best way to make your essay longer

How to make an Essay Longer – 21 Easy Tips!

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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Just about all the advice on the first page of google about how to make a paper longer sucks. No, really. The tricks they suggest suck so bad I can’t believe how bad it sucks.

Most advice on how to make your essay longer tells you to do gimmicky things that will lose you marks.

How do I know? Because I read it. And I (yes, I’m a professor) would instantly see through all those things.

Let me tell you: if you’re wasting time turning “15” into “fifteen” to get an extra 6 characters into your essay , increasing font size, or sticking fluffy adjectives into sentences to make your essay longer and increase word count, you’re stuffing up. You’re flushing marks down the drain.

So, here’s what you SHOULD do to make your essay longer.

How to Make an Essay Longer

1. make sure you included everything.

I can’t tell you how many of my students submit assignments and forget to include important points! Go back to your writing prompt . That’s the thing that you’re going to be graded on.

Go and check out exactly what your teacher asked you to write about. Did you write about every point they suggested?

Related Article: 17+ Great Ideas For An Essay About Yourself

2. Make Every Paragraph at least 4 Sentences

Scan over each paragraph. Do you have any paragraphs that are less than 4 sentences long? This is your low-hanging fruit for making your paper longer. You need to make these paragraphs longer and your page count will naturally increase.

The best paragraphs should be 4 – 7 sentences long .

If you’ve got a 1, 2 or 3 sentence paragraph, make sure you go back through it. What new points can you include to make your paragraph better? Maybe you can:

• Add a sentence at the start of the paragraph explaining what the paragraph is about;
• Add a sentence giving a real-life example of the points you’re trying to make
• Add a sentence giving an explanation of your points.

Or, you can try adding points explaining:

• Why the thing is true;
• Where the thing happened;
• How the thing happened;
• When the thing happened.

3. Define your Terms

Have you written a paragraph defining your key terms? If you’re writing an essay on modernism, write a paragraph defining modernism. If your essay is about education , write a paragraph giving a brief history of education. This will make your paper better – and longer!

You should have a paragraph or two right after your introduction defining and explaining what your topic is!

Now, if you are going to provide a definition for a term in college or university level writing , you need to read this article . In it, I show you how to write a full paragraph that defines a term in the right way using a research paper, not a dictionary!.

4. Get new Ideas from your Class Handouts

Below are the class handouts that you should go back through to add new ideas. They’re your most important sources. Go through all these sources and try to take down and more key points you can add:

• Handouts or worksheets in class?
• Readings or articles that they asked you to read?
• Lecture slides?

6. Get new Ideas from Friends

You will have many classmates working on the same essay as you. What ideas have your friends come up with? See if you can find out. You want it to seem like you’re working to help each other out. You don’t want to be a sponge, taking from them and not giving back. Help each other out so you both get better marks. I recommend being strategic about this:

• Offer to look over each others’ work and give suggestions;
• Trade key points in bullet point format;
• Brainstorm together to create a master list of key ideas.

8. Get new Ideas from Blogs

There are websites online about just about every topic that you can possibly imagine. That includes the topic you’re writing your essay on!

Let me ask you a question: Why would you waste your time trying to add padding to old sentences to increase your word count when you can write new ones that will win more marks?

It’s really so simple – google your essay topic or question and see what comes up. What have other people said on the topic? What ideas can you grab from others and use for yourself? You can also get new ideas from Google Scholar, which can provide you with a free to access research paper that will give you ideas as well. 

12. Use the Keep Writing Website

Keep Writing is a website where you can write your essay. But, it won’t let you delete anything. So you have to just keep on typing. This means you can just write ideas that roll off the top of your head. I gave this website a go to write this article you’re reading right now and it really did help me just write in a way that flowed nicely and added to my page count quickly. I must admit, after using the website, I copied the text and did some edits. But by that point I had a ton of words in there – more than enough – and I could shorten the essay by deleting the words that weren’t so good. I ended up having the opposite problem – too many words!

13. Include one new Example in Each Paragraph

Another thing you can do is go through each and every paragraph and add one more example and some supporting evidence. Even if you’ve included one example in each paragraph, that’s okay. You can still add more examples. In fact, teachers love to see examples and supporting evidence.

Good examples are what separates good and bad students.

Teachers love to see examples because you can only give examples if you understand the topic. So, when we see examples we go “Yes! You Got It! You understand it!”

16. Don’t add Pointless Words!

‘Padding’ is what we call it when you stick extra words in a sentence just to increase your word count. I’ve taken a sentence from earlier in this post and I’m going to show you the sentence as it is, then show it to you with padding.

Here’s the original:

“You’re going to need some new points to add to your essay. You should not try to make your sentences you’ve already written longer. You shouldn’t be trying to add in fluffy new words or saying things in a longer way.”

Here’s the padding:

“You’re going to need some new points to actually add to your essay , which actually is quite significant . You should not actually try to generally make your sentences you’ve already written longer , generally contrary to popular belief . You shouldn’t be trying to generally add in fluffy new words or saying things in a longer way , which is fairly significant. ”

Your teacher is going to read this and think “This student is a terrible writer.” And you’ll lose a ton of marks.

17. Don’t Change the Formatting

Increasing the line spacing, font size or character spacing will just make your paper worse. You should have ONE space between each word. Your line spacing should either be 2.0 or 1.5 spacing. That’s it. Those are your options. Stick to normal margins in Microsoft Word You should use font size 12. If you artificially change any of this, your teacher will see through it and grade you down .

Final Thoughts

Making an essay longer needs to be done in a way that will get you marks. I can’t believe that there are websites ranking high on google that recommend tricks like “make the space between lines bigger” and “increase your margins”.

If a student did that in my class, I’d fail them instantly. There are smarter and better ways to do it – whether you’re writing a grade 7 essay or dissertation chapter! Do it the right way and you’ll grow your marks and be on the way to success.

