How to Write an Essay in 1 Day

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H ave you ever written an essay in 25 minutes? You have if you have ever sat for the SAT. While the stakes may be higher for a last-minute academic essay, the point is this: do not panic! Instead, read this six-step guide to writing an essay in a day:

1. Understand your goals

Whether you are writing a personal statement for a college or graduate school application, or an essay for a high school or college class, your assignment will have specific goals. Before you begin to write, review these goals. Clearly understanding your objective is essential when working with a shortened timeline.

2. Choose a topic

Under normal circumstances, you might devote several days to brainstorming a promising topic, and then you might write a detailed outline before writing and revising your essay over a week or two. When you are on a tight schedule, this is not possible.

So—write down the first three or four ideas that occur to you. If you cannot think of an appropriate topic, ask a parent or a friend to review the assignment with you. Do not spend more than 10 or 15 minutes on this part of your essay, as the execution ultimately matters more than the idea itself.

In addition, do not stress yourself about selecting the “perfect” topic. Without a topic, you will have no essay to turn in, and any essay is better than no essay. (It naturally follows that any topic is also better than no topic at all.)

3. Set deadlines

Establishing deadlines for a one-day essay is key. Budget 5-10 minutes for brainstorming, 15-20 minutes for creating an outline, and several hours for writing. You can also set aside an hour for feedback and review, and another hour for any necessary revisions. You should also allow for an hour-long break to recharge your mind. Finally, plan to submit your essay several hours before the deadline. A schedule with some flexibility will allow you to adapt to any unforeseen complications.

4. Arrange for reviewers in advance

Whenever possible, arrange for reviewers (such as your parents or friends) first thing in the morning, and let them know when they can expect a draft. When your deadline is in several days or weeks, you have the luxury of finding reviewers after you have finished your draft. With a shorter deadline, you will not have this ability. Be clear on the short turnaround time to ensure as smooth a review period as possible.

5. Outline your essay

There are many resources that can advise you on how to write a wonderful essay, but the purpose of this article is to shape that advice to the demands of a very short timeline. This includes resisting the urge to abandon the outline. Having an outline is even more important for a one-day essay than for a week-long project with a similar word count. A strong outline will keep your essay focused and organized from the start—which is critical when time constraints will limit your rewrites.

Your outline should not be detailed, and it should take no more than 15 or 20 minutes to complete. Determine your hook (see below for more information), and then jot down the threads that connect this moment to your central argument or idea.

6. Stay organized

When you are under pressure, your tendency may be to start writing and to see where your essay goes. Try instead to use a brief anecdote or emotional impact statement (i.e. the “hook” in your opening paragraph) to set the stakes for your essay. This is essentially your opportunity to state why your argument or idea is worth your reader’s attention.

Finally, remember that “perfect is the enemy of good.” Manage your expectations. Your goal should be to write a good essay, not a perfect one. If you have a compelling hook and a well-organized flow of ideas, check your writing for errors, and then send it in.

Brian Witte is a professional SAT tutor with Varsity Tutors , a live learning platform that connects students with personalized instruction to accelerate academic achievement. He earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Washington and holds a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University

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How to write a whole research paper in a week

can you write a 4 page paper in one day

Writing up a full research article in a single week? Maybe you think that’s impossible. Yet I have done it repeatedly, and so have students in my courses. This is an exceptionally joyful (even if demanding) experience: being so productive just feels great! You are not wasting any time, and a paper produced in one go is typically coherent and nice to read. Even if you are a slow writer, you can write a whole paper in a single week — if you follow my strategy. Read below about what you need to prepare and how to approach this project.

I wrote my first scientific research article in 7 days. It started as a desperate effort to stop my procrastination and “just do it”. But I was surprised what a positive experience it was: focused and efficient, I was making daily progress, feeling motivated and content. Finally, the fruits of my hard work were gaining shape — and they did it so quickly!

I realized it was highly effective to write up a paper like this: writing for the whole day, every day until the first draft was finished. My writing project was firmly present in my mind — I didn’t lose time catching up with what I have written in the last session. Since I was not doing anything else, my wandering mind settled in very fast, and I was getting into a routine. The daily progress was clearly visible and motivated me to continue. And the result was a coherent paper that was easy to revise.

Meanwhile, this paper-a-week approach is my favorite. That’s how I write my papers, and that’s what I teach to students. In on-site courses young scientists draft a whole paper in 5 days, writing one major section per day. At the beginning of the week, many participants have doubts. But at the end of the week, they are all excited to see how much they managed to write in just a single week.

If you would also like to try out this approach, then read on about the necessary preparations, the optimal setting, and a productive writing strategy.

If you would like to get support during the preparation, drafting and revising of your research article, check out my online course Write Up Your Paper .

Prepare well

can you write a 4 page paper in one day

  • First, think about your audience and pick a suitable journal . This is an important step because the audience and journal determine the content & style of your paper. As a reference, pick two recent papers on a similar topic published in your target journal.
  • Create a storyline for your paper. What is the main message you want to convey, and how are you going to present your results?
  • Put together all the results that you need to present your story convincingly: collect the necessary data, finish analyses, and create figures and tables.
  • Select and read the relevant background literature as well as studies you want to compare your work with. As you read, note down any point that comes to your mind as something to be mentioned in the Introduction or Discussion section.
  • Draft a preliminary Abstract : it will help you keep the direction and not get distracted by secondary ideas as you write the individual sections.

Depending on how complete your results already are, you might need 2-4 weeks to finish all these preparations. To help you keep an overview, I created a checklist with detailed steps that you need to take before you attempt to write up your paper in a week. Subscribe to our Newsletter and get your copy of the checklist.

Reserve a whole week for writing

Now, writing a paper in a single week is a serious business. You can’t do it if you don’t focus solely on the writing and create good writing conditions. Therefore, I recommend the following settings:

  • Find a place where you can write without distractions. I have written my first paper over the Easter holidays when there was nobody in the office. You might choose to write at home or in a library. Though if possible, the best is to go for a retreat: removing yourself from your everyday settings immensely helps focus on the writing.
  • Cancel (all) social obligations for the week. While it’s crucial to relax in the evening, you want to avoid disturbances associated with social events. Anything that makes your thoughts drift away from your work because it requires planning, exchanging of messages with others, or simply because it’s too exciting is better left for some other week. On the other hand, a quiet meeting with a good friend over a glass of wine or beer might be just the perfect way to unwind and rest after a productive, yet exhausting day of writing.
  • Get support from the partner, family or friends — if possible. It’s best when you don’t need to run errands, cook and clean during this week. If you live alone, you can probably easily arrange yourself for undisturbed work. If you live with other people, ask them for consideration and support.

What I described above are the *ideal* conditions for undisturbed writing. But don’t give up if you can’t create such conditions for yourself. Work with what is possible — maybe it will take you 7-8 instead of 5-6 days but that’s still a great result, right?

Do you need to revise & polish your manuscript or thesis but don’t know where to begin?

Get your Revision Checklist

Click here for an efficient step-by-step revision of your scientific texts.

Maybe you think that you can never ever draft a research article in a single week. Because you write so slowly, producing only few paragraphs per day. Well — I agree that if you don’t optimize your writing strategy, it would be hard to impossible to write up a whole paper in a week.

can you write a 4 page paper in one day

  • Separate the processes of writing and revising. That’s the most important principle. Resist the urge to revise as you write the first draft. Moreover, don’t interrupt your writing to look up missing information. Work with placeholders instead. This allows you to get into the state of flow and proceed much faster than you can imagine.
  • Start your writing day with 10 minutes of freewriting . Write without stopping about anything that comes to your mind. This helps you to warm up for writing, clear your head of any unrelated thoughts, and get into the mood of writing without editing.
  • Take regular power breaks. I recommend to follow the Pomodoro technique : write for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break. After 3-4 such sessions take a longer break of 0.5-1 hour. During the breaks get up, walk a bit, stretch, look around, and breathe deeply. These breaks help you sustain high focus and productivity throughout the whole day.
  • Eat and sleep well. What you are doing is similar to a professional athlete. So take care of your brain and body, and they will serve you well.
  • Reward yourself. Every day celebrate the progress you have made. You have full right to be proud of you!

Write the individual sections in a reasonable order

If you have written a research paper before, you have probably realized that starting with the Introduction and finishing with the Discussion is not the ideal order in which to tackle the individual sections. Instead, I recommend the following procedure:

can you write a 4 page paper in one day

  • Start with the Methods section. This is the easiest section to write, so it’s great as a warm-up, to get into writing without the need to think (and procrastinate ;)) too much. Look at your figures and tables: what methods did you use to create them? Then describe your methods, one after another.
  • Results section: Writing the Methods section refreshes your memory about the research you have done. So writing the Results section next should not be too hard: Take one display object (figure or table) after another, and describe the results they contain. While you do so, you will come across points that need to be discussed in the Discussion section. Note them down so you don’t forget them.
  • Introduction : When your results are fresh in your mind, you are in a great position to write the Introduction — because the Introduction should contain selected information that gives the reader context for your research project and allows them to understand your results and their implications.
  • Discussion : When you have taken notes while writing the Results section, the Discussion section should be quite easy to draft. Don’t worry too early about the order in which you want to discuss the individual points. Write one paragraph for each point , and then see how you can logically arrange them.
  • Abstract and title : On the last day, revise the preliminary Abstract or write a new one. You could also take a break of a few days before tackling the Abstract, to gain clarity and distance. Generate multiple titles (I recommend 6-10), so that you and your co-authors can choose the most appropriate one.

