How to Make an Essay Longer: Tips & Tricks to Filling Paper Length Requirements

The length of an essay is an important component of any good college paper. When you follow a given prompt’s instructions for size, it shows your professor that you read, and were able to fulfill the given requirements. It also shows that you put a lot of thought and effort into the writing process. You never want to be under the minimum word or page count for the final draft, so it’s key to fill up your paper with great content.

When you’re struggling with how to make an essay longer, it can be easy to get overwhelmed. If you want a better, longer essay, check out our easy tricks to increase the size of your paper!

Ways to Make a Paper Longer

Want to know how to make a paper longer? There’s a lot of ways to make your essay seem longer with bigger font sizes and large margins, but those won’t fool your professor. Use our tricks to make your paper longer, and you’ll get that minimum in no time.

Tip #1: Use examples.

When you’re wondering how to lengthen an essay, the first thing you should do is look at the claims you made. Go back through and find the ideas you put forward. Did you back those ideas up with examples? If you didn’t, try adding a bit of research that proves your claim is accurate. Not only will this strengthen arguments, but it will lengthen your paper.

Say you claimed that UFOs were real— you could include an example of an eyewitness sighting, or reference a documentary. You should even use multiple examples for each idea! Your professor will be impressed that claims are supported, and as a result, your writing will be longer.

Tip #2: Use phrases/words to transition ideas.

A more natural way to increase the length of the writing is to include transitional words. It allows you to jump from one idea to the next while bringing your readers along with you gently. They also will raise the length of your text! It’s a win/win situation. Try using some of these phrases in your paper:

How to make an essay longer

Read also: Different Types of Sentences

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Tip #3: Try reverse outlining.

Reverse outlining is exactly what it sounds like. After you’ve written your paper, try reading back through it and create an outline based on what you’ve already written. This can help you reorganize pages in a way that makes more sense to people reading your work, and it can point out areas that you need to develop more.

If you see a point you made that you can clarify more, take the opportunity to make your writing longer.

If you see large paragraphs that introduce more than one idea, try breaking them up into multiple paragraphs, and explain ideas more thoroughly.

Tip #4: Go over your prompt. Again.

You’ve probably already read your prompt a million times by this point, but if you have a problem with getting a really long text, reread it. Think— have you answered all of the questions your professor posed? Did you back them up with convincing language? Take the time to make sure you have filled all the requirements. If you haven’t, you should make your document longer with the extra information.

Tip #5: Use expert quotes.

Quotations take up more space. Make sure your paper isn’t mostly quotations from other writers (some of the writing left should be yours), but it’s okay to spice up your own work with researched quotes from experts. This is a legitimate way to not only increase the number of words but to prove that there are other writers out there that know what you do, and agree with ideas. Make sure you use formatting correctly to quote and cite sources!

Tip #6: Format your paragraphs.

Make sure each of the paragraphs has correct formatting. Each paragraph in the essay structure should have a topic sentence, supporting evidence and/or argument, and a conclusion or transition. If some of your paragraphs are missing parts of this formatting, create sentences that will fill these requirements.

Tip #7: Use more words

It's similar to a silly suggestion, to “just use more phrases or words!” But hear us out, and take a look at your work. There are some sneaky ways to use several instead of one…

  • Include “to be” verbs. Avoid saying “I eat quickly.” Try writing, “I am a quick eater.”
  • Be more descriptive. Don’t say “We had fun at the fair.” Say “My friend and I went to the fair this weekend. We had so much fun riding the Ferris wheel and eating funnel cakes.”
  • Turn verbs into nouns. “I arrived at the conclusion that…” is longer than “I concluded…"

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Conclusion

If you’ve gone through all of these steps and are still struggling with how to make an essay look longer, have no fear! Come to EduBirdie, where we have professional online essay writers that fix up your paper in no time and where you need only pay to write essay. In as little as four steps, you will get a custom-made article review essay, by your deadline, satisfaction guaranteed. Whether you’re overwhelmed with busy work or struggling with an assignment, EduBirdie handles any type of essay you might have. Simply tell us to do assignment, chat with professionals, choose a writer, and make a deposit. Once you’ve got great results back, you can release the funds to your professional writer and turn in a great paper. It’s super simple, and your writer will always meet the requirements your professor gives — even that pesky word count.

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