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 21 Cozy Classroom Reading Corners
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 25 Math Center Ideas for Teachers
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 25 Student-Centered Learning Activity Ideas
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 25 Game-Based Learning Activities for the Classroom

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• Writing Tips

How to Make an Essay Longer

7-minute read

• 10th May 2023

So you have an essay due the next day. You’ve been holed up in your dorm all day writing it, and now you’ve finished the conclusion. You shake your fist in celebratory fashion as you punctuate the paper’s last sentence. However, your jaw drops in horror when you focus on the word count. The essay rubric states that you must write at least 1,500 words, but you’ve written only 1,000 ! How can this be? You worked so hard to do what the assignment asked you. We know the feeling, and we’re sure every college student experiences it at least once.

So with time running out, you can do the following:

●  Submit the essay and hope the professor doesn’t notice

●  Add some gibberish sentences to get close enough to the required word count

We don’t recommend these options. Making an essay longer seems daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. That’s why we’re providing this post on expanding your essay while keeping it relevant to the topic. We’ll share our helpful tips, and by the end of the post, you’ll know what to do next time your essay falls short of the word count.

1. Add Content to the Essay

Adding more details is a great starting point for increasing the word count. Review your essay and see whether you should have addressed additional points about the topic. Could you include a few more arguments?  

You’ll likely have to review your sources to find additional claims. We understand that you might not want to do this, especially if the clock reads midnight and your class starts in nine hours. However, adding more content not only increases the word count; it also makes your essay more credible. 

If you need to add content, make sure it’s relevant to the topic. Consider the following example:

Personal details about the source’s author are irrelevant. Submitting such details will only earn you the wrath of your professor’s red ink. Let’s try an alternative:

Expanding on the citation with personal insight about screen time adds punch while keeping the discussion relevant. Additional details must move your essay forward the way dialogue and narrative do for a work of fiction.  

2. Add Transitional Sentences and Phrases

Your essay might be short of words because it lacks transitional phrases, so you should add some to the mix. In fact, every academic paper should include a healthy blend of transitional sentences and transitional words/phrases . Not sure what we mean by that? You know words and phrases such as however , moreover , and in addition . 

As with details, transitional phrases help to move the essay forward, so make sure to use them correctly. Let’s take an example from an essay about the late Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic:

As you can see, the writer uses transitional phrases correctly, adding value and words to the essay. When you use them correctly, transitional sentences and phrases improve the flow of your writing , enhancing readability. Professors expect coherent essays that flow smoothly, so transitional sentences and phrases are mandatory, regardless of word count. 

That being said, it can be easy to overuse linking words, particularly if you’re a non-native writer. Check out this interesting article from Fabio Cerpeloni, who argues that linking words can impact the readability of your text . 

3. Spell Out Words and Numbers

If you have contractions in your essay, such as can’t , won’t , and couldn’t , write them out in full. You shouldn’t use contractions at all in academic writing because they’re considered informal. Although using full versions of words seems to be a miniscule measure, doing so can go a long way to increasing your word count. And as a rule, you can also spell out numbers one through eleven. Again, doing this will help expand your essay.

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To save time switching out your contractions, make sure you’re familiar with Microsoft Word’s find and replace tool .  

4. Add More Examples

Using at least two examples, you should aim to support every argument you present. If you have only one example for an argument, add a couple more. Provide citations to support your claims; otherwise, your professor will question your knowledge. As with details, examples will strengthen your essay. It’s a win–win situation!

If the essay has enough citations but still needs more words, you could try paraphrasing claims from sources. Just be sure to paraphrase effectively . You wouldn’t want to fall into the trap of plagiarism!

5. Review the Introduction and Conclusion

Now that you’ve written the essay, go back to the introduction and the conclusion. You might be able to expand on them and provide extra details. Remember that the introduction serves as a lead-in to the essay. In other words, it captures your readers’ attention and makes them want to keep reading. If your introduction appears weak, add details that will engage the reader properly.

And for the conclusion, provide a takeaway for the reader and offer a call to action. For example, what are the most important things to remember about your essay? The conclusion may lack punch, so add some details to improve it.

6. Expand Your Research on the Topic

The amount of research you’ve done could affect the word count. One way to check this is by reviewing your reference list. It should have at least five sources, so if yours has fewer, you need to do more research. Again, it’s not something you’d like to do in the middle of the night; however, sacrifices must be made if your essay needs more research. We guarantee your professor will notice if you haven’t done enough research. Here’s an extra tip: adding details will be much easier if you’re fully knowledgeable about the topic. Trust us on this!

While making an essay longer may seem daunting, doing so is easier if you’ve adequately researched the topic. The essay likely needs more ideas or examples, so go ahead and add them. Additional details will lend value, improve flow, and make your essay more credible. The most important thing to remember is that any details you add must be relevant. Simply adding fluff will weaken your essay and cost you marks. So never submit an essay with a low word count; your professor will notice! And after all, expanding on an essay is part of mastering essay writing skills .

We recommend not waiting until the last minute to check that your essay meets the required word count. Adding details or doing additional research the night before will only spell trouble. We understand the difficulty of making time when multiple papers are due in the same week. However, college life will test your time management skills like nothing else! Use your time wisely!

1.  Why do essays fall short of the required word count?

This is often due to a lack of details and transitional sentences. Review your essay to see whether it’s missing important examples that can strengthen your claims.

2.  Can I simply add “fluff” to increase the word count?

Anything you add to the essay must be relevant and must add value. Your professor is no fool, after all!

3. I hear proofreading is essential before submitting my essay. Can anyone help me with this?

We suggest our proofreading experts at Proofed! They can check your writing for grammar and punctuation errors and ensure perfect spelling and concision. Consider submitting a 500-word document for free today!