Just do it!

can you write a 4 page paper in one day

Once you have written the whole draft, let it sit for a week or two, and then revise it. Follow my tips for efficient revising and get your revision checklist that will guide you step-by-step through the whole process.

Now I am curious about your experience: Have you ever written up an academic article quickly? How did you do it? Please, share with us your tips & strategies!

Do you need to revise & polish your manuscript or thesis but don’t know where to begin? Is your text a mess and you don't know how to improve it?

Click here for an efficient step-by-step revision of your scientific texts. You will be guided through each step with concrete tips for execution.

7 thoughts on “ How to write a whole research paper in a week ”

Thank for your guide and suggestion. It gives to me very precious ways how to write a article. Now I am writing a article related to Buddhist studies. Thank you so much.

You are welcome!

excellent! it helped me a lot! wish you all best

Hi Parham, I’m happy to hear that!

I have never written any paper before. As I am from very old school.

But my writing skill is actually very good. Your help is definitely going to help me as this has inspired me alot. Will let you know, once done. I really like the outline that you have given. Basically you have made it so easy for me .

Hope fully will be in touch with you soon.

Thanks and ki d Regards, Shehla

Dear Shehla, that sounds great! I’m looking forward to hearing about your paper!

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Writing Insights: How Many Pages Should You Write in a Day?

Posted by Doris Booth | Jun 1, 2020 | Writing Insights | 2 |

Writing Insights: How Many Pages Should You Write in a Day?

Some writers are worried that they aren’t turning out as many pages as they should, or that they may be writing too fast.

So, let’s look at a reasonable daily output for a typical author. This is how I have answered similar questions on Quora.com. 

Let’s do some simple math.

A good goal for many professional writers is to turn out five to ten pages a day during a four or five day work week. On average, a page equals 250 words set in 12 point Times New Roman.

Assume you write 1250 words a week or 5,000 words a month. You would produce about 60,000 words in a year. Novels range between 80,000 to 120,000 words. So it usually takes a pro one to two years to finish the first draft, not including time to refine and edit.

Hemingway was said to have written about 500 words a day; Stephen King reportedly produces 2000 words daily.

I suppose some writers can turn out a novel in six months but the quality of such a hastily written work might be highly suspect. If one is writing in a genre that is largely produced by formula, it may be easier to shorten development time.

Doris Booth, founder of Authorlink, the news, information and marketing service for writers.

Doris Booth is Editor-in-Chief and founder of Authorlink.com.

Feel free to leave comments below. 

About The Columnist

Doris Booth

Doris Booth

Doris Booth is founder and president of Authorlink®, the news and information magazine for editors, agents, writers, and readers, ranked among top websites for writers. The company’s separate literary agency represents some bestselling authors, both domestically and abroad. Doris has sold projects to St. Martin’s Press, Simon & Schuster, Sterling Publishing (Barnes and Noble), Berkley Books/Penguin, Farrar Straus Giroux and other dominant houses. She has also been involved in rights negotiations for two hit Netflix docuseries, as well as with other production studios. The agency is not accepting new authors at this time, but writers are encouraged to use Authorlink® as a comprehensive resource.

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Thantk you for writing insights. Also, I spend all the time surfing the page on expert-writers.net

Thanks, Neli. I visited Exper-writers.net and it looks like a good service.

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How to Write a Paper in a Night

Last Updated: January 5, 2024 Approved

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 83% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 237,658 times.

While you may never plan for it, writing a paper in one night is a stressful experience. Not only do you need to produce a certain amount of words, but to get a decent grade you need to create an argument and address the prompt. Fortunately, by preparing yourself and efficiently planning, writing, and editing your paper, you may be able to create a good paper in a single night.

Maximizing Your Time Through Preparation

Step 1 Create a schedule for the night.

  • Set aside some time for planning your paper – perhaps 25%.
  • Set aside the bulk of your time for writing it – maybe 50%.
  • Put aside about 25% of your time for proofreading and editing your paper.

Step 2 Read the directions.

  • Most paper assignments will revolve around a single question that you’ll need to respond to – your prompt. Spend as much time as you can making sure you completely understand the prompt.
  • Read the details of the assignment. For example, your instructor might have specified that you need to include a certain number of sources, meet a word limit, type in Times New Roman, and double space your paper. Make sure you follow these directions.

Step 3 Spend an hour getting informed.

  • If your prompt is limited to one text, focus only on that text. However, you may need to conduct some research, especially if you need to incorporate support into your paper. In this case, do a quick search on academic databases, such as JSTOR, EBSCO, and Google Scholar. Quickly skim the results to improve your understanding of the text and find good quotes to cite in your paper. Be careful when choosing your keywords!
  • Read topic sentences, and then allow your eyes to skim toward specific examples in whatever you are reading. Use a highlighter to help you move through the text quickly.
  • If you’re allowed to rely on and cite outside information, look for Sparknotes, Shmoop, CliffNotes, book reviews, online articles, and other sources that can briefly explain the subject matter. [3] X Research source

Step 4 Formulate your thesis....

  • Your thesis is typically one sentence that takes a clear stance on a specific argument. For example, if the paper prompt poses a question about the cause of the decline of the Roman Empire, a good thesis would state a specific cause, such as the Empire’s reliance on non-citizens in its army.
  • Once you have a good thesis, write it out and keep it in front of you at all times. Your thesis is essentially your mission of the evening – prove it or fail.

Step 5 Brainstorm.

  • If you need, take a minute to look up specific ideas or facts you may think of while brainstorming.
  • If it helps, organize your ideas in a graphic manner. Link ideas and facts together with lines, or as if they are branches or leaves on a tree. [5] X Research source

Step 6 Outline your argument.

Writing a Quality Paper

Step 1 Write your introduction.

  • It's a good idea to write all of your topic sentences for your support paragraphs before you write your paper. This helps you understand where each paragraph should begin and end, which will make writing your paper easier.
  • You should have a minimum of three support paragraphs.
  • Every paragraph should have a mini-thesis/argument that supports the larger argument of your paper. This could be the same as your topic sentence.

Step 3 Finish your conclusion.

  • Write a sentence or two addressing the subject of your paper.
  • Restate the thesis. Instead of rewriting your thesis, reformulate it: "The Roman Empire's overextended military was unable to defend its vast borders in Europe and Asia Minor."
  • Make a final appeal to the reader to believe what you’ve said. You may want to remind the reader of some of your most compelling evidence.

Step 4 Cite your sources.

  • Use whatever citation method/standard your instructor requires. This could be MLA, APA, or Chicago, depending on the course.

Step 5 Rest before your final proof.

  • If it is really late, you might want to just get a few hours of sleep and wake up very early to proof and edit your paper.
  • If it is somewhat late, like around midnight, you may want to take a walk, watch a TV program, and get a cup of coffee before resuming work on your paper.
  • If you’re really determined to get your paper done as soon as possible, take a half hour break and grab a cup of coffee and do some light exercise to get your juices flowing.

Step 6 Edit for clarity.

  • Do just one quick run-through to edit for clarity. For a standard 1,500-word paper, this might take 30 minutes.
  • Your statements should be self-explanatory and make sense.
  • Topic sentences should concisely describe the subject of the support paragraph.
  • Your thesis statement should be apparent throughout the paper.
  • A clear paper should flow and proceed in a logical manner. Pay special attention to missing transitions and lack of logical flow.

Step 7 Proofread.

  • While proofreading might be your final step, it is perhaps the most important one – do not neglect it.

Avoiding Distractions and Pitfalls

Step 1 Find an isolated location.

  • Quiet areas of your campus library. Don’t hang around the coffee shop or computers where people access social media.
  • A coffee shop far from campus – where you won’t run into friends.
  • Your bedroom or home office. Make sure to unplug your TV and let your roommates know you’re working.

Step 2 Use caffeine to stay awake if you aren't sensitive to it.

  • Be careful drinking products like Eight Hour Energy.
  • Don’t combine caffeinated products with prescription drugs.
  • If you’re not into caffeine, consider hydrating yourself and exercising a little before and while you write. In addition to drinking lots of water, you could try adding lemon to your water, eating an apple, or increasing your protein intake. [11] X Research source

Step 3 Take breaks.

  • Take a break when it seems appropriate. If you’re on a roll writing and making a lot of progress, put your break off until you run out of steam.

Step 4 Do not plagiarize.

  • Many high schools and colleges require that papers be run through a program to check for plagiarism. These programs can detect similarities to any text that's appeared online or in a published book. Additionally, the program will check your work against other papers turned in by students, both currently and in years past. Plagiarism isn't work the risk, as you'll likely get caught.

Step 5 Avoid procrastination in the future.

