and support your ideas properly. That’s why it’s no big deal if your body paragraphs go slightly over the word limit.

How Many Body Paragraphs Should Be in an Essay?

Like the word count, the number of paragraphs is determined by the type of paper and its topic. The minimum is 1. Generally, however, the body consists of 3-5 paragraphs , 1 for each argument.

To improve your paper’s structure, ensure that there are as many paragraphs as there are points in your thesis statement. Each one should have a purpose and support your arguments. If there’s any fluff, it’s better to get rid of it.

How Long Should a Conclusion Be?

Like the introduction, the conclusion consists of 50-80 words . It’s essential to keep it simple and only mention the central ideas. A weak concluding sentence may affect the reader’s understanding of the topic and spoil the overall impression of your paper.

🤔 How to Make Essays Shorter or Longer: Best Tips

Undoubtedly the essay’s content is more important than the number of words you use. But there are times when students go more than 10-15% below or over the limit. Is there a solution to this problem?

Yes, there is! In this section, we will share the most useful tips to help you stay on point with your paper’s word count.

How to Make Essays Longer

Since having enough words is essential for a good grade, we’ve collected the best tips that can help you lengthen your essay without teachers noticing:

• Use relevant quotations.  You don’t need to litter your essay with citations, but using them whenever appropriate is a great idea. For instance, if you’re working on a book analysis, referencing a couple of direct quotes from the source text will make your essay more credible and increase the word count.
• Give examples.  Go through the claims in your paper and provide additional evidence where possible. It will make your essay longer and more informative.
• Use transitional expressions.  Adding transition words and phrases is a natural way of increasing the number of words. It will also improve your essay’s readability. 
• Add more references.  Providing references is always a good idea when writing a formal essay. That way, you will increase the number of words and make your paper more credible.
• Work on your descriptions.  If you struggle to develop new ideas, go over what you’ve already written and consider adding some descriptive words. It’s a great idea for creative essays to include more imagery. 

How to Shorten an Essay

Another struggle of academic writing is cutting down the number of words in your essay to meet a set limit. We are here to tell you that it’s not that hard. Writing straightforwardly and keeping your sentences short is a key to concise content. Here are several strategies you may use to tighten a lengthy essay:

• Choose the active voice.  It takes up less space than passive voice. Using it also makes your writing more professional and compelling.
• Remove needless transitions.  Transitions can indeed maintain the flow of the paper. But some transitional phrases can be easily removed.
• Get rid of unnecessary adverbs and adjectives.  Some students tend to overuse adjectives and adverbs. It adds wordiness to their writing.
• Avoid running starts.  Some students like to start their sentences with long phrases like: “there are,” “it is believed,” or “the fact that.” Getting rid of them makes texts much more concise.
• Delete “that.”  In most cases, the word “that” can often be easily removed from texts.

Another cool trick is to use our summarizing tool as essay shortener. Try it out!

📑 How Long Is an Essay Depending on Formatting?

As we mentioned earlier, the essay’s length is usually limited by the number of words. But sometimes, a teacher may ask you to write a specific number of pages. This is trickier because the amount of text you can place on the page depends on the formatting. By using the font size and spacing properly, it’s possible to make the paper visually longer or shorter. Let’s discuss it in more detail.

Essay Spacing: How Does It Affect the Length?

• Adjusting the spacing between lines.  Try to make the changes as slight as possible. For instance, if you were asked to double-space the paper, use 2.1 or 2.2 spacing instead. Another option is to slightly extend spaces between paragraphs.
• Extending the margin size.  You can increase the right and bottom margins by a quarter to make very subtle changes in length. For example, if the margins are 1 inch , you can set them at 1.25 inches instead. 
• Increasing the spacing between characters.  It is less noticeable than the line spacing. Still, try not to overdo it and keep the numbers between 1.2 and 1.5 . 
• Adjusting the footer.  Add a footer with page numbers to stretch the bottom margin even further.
• Lengthening the header.  You can extend your header by adding your name, e-mail address, or other relevant information. Another option is double-spacing it.

Length of an Essay: Font and Size

• Using the right type of font.  If your instructor didn’t specify which font you should use, go for the bigger ones. We suggest Arial, Bangla Sangam MN, Cambria, or Quicksand. They will make your text look longer without being too on the nose.  
• Using a bigger font size.  This is another technique that can come in handy. However, be careful and don’t increase your font by more than 0.1-0.5 pt.  
• Increasing the size of periods and commas.   This is one of the less noticeable tricks you can use. For instance, if your paper’s font is 12 pt. , increase it to 14 pt. only for punctuation marks. Italicizing periods and commas will also add several lines of length to your essay. 