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How to Make an Essay Appear Longer Than It Is

Last Updated: February 2, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Jake Adams . Jake Adams is an academic tutor and the owner of Simplifi EDU, a Santa Monica, California based online tutoring business offering learning resources and online tutors for academic subjects K-College, SAT & ACT prep, and college admissions applications. With over 14 years of professional tutoring experience, Jake is dedicated to providing his clients the very best online tutoring experience and access to a network of excellent undergraduate and graduate-level tutors from top colleges all over the nation. Jake holds a BS in International Business and Marketing from Pepperdine University. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,778,256 times.

You are writing a paper and the deadline is approaching, but you are nowhere near the page limit. Many students find themselves in this position. Luckily for you, you can lengthen your paper by using a few tricks. Increasing the font size, adding a lengthy header, and manipulating the spacing between lines are just a few strategies you can use to make your essay appear longer. However, be aware that breaking your teacher’s guidelines may result in a lower grade.

Playing with the Font

• Don’t pick a very large font like Arial Black or Lucida Handwriting. Your teacher will notice that you are trying to make your essay longer by choosing a larger font.

Manipulating Spacing and Margins

• If the increase is too noticeable, then try 1.15 or 1.1 instead.
• Because all documents are left justified, avoid increasing the left margin. Adjusting the left margin will produce a noticeable change that your teacher will detect.

Adjusting the Header and Footer

Expanding the Content

• Additionally, if you are quoting or paraphrasing research or literature, make sure to cite it properly. Citations can add extra length to a paper as well.

• Expand your introductory paragraph with an attention-getting statement to hook the reader in.

• However, try to avoid being descriptive when it is unnecessary since this may cause your paper to appear embellished or sound verbose.

Community Q&A

• Copy and paste your paper into a new document. Make these changes to the new document. Then compare and contrast the document with the changes to the original document. Remove any adjustments that seem obvious. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Use a thesaurus to find longer synonyms to use in place of shorter ones. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Spell out abbreviations; for example, write out “United States" instead of using "US." Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• Be aware that breaking your teacher’s guidelines may be considered cheating, which may result in a lower grade or even a zero. Thanks Helpful 12 Not Helpful 1
• Don't be redundant. Thanks Helpful 5 Not Helpful 1

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.paperhelp.org/blog/how-to-make-a-paper-longer.html
• ↑ https://www.jakebinstein.com/blog/how-to-make-an-essay-look-longer/
• ↑ https://studentshare.org/study-guides/how-to-make-your-essay-look-longer
• ↑ http://www.seventeen.com/life/school/advice/a27491/tricks-you-try-to-make-your-school-paper-longer/
• ↑ https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-make-paper-longer-793288

About This Article

To make an essay appear longer than it is, pick a font that's slightly larger than Times New Roman, like Arial, Courier New, or Cambria. If you're required to use 12-point font, try increase the font to 12.1 or 12.2 to gain some extra length without the font looking noticeably larger. Then, press on Control and the F key at the same time to activate the find and replace function, and replace all of the commas and periods with 14-point font. If the essay still isn't long enough, increase the line spacing by 0.1 or 0.2 and make the right margin 0.1-0.2 inches larger. For tips on adjusting the header and footer or adding more content to your essay, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Make an Essay Longer Without It Feeling Forced

Ever struggled to meet the word count requirement for your essay? You're not alone. Whether it's a minimum size or a certain number of pages, it can feel like a daunting task to stretch your writing without watering it down. But fear not! This article is here to help. We'll explore some practical tips and tricks to make your essay longer without sacrificing quality. From expanding on your main points to incorporating more evidence, we've got you covered. Say goodbye to staring at a blank screen and hello to meeting your paper length with confidence!

How to Make Your Essay Longer: Practical Tips

Students may aim to make their essays longer to fulfill the word count criteria their teachers or professors set. Meeting these requirements is crucial as it can affect their grades or evaluation. Moreover, longer papers offer more room for in-depth exploration of topics, allowing students to showcase their understanding comprehensively. By expanding their papers, students can provide more evidence and examples to strengthen their arguments, making their points more persuasive. Additionally, longer papers may be seen as a sign of dedication and effort, potentially earning students favorable recognition from their instructors.

Increase Font Size and Spacing

Adjusting the font size and spacing of your text can subtly but effectively increase the overall length of your paper. By slightly enlarging the font size and expanding spacing between lines and paragraphs, you can offer extra bulk to your document without significantly altering its content. Please consult our essay outline guide for more ideas on how to expand your paper's structure.

Replace Contractions with Full Words

Contractions, such as "can't" instead of "cannot" or "it's" instead of "it is," often take up less space. By replacing these contractions with their full-word equivalents, you can make your essay longer by adding additional characters.

Add Transitional Phrases

Transitional phrases help connect different parts of your essay, guiding the reader through your arguments and making your writing flow more smoothly. Adding more of these phrases between paragraphs or sections can improve your paper's coherence, and including extra words can increase its word count.

Need to Make Your Essay Longer?

Professional writers know how to do papers that fit into the required length.

Use Synonyms for Shorter Words

Look for opportunities to replace shorter words with longer synonyms without changing the meaning of your sentences. For example, "big" could become "substantial," or "important" could be replaced with "significant." This simple technique can help add size to your paper without sacrificing clarity.

Include Personal Anecdotes

Incorporating personal anecdotes or experiences related to your topic can make your essay more engaging and provide additional content to expand upon. You can augment the depth of your writing by sharing relevant stories or reflections and meaningfully increasing its word count.

Reference Pop Culture or Current Events

Bringing references to popular culture or recent events can enrich your essay and demonstrate your awareness of contemporary issues. By integrating relevant examples or discussions from the media, you can expand your analysis and provide fresh insights, thus extending the volume of your paper.

Provide Detailed Explanations

Take the time to thoroughly explain your ideas and arguments, providing additional context or background information where necessary. By offering detailed explanations, you enhance the clarity of your writing and tally substance and depth, ultimately increasing the word count of your paper.

Use Footnotes or Endnotes

If there are additional points or information that you want to include but don't necessarily fit within the main body of your essay, consider using footnotes or endnotes. These can be used to provide supplementary details, citations, or explanations without disrupting the flow of your primary argument, effectively expanding the content of your paper.