  • Use a day planner to plan all of your course work. Write down due dates and other important information.
  • Start your work at least two weeks ahead of time. Start researching when the paper is assigned, then begin outlining once your research is complete. [14] X Trustworthy Source University of North Carolina Writing Center UNC's on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process Go to source

Expert Q&A

Christopher Taylor, PhD

can you write a 4 page paper in one day

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Write an Essay

  • ↑ https://harvardwritingcenter.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/the-nuclear-option-how-to-write-a-paper-the-night/
  • ↑ https://www.collegemagazine.com/write-killer-essay-day-due/
  • ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/procrastination/
  • ↑ https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/culture/articles/g31312/caffeine-alternatives-wake-you-up-light-matcha-tea-fruit-yoga-water/

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

3-4 page essay or paper guide

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.

can you write a 4 page paper in one day

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.

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Tips for Online Students , Tips for Students

How to Write a Research Paper Fast

How-to-Write-a-Research-Paper-Fast

As a student, you knew it was inevitable. The day has come where you have to write a research paper, but you’ve put it off until the last minute. Now the pressure is sinking in to get it done quickly and you want to know how to write a research paper fast.

The good news is that it’s doable. The better news is that there are ways to avoid waiting until the last minute. We will tackle those after we give you everything you need to know to get it done.

Citing a book as a source for research

Photo by Russ Ward

The process.

A research paper is what it sounds like — a paper that requires a thesis (or argument) along with the research to back it up. Research papers involve citing a variety of sources, analyzing arguments, and pulling different academic pieces together to prove a point.

1. Understand the Assignment:

The first thing you have to make sure you do before you get to outlining and writing is to understand the assignment. You will need to organize different pieces of information, from books, essays, interviews, articles and more.

2. Choose a Topic:

Depending on the assignment provided, you will either have a topic in front of you or you will have to decide on one yourself. If your professor did not provide you with a topic, here are some helpful ways to choose one that will work for your needs:

  • Choose something you understand enough so that you will be able to interpret the research about it
  • Before you get started, check that there is a lot of content about that topic by performing a simple online search to see what turns up
  • Write out your topic as a research question that you plan to answer
  • Research more about your topic and find evidence to back up what you want to answer
  • Make a list of keywords that you continue to see pop up about the topic
  • Create your thesis

3. Perform Research:

While performing research is as easy as conducting an online search for sources, the more important element is evaluating the validity of a source. Don’t use Wikipedia as a source, because it is crowdsourced and can be edited by anyone. Instead, rely on digital encyclopedias, scholarly databases, trustworthy publications like TIME magazine and the New York Times, and the like. Since you’re writing this research paper at the last minute, the library may not be a possible option. However, for the next time you write a research paper and plan in advance, definitely utilize books from the library.

4. Write Your Thesis:

A thesis statement is the gist of your entire paper. It is what you will spend your writing proving; therefore, it has to be strong and to the point. A thesis statement appears in the introduction of your research paper, following the strong hook statement that draws your readers in. There is a formulaic way to write a strong thesis statement, and it looks something like this:

“By examining (argument 1), (argument 2), and (argument 3), it is clear that (statement you will prove).”

A thesis statement is typically one sentence and it is clearly written so that the reader knows exactly what they will read about in your paper.

To check that you’ve written a strong thesis statement, ask yourself if it achieves the following:

  • Is it in the introduction?
  • Does it answer the question from the prompt?
  • Can others argue against my thesis?
  • Is it going to prove a single claim?
  • Does it answer something meaningful?

5. Outline Your Paper:

Now that you have the main ingredients for your research paper, namely your thesis and supporting research, you can start outlining. Everyone has their own way they like to create an outline for papers. Here’s one good example of how it can be done — this is called a flat outline:

  • List the topics you will discuss
  • Under each topic, write your sources
  • If you are lacking sources, revisit and research more to give more meat to your paper
  • Move your topics and their information onto your paper in an organized flow
  • Write your thesis at the top so you can ensure that you are answering/proving your thesis throughout the paper’s argument

6. The Body/Intro and Conclusion:

So, do you start with your introduction and conclusion and then fill in the body? Or, do you do it the other way around? Really, there is no right or wrong way. It ultimately depends on your preference. Some people like to write their introduction and use it to serve as an outline of their paper and then flow from there. Others like to write their points in the body of their paper and then extrapolate the introduction and conclusion from what they wrote.

Regardless of how you perform your work, there is a structure that the paper must follow, which looks like this:

  • Introduction – includes a hook sentence (grabs the reader), your thesis and a menu sentence (a list of what you will discuss).
  • Body paragraphs – each body paragraph comes from what you mentioned in your introduction’s menu sentence. Each body paragraph has a topic sentence, or a first sentence that clearly states what it will be about. Each body paragraph includes support and sources that prove the topic sentence or argument.
  • Conclusion – here, you restate your introduction and thesis in different words. You want to end with a strong and memorable sentence. Just like your introduction began with a hook statement, your conclusion should end with something that will be remembered.

7. Cite Sources:

One of the major differences between a research paper and any other academic paper is that you must cite your sources. The end of your paper will have a list of sources, or a bibliography. Depending on your professor’s preferences, they will either be listed in APA format , MLA , Chicago , etc. This is an imperative step because your entire research paper’s evidence is based on and backed up by these sources, so you must give them credit where credit is due.

While this is not in the cards for all paper writing, it is very important for a last minute research paper. You’ve likely spent hours crunching the information and regurgitating it in your own words to fill up the once blank pages. As such, it’s a good idea to step away from your paper, get some sleep, and then revisit it with fresh eyes in the morning.

9. Proofread Revise and Editing:

As with any paper, you want to make sure you read it over to catch any mistakes. Not only should you use the Word processing tool that checks spelling and grammar for you, but you must also read it out loud to find any mistakes.

10. Find and Remove Plagiarism:

Once you are done with the entire proofreading and checking phase, the last thing that you have to do is find and remove plagiarism in your research paper. Plagiarism has a lot of consequences, and you have to make sure that your research paper is completely free of it. To do this, you first have to use a plagiarism checker to find all the plagiarized parts. Once found, you can either remove them or give the required accreditations.

If there is time to ask a friend or peer to read over your paper one time, that will be a good idea, too.

Notebook with notes and research

Photo by  Dan Dimmock  on  Unsplash

How to write a research paper in a day.

Granted, all the steps above can help you write a research paper fast. Here’s a brief look at how you can do this in a day:

1. Brainstorm Quickly

  • Use the prompt
  • Outline possible options
  • Perform a simple Google search and find what has the most information
  • Choose your topic
  • Create an outline

2. Research

  • Find research to support each point in your outline

3. Write Quickly

  • Put it all on paper as you think of it
  • Take time to edit, condense, and rewrite

Distraction-free writing environment

Photo by  Nick Morrison  on  Unsplash

Find a good writing environment.

Before sitting down to get started on your last-minute task, make sure you set up an environment that is conducive to getting your work done. Things you want to consider:

1. Distraction-free:

Choose somewhere quiet and distraction-free. You will have to stay focused for a few hours, so you’ll want to choose a comfortable setting.

2. Good lighting:

Along with comfort, make sure you have adequate lighting to read and write.

3. Go somewhere studious:

Perhaps, if time permits, you can choose to work in somewhere like a library or a study lounge.

4. Bring just your supplies needed:

Even if you work at home, make sure you set up a table with only the supplies you need, as to limit distractions. This could include: a computer, tablet, pen, paper, highlighter, books, and sticky notes. Plus, don’t forget water!

Tips to Avoid Procrastination

Writing a last-minute paper, especially that involves research, is stressful and less than optimal . Instead of finding yourself in this position, you can follow this advice to avoid such a situation.

1. Start early:

Once you’re given the prompt, start thinking about what you want to write about. You can write down ideas on paper and look into the research that supports each point.

2. Outline first and take breaks:

Begin outlining your paper so that when you sit to write, you already have the bulk of it prepared. If you start early, you will have the advantage and ability to take breaks. This helps to revisit your argument with a clear head and potentially see things that you may have otherwise missed.

3. Ask for help if you need it:

Starting early means that you are not crunched for time. So, you have the added benefit of asking for help. You can solicit advice from friends, peers, family, your professors, teacher assistants, the online community, and more. Plus, when you finish writing your paper, you have time to ask for help from someone other than you to read it over and edit it.

The Bottom Line

While knowing how to write a paper fast is useful and at times necessary, it is not the optimal way to approach assignments. However, sometimes being in a bind is out of your control. Therefore, the best way to write a research paper fast is to follow the aforementioned steps and remember to stay calm.

While a research paper involves a lot of work, from creating a strong thesis to finding supporting research, it can be made into an enjoyable activity when you choose to write about something you are interested in. It gives you a chance to digest other people’s findings and make your own inferences about what they mean.

By following the typical structure of a research paper, creating an outline and finding good sources, you can get your research paper done in a night. Good luck!

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can you write a 4 page paper in one day

How to Write a Research Paper in a Day: Step-by-Step Guide

Julie Peterson

As all other students, you put a lot of effort into studying and writing homework assignments. You do your best to complete every single project on time. Unfortunately, that’s not always possible.