What to Do if There Are No Length Guidelines

Sometimes a teacher sets no word limit for a written work. What to do in that case? Well, first, you can ask your professor to confirm if they have simply forgotten to mention it. But if that’s not the case, here are a couple of helpful solutions:

• Think of the paragraph number.  Sometimes, you may be given the number of paragraphs instead of words. In that case, you can decide on the number of words depending on how many paragraphs you have. 
• Think about the topic’s complexity.  The length of your paper is also directly dependent on the theme. If the topic is simple, 4-5 paragraphs will be enough. A more complex issue may require an in-depth explanation, so your essay can be 6-8 paragraphs long.

❓ Essay Length for Different Academic Levels FAQ

The length of the elementary school essay is usually short. Usually, a paper needs to have around 3-5 paragraphs, with 4-5 sentences per paragraph. Primary school essays can be 1-2 paragraphs long.

The word limit for a middle school essay is usually between 300 to 1000 words. The most common essay length is 500 words, which is about 5 paragraphs. However, it may differ from school to school.

The length of the high school essay may differ depending on the school and the complexity of the task itself. Usually, however, a paper can be between 300 to 1000 words long.

The length of the undergraduate college essay often falls within the range of 1500 to 2100 words. It translates into roughly 5-7 pages. 5 pages is the most common essay length at this level.

When it comes to the graduate school admission essay, the word limit is usually between 500 and 1000 words. It’s possible to go slightly over or below the set limit; however, it’s best to stick to the requirements as close as possible.

📚 How Long Should an Essay Be: Different Types

Now, let’s talk about different types of essays. How long should they be? Keep reading to learn about the length of college essays, short and extended ones, scholarship essays, and research papers.

How Long Is a College Essay?

When it comes to a college essay, it’s more important to stick to the word limit than with any other paper. Some teachers may refuse to read it unless it meets all the requirements.

The shortest limit for a college essay is about 250 words which is the shortest length of a Common App personal statement. It’s also rare to see a good college essay with over 650 words . So, an average piece usually has between 150 and 650 words ; you can go over or below the limit by 50.

How Long Is a Paragraph in College Essays?

A college essay usually consists of 4-5 paragraphs . One paragraph takes about 1/3 of the page, which is roughly 5 sentences . Each sentence corresponds with one of the following components:

• Topic sentence.
• Explanation.
• Transitions.

College Essay Length Requirements: Top 5 Schools

To understand the requirements for a college application essay even better, take a look at the table below. It showcases the top 5 schools and their length criteria for personal statements. Keep it in mind when writing your college essay:

How Long Is a Short Essay?

A short essay is usually 500 words long. Using 12pt Times New Roman font with standard margins and double spacing should result in about 2 pages of text.

Extended Essay Length

An extended essay is different from a short or a standard one. It requires extensive research and thorough explanation. That’s why the upper limit for this kind of essay is 4000 words . In this case, a typical essay length is 3500 words or 18 paragraphs .

Scholarship Essay Length

Generally, scholarship papers have a limit of 500 words , which is 1 page in length. Most scholarship programs provide additional requirements that indicate the minimum number of words or pages. If there are no set limitations, you can stick to the limit.

How Long Is a Research Paper?

Typically, a research paper is between 4000 and 6000 words long. Sometimes, there are shorter papers, which have around 2000 words, or in-depth ones with over 10000 words.

⭐ Other Aspects of Essay Length

When it comes to essay length, many different aspects come into play. Here, we’ve gathered all the essential information regarding an essay’s number of pages, paragraphs, words, and references.

How Many Paragraphs Are in an Essay?

Sometimes, it is more convenient to count paragraphs rather than words. Let’s now figure out how many paragraphs are in essays of different lengths. You may also check out the examples to see what such an essay looks like:

How to Count Paragraphs in an Essay Based on Word Count

You can also count the number of body paragraphs for your essay using the formula below:

Number of body paragraphs (average) = (TWC – TWC*0.16)/100

• TWC – total word count
• 0.16 – an average percentage of total word count for introduction and conclusion
• 100 – an average number of words per paragraph

How Many Pages Are in an Essay?

The number of pages in your essay may vary from subject to subject. But it’s still possible to determine the number of pages based on word count. Check out the numbers below to see the conversions with bonus examples:

You can also use a specialized calculator such as Word Counter to determine a number of pages in your essay.

What Does an Essay Look Like when Typed?

You might be wondering: what do essays of different lengths look like when typed? Well, here’s the table where you can find out the metrics for single- and double-spaced papers.

How Many Pages Are in a Handwritten Essay?

In case you need to turn in a handwritten paper, you should check out the table below.