Address Counterarguments

Acknowledging and addressing potential counterarguments demonstrates a thorough understanding of your topic and strengthens your own arguments. By engaging with opposing viewpoints and presenting rebuttals, you not only bolster the persuasiveness of your essay but also bring complexity and word count to your analysis.

Incorporate Quotes from Primary Sources

Introducing quotes from primary sources, such as books, articles, or interviews, can incorporate credibility and depth to your arguments. By directly citing authoritative sources, you provide additional evidence to support your claims and expand the scope of your discussion, increasing your essay's extent.

Include Visuals like Graphs or Charts

Visual aids, such as graphs, charts, or tables, can be used to illustrate data or complex information clearly and concisely. Incorporating visuals enhances the visual appeal of your essay and provides supplementary content to expand upon, contributing to its overall word count.

Still Can’t Fit Into the Word Count?

Don’t waste any more time, and use our writing service to get an essay of a proper length.

Explore Alternative Interpretations

Consider exploring alternative interpretations or perspectives related to your topic. Presenting different viewpoints or analyzing your subject from various angles adds richness and complexity to your essay, ultimately increasing its size and depth of analysis. While trying to manipulate the word count of your paper using these techniques, keep in mind the punctuation marks .

Offer Comparisons or Contrasts

Drawing comparisons or contrasts between different ideas, theories, or examples can enrich your essay and provide additional content to discuss. By highlighting similarities and differences, you add nuance to your arguments and expand the scope of your analysis, thereby increasing the volume of your composition.

Simplify Complex Concepts

Break down complex ideas or concepts into simpler terms that are easier to understand. By providing clear explanations and examples, you not only improve the accessibility of your writing but also encompass substance and depth, ultimately increasing the word count of your document.

Define Technical Terms

If your essay includes specialized terminology or jargon, take the time to define these terms for your readers. By providing clear definitions and explanations, you ensure that your audience understands the concepts you're discussing and integrate additional content to your manuscript, thus increasing its range.

Discuss Opposing Viewpoints

Engaging with opposing viewpoints and discussing their merits can enrich your essay and demonstrate your critical thinking skills. By acknowledging alternative perspectives and presenting counterarguments, you enclose complexity and depth to your analysis, ultimately increasing the reach of your writing.

Extend Implications of Findings

Consider the broader implications of your arguments or findings and explore their significance in greater detail. By discussing the potential consequences or applications of your research, you subsume depth and complexity to your analysis, ultimately increasing the magnitude of your essay.

Expand Examples and Evidence

Provide additional examples, evidence, or case studies to support your arguments and illustrate your points. By offering more detailed and varied examples, you strengthen your claims and make your essay longer, ultimately increasing its word count and persuasiveness. If you still can’t fit into the word limit and none of these tips help, simply say, ‘ write my essay for me ,’ and our writers will produce a cogent paper of the required length.

Home / Guides / Writing Guides / Writing Tips / How to Make an Essay Longer the Smart Way

How to Make an Essay Longer the Smart Way

Meeting an essay’s required page or word count can sometimes be a struggle, especially if you’re juggling multiple papers or exams. In a pinch, students often rely on tricks like increasing margin size or making their font slightly bigger. Though these tricks do increase page length, there are easier (and smarter) ways to write a longer, high-quality essay. Making a paper meet minimum word or page counts doesn’t have to be an agonizing process—you can add length while also adding clarity and depth.

Here are 10 tips on how you can write a longer and a smarter essay, even if the deadline is fast approaching:

Tip #1: Look Back at Your Prompt/Rubric/etc.

If you’ve been provided a comprehensive prompt or rubric for an essay, read it, and read it again. Think about the following:

• Did you answer all of the questions in the prompt?
• Did you provide supporting evidence to back up whatever claims you made?
• Did you leave out any information that might increase the reader’s understanding of your argument?
• Did you meet all requirements (besides length) for the paper?

If the answer isn’t a decisive “yes” to every question on this list, go back and revise.

Tip #2: Go Back Through Your Introduction and Conclusion

Often times, ideas evolve while writing a paper. If the first thing you wrote was the introduction, go back and reread the first paragraph. You might decide that you left out key information that aids the reader in understanding your argument. When looking back on the conclusion, make sure you’ve both summarized the main points within the essay and provided your reader with a solution to consider. If you don’t feel you’ve done this, go back through and revise the paper.

Tip #3: Have Someone Proofread Your Essay

Even if you’re short on time ask a friend, sibling, or parent to read through your paper, specifically noting any points they find confusing. Then, go back and revise the parts that were unclear, adding in more information to provide readers with further clarity. You have a more comprehensive understanding of what you’re writing about than your reader, so having someone else look over your paper can be a helpful way to ensure that you haven’t missed any important details.

Tip #4: Use Quotations

Chances are, you have already used quotes in your paper. Quotations are a great way to enhance your argument while also driving up a paper’s word count, but don’t add quotes just for the sake of doing so. If you’re short on words, read through your source materials again to see if you’ve missed any valuable quotes. You can also do a little more research to see if there are any other sources you can add to provide the reader with more evidence toward your argument. Longer quotes aren’t necessarily better, but if you’re really in a bind, you might want to lengthen some of the quotes that are already included.

Tip #5: Review Your Outline

Did you make an outline to plan the essay when you first started? Go back through that initial outline and make sure you’ve hit all of your intended points. It’s possible that you’ve left out an important piece of your argument that would both increase page count and make for a better essay.

Tip #6: Include More Transitional Phrases

Graders often look for traditional words linking sentences to each other, like “therefore,” “even though”, and “on the other hand.” Read through your essay and make sure the sentences flow smoothly into each other. If they don’t, go back and add in transitional phrases like the ones listed above. Your writing will be easier to read, and you’ll get closer to the minimum page requirement in the process.