Research papers are long-term assignments. Your professors advise you to start early, and you try to do that. However, you have to think about tests and other assignments. Plus, you can’t stay in the library forever when you should also work on your social life.

Sooner or later, every student ends up in the same situation: the deadline is too close and the research paper is nowhere near finished. There are two usual reasons that lead to that scenario:

1) You forgot all about this project. You were too occupied with studying and classes. You didn’t set a reminder on your calendar, and your teacher just reminded you that the deadline is tomorrow .                

2) You kept procrastinating. The topic seemed simple enough, so you thought you had enough time. The day before the deadline, you’re facing the harsh reality: a research paper is more complex than it seems.

1. First Thing’s First: Calm Down!

What’s the first thing you do when you realize you have very little time to complete a whole research paper? Panic! It’s the usual reaction. You start saying to yourself:

  • “There’s no way I can do this!”
  • “It’s just impossible.”
  • “Oh my God, what am I gonna do?”

That’s the wrong approach to have. Panic will block you from achieving your full potential. The first thing you need to do is relax . You forgot about that paper. Now, you’re left with a tight deadline. That’s okay. You still have time and you can still do something about it.

Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Then, repeat to yourself:

  • “I can do this. I will research and write whole day. I’ll get it done by tomorrow.”

That positive self-talk will prepare your mind for the challenge that follows. Eat something nice, make yourself some coffee and get to work. If necessary, take a 20-minute power nap before you proceed with the following steps.

2. Use the Pomodoro Technique

When you have to stay focused on a challenging task, it’s important to have a system. The Pomodoro Technique is a pretty effective method that helps you do more work in less time. It’s based on a simple principle:

  • You work for 25 minutes straight, with no distractions.
  • After the work session, you take a 5-minute break.

It sounds pretty simple, but it works. Twenty five minutes doesn’t seem like a long time. Your mind can stay focused on the task at hand without much effort. After the short break, you’ll be able to get back to work.

If you start writing the paper without such system, the task will seem overwhelming. With the Pomodoro Technique, you’re giving yourself small steps towards the ultimate goal.

You can use a browser extension like Strict Workflow to keep track of your working and resting session. It’s great because it blocks your access to distracting websites during the working session. When you give yourself a break of 5 minutes, you can check what’s new on Twitter.  

3. Start With Brainstorming

Before you get to work, you’ll need to get an idea. How do you want this paper to look like? Go through a brief brainstorming stage, so you’ll form an outline to guide you to the process of research and writing.

  • Your teacher gave you a prompt for the research paper. Focus on it. What ideas do you get?
  • Make a list of a few possible topics. The brainstorming stage doesn’t need much thinking. You just write whatever comes to your mind.
  • Now, do a preliminary research on those topics. It shouldn’t take much time. Give 5 minutes to each idea you have. What topic gives you the greatest foundation for research? That’s what you should focus on.
  • First, form your thesis statement. It’s something you will prove throughout the research paper. The preliminary research provided you with enough resources. Keep in mind that professors don’t like broad thesis statement. If, for example, the prompt was related to World War 2, you’ll have to narrow it down. You can opt for a specific event during the war, or even explore the Italian uniforms. Whatever it is, you need to make it very specific.
  • Think of at least 3-4 subtopics. When you focus on the main topic, what questions do you have? You’ll want to answer those questions through the subtopics. That will be the body of your research paper.
  • Finally, the outline should include a conclusion, which will sum up the claims and connect the loose ends.

4. Now, Onto the Research!

Here is an important piece of advice: don’t research as you write. When you’re working on a serious research paper, you need to explore many resources that will help you get ideas and form opinions. This should be a separate stage. Since you have only one day to write this paper, you can give yourself 2 hours for the research. Here are few tips to consider:

  • Use Google Scholar instead of the usual Google search engine. It gives you access to high-quality scientific and academic sources. Only authoritative sources will make the paper look serious and well-researched.
  • Keep track of all online sources you collect. You will need to reference them. Otherwise, you’ll be guilty of plagiarism. You can create a private Pinterest board, where you’ll collect all materials you plan to use. As for the referencing, you can use a free citation generator , which will save you a lot of time.
  • Take notes! You can’t expect to remember everything you read and all ideas you get during this stage. If necessary, update the outline and make it more detailed.

5. Write It!

Finally, you’ve come down to the writing part. You might want to take a break before this stage. Have another cup of coffee and an energizing meal.

  • Again: relax! You have an outline with good ideas. You have enough resources to work with. At this stage, you should just bring everything together, and that won’t take more than 4 hours.
  • You don’t have to start with the introduction. Many students find it easier to write the thesis and develop the arguments first. Then, it’s easier to explain what the paper is about in the introductory part.
  • Don’t think much about the style and grammar at first. This is your first draft, which will go through changes later on. Focus on expressing your ideas in a logical way.
  • Support your arguments with quotes from the resources you have. They will add strength to the claims.
  • Use simple, clear language. Don’t try to make a good impression by writing endless sentences and using words you just found in the dictionary. You don’t need complex style to show you know what you’re writing about.
  • Don’t leave the references last. Cite the sources as you go!
  • Keep up with the Pomodoro method while you write. If you feel exhausted and you need a longer break, take a power nap and you’ll continue later.

6. Don’t Forget the Editing

You’re almost done, but it’s not time to celebrate just yet. When you finish writing the research paper, it’s important to take a break. You must be hungry, so get something to eat. Try not to think about the paper for at least one hour. When you go back to it, the mistakes will be more obvious.

SEE: Top 6 Editing Tools for College Students

  • Get rid of sentences and paragraphs that are not directly related to the thesis statement and subtopics.
  • Add more information when you notice gaps in the logical flow.
  • Pay attention to the citations. You have to format them in accordance with the required referencing style.
  • Proofread! Once you’re done fixing the major aspects of the paper, you can do the last reading. At this point, focus on the grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Now, you can congratulate yourself. You made it! You wrote an entire research paper in a single day. It’s not smart to procrastinate until the last day. However, it’s not impossible to write a paper in such a short timeframe. Now, have a good sleep. You deserve it.    

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4 Page Essay: Examples, Topics, & Word Count

What does a four page essay look like? If you’re searching for an answer to this question, you’re in the right place! Such a paper is a standard high school and college assignment. That’s why it might be written on almost any topic. Police brutality, the Holocaust, overpopulation, and religion are just some examples.

A 4 page essay word count is usually 950 to 1000 words (12 pt., double-spaced). The length of a typical academic paragraph is 100 to 150 words. So, there are 6 to 10 paragraphs in a four page essay.

If you need 4 page essay examples, take a look at the list below. We’ve collected A+ samples for you to get inspired. Good luck with your essay!

4-page Essay Examples: 18999 Samples

Art history: female figures in ancient greek sculpture.

  • Subjects: Art Sculpture
  • Words: 1031

Patricia and Her Family

  • Subjects: Psychological Issues Psychology
  • Words: 1158

Studying and Practicing – The Best Ways to Learn?

  • Subjects: Approach to Learning Education
  • Words: 1114

The City of Khor Fakkan: History and Tourism

  • Subjects: Countries Studies Sciences
  • Words: 1088

Google in the 21st Century: Why it remains A Market Leader

  • Subjects: Business Company Analysis
  • Words: 1258

Influences Of An Adopted Child’s Behavior

  • Subjects: Behavior Psychology
  • Words: 1272

Gang Violence: Discussing the Problem of Gang Membership

  • Subjects: Criminal Law Law
  • Words: 1225

Concepts of Environmental Protection Legislation

  • Subjects: Environmental Law Law
  • Words: 2416

Democratic and Undemocratic Elements of the Constitution

  • Subjects: Government Politics & Government
  • Words: 1573

Gilgamesh: Significance of the Literature of That Period of Time

  • Subjects: Art Film Studies
  • Words: 1168

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair: An Allegory of the 19th-Century America

  • Subjects: American Literature Literature
  • Words: 1434

Types, Causes and Theories of the Psychiatric Disorders

  • Subjects: Health & Medicine Psychiatry
  • Words: 1360

Global Warming: Accumulation of Greenhouse Gases

  • Subjects: Environment Global Warming
  • Words: 1160

Citizen Participation and Political Process

  • Words: 1117

Amazon Company Analysis

  • Words: 1146

“On Killing” by Dave Grossman

  • Subjects: Literature World Literature
  • Words: 1153

Who is a Leader?

  • Subjects: Business Management
  • Words: 1409

The Communist Manifesto: the Statement of Germany Revolutionary Group

  • Subjects: Politics & Government Social & Political Theory
  • Words: 1239

Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed and My Personal Role in the World

  • Subjects: Historical Literature Literature
  • Words: 1111

Situational Leadership Theory & Path-Goal Leadership Theory

  • Words: 1092

Essay about Exercise – Benefits

  • Subjects: Fitness Sports
  • Words: 1188

Transformational and Transactional Leadership

  • Words: 1358

Why Is Bilingual Education Important

  • Words: 1778

Psychodynamic Approach Survey

  • Subjects: Applications of Psychology Psychology
  • Words: 1154

Trading symbol from NYSE

How ptsd affects veteran soldiers’ families.