Counting Words in a Handwritten Essay

If you don’t have enough time to count the words in your handwritten essay one by one, here’s what you can do:

• Count how many words there are in one line. Take the first and last lines and a line in the middle of a page. Let’s say there are 15, 14, and 15 words in them. Then, the average number of words per line is 15.
• Next, count how many lines there are on one page. Let’s say there are 17 lines on a page.
• Take the number of words per line and multiply it by the number of lines per page. In our case, we multiply 15 by 17. So, there are 255 words per page on average.
• Finally, multiply the number of words per page by the number of pages. If your essay has 3 pages, it is approximately 765 words long.

How Long Does it Take to Write an Essay?

It is crucial to know how long writing will take you, especially if you are working on an exam essay or just short on time. Note that you need to consider the time for typing and researching necessary to complete a piece. Research time may vary. Usually, it’s 1-2 hours for 200-250 words .

Below, we’ve gathered the average writing time for average and slower writing speed:

And here are the results in pages:

How Many References Does an Essay Need?

Another essential part of any composition is the reference list. Different academic levels require different references. You’ll find out how many of them should be in your paper in the table below!

📝 Essay Examples: Different Length

Finally, we’ve gathered some excellent sample essays of different lengths. Make sure to check them out!

We also recommend you check out our free essay samples sorted by pages:

• 1-Page Essay Examples
• 2-Page Essay Examples
• 3-Page Essay Examples
• 4-Page Essay Examples
• 5-Page Essay Examples
• 10-Page Essay Examples
• 20-Page Essay Examples
• 30-Page Essay Examples
• 40-Page Essay Examples
• 50-Page Essay Examples

Now you know all about essay length, word limits, and ways to lengthen or shorten your text. If you know other interesting tricks, make sure to share them in a comment! Good luck with your writing assignments!

You may also like:

• How to Write a Process Analysis Essay: Examples & Outline
• How to Write a Precis: Definition, Guide, & Examples 
• How to Write a Critical Analysis Essay: Examples & Guide
• How to Write a Narrative Essay Outline: Template & Examples
• How to Write a Formal Essay: Format, Rules, & Example
• Word Limits and Assignment Length: Massey University
• The Paragraph in the College Essay: California State University, Long Beach
• Introductions & Conclusions: The University of Arizona Global Campus
• How Long Should a Paragraph Be?: Daily Writing Tips
• Paragraphing (Length Consistency): Purdue University
• Hitting the Target Word Count in Your College Admission Essay: Dummies.com
• How Long Should Your College Essay Be? What is the Ideal Length?: College Vine
• Writing Personal Statements Online: Issues of Length and Form: Penn State University
• Pen Admissions: Essays: University of Pennsylvania
• Essay Questions: University of Michigan
• Essay Structure: Harvard University
• Components of a Good Essay: University of Evansville
• Write Your Essay: UNSW Sydney
• College Writing: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• 21 Helpful and Easy Tips to Make an Essay Longer: Seventeen
• How to Make a College Paper Longer: ThoughtCo
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What is a 3-4 Page Paper: How Long and how Many Paragraphs

What is considered 3-4 Page Paper

Most assignments are short papers or essays that do not go beyond a few pages. If you have an assignment, and you are wondering what is considered to be 3 or 4 pages, then worry not. In this detailed guide, we explain what a 3-4 page paper is. Also, how long it is in terms of words and paragraphs.

If by any chance you need specialized custom papers, let us know. You can get vetted essay writers for your assignments and papers.

In educational institutions, especially in institutions of higher learning, you may be given a task by your instructor to come up with a 3-4 page paper on a certain topic.

This can be challenging because the instructor has given you the mandate to create the paper. What the instructor expects to see is a complete 3-4 page paper. If you need such a paper done professionally, feel free to hire our essay writers.

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What is Considered a 3-4 Page Paper?

Then, what is considered a 3-4 page paper? Well, it depends on several issues and factors.

However, if you are told to come up with a 3-4 page paper, ensure that the paper has a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 4 pages.

A 3-4 page paper is a paper that has enough context to argue 4 to 5 points in the paragraphs and present any opposing opinion.

It is a paper that has more issues than a typical 5-paragraph essay. The estimated length of a 3-4 page paper is around 1200 words and ten paragraphs. However, this depends on the instructions from your faculty.

This especially applies when the instructor specifies a 3-4 page paper.

If you decide to write below 4 pages, you should ensure that your paper is above 3 pages. If you decide to write a 4-page paper, it should not exceed 4 pages.

As aforementioned, several factors will influence the length of a 4-page paper. Those factors include line spacing, font size, margin size, and the space between paragraphs.

Though this is the case, the fact that you are required to come up with a 3-4 page paper excludes the need to consider those factors.

Just follow the specifications given by your instructor and ensure that the page count is reached. Also, such a paper should consist of paragraphs and headings.

Also Read : Risks of Using Free Essays: Why you should avoid them

How Long is a 3-Page Essay?

