Timed-Writing Essays?

Question

I need tips on writing timed essays. By timed, I mean usually around 45 minutes for a standard 5 paragraph essay (3 not including intro and conclusion)

Answer 1

Do you know the topic before-hand? If you don'ts, spend 5-10 minutes just planning your essay, each paragraph and topic sentence and rough structure etc. Then you write your essay. Don't explode with writing because you need to have 1 minute at least for minor editing.

Answer 2

Here's what I would do:  

5 minutes writing a general structure, including main points you want to discuss in each paragraph.

9 minutes max each for the other paragraphs.  I'd probably start with writing the main paragraphs first, so that you intro and concluding paragraphs come along a lot easier.

The remaining few minutes can be used to proofread what you wrote, correct any possible spelling and punctuation errors, and all that stuff.  

If you know what the topic is going to be beforehand, then do a bit of research/planning before the actual test.  If not, then go with your ideas that are the most reasonable at time.  Don't worry about being "correct" or not on your ideas.  What most examiners are looking for is overall clarity of your writing (using good sentence structure, punctuation use, etc) and your ability to defend/support ideas that you give in your writing.  Good luck!

Answer 3

Take time to outline what you want in each paragraph. Make sure you put the theme of the paper in both the intro and conclusion. Have an attention grabbing first sentence of the intro. At the end of paragraph two and three, try to have a sentence that concludes as well as leads into the next paragraph. Stay calm and relax. Don't over think it.