  • Subjects: Sociological Theories Sociology
  • Words: 1170

Racial and Ethnic Inequality

  • Words: 1187

Comparison of Night by Elie Weisel and Cry of the Beloved Country by Paton

  • Subjects: Historical Fiction Comparison Literature
  • Words: 1121

Different Cultures in Tito’s Good Buy and in the Land of Free

  • Subjects: Comparative Literature Literature
  • Words: 1370

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What is a 3-4 Page Paper: How long and how many paragraphs

What is considered 3-4 Page Paper

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, and 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, a choice of topics, or a topic of your choosing.

can you write a 4 page paper in one day

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?

pages in a book

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.

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, with 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.

words in a 4 page paper

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 with a minimum of 90 words and a maximum of 130 words per paragraph structure.

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 so that when it comes to writing, 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.

How to write 3-4 Page Paper

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, and 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.

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.

How a 3-4 page paper looks like

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.

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.

Alicia Smart

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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The Day I Put $50,000 in a Shoe Box and Handed It to a Stranger

I never thought i was the kind of person to fall for a scam..

Portrait of Charlotte Cowles

On a Tuesday evening this past October, I put $50,000 in cash in a shoe box, taped it shut as instructed, and carried it to the sidewalk in front of my apartment, my phone clasped to my ear. “Don’t let anyone hurt me,” I told the man on the line, feeling pathetic.

“You won’t be hurt,” he answered. “Just keep doing exactly as I say.”

Three minutes later, a white Mercedes SUV pulled up to the curb. “The back window will open,” said the man on the phone. “Do not look at the driver or talk to him. Put the box through the window, say ‘thank you,’ and go back inside.”

The man on the phone knew my home address, my Social Security number, the names of my family members, and that my 2-year-old son was playing in our living room. He told me my home was being watched, my laptop had been hacked, and we were in imminent danger. “I can help you, but only if you cooperate,” he said. His first orders: I could not tell anyone about our conversation, not even my spouse, or talk to the police or a lawyer.

Now I know this was all a scam — a cruel and violating one but painfully obvious in retrospect. Here’s what I can’t figure out: Why didn’t I just hang up and call 911? Why didn’t I text my husband, or my brother (a lawyer), or my best friend (also a lawyer), or my parents, or one of the many other people who would have helped me? Why did I hand over all that money — the contents of my savings account, strictly for emergencies — without a bigger fight?

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When I’ve told people this story, most of them say the same thing: You don’t seem like the type of person this would happen to. What they mean is that I’m not senile, or hysterical, or a rube. But these stereotypes are actually false. Younger adults — Gen Z, millennials, and Gen X — are 34 percent more likely to report losing money to fraud compared with those over 60, according to a recent report from the Federal Trade Commission. Another study found that well-educated people or those with good jobs were just as vulnerable to scams as everyone else.

Still, how could I have been such easy prey? Scam victims tend to be single, lonely, and economically insecure with low financial literacy. I am none of those things. I’m closer to the opposite. I’m a journalist who had a weekly column in the “Business” section of the New York Times. I’ve written a personal-finance column for this magazine for the past seven years. I interview money experts all the time and take their advice seriously. I’m married and talk to my friends, family, and colleagues every day.

And while this is harder to quantify — how do I even put it? — I’m not someone who loses her head. My mother-in-law has described me as even-keeled; my own mom has called me “maddeningly rational.” I am listed as an emergency contact for several friends — and their kids. I vote, floss, cook, and exercise. In other words, I’m not a person who panics under pressure and falls for a conspiracy involving drug smuggling, money laundering, and CIA officers at my door. Until, suddenly, I was.

That morning — it was October 31 — I dressed my toddler in a pizza costume for Halloween and kissed him good-bye before school. I wrote some work emails. At about 12:30 p.m., my phone buzzed. The caller ID said it was Amazon. I answered. A polite woman with a vague accent told me she was calling from Amazon customer service to check some unusual activity on my account. The call was being recorded for quality assurance. Had I recently spent $8,000 on MacBooks and iPads?

I had not. I checked my Amazon account. My order history showed diapers and groceries, no iPads. The woman, who said her name was Krista, told me the purchases had been made under my business account. “I don’t have a business account,” I said. “Hmm,” she said. “Our system shows that you have two.”

Krista and I concurred that I was the victim of identity theft, and she said she would flag the fraudulent accounts and freeze their activity. She provided me with a case-ID number for future reference and recommended that I check my credit cards. I did, and everything looked normal. I thanked her for her help.

Then Krista explained that Amazon had been having a lot of problems with identity theft and false accounts lately. It had become so pervasive that the company was working with a liaison at the Federal Trade Commission and was referring defrauded customers to him. Could she connect me?

“Um, sure?” I said.

Krista transferred the call to a man who identified himself as Calvin Mitchell. He said he was an investigator with the FTC, gave me his badge number, and had me write down his direct phone line in case I needed to contact him again. He also told me our call was being recorded. He asked me to verify the spelling of my name. Then he read me the last four digits of my Social Security number, my home address, and my date of birth to confirm that they were correct. The fact that he had my Social Security number threw me. I was getting nervous.

“I’m glad we’re speaking,” said Calvin. “Your personal information is linked to a case that we’ve been working on for a while now, and it’s quite serious.”

He told me that 22 bank accounts, nine vehicles, and four properties were registered to my name. The bank accounts had wired more than $3 million overseas, mostly to Jamaica and Iraq. Did I know anything about this? “No,” I said. Did I know someone named Stella Suk-Yee Kwong? “I don’t think so,” I said. He texted me a photo of her ID, which he claimed had been found in a car rented under my name that was abandoned on the southern border of Texas with blood and drugs in the trunk. A home in New Mexico affiliated with the car rental had subsequently been raided, he added, and authorities found more drugs, cash, and bank statements registered to my name and Social Security number. He texted me a drug-bust photo of bags of pills and money stacked on a table. He told me that there were warrants out for my arrest in Maryland and Texas and that I was being charged with cybercrimes, money laundering, and drug trafficking.

My head swam. I Googled my name along with “warrant” and “money laundering,” but nothing came up. Were arrest warrants public? I wasn’t sure. Google led me to truthfinder.com, which asked for my credit-card information — nope. “I’m in deep shit,” I texted my husband. “My identity was stolen and it seems really bad.”

Calvin wanted to know if I knew anyone who might be the culprit or if I had any connections to Iraq or Jamaica. “No,” I said. “This is the first I’m hearing about any of this, and it’s a lot to take in.” He asked if I had ever used public or unsecured Wi-Fi. “I don’t know. Maybe?” I said. “I used the airport Wi-Fi recently.”

“Ah,” he said. “That’s unfortunate. It’s how many of these breaches start.” I was embarrassed, like I’d left my fly unzipped. How could I have been so thoughtless? But also — didn’t everyone use the airport Wi-Fi?

Calvin told me to listen carefully. “The first thing you must do is not tell anyone what is going on. Everyone around you is a suspect.”

I almost laughed. I told him I was quite sure that my husband, who works for an affordable-housing nonprofit and makes meticulous spreadsheets for our child-care expenses, was not a secret drug smuggler. “I believe you, but even so, your communications are probably under surveillance,” Calvin said. “You cannot talk to him about this.” I quickly deleted the text messages I had sent my husband a few minutes earlier. “These are sophisticated criminals with a lot of money at stake,” he continued. “You should assume you are in danger and being watched. You cannot take any chances.”

I felt suspended between two worlds — the one I knew and the one this man was describing. If I had nothing to do with any of these allegations, how much could they truly affect me? I thought of an old This American Life episode about a woman whose Social Security card was stolen. No matter how many times she closed her bank accounts and opened new ones, her identity thief kept draining them, destroying her credit and her sanity. (It turned out to be her boyfriend.) I remembered another story about a man who got stuck on a no-fly list after his personal information was used by a terrorist group. It dawned on me that being connected to major federal offenses, even falsely, could really fuck up my life.

Calvin wanted to know how much money I currently had in my bank accounts. I told him that I had two — checking and savings — with a combined balance of a little over $80,000. As a freelancer in a volatile industry, I keep a sizable emergency fund, and I also set aside cash to pay my taxes at the end of the year, since they aren’t withheld from my paychecks.

His voice took on a more urgent tone. “You must have worked very hard to save all that money,” he said. “Do not share your bank-account information with anyone. I am going to help you keep your money safe.” He said that he would transfer me to his colleague at the CIA who was the lead investigator on my case and gave me a nine-digit case number for my records. (I Googled the number. Nothing.) He said the CIA agent would tell me what to do next, and he wished me luck.

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If it was a scam , I couldn’t see the angle. It had occurred to me that the whole story might be made up or an elaborate mistake. But no one had asked me for money or told me to buy crypto; they’d only encouraged me not to share my banking information. They hadn’t asked for my personal details; they already knew them. I hadn’t been told to click on anything.