Now that we have discussed what is considered a 3-4 page paper, you may be wondering about the length of such a paper. Let us consider a three-page essay.

The things that are considered when determining the length of an essay, in this case, a three-page essay, include the word count per page, the size of the paragraph in terms of the word count, and the overall word count for the three-page essay.

Concerning the word count per page, most essays require a minimum of 275 words and a maximum of about 300 words.

This is the length of a page within a three-page essay. If you write the minimum number of words per page, your essay will be 825 words long.

If you go for the maximum word count per page, your three-page essay will be 900 words long.

Ideally, an essay should have between 3 and 4 paragraphs per page. The maximum word count per paragraph being 150 words.

Therefore, if you go for 3 paragraphs per page, your essay will be 9 paragraphs long. If your essay has 4 paragraphs per page, your 3-page essay will be 12 paragraphs long.

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How many words is a 4-page paper.

A 4-page paper has between 1000 and 1200 words depending on the format used in your Word document.

A normal double-spaced paper with a standard 1-all margin will be around 1100 words in length for a 4-page paper. Also, You should note that paragraphs with more words and sentences will be larger, thus fewer on a page.

In cases where the teacher or lecturer has instructed you to come up with a three-page paper without specifying the required word count, then take the minimum word count for a 3-page paper to be 825.

If you are given the required word count, you will notice that your instructor will specify the number of words that may go beyond or fall below the required word count.

In such a case, adhere to the instructions and maintain a 3-4 paragraph. A minimum of 90 words and a maximum of 130 words per paragraph structure.

Also Read : 7 reasons why Writing is Important in College & in Life

How to Write a 3-4 Page Essay Fast, in an Hour

There are strategies or tips to help you write a 3-4 page essay fast within an hour. The first tip is to prepare yourself for the essay adequately. Preparing yourself ensures that your thoughts and content to be applied are organized and aligned for the essay.

You can achieve this by familiarizing yourself with the essay’s nature and memorizing the content you may use while writing the essay.

Once you have the essay topic, take a minimum of 10 minutes to understand the topic. Read and re-read the instructions and understand every detail. You will not go out of topic or produce irrelevant information.

When you fully understand the requirements, it is best to determine the type of essay to write. The types include argumentative, explanation, evaluative, or problem/solution essays.

The above process should not take more than 15 minutes. Once you have the necessary details, take 10 minutes to organize your essay.

This includes aligning your thoughts, coming up with relevant notes, and an appropriate outline (this is part of the sketch work) to organize your thought flow in terms of introduction, paragraphs, and conclusion.

Once your thoughts are in order and you have all the necessary details and tools to write the essay. Use the next 30 minutes to develop and write the entire essay.

You will realize that writing will be easier and faster because you will have the relevant content at your fingertips. The outline will act as a guideline.

Once you are done writing, take 5 minutes to proofread and edit your paper where applicable. This is a very important step because you will have an opportunity to correct any errors in punctuation, grammar, spelling, and so on.

Also Read : Importance of School, Family and Community collaboration in education

How Long does it Take to Write a Double-Spaced 3-4 Page Paper?

As noted above, writing a 3-4 page essay within an hour is possible. All you need is proper planning and preparation before writing the essay and following the guidelines prescribed.

Therefore, a 3-4 double-spaced page paper should take between 1 and 1.5 hours to complete. However, in cases where you are required to edit the paper and sometimes shorten the paragraphs , the writing time may be longer.

However, if the paper is single-spaced, it means that the content required to complete it will be double the amount required to complete a double-spaced paper. Therefore, it would take twice the amount of time to complete a 3-4 page single-spaced paper.

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What Does a 3-4 Page Essay Look Like?

A 3-4 page essay has a particular structure that includes the introduction, the body paragraphs, and the conclusion.

 Ideally, the introduction should be a single paragraph meant to introduce the content discussed within the body paragraphs.

The last sentence of the introduction should contain a thesis statement that poses a question you intend to answer. Apart from that, such an essay does not use first or second-person language , such as ‘I’ or ‘You.’ Instead, it uses a third-person perspective.

The body paragraphs should be structured in such a way that they tackle a single or specific idea. This eliminates the possibility of confusing the readers. It allows the writer to dwell on an issue and discuss it fully.

It is important to note that every paragraph should have a topic sentence that connects it to the paper’s central theme or thesis. This ensures that no paragraph deviates from the topic.

The conclusion for a 3-4 page essay should also be made up of a single paragraph. Just like in writing a 5-paragraph essay , the conclusion for this type is done in just one normal paragraph of between 90 and 130 words.

In the concluding paragraph, it is imperative to restate the thesis statement, highlight the main points or issues discussed within the body, and offer recommendations or implications for your paper.