Tip #7: Read Your Paper Out Loud

This might sound like a silly tip, but when you read your paper out loud, you become increasingly aware of any grammatical or syntactical issues. When you rephrase sentences to fix these, you might end up increasing the paper length a bit. In the process of reading out loud, you also might realize that you didn’t include sufficient details within a particular paragraph. If that’s the case, go back in and add more to increase length.

Tip #8: Take a Break From Your Essay

You’ve probably been staring at your computer screen for hours, hoping words will magically pop into your head. Take a break. Eat a snack, go for a walk, or talk to a friend on the phone. You’ll come back to the essay with a fresh perspective after some time away, and you might have new ideas after you’ve had time away from your paper.

Tip #9: Ask Your Instructor for Help

Most teachers, teaching assistants, and professors are willing to look over papers for students before the final submission date. If there is still time, ask if you can make an appointment to go over your paper or head over to office hours. Your instructor might offer tips on how to better answer the prompt, and this in turn may also increase the word count of the paper.

Tip #10: Use multiple examples to back up your argument

If you’ve only used one source or anecdote to explain a given point, find a second source to provide additional evidence for the reader. This method will help drive up a paper’s word count while also providing further support for your argument.

Although hitting a minimum page count can sometimes be challenging, you can do it the smart way by increasing the information you provide to the reader—there’s no reason to resort to tricks like increasing line spacing or font size. If you’re really in a bind at the last minute, you might want to break up some of your paragraphs. This increases length while also making text more manageable for a reader. But after going through the tips on this list, your paper should be adequate in length without you having to even consider spacing.

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How To Make An Essay Longer

To make an essay longer, focus on quality: elaborate on arguments, add evidence, consider counterarguments, deepen analysis, and clarify points. Use examples, expand introductions and conclusions, and enhance transitions for better flow and comprehension. ‍

Struggling with an essay that just won't stretch to the required length? You're not alone.Studyfy is your ally in this common academic predicament.

Most students have experienced looking at their word count and thinking about how to reach the maximum limit without using filler content. This guide tackles that problem head-on with practical solutions and insights.

We’ll introduce you to plenty of useful techniques so you can increase your word count effortlessly and without compromising your essay’s quality.

How To Make Your Essay Longer With In-Depth Research

One of the first approaches you can use to make your essay longer is to research your points. Remember these pointers:

• Conduct meticulous and thorough research on your essay’s topic to find new and overlooked information and insights.
• Make sure you use insights that strengthen your argument further, and not just information to use as filler and is irrelevant. 

Dig a little deeper, and you’ll surely find something you might have overlooked and can add to your paper. 

Ways To Make Your Essay Longer With Elaboration

Another way to make your essay longer is to elaborate more. This means you should explore the points you argue in greater detail. Keep these tips in mind:

• Break down your arguments : Detail each of your arguments and break them down into sub-points. For example, if you’re writing about sustainable energies, you can elaborate on the different types of sustainable energy sources that exist.
• The power of descriptive language : By using descriptive language, you can lengthen your essay because you’re painting a more vivid picture of your topic. You’re adding more detail and nuance. 
• Use real-world examples : These can help add substance, and they will strengthen the validity of your argument.
• Add background information : When adding new arguments to a topic, you can easily provide background information on whatever it is you want to add. This will help make your essay longer but can also add context, which will help the reader understand your point better.
• Use anecdotes : If done right and added in the right places, sharing personal stories can make your essay better. 

Using Counter Arguments In Your Essay

You can make an essay longer by using counterarguments. This strategy not only elongates your word count, it has the potential to increase your essay’s quality and persuasiveness.

Consider the following: 

• Find popular counter-views: Find common counterarguments against your thesis statement. If you know them, you’ll be better equipped to deconstruct and counter them to a larger paper's word count.
• Show the strength of your view : Properly, you can introduce the strength of your perspective through the counterargument. For example, use strong evidence to oppose the view and then show why your stance deserves to be considered.

Using Quotations and Analysis

If you’re looking for other ways how to make a paper longer, you can use quotes. Quotations and further analysis is a great strategy to add more content to your essay. So, how exactly can you achieve this? Check these pointers out: 

• Choose relevant quotes : Of course, you’ll have to select quotations and transition words that are related to your topic. You want quotes that capture the core ideas of your argument. If you’re writing about the environment, you’d want to quote an expert environmentalist and so on.
• Give analysis on your quotes : When you’ve presented a quotation, try providing analysis on it. Discuss its meaning and implications, and demonstrate why it backs up your claims. 

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A Blueprint For A Longer Essay

Another way to tackle how to lengthen an essay's word count is to make a detailed outline before writing so you can plan the number of words you’ll be writing from the start. This will motivate and reassure you that you’re hitting the word count.

Seek Writing Help

Finding writing assistance from professionals can be an easy and effective strategy to make your essay longer. For example, you can send a “ do my essay ” request on Studyfy to get in touch with a professional writer at any time. Here are some tips to remember when seeking help. 

• Look for credibility : Be sure you’re getting writing help from reputable people. Take a look at their customer feedback and reputation to make sure they deliver what they promise. 
• Be clear with what you need : Make sure they know that you want a longer essay. Be clear with your instructions.
• Guidance, not plagiarism : Use professional help for assistance, professional insights, and inspiration. You should use their work as a reference and foundation to build your writing and reach that desired word count.
• Make use of expert feedback : Make sure you use the feedback that is given to you and practice it. 

If you don’t have much time or energy, turning to writing professionals can be a great deal of help at desperate times of trying to fill out the minimum page count. 

Using Complex Sentence Structures and Richer Vocabulary to Up Your Required Word Count

Another strategy you can use if you’re keen on knowing how to make your essays longer is enriching your essay with vocabulary and complex sentence structures. What does this mean? Check out these tips: 

• Employ varied language and use synonyms : You can avoid repeating your words by using synonyms to convey similar phrases and meanings. This will add length and keep your audience engaged. With that, try utilizing transition words, transitional phrases and relevant quotations to reach supporting evidence.
• Use complex sentences : By using complex sentences and clauses in your writing, you can add more nuance to your writing and you can convey more insights. Vary your sentences from short to more detailed and lengthy. Balance this out with easy readability. Make sure that your essay is still easy to understand, regardless of a more nuanced writing style.