Still, I had not seen a shred of evidence. I checked my bank accounts, credit cards, and credit score; nothing looked out of the ordinary. I knew I should probably talk to a lawyer or maybe call the police, though I was doubtful that they would help. What was I going to say — “My identity was stolen, and I think I’m somehow in danger”? I had no proof. I was also annoyed that my workday had been hijacked. It was 2 p.m., and I had already pushed back one deadline and postponed two work calls. I had to get myself out of this.

The next man who got on the line had a deeper voice and a slight British accent flecked with something I couldn’t identify. He told me his name was Michael Sarano and that he worked for the CIA on cases involving the FTC. He gave me his badge number. “I’m going to need more than that,” I said. “I have no reason to believe that any of what you’re saying is real.”

“I completely understand,” he said calmly. He told me to go to the FTC home page and look up the main phone number. “Now hang up the phone, and I will call you from that number right now.” I did as he said. The FTC number flashed on my screen, and I picked up. “How do I know you’re not just spoofing this?” I asked.

“It’s a government number,” he said, almost indignant. “It cannot be spoofed.” I wasn’t sure if this was true and tried Googling it, but Michael was already onto his next point. He told me the call was being recorded, so I put him on speaker and began recording on my end, too. He wanted to know if I had told anyone what was going on.

I admitted that I had texted my husband. “You must reassure him that everything is fine,” Michael said. “In many cases like this, we have to investigate the spouse as well, and the less he knows, the less he is implicated. From now on, you have to follow protocol if you want us to help you.”

“I don’t think I should lie to my husband,” I said, feeling stupid.

“You are being investigated for major federal crimes,” he said. “By keeping your husband out of this, you are protecting him.” He then repeated the point Calvin had made about my phone and computer being hacked and monitored by the criminals who had stolen my identity.

By that point, my husband had sent me a series of concerned texts. “Don’t worry. It will be okay,” I wrote back. It felt gross to imagine a third party reading along.

Michael snowed me with the same stories Calvin had. They were consistent: the car on the Texas border, the property in New Mexico, the drugs, the bank accounts. He asked if I shared my residence with anyone besides my husband and son. Then he asked more questions about my family members, including my parents, my brother, and my sister-in-law. He knew their names and where they lived. I told him they had nothing to do with this. In fact, I was now sure I wanted to consult a lawyer.

“If you talk to an attorney, I cannot help you anymore,” Michael said sternly. “You will be considered noncooperative. Your home will be raided, and your assets will be seized. You may be arrested. It’s your choice.” This seemed ludicrous. I pictured officers tramping in, taking my laptop, going through our bookshelves, questioning our neighbors, scaring my son. It was a nonstarter.

“Can I just come to your office and sort this out in person?” I said. “It’s getting late, and I need to take my son trick-or-treating soon.”

“My office is in Langley,” he said. “We don’t have enough time. We need to act immediately. I’m going to talk you through the process. It’s going to sound crazy, but we must follow protocol if we’re going to catch the people behind this.”

He explained that the CIA would need to freeze all the assets in my name, including my actual bank accounts. In the eyes of the law, there was no difference between the “real” and the fraudulent ones, he said. They would also deactivate my compromised Social Security number and get me a new one. Then, by monitoring any activity under my old Social Security number and accounts, they would catch the criminals who were using my identity and I would get my life back. But until then, I would need to use only cash for my day-to-day expenses.

It was far-fetched. Ridiculous. But also not completely out of the realm of possibility. “Do I have any other options?” I asked.

“Unfortunately, no,” he said. “You must follow my directions very carefully. We do not have much time.”

He asked me how much cash I thought I would need to support myself for a year if necessary. My assets could be frozen for up to two years if the investigation dragged on, he added. There could be a trial; I might need to testify. These things take time. “I don’t know, $50,000?” I said. I wondered how I would receive paychecks without a bank account. Would I have to take time off from work? I did some mental calculations of how much my husband could float us and for how long.

“Okay,” he said. “You need to go to the bank and get that cash out now. You cannot tell them what it is for. In one of my last cases, the identity thief was someone who worked at the bank.”

Michael told me to keep the phone on speaker so we would remain in contact. “It’s important that I monitor where this money goes from now on. Remember, all of your assets are part of this investigation,” he said. Then he told me that one of his colleagues would meet me at my apartment at 5 p.m. to guide me through the next steps.

“You can’t send a complete stranger to my home,” I said, my voice rising. “My 2-year-old son will be here.”

“Let me worry about that,” he said. “It’s my job. But if you don’t cooperate, I cannot keep you safe. It is your choice.”

It’s impossible to explain why I accepted this logic. But I had been given marching orders and a deadline. My son would be home soon, and I had to fix this mess. I put on sneakers in case I needed to run. I brought a backpack for the cash. I felt both terrified and absurd.

It was jarring to see trick-or-treaters in my Brooklyn neighborhood, people going about their lives. The air was crisp, and dead leaves swirled on the ground. I was on high alert for anyone who might be following me. At one point, a man in sunglasses and a hoodie trailed me for a few blocks. At Michael’s suggestion, I ducked into a parking garage until he passed.

When I reached the bank, I told the guard I needed to make a large cash withdrawal and she sent me upstairs. Michael was on speakerphone in my pocket. I asked the teller for $50,000. The woman behind the thick glass window raised her eyebrows, disappeared into a back room, came back with a large metal box of $100 bills, and counted them out with a machine. Then she pushed the stacks of bills through the slot along with a sheet of paper warning me against scams. I thanked her and left.

Michael was bursting with praise. “You did a great job,” he said. “I have to go for a moment to see about the details of your case; I’m going to have you speak to my colleague if you have any questions.” He put a woman on the line. She was younger, with an accent I couldn’t identify. She told me to go home and await further instructions.

As I walked back to my apartment, something jolted me out of my trance, and I became furious. No government agency would establish this as “protocol.” It was preposterous. “I need to speak with Michael,” I told the woman on the phone. He got on right away. “I don’t even believe that you’re a CIA agent,” I said. “What you’re asking me to do is completely unreasonable.”

He sighed. “I’m sending you a photo of my badge right now,” he said. “I don’t know what else to tell you. You can trust me, and I will help you. Or you can hang up and put yourself and your family in danger. Do you really want to take that risk with a young child?”

My Two Cents

How to protect yourself against scams, what charlotte cowles wishes she’d known..

I waited for a stoplight at a busy intersection. I could see my apartment window from where I stood. My son was playing inside with a neighbor’s daughter and their nanny. A picture of Michael’s badge appeared on my phone. I had no way of verifying it; it could easily have been Photoshopped. “I don’t trust you at all,” I said to Michael. “But it doesn’t seem like I have any other choice.”

When I got home, Michael told me to get a box, put the cash in it, take a picture of it, then tape it shut. I found a floral-printed shoe box that had once contained a pair of slippers I’d bought for myself — a frivolous purchase that now seemed mortifying. Michael told me to label it with my name, my case number, my address, a locker number he read to me, and my signature. Then he directed me to take another picture of the labeled box and text it to him.

“My colleague will be there soon. He is an undercover CIA agent, and he will secure the money for you,” he said. What exactly would that entail? I asked. “Tonight, we will close down your Social Security number, and you will lose access to your bank accounts,” he explained. “Tomorrow, you’ll need to go to the Social Security office and get a new Social Security number. We’ll secure this money for you in a government locker and hand-deliver a Treasury check for the same amount. You can cash the check and use it for your expenses until the investigation is over.”

“Why can’t I just use this cash?” I asked. “Why do you have to take it and give me a check?”

“Because all of your assets under your current identity are part of the investigation,” he said. “You are being charged with money laundering. If we secure this cash and then issue you a government check under your new Social Security number, that will be considered clean money.”

“I’ll need to see your colleague’s badge,” I said. “I’m not just going to give $50,000 of my money to someone I don’t know.”

“Undercover agents don’t carry badges,” he said, as if I’d asked the CIA to bring me a Happy Meal. “They’re undercover. Remember, you are probably being watched. The criminals cannot know that a CIA agent is there.”

In a twisted way, this made some amount of sense to me. Or maybe I had lost my grip on reality so completely that I was willing to resign myself to this new version of it. Most important, I didn’t know what else to do. Even if Michael wasn’t working for the CIA (which struck me as more and more likely), he was sending a man to our address. I felt a sickening dread that he might ask to come inside. If giving him this money would make him go away, I was ready to do it. I’d been on the phone for nearly five hours. I wanted to take my son trick-or-treating. I was exhausted.

Michael seemed to sense that I was flagging and asked if I’d had lunch. I hadn’t. He told me to eat something but keep him on the line; his agent was on the way to my address but running late. “You can meet him outside if that would make you more comfortable,” Michael said, and I felt relieved. While I gnawed on a granola bar at my desk, he got chatty and asked about my job. I told him I was going to Washington, D.C., later that week. “Oh, great. You could come to my office in Langley,” he said. “Where are you staying?”

A little after 6 p.m., Michael told me to go downstairs. His colleague was arriving. My husband had just come home from work and was reading to our son. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?” he asked as I put my coat on. I motioned to the phone and shushed him. Then I whispered, “I have to go downstairs and meet a guy who’s helping with the identity-theft case. I’ll explain more later.” He frowned and silently mouthed, “What?” I told him I had to go.