Also Read : How to Write an Extended Essay: from Outline to Conclusion

Examples of Thesis Statements that can Write a 3-4 Page Research Paper

• Topic: Public Libraries. Thesis statement: Public libraries are vital community resources, and local municipalities should fund them more.
• Topic: Workforce Diversity. Thesis statement: A diverse workforce within the workplace leads to more cooperation, better ideas, and increased empathy among workers with different racial and ethnic backgrounds.
• Topic: Importance of School Uniforms. Thesis statement: While school uniforms create additional costs for families, they decrease and even eliminate visual differences that portray income inequality among students, creating a more egalitarian school environment.

With over 10 years in academia and academic assistance, Alicia Smart is the epitome of excellence in the writing industry. She is our managing editor and is in charge of the writing operations at Grade Bees.

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How Many Paragraphs Are There In An Essay?

• How Many Paragraphs?
• Five-Paragraph Essay
• Types Of Five-Paragraph Essays
• Best Practices For Five-Paragraph Essays
• Three-Paragraph Essay
• Types Of Three-Paragraph Essays
• Best Practices For Three-Paragraph Essays

So you need to write an essay. You’ve picked out your topic, determined your thesis, and now you’re ready to put pen to paper (or fingertips to keyboard) to start writing your epic piece. Before you get rolling, there’s only one thing left to decide: how many paragraphs does this essay actually need?

Unless you’re working under a strict assignment, essays can come in all shapes and sizes. Choosing the right format can help you present your ideas in the clearest way possible and make your writing process even easier. Here are the most common formats to consider and what to know before you decide which one to choose.

How many paragraphs are in an essay?

There’s no hard and fast rule for deciding how many paragraphs an essay should have, but it’s important to know that a single paragraph is generally not considered an essay. Standard essays have a designated introduction and conclusion, along with supporting details. This means that even a short essay will still have about three paragraphs, and many have more.

Things to consider before you write an essay

Before you can decide how to divide the information, you need to consider a few things:

• What type of essay are you writing?
• How many supporting details do you need to share?
• Do you have enough information to write a three- to five-sentence paragraph for each supporting detail?
• Do you have a required word count?
• What will be the clearest format for the reader?

There are a lot of different kinds of essays you might be assigned. Generally, multi-paragraph essays are used to compare and contrast things, in persuasive writing, as a form of narrative writing, and for informative or researched essays. Most of these essays end up fitting nicely into one of two main categories:

The five-paragraph essay

Arguably the most common essay format is the standard five-paragraph essay. This essay devotes a paragraph each to the introduction, conclusion, and three different supporting details. Let’s break down what each of those sections includes.

Parts of a standard five-paragraph essay

1. Introduction

This part of the essay includes your thesis statement , introduces your reader to your topic or point of view, and lays out the main ideas of your following three body paragraphs. Generally, this paragraph is brief and intended to grab your reader’s attention.

2. Body paragraphs

A five-paragraph essay includes three body paragraphs. Each of these paragraphs should focus on one supporting detail that aligns with your thesis. They will begin with a topic sentence and share the relevant research, quotes, and anecdotes you’ve gathered.

3. Conclusion

The conclusion to a five-paragraph essay will restate your thesis, sum up your supporting details, and present the reader with one final takeaway from reading your piece.

Wondering what goes into nailing each of these categories? Here’s a sample five-paragraph essay outline and some examples to help you get started.

Which kinds of essays work best with five paragraphs?

Five-paragraph essays are best used to convey complex and detailed topics that require extra information, like:

Comparison essays

A five-paragraph essay allows you to devote one paragraph to each item you’re comparing, as well as include one paragraph on the similarities between the two things.

Argumentative essays

In the five-paragraph format, there is ample space to explore multiple sides of an argument and include plenty of supporting facts and research.

Informative essays

Complex topics are broken down in simple and intuitive ways when the information is spread across multiple paragraphs.

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Best practices for writing a five-paragraph essay

If you’re considering a five-paragraph format for your essay, remember:

• These essays must have a clear thesis and conclusion.
• Each body paragraph should contain a strong and complete supporting detail.
• Transition words are necessary to help the flow of the essay.
• These essays usually involve research.
• This is among the most organized ways to present complex topics.

The three-paragraph essay

Three-paragraph essays are shorter and more simplified than the standard five-paragraph essay. Typically, these essays include a conclusion, introduction, and only one body paragraph. This single body paragraph might focus on one supporting detail or it may include a comprehensive summary of a lot of supporting information.

Parts of a standard three-paragraph essay

The introduction to a three-paragraph essay typically includes a hook or attention-grabbing first sentence , followed by a summary of your supporting details and then your thesis. The thesis statement helps lead into the rest of your essay.

Refresh your memory on the different types of thesis statements to get your essay started!

2. Body paragraph

This is the one and only body paragraph in a three-paragraph essay, so it needs to be clear, concise, and as detailed as possible within the space constraints. The body paragraph should include a topic sentence, as well as any details or facts that underscore your thesis. It may focus on one element of your supporting argument or sum up several in brief, clear sentences that relate to the topic sentence.

3. Conclusion 

Much like in a five-paragraph essay, your conclusion is the place to restate your thesis, summarize the points you made in the body paragraph, and leave your reader with a final takeaway or call to action.

Which kinds of essays work best with three paragraphs?

For less complex topics, the three-paragraph essay provides enough space to thoughtfully explain a topic and provide additional information.

Narrative essays

Personal essays that don’t necessarily need multiple paragraphs of supporting information work well in this format.

For emerging writers, one body paragraph provides ample space to compare and contrast two items or ideas. Single sentences can be devoted to each comparison or similarity.

Best practices for writing a three-paragraph essay

If you’re considering a three-paragraph format for your essay, remember:

• Even short essays still need a clear thesis.
• Organize your body paragraph so your ideas are presented clearly.
• The introduction and conclusion should each be a separate paragraph.
• This format provides excellent practice for new writers.
• One body paragraph still leaves room for strong supporting information.

Avoid confusing sentences and write with clarity with these tips.

Ways To Say

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Paragraphing (Length Consistency)

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Paragraphs are units of thought with one adequately developed idea. Listed here are some rules of thumb to use when paragraphing. As your writing improves, you'll be able to break these "rules" to meet your own needs. Until then, these suggestions can be helpful.

• Put only one main idea per paragraph.
• Aim for three to five or more sentences per paragraph.
• Include on each page about two handwritten or three typed paragraphs.
• Make your paragraphs proportional to your paper. Since paragraphs do less work in short papers, have short paragraphs for short papers and longer paragraphs for longer papers.
• If you have a few very short paragraphs, think about whether they are really parts of a larger paragraph—and can be combined—or whether you can add details to support each point and thus make each into a more fully developed paragraph.

You can check on whether your paragraphs are balanced by looking at your paper.

Some balanced pages:

Paragraph Balance

Unbalanced pages with ideas not equally developed:

Unbalanced Paragraphs

Use the following graphics as a tool to organize your paper with one main idea in each box. Use as many pages and boxes as needed.

Graphics to Help with Balance and Organization

What are the six different essay lengths?

This is the second of three chapters about Essays . To complete this reader, read each chapter carefully and then unlock and complete our materials to check your understanding.   

– Discuss why essays might vary in length

– Outline the six major lengths of academic essay

– Provide defining features for each essay length

Chapter 1: What is an academic essay?

Chapter 2: What are the six different essay lengths?

Chapter 3: What are the seven different types of academic essay?

Before you begin reading...

• video and audio texts
• knowledge checks and quizzes
• skills practices, tasks and assignments

The length of essay you’re assigned will likely depend on where you are exactly in your academic course. Generally, assignments at the start of a bachelor’s degree will be shorter than those required in a student’s final years, just like master’s  and doctoral-level essays will continue to increase in both length and difficulty.

1. The One-Paragraph Essay

Generally about 150 to 250 words in length, the one-paragraph essay may be assigned by academic tutors simply in order to practise the basic concepts of paragraph writing, or it may also be used for specific purposes such as to practise summarising an article that’s been read in class or to write an extended definition of a concept. Additionally, one-paragraph essays may also be used as a diagnostic to quickly determine the level of a student’s writing. Unlike other essay lengths, for the one-paragraph essay, you’ll need to include at least some introductory, body and conclusive elements within the same paragraph.    

2. The Three-Paragraph Essay

Usually around 500 words in length, the three-paragraph essay is generally used to introduce students to the concept that all essays should maintain an introduction , body section and conclusion if the writer wishes to produce cohesive and a logical writing. The introduction and conclusion will be the first and last paragraphs and tend to be a little shorter in length, while the central body paragraph will contain the essay’s content or argument. A simple table explaining the balance of content in a three-paragraph essay has been provided below:

3. The Five-Paragraph Essay

Around 1,000 words in length, the five-paragraph essay is generally set by tutors who are content that their students understand the introduction-body-conclusion essay  structure and wish to allow more freedom to expand the ideas and arguments presented by the writer in the body section of the essay. This length of essay still only dedicates one paragraph to the introduction and conclusion , but allows three paragraphs to be dedicated to the exploration of the theme in the essay’s body. At this length, certain essay types such as cause and effect essays or compare and contrast essays may now be utilised. The following is a simple diagram of the balance of paragraph lengths in a five-paragraph essay.

4. The Extended Essay

The extended essay is the most common type of essay that’s assigned during a bachelor’s or master’s degree , and it may be of any length – although it’s unusual for such essays to be above 5,000 words. The most common lengths for an extended essay are 1,500, 3,000 and 5,000 words, with a word count allowance of plus or minus 10%. Such essay types will most certainly require research and referencing skills , and may also begin to follow more complex structures such as are found in dissertations and theses rather than simply following the introduction-body-conclusion structure of shorter essays.

5. The Dissertation

Generally assigned as the final project for both bachelor’s   and master’s degree , the typical length of an academic dissertation is 10,000 or 15,000 words. Unlike shorter essay types , dissertations have more complex structures and are almost always based around primary research (original research that the writer has conducted themselves). The following table demonstrates some of the key parts of a dissertation as well as the rough word count  percentages for each section:

6. The Thesis

Finally, the thesis is the longest academic essay type and the one that’s reserved for doctorate students studying PhDs. Generally between 40,000 and 60,000 words in length, the doctorate thesis may contain all the elements of a dissertation but in much more detail and with more careful investigation. Such essays  are almost certainly original and are based on primary research , with a larger focus on the accuracy of the literature review , data collection and data analysis . Many students will never encounter this essay type. 

Once you can recognise which essay length you’ve been assigned, the next question covered in Chapter 3 is about determining the type of essay you have to write. This is because each essay type will require particular styles, structures, foci and language.

To reference this reader:

Academic Marker (2022) Essays . Available at: https://academicmarker.com/academic-guidance/assignments/essays/ (Accessed: Date Month Year).

• Harvard Writing Center
• Leeds University Library
• Purdue Online Writing Lab

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Once you’ve completed all three chapters about essays , you might also wish to download our beginner, intermediate and advanced worksheets to test your progress or print for your students. These professional PDF worksheets can be easily accessed for only a few Academic Marks .

Our essays academic reader (including all four chapters about this topic) can be accessed here at the click of a button.

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What is an Essay?

10 May, 2020

11 minutes read

Author:  Tomas White

Well, beyond a jumble of words usually around 2,000 words or so - what is an essay, exactly? Whether you’re taking English, sociology, history, biology, art, or a speech class, it’s likely you’ll have to write an essay or two. So how is an essay different than a research paper or a review? Let’s find out!

Defining the Term – What is an Essay?

The essay is a written piece that is designed to present an idea, propose an argument, express the emotion or initiate debate. It is a tool that is used to present writer’s ideas in a non-fictional way. Multiple applications of this type of writing go way beyond, providing political manifestos and art criticism as well as personal observations and reflections of the author.

An essay can be as short as 500 words, it can also be 5000 words or more.  However, most essays fall somewhere around 1000 to 3000 words ; this word range provides the writer enough space to thoroughly develop an argument and work to convince the reader of the author’s perspective regarding a particular issue.  The topics of essays are boundless: they can range from the best form of government to the benefits of eating peppermint leaves daily. As a professional provider of custom writing, our service has helped thousands of customers to turn in essays in various forms and disciplines.

Origins of the Essay

Over the course of more than six centuries essays were used to question assumptions, argue trivial opinions and to initiate global discussions. Let’s have a closer look into historical progress and various applications of this literary phenomenon to find out exactly what it is.

Today’s modern word “essay” can trace its roots back to the French “essayer” which translates closely to mean “to attempt” .  This is an apt name for this writing form because the essay’s ultimate purpose is to attempt to convince the audience of something.  An essay’s topic can range broadly and include everything from the best of Shakespeare’s plays to the joys of April.

The essay comes in many shapes and sizes; it can focus on a personal experience or a purely academic exploration of a topic.  Essays are classified as a subjective writing form because while they include expository elements, they can rely on personal narratives to support the writer’s viewpoint.  The essay genre includes a diverse array of academic writings ranging from literary criticism to meditations on the natural world.  Most typically, the essay exists as a shorter writing form; essays are rarely the length of a novel.  However, several historic examples, such as John Locke’s seminal work “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” just shows that a well-organized essay can be as long as a novel.

The Essay in Literature

The essay enjoys a long and renowned history in literature.  They first began gaining in popularity in the early 16 th century, and their popularity has continued today both with original writers and ghost writers.  Many readers prefer this short form in which the writer seems to speak directly to the reader, presenting a particular claim and working to defend it through a variety of means.  Not sure if you’ve ever read a great essay? You wouldn’t believe how many pieces of literature are actually nothing less than essays, or evolved into more complex structures from the essay. Check out this list of literary favorites:

• The Book of My Lives by Aleksandar Hemon
• Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin
• Against Interpretation by Susan Sontag
• High-Tide in Tucson: Essays from Now and Never by Barbara Kingsolver
• Slouching Toward Bethlehem by Joan Didion
• Naked by David Sedaris
• Walden; or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau

Pretty much as long as writers have had something to say, they’ve created essays to communicate their viewpoint on pretty much any topic you can think of!