Taking Advantage of Examples and Case Studies when Essay Writing

If you want more words to make your essay longer, then using examples and case studies and integrating them into your essay is a great strategy to reach your word count goal.

These can strengthen your argument since they provide tangible evidence. They don’t solely make your essay longer. Here’s what you need to remember: 

• Select relevant examples and case studies : You should, of course, use examples that back up your arguments. Make sure they are recent examples as well. Imagine yourself writing on technology. If you’re using an example, you should use one from recent years.
• Go into detail when demonstrating case studies : When you use a case study, you should go into detail and include the context, process, and outcomes. You will add length to your essay, but you will also simultaneously make it more nuanced and strengthen your points.

Using Visual Elements

If done effectively, you can make your writing more engaging. Still confused? Don’t forget you can pay for essay services on Studyfy right now for an extra hand. So, what can you use?

You can use graphs, charts, and even image s to strengthen your essay and make it longer. For example, when you’re finishing up a scientific essay, you can use graphs to showcase statistics and data.

Writing Detailed Intros and Conclusions

Since your introduction and conclusion are decisive elements in your essay, you can make do by increasing their length without compromising their strength and quality. Do keep these tips in mind: 

• For the introduction : Provide more context so that you can present your thesis in a stronger light. Write hints about what you’ll discuss in your body text.
• For the conclusion : To make your conclusion longer, you can elaborate on the arguments you’ve developed over the body. You should present a “developed” and concluding version of those arguments. Reflect on what you’ve written without introducing new information. You can create a detailed and persuasive call to action to invite readers to explore the topic more. 

Development

Make sure your sections are well organized, and every argument is fully developed. If they’re not, this might explain why you’re not reaching your word count limit. Need extra help? Don’t forget to take advantage of Studyfy’s custom writing service right now. Elaborate a point completely. Be meticulous and diligent with the development of your points.

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Can you teach me how to make my essay longer without sacrificing quality? 

Make sure that your points strengthen your arguments. Elaborate carefully. If you need help, use our college admission essay writing service for expert writing help.

Does this guide include everything I need to know?

Yes. Use our table of contents to jump to the techniques you feel keen on using. You'll find everything you need to know on how to make paper longer. We offer key points, supporting evidence and more examples to help you achieve the desired essay length.

How do I make my essay longer and keep it coherent?

You can make an essay longer and maintain its focus by going back to your thesis statement and main arguments when adding new material. Make sure they strengthen your arguments. 

What should I avoid doing?

When finding ways how to make your paper longer, avoid using filler content, and don't repeat words and sentences.

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How To Make An Essay Longer

Last updated on: Jun 28, 2024

How To Make An Essay Longer - Easy Guide For Beginners

By: Nova A.

Reviewed By: Chris H.

Published on: Apr 2, 2019

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you need to meet a word count for your essay but fall short of content?

It can be frustrating and stressful to figure out how to make your essay longer without compromising its quality and coherence.

In this blog, we will provide you with practical strategies and valuable tips to effectively expand your essay while maintaining its integrity.

Say goodbye to the struggle and embrace a well-crafted, lengthier essay.

Let's dive in!  

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Tips on How to Make an Essay Longer 

Essay Writing can be challenging, especially when you need to meet a specific word count or want to delve deeper into your analysis.

There are strategies you can use to effectively increase the length of your essay or research paper without compromising its quality. 

Let’s explore how to make your essay longer hacks and tips while maintaining its effectiveness.

Do a Comprehensive Research

Conducting in-depth research is crucial when aiming to make your essay longer and more comprehensive.

By going beyond surface-level knowledge, you gain access to a wealth of information and insights.

This additional research allows you to develop a deeper understanding of your topic, which in turn enhances the quality of your essay.

When conducting research, keep in mind to rely on credible sources. Credible sources include academic journals, reputable books, scholarly databases, and trusted websites. 

Elaborate on Arguments 

To expand and strengthen your essay, it is vital to provide detailed explanations and expand on your arguments.  Follow these key steps:

• Offer clear explanations of your main points, using descriptive language to enhance understanding.
• Support your arguments with relevant evidence, such as data, statistics, or expert opinions.
• Provide examples and illustrations that exemplify your points and make them more relatable.
• Engage in critical analysis and interpretation to showcase a deeper understanding of the topic.
• Address counterarguments by acknowledging opposing viewpoints and providing reasoned responses.
• Continuously connect your elaborations back to the thesis statement for a focused and cohesive essay.

Add Examples

Start by researching your topic. Make sure you get important details, substantial arguments, and evidence to highlight your points of view better.

When you start writing, look for the claims you’ve made in your essay and analyze the supporting and opposing views.

Make sure you add relevant supporting evidence for each view that makes your essay more engaging and lengthen your paper effectively.

Usually, it’s good to use case studies and real-life scenarios or statistical information to make your arguments stronger.

Whenever you use any mathematical figures try to spell out numbers. Make sure that whatever it is, they support your arguments strongly.

Use Quotations and Citations 

Using quotations from experts and credible sources serves multiple purposes in your essay. 

Quotations play a significant role in enhancing the understanding and depth of your essay. 

They demonstrate that your ideas are supported by established thinkers or recognized sources in the field.

Proper citation is essential when using quotations in your essay. It not only gives credit to the original author but also demonstrates your academic integrity. 

Ensure that you adhere to the required citation style , whether it's APA, MLA, Chicago, or any other specified format. 

Take the time to understand the rules and guidelines for citing quotations accurately.

Include Transitional Phrases and Sentences

Thinkin how to make your essay longer using words while maintaining a smooth flow and coherence?