I met the SUV at the curb and put the money in the back seat. It was 6:06 p.m. Even if I’d tried to see who was driving, the windows were tinted and it was dusk. He maybe wore a baseball cap. When I turned around, I could see the backlit faces of my husband and son watching from our apartment nine stories above.

As I walked back inside, Michael texted me a photo of a Treasury check made out to me for $50,000 and told me a hard copy would be hand-delivered to me in the morning. He was working on setting up my appointment with the Social Security office. “You will receive a confirmation text shortly,” he said. “Stay on the line until you do.” I felt oddly comforted by this. An appointment would give me something legitimate, an actual connection to a government agency.

I took my son trick-or-treating, my phone on speaker in my pocket. I felt numb, almost in a fugue state, smiling and chatting with my neighbors and their kids. At one point, I checked to see if Michael was still there; his female colleague answered and said he’d be back soon. Then, when we got home and I checked again, the line was dead. I panicked and called back. The woman answered. “Michael is busy,” she said. “He’ll call you in the morning.”

I was confused. Did this mean I didn’t have a Social Security number at all anymore? I pictured myself floating, identity-less. “Do I have an appointment at the Social Security office?” I asked.

“Michael will call you tomorrow,” she repeated. “He hasn’t been able to secure your appointment yet. The Social Security office is closed now.”

I went into my bedroom and shut the door, feeling my face grow hot. I had a physical sensation of scales falling from my eyes; the room shimmered around me, spots raining from the ceiling. I saw the whole day peel away, like the layers of an onion — Michael, the FTC officer, the Amazon call — revealing my real life, raw and exposed, at the center. “Oh my God,” I said, my hands tingling. “You are lying to me. Michael was lying. You just took my money and I’m never getting it back.” That wasn’t true, the woman said. She understood that I was upset. She was sorry. Everything would be fine. “You’re a fucking liar,” I hissed, and hung up.

Through choking sobs, I told my husband what had happened. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, incredulous. “I would have stopped you.” That I’d been trying to protect him suddenly seemed so idiotic I couldn’t even say it out loud. Our son looked on, confused. “Mama’s sad,” he announced, clinging to my leg. We put him to bed and then I called my parents and my brother. At their urging, I called 911. Around 10:30 p.m., three police officers came over and took my statement. I struggled to recount what I’d done; it seemed like a bad dream. I felt like a fool.

“No government agency will ever ask you for money,” one cop informed me, as if I’d never heard it before. I wanted to scream, “I know. ” Instead, I said, “It didn’t really feel like he was asking.”

The police told me not to worry; the scammers wouldn’t be back. “They got what they wanted,” another officer said, as though it would reassure me. I gave them the photos and recordings I had. They promised to check traffic cameras for the car that had taken the money.

When I woke up the next morning, a few seconds passed before I remembered the previous day. I was my old self, in my old bed, milky dawn light on the walls. Then it all came crashing back, a fresh humiliation, and I curled into the fetal position. I felt violated, unreliable; I couldn’t trust myself. Were my tendencies toward people-pleasing, rule following, and conflict aversion far worse than I’d ever thought, even pathological? I imagined other people’s reactions. She’s always been a little careless. She seems unhinged. I considered keeping the whole thing a secret. I worried it would harm my professional reputation. I still do.

In the days that followed, I kept revisiting the fake world of that afternoon, slipping through a portal into an alternate life. I would get paranoid that someone was reading my texts, watching me as I took my son to school, or using my Social Security number to wire money and rent cars. It was a relief that I wasn’t actually in trouble with the law, but then again — I’d lost $50,000 and I wasn’t getting it back. I checked my accounts and credit cards obsessively. I called my bank. They gave me instructions to freeze my credit, file reports with the FBI and FTC, and run anti-virus software on my laptop to check for malware, which I did. I cried a lot. My husband felt helpless; he still doesn’t like to talk about it. Instead, he researched new locks for our doors and looked into security cameras. One night I shook him awake, convinced that someone was trying to break in. “It’s only the wind,” he said. “We’re safe.”

Fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money. It took me years to save, stashing away a few thousand every time I got paid for a big project. Part of it was money I had received from my grandfather, an inheritance he took great pains to set up for his grandchildren before his death. Sometimes I imagine how I would have spent it if I had to get rid of it in a day. I could have paid for over a year’s worth of child care up front. I could have put it toward the master’s degree I’ve always wanted. I could have housed multiple families for months. Perhaps, inadvertently, I am; I occasionally wonder what the scammers did with it.

Because I had set it aside for emergencies and taxes, it was money I tried to pretend I didn’t have — it wasn’t for spending. Initially, I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to afford my taxes this year, but then my accountant told me I could write off losses due to theft. So from a financial standpoint, I’ll survive, as long as I don’t have another emergency — a real one — anytime soon.

When I did tell friends what had happened, it seemed like everyone had a horror story. One friend’s dad, a criminal-defense attorney, had been scammed out of $1.2 million. Another person I know, a real-estate developer, was duped into wiring $450,000 to someone posing as one of his contractors. Someone else knew a Wall Street executive who had been conned into draining her 401(k) by some guy she met at a bar.

I felt a guilty sense of consolation whenever I heard about a scam involving someone I respected. If this could happen to them, maybe I wasn’t such a moron. As a journalist, it’s my instinct to research and talk to experts, so I dove into books and podcasts about scams, desperate to make sense of my own. I had known that fraud was on the rise but was shocked to learn the numbers — financial losses ballooned by more than 30 percent in 2022. I read that self-laceration is typical; half of victims blame themselves for being gullible, and most experience serious anxiety, depression, or other stress-related health problems afterward. I heard about victim support groups. I went to therapy.

When I discovered that Katie Gatti Tassin, a personal-finance expert who writes the popular Money With Katie newsletter, lost $8,000 five years ago to a grandmotherly-sounding woman pretending to call from Tassin’s credit union, I called her to ask how she’d coped. “Everyone was so patronizing,” she told me. “The response was basically ‘It’s your fault that this happened.’”

If I had to pinpoint a moment that made me think my scammers were legitimate, it was probably when they read me my Social Security number. Now I know that all kinds of personal information — your email address, your kids’ names and birthdays, even your pets’ names — are commonly sold on the dark web. Of course, the scammers could also have learned about my son from a 30-second perusal of my Instagram feed.

It was my brother, the lawyer, who pointed out that what I had experienced sounded a lot like a coerced confession. “I read enough transcripts of bad interrogations in law school to understand that anyone can be convinced that they have a very narrow set of terrible options,” he said. When I posed this theory to Saul Kassin, a psychology professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who studies coerced confessions, he agreed. “If someone is trying to get you to be compliant, they do it incrementally, in a series of small steps that take you farther and farther from what you know to be true,” he said. “It’s not about breaking the will. They were altering the sense of reality.” And when you haven’t done anything wrong, the risk of cooperating feels minimal, he added. An innocent person thinks everything will get sorted out. It also mattered that I was kept on the phone for so long. People start to break down cognitively after a few hours of interrogation. “At that point, they’re not thinking straight. They feel the need to put an end to the situation at all costs,” Kassin said.

I wondered how often scammers are caught and about the guy who’d driven the car to my apartment. But when I asked experts, they doubted he’d be a meaningful lead. One pointed out that he might have been a courier who was told to come pick up a box.

I still don’t believe that what happened to me could happen to anyone, but I’m starting to realize that I’m not uniquely fallible. Several friends felt strongly that if the scammers hadn’t mentioned my son, I would never have fallen for this. They’re right that I’d be willing to do — or pay — anything to protect him. Either way, I have to accept that someone waged psychological warfare on me, and I lost. For now, I just don’t answer my phone.

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EU AI Act: first regulation on artificial intelligence

The use of artificial intelligence in the EU will be regulated by the AI Act, the world’s first comprehensive AI law. Find out how it will protect you.

A man faces a computer generated figure with programming language in the background

As part of its digital strategy , the EU wants to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure better conditions for the development and use of this innovative technology. AI can create many benefits , such as better healthcare; safer and cleaner transport; more efficient manufacturing; and cheaper and more sustainable energy.

In April 2021, the European Commission proposed the first EU regulatory framework for AI. It says that AI systems that can be used in different applications are analysed and classified according to the risk they pose to users. The different risk levels will mean more or less regulation. Once approved, these will be the world’s first rules on AI.

Learn more about what artificial intelligence is and how it is used

What Parliament wants in AI legislation

Parliament’s priority is to make sure that AI systems used in the EU are safe, transparent, traceable, non-discriminatory and environmentally friendly. AI systems should be overseen by people, rather than by automation, to prevent harmful outcomes.

Parliament also wants to establish a technology-neutral, uniform definition for AI that could be applied to future AI systems.

Learn more about Parliament’s work on AI and its vision for AI’s future

AI Act: different rules for different risk levels

The new rules establish obligations for providers and users depending on the level of risk from artificial intelligence. While many AI systems pose minimal risk, they need to be assessed.

Unacceptable risk

Unacceptable risk AI systems are systems considered a threat to people and will be banned. They include:

  • Cognitive behavioural manipulation of people or specific vulnerable groups: for example voice-activated toys that encourage dangerous behaviour in children
  • Social scoring: classifying people based on behaviour, socio-economic status or personal characteristics
  • Biometric identification and categorisation of people
  • Real-time and remote biometric identification systems, such as facial recognition

Some exceptions may be allowed for law enforcement purposes. “Real-time” remote biometric identification systems will be allowed in a limited number of serious cases, while “post” remote biometric identification systems, where identification occurs after a significant delay, will be allowed to prosecute serious crimes and only after court approval.

AI systems that negatively affect safety or fundamental rights will be considered high risk and will be divided into two categories:

1) AI systems that are used in products falling under the EU’s product safety legislation . This includes toys, aviation, cars, medical devices and lifts.

2) AI systems falling into specific areas that will have to be registered in an EU database:

  • Management and operation of critical infrastructure
  • Education and vocational training
  • Employment, worker management and access to self-employment
  • Access to and enjoyment of essential private services and public services and benefits
  • Law enforcement
  • Migration, asylum and border control management
  • Assistance in legal interpretation and application of the law.

All high-risk AI systems will be assessed before being put on the market and also throughout their lifecycle.

General purpose and generative AI

Generative AI, like ChatGPT, would have to comply with transparency requirements:

  • Disclosing that the content was generated by AI
  • Designing the model to prevent it from generating illegal content
  • Publishing summaries of copyrighted data used for training

High-impact general-purpose AI models that might pose systemic risk, such as the more advanced AI model GPT-4, would have to undergo thorough evaluations and any serious incidents would have to be reported to the European Commission.

Limited risk

Limited risk AI systems should comply with minimal transparency requirements that would allow users to make informed decisions. After interacting with the applications, the user can then decide whether they want to continue using it. Users should be made aware when they are interacting with AI. This includes AI systems that generate or manipulate image, audio or video content, for example deepfakes.

On December 9 2023, Parliament reached a provisional agreement with the Council on the AI act . The agreed text will now have to be formally adopted by both Parliament and Council to become EU law. Before all MEPs have their say on the agreement, Parliament’s internal market and civil liberties committees will vote on it.

More on the EU’s digital measures

  • Cryptocurrency dangers and the benefits of EU legislation
  • Fighting cybercrime: new EU cybersecurity laws explained
  • Boosting data sharing in the EU: what are the benefits?
  • EU Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act
  • Five ways the European Parliament wants to protect online gamers
  • Artificial Intelligence Act

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    1. Create a Schedule to Maximize Your Time You've likely already spent time panicking. Once you calm yourself of the anxiety of having to finish a 10- or 20-page paper in one night, organize your plan of attack. First, you should designate an area free of distractions so that you can focus.

  6. How do you write a 4-page essay in 5 hours? : r/college

    You may find it helpful to write the conclusion first, simply list the main points and "pretty it up" later. Then write the paper around the conclusion. Do this enough times and your first draft is your essay.

  7. How long it Takes to Write an Essay (Word and Page Count)

    A 40-page research paper is 11000 words, which can be achieved by writing 3600 or 12 pages daily. However, considering that sections such as introduction, discussion, and conclusion are easy to tackle, the saved time is pushed to the complex parts of the research paper.

  8. How to write a whole research paper in a week

    Prepare well If you want to draft a whole research paper in a single week, you need to prepare everything in advance so that you can fully focus on writing and actually finish in a week. First, think about your audience and pick a suitable journal.

  9. Writing Insights: How Many Pages Should You Write in a Day?

    Let's do some simple math. A good goal for many professional writers is to turn out five to ten pages a day during a four or five day work week. On average, a page equals 250 words set in 12 point Times New Roman. Assume you write 1250 words a week or 5,000 words a month. You would produce about 60,000 words in a year.

  10. 3 Ways to Write a Paper in a Night

    Take breaks. Although you're in a hurry, you'll need to take a few breaks while you write your paper. Breaks are important since they'll help recharge you and make sure you can focus on proving your argument. As a result, consider taking a break every half hour to an hour. [12] Take a break when it seems appropriate.

  11. What Makes a Good 3-4 Page Essay? Tips, Steps, and Topics

    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?

  12. How to Write a Research Paper Fast

    4. Write Your Thesis: A thesis statement is the gist of your entire paper. It is what you will spend your writing proving; therefore, it has to be strong and to the point. A thesis statement appears in the introduction of your research paper, following the strong hook statement that draws your readers in.

  13. How to Write a Research Paper in a Day: Step-by-Step Guide

    May 22, 2021 As all other students, you put a lot of effort into studying and writing homework assignments. You do your best to complete every single project on time. Unfortunately, that's not always possible. Research papers are long-term assignments. Your professors advise you to start early, and you try to do that.

  14. 4 Page Essay: Examples, Topics, & Word Count

    Police brutality, the Holocaust, overpopulation, and religion are just some examples. A 4 page essay word count is usually 950 to 1000 words (12 pt., double-spaced). The length of a typical academic paragraph is 100 to 150 words. So, there are 6 to 10 paragraphs in a four page essay. If you need 4 page essay examples, take a look at the list below.

  15. How to write a research paper in one day

    1 Choose a topic and collect information Prepare drafts Write an introduction Develop the main body Write the conclusions Review your paper If you're asking yourself how to write a research paper in one day, this article will be very helpful. It's not easy to write a good and qualitative academic paper so fast. Nevertheless, it is possible!

  16. Can you do a Research Paper in a day or Write 10-page essay

    There comes a time when you have to postpone your work until the last day when it is needed. It is possible to write and complete a research paper in one day, whether it is a short paper or a 10-page essay. To do that, you need to concentrate and avoid distractions once you start writing it. The steps are simple, research, use an outline ...

  17. What is a 3-4 Page Paper: How long and how many paragraphs

    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.

  18. A step-by-step guide for creating and formatting APA Style student papers

    Double-space the whole title page. Place the paper title three or four lines down from the top of the page. Add an extra double-spaced blank like between the paper title and the byline. Then, list the other title page elements on separate lines, without extra lines in between.

  19. Remember: If you write just 1 page a day then you'll have a ...

    If you write just 1 page a day then you'll have a full book in 1 year, and 10 full books (3650 pages) in 10 years! Thus, with sufficient consistency, even being prolific could actually be "easy" in that sense. This is true even for people who started writing "late"!

  20. How To Write A White Paper In One Day

    Description. How To Write A White Paper In One Day is the compressed video course that will teach you everything you need to know to write (and even design) a 2,000 word white paper, completing your first draft in a single day. After watching one lesson a day for one week, you'll know: What a white paper is (and even more important what it isn ...

  21. Slow and Steady Writes the Book. Write a page a day, you'll have a book

    As I said earlier, if you were to write one page every single day, by the end of one year you would have completed 365 pages. That's enough for the first draft of a book.

  22. How I Fell for an Amazon Scam Call and Handed Over $50,000

    Then one day she put $50,000 in a shoe box and handed it to a stranger. ... gave me his badge number, and had me write down his direct phone line in case I needed to contact him again. He also told me our call was being recorded. ... Then she pushed the stacks of bills through the slot along with a sheet of paper warning me against scams. I ...

  23. Takeaways from Fani Willis' stunning testimony in Georgia

    The all-day hearing escalated steadily throughout the day, culminating with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis taking the witness stand for a combative brawl with defense attorneys that ...

  24. Goodnotes for Windows

    For the price of one paper notebook, get unlimited digital notebooks that are backed up and synced across your devices. Try Goodnotes today. Digital notebooks. Unlimited notebooks for the price of one physical one. Write with your favorite compatible styluses. Dark Mode makes it easier on the eyes while you take notes. Edit your writing by resizing it or moving it to another spot on the page ...

  25. What's the most you've written in one day? : r/college

    3-4 pages, that's nothing! comes down more to how much researching you have to do. 3-4 pages if you are just writing should only take a few hours to be decent. better get off reddit and start working. 30 Throwawayaccounttt__ • 3 yr. ago Did 12 pages + a works cited in one day before 0/10 don't recommend 🙃 21 Designer_Breadfruit9 • 3 yr. ago

  26. EU AI Act: first regulation on artificial intelligence

    As part of its digital strategy, the EU wants to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure better conditions for the development and use of this innovative technology. AI can create many benefits, such as better healthcare; safer and cleaner transport; more efficient manufacturing; and cheaper and more sustainable energy.. In April 2021, the European Commission proposed the first EU ...

  27. TOEFL TestReady

    No other English language test provider has a prep offering like this — designed for you, with you. TOEFL ® TestReady ™ combines the best TOEFL iBT prep offerings with exclusive features and deeper insights to enhance your English communication skills. All feedback, recommendations, personalized insights and tips are developed by the same teams that write and produce the TOEFL iBT test.

  28. Can I write 5 pages (double spaced) in two hours

    For every paragraph, not the intro or conclusion, reference something from your textbook and an academic article so it beefs up your paper. You don't even need to read the full article sometimes, the abstract can work just fine as long as it actually supports whatever you're writing about in the paper. Good luck!