The Essay in Academics

Not only are students required to read a variety of essays during their academic education, but they will likely be required to write several different kinds of essays throughout their scholastic career.  Don’t love to write?  Then consider working with a ghost essay writer !  While all essays require an introduction, body paragraphs in support of the argumentative thesis statement, and a conclusion, academic essays can take several different formats in the way they approach a topic.  Common essays required in high school, college, and post-graduate classes include:

Five paragraph essay

This is the most common type of a formal essay. The type of paper that students are usually exposed to when they first hear about the concept of the essay itself. It follows easy outline structure – an opening introduction paragraph; three body paragraphs to expand the thesis; and conclusion to sum it up.

Argumentative essay

These essays are commonly assigned to explore a controversial issue.  The goal is to identify the major positions on either side and work to support the side the writer agrees with while refuting the opposing side’s potential arguments.

Compare and Contrast essay

This essay compares two items, such as two poems, and works to identify similarities and differences, discussing the strength and weaknesses of each.  This essay can focus on more than just two items, however.  The point of this essay is to reveal new connections the reader may not have considered previously.

Definition essay

This essay has a sole purpose – defining a term or a concept in as much detail as possible. Sounds pretty simple, right? Well, not quite. The most important part of the process is picking up the word. Before zooming it up under the microscope, make sure to choose something roomy so you can define it under multiple angles. The definition essay outline will reflect those angles and scopes.

Descriptive essay

Perhaps the most fun to write, this essay focuses on describing its subject using all five of the senses.  The writer aims to fully describe the topic; for example, a descriptive essay could aim to describe the ocean to someone who’s never seen it or the job of a teacher.  Descriptive essays rely heavily on detail and the paragraphs can be organized by sense.

Illustration essay

The purpose of this essay is to describe an idea, occasion or a concept with the help of clear and vocal examples. “Illustration” itself is handled in the body paragraphs section. Each of the statements, presented in the essay needs to be supported with several examples. Illustration essay helps the author to connect with his audience by breaking the barriers with real-life examples – clear and indisputable.

Informative Essay

Being one the basic essay types, the informative essay is as easy as it sounds from a technical standpoint. High school is where students usually encounter with informative essay first time. The purpose of this paper is to describe an idea, concept or any other abstract subject with the help of proper research and a generous amount of storytelling.

Narrative essay

This type of essay focuses on describing a certain event or experience, most often chronologically.  It could be a historic event or an ordinary day or month in a regular person’s life. Narrative essay proclaims a free approach to writing it, therefore it does not always require conventional attributes, like the outline. The narrative itself typically unfolds through a personal lens, and is thus considered to be a subjective form of writing.

Persuasive essay

The purpose of the persuasive essay is to provide the audience with a 360-view on the concept idea or certain topic – to persuade the reader to adopt a certain viewpoint. The viewpoints can range widely from why visiting the dentist is important to why dogs make the best pets to why blue is the best color.  Strong, persuasive language is a defining characteristic of this essay type.

The Essay in Art

Several other artistic mediums have adopted the essay as a means of communicating with their audience.  In the visual arts, such as painting or sculpting, the rough sketches of the final product are sometimes deemed essays.  Likewise, directors may opt to create a film essay which is similar to a documentary in that it offers a personal reflection on a relevant issue.  Finally, photographers often create photographic essays in which they use a series of photographs to tell a story, similar to a narrative or a descriptive essay.

Drawing the line – question answered

“What is an Essay?” is quite a polarizing question. On one hand, it can easily be answered in a couple of words. On the other, it is surely the most profound and self-established type of content there ever was. Going back through the history of the last five-six centuries helps us understand where did it come from and how it is being applied ever since.

If you must write an essay, follow these five important steps to works towards earning the “A” you want:

• Understand and review the kind of essay you must write
• Brainstorm your argument
• Find research from reliable sources to support your perspective
• Cite all sources parenthetically within the paper and on the Works Cited page
• Follow all grammatical rules

Generally speaking, when you must write any type of essay, start sooner rather than later!  Don’t procrastinate – give yourself time to develop your perspective and work on crafting a unique and original approach to the topic.  Remember: it’s always a good idea to have another set of eyes (or three) look over your essay before handing in the final draft to your teacher or professor.  Don’t trust your fellow classmates?  Consider hiring an editor or a ghostwriter to help out!

If you are still unsure on whether you can cope with your task – you are in the right place to get help. HandMadeWriting is the perfect answer to the question “Who can write my essay?”

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