It is essential to include transitional phrases and sentences in your essay. 

Transitional sentences not only help to make your essay longer but more cohesive as well. Transition sentences are used to connect the ideas being discussed in different paragraphs of the essay. So the right choice of transitional sentences will make your essay a great piece of writing.

Here are some key considerations for using transitional phrases effectively:

Introducing Additional Points:

• Furthermore,
• Additionally,
• In addition to,

Providing Examples or Illustrations:

• For instance,
• For example,
• Specifically,
• To illustrate this,
• In particular,

Need more examples of transitional words to make an essay longer? Check out this transition words blog!

Do Not Use Short Forms

Avoid using short forms and contractions. In a formal essay, do not use ‘wouldn't’, ‘can’t’ or ‘don’ts’, use their full form. The same goes for numbers also, use spellings instead of number form.

If you are not sure about the word count then use a word counter to be sure that you have added the required number of words. Increasing the font size will also help to lengthen your essay.

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Be More Descriptive

To make your essay longer while keeping the flow smooth and engaging the reader, it is essential to focus on being more descriptive in your writing.

By incorporating vivid descriptions, sensory details, and figurative language, you can expand the length of your essay while enhancing its depth and richness.

Descriptive language allows you to provide more intricate explanations, paint a more detailed picture of your subject matter, and create a more immersive reading experience.

By employing techniques such as engaging the senses, providing concrete examples, and painting a vivid picture with words, you can reach the required word count.

Add All Necessary Information

During your revision part, ensure that you’ve included all relevant information for the essay and there’s no missing concept or theory.

At times students find sections that can be improved with new arguments or there is a missing piece of evidence.

Look for such loopholes in the content and fix them.

Add details that are relevant, credible, and valuable for your audience as well. Once you’re done with the checking, re-read the essay to ensure complete conformity to quality standards and essay guidelines.

Format Your Paragraphs Well

While writing your essay make sure that paragraphs of your essay are formatted well.

Each paragraph should start with a topic sentence , following the supporting argument, and a concluding or transition sentence.

Keep revising your paragraphs and add the sentences that are missing.

Take a Fresh Look at Your Topic

This may seem a useless tactic but revisiting your prompt in the middle of your writing process will help you a lot to explore the hidden perspectives of the topic.

You may realize that you have not considered a number of dimensions of the topic nor explained them.

This allows you to gain new perspectives, refine your arguments, and ensure that your essay remains relevant and compelling. 

Their explanation will not only help you elongate your essay but also make it more comprehensive.

Add Illustrations

To further add to your essay content, look for illustrative material that can be included to justify your claims better.

These are usually supporting pieces of information like images, charts, statistical reports, and graphs that largely add to the essay's appeal and length as well.

Your sources must be authentic and reliable. Do not forget to include them in your resource list to increase the size and essay length.

Add Lists and Numbers

Another good tip that adds to the page count for your paper is the addition of bullets and lists to organize your ideas properly.

Besides, they also make the paper longer and more readable, and engaging for the audience. Within sections and paragraphs, add lists to further explain a core concept or idea better.

You can also increase the line spacing between texts to make your essay look longer.

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Try Reverse Outlining

After writing your paper, reading back through it and creating an outline will help you reorganize pages. It will make more sense to the readers about your work. It can also point out areas that you need to develop more.

If you see a point and think that you can clarify it more, take the opportunity and make it longer.

If you notice a paragraph that introduces more than one idea, break them into multiple paragraphs and explain them thoroughly.

Take a Break and Revisit Your Essay

To increase the length and improve the quality of your essay, it is essential to take breaks and revisit your work with a fresh perspective.

Stepping away from your writing allows you to clear your mind and return with renewed focus.

When you review your essay with fresh eyes, you can identify areas that need further development, clarification, or expansion.

Take the time to revise and edit your essay, addressing grammar, punctuation, and clarity. 

Approach your Instructor and Ask for Possible Help

Many teachers and instructors are willing to give reviews about the paper before submission. It means you can always consider approaching your instructor for guidance. 

Schedule a meeting and come prepared with specific questions about expanding your essay effectively. 

Explain your concerns about the length and express your willingness to put in the effort to improve. 

Be attentive to the advice given by your instructor and make a keen effort to implement their feedback in your revised essay. 

Make Your Spacing Larger 

One sneaky way to increase the length of your essay is by adjusting the spacing. 

Increase the line spacing between your lines of text by using 1.5 or double spacing instead of the default 1.0 spacing. 

Another option is to use a slightly larger font size, although it's important not to go overboard. For example, you are using times new roman size 12, make it to 12.5!

Incorporating subheadings within your essay can help break up sections and add length. Additionally, take the opportunity to provide more detailed explanations and elaborate on your examples. 

Remember to use these formatting tips responsibly and focus on providing meaningful content to enhance the overall quality of your essay.

Get Professional Writing Help

If you find yourself still struggling to increase the length and improve the quality of your essay, seeking professional writing help can be a valuable option.

These online writing services offer assistance from experienced writers who can help you with essay-lengthening techniques. They also offer suggestions for improvement and provide editing and proofreading services.

Just like that, 5StarEssays.com is one of the best “ write my essay ” services!

Our qualified writing experts can compose an impressive essay that meets the word count without giving the impression of dragging it.

Don't miss out on the opportunity to elevate your writing skills and achieve your academic goals.

Marketing, Law

As a Digital Content Strategist, Nova Allison has eight years of experience in writing both technical and scientific content. With a focus on developing online content plans that engage audiences, Nova strives to write pieces that are not only informative but captivating as well.

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7 Tips on How to Make an Essay Longer and Hit Your Word Count

So you’ve written a great essay, but now you’re staring at the word count and panicking because you’re still a few hundred words short. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there.

Padding out an essay to reach the required length doesn’t have to be painful. In fact, with a few tried-and-true tricks up your sleeve, you’ll be well on your way to crafting a longer and stronger essay in no time. The key is not to just add fluff, but incorporate meaningful content that enriches your writing.

This article will show you several effective ways to make an essay longer and boost your word count in a natural, compelling way. Before you know it, you’ll have surpassed the minimum length and turned in an essay you can feel proud of.

Here are 5 simple tips to make your essay longer:

1. Add Examples and Elaborate

To hit your target word count, adding examples and elaborating on your points is key.

Give examples

Providing examples to illustrate your points is an easy way to boost your word count. For each argument or claim you make, give one or two examples from real life, current events, history, statistics, stories, anecdotes, etc. to strengthen your point. For example, if you are writing an essay on the benefits of daily exercise, give some examples of how exercise has improved people’s lives or health.

• “Studies show that exercising for just 30 minutes a day 5 times a week can reduce the risk of heart disease by up to 50%.”
• “Someone who starts an exercise routine in their 50s and sticks with it can gain 3-7 years of life expectancy.”
• “Regular exercise has been shown to boost both short-term and long-term memory in people of all ages.”

Elaborate on key points

Take each paragraph in your essay and see if you can elaborate on the main point or argument by providing additional details, explanations, and commentary. Doing so helps demonstrate that you have a deep understanding of the topic and fills out your essay to reach the required length.

For example, if you make the point that daily exercise improves both physical and mental health, elaborate on how it helps both the body and the mind:

"Physically, exercise increases cardiovascular fitness, builds strength and endurance, helps maintain a healthy weight, and even slows the aging process. Mentally, exercise releases feel-good hormones called endorphins that act as natural mood boosters and stress relievers. It also stimulates the growth of new neural connections in the brain that help with learning, memory, problem solving, and decision making."

Using examples and elaborating on your key points are simple yet effective ways to make an essay longer and hit your target word count. Add more and more examples and details and before you know it, you'll have reached or exceeded the required length!

2. Include Backstory and Context

To hit your target word count, you need to provide context and backstory for your readers. Flesh out the details and give examples to help illustrate your key points.

Backstory and Examples

Think about the journey that led up to your essay topic. Share some details about key events, experiences, or people that shaped your perspective. For an essay on your career goals, discuss what led you to choose your field of study or current job role. For a persuasive essay, explain what sparked your interest in the issue.

Provide specific examples and anecdotes to bring your points to life. If you're discussing the challenges of long distance relationships, share a story of a memorable visit or phone call. For an essay on your favorite travel destination, describe your favorite memory from the trip. Examples give readers insight into the topic through vivid details and imagery.

Use transition words like "for example," "for instance," "such as," and "including" when integrating examples and anecdotes into your essay. Explain how each example relates back to your main point or argument. The more you can show through examples rather than just telling readers about the topic, the more compelling and impactful your essay will be.

Additional Details

Elaborate on discussions or examples by including additional details and commentary. Ask yourself follow up questions about each point to identify other information you can provide to expand on the topic. Explain the significance and implications of examples or evidence you've included. Discuss other possibilities or perspectives relating to your points.

Use phrases like "more specifically," "in particular," "notably," and "importantly" to signal that you are providing more in-depth details about a point. Repeat key terms and rephrase ideas in new ways to reinforce your main points as you elaborate. With additional details and commentary, you can easily extend the length and substance of your essay.

Providing backstory, real-world examples, and additional details and commentary are highly effective ways to make an essay longer and more compelling while still focused and impactful. Use these strategies to expand on the key points in your outline and hit your target word count. With practice, elaborating in these ways can become second nature!

Pro tip: If you're running short on time, use AI to expand your sections and increase your word count! Hypotenuse AI's text generator can help you write 10x faster without compromising on quality.

3. Use Descriptive Language

One of the easiest ways to boost your word count is to get descriptive with your language. Use colorful adjectives and adverbs, sensory imagery, and metaphors to bring your writing to life. Rather than saying something is “big,” describe it as “enormous,” “gigantic,” or “towering.” Replace a phrase like “walked quickly” with “strode briskly” or “hurried.”

Paint a Picture with Words

Help the reader visualize what you’re writing about by appealing to the senses. Describe how something smells, tastes, sounds, or feels. Use similes and metaphors to make creative comparisons, like “sweet as honey” or “light as a feather.” For example, instead of writing “the beach at night,” describe it as:

The moonlit beach was quiet at night, except for the rhythmic crashing of gentle waves. A cool, salty sea breeze carried the aroma of seaweed and fish. The sand felt soft and cold between my toes as I strolled along the shore, gazing at the inky black ocean freckled with the silver reflections of a million stars.

Make Lists and Use Formatting

Break up long paragraphs by making bulleted or numbered lists of key points, steps, options, examples or pieces of information. Numbered lists suggest a sequence or process, while bulleted lists group related pieces of information. Both make content easier to read and take up more space. You can also use headings and subheadings, indenting, and line spacing to make your essay appear longer.

Avoid Redundancy But Include Synonyms

While repeating yourself word-for-word will seem redundant to the reader, using synonyms and related terms for the same concept is an easy way to expand on ideas without seeming repetitive. For example, instead of saying “the huge, massive tree,” you could write “the enormous, giant, towering oak tree.” Refer to the same subject in different ways by using pronouns like “it,” “they” or “this” and descriptors like “the latter” and “the former.”

With practice, using these techniques will become second nature and help you reach or exceed your desired word count every time. Your writing will also become more engaging and impactful as a result.

4. Vary Your Sentence Structure

Varying your sentence structure is one of the easiest ways to lengthen your essay and keep readers engaged. Using a combination of simple, compound and complex sentences will make your writing more dynamic and compelling.

Simple sentences, consisting of just one independent clause, are great for impact and rhythm. sprinkle them in for emphasis. Compound sentences join two independent clauses together with a coordinating conjunction like "and" or "but." They create flow and help tie ideas together.

Complex sentences have an independent clause joined by one or more dependent clauses. They show how concepts relate and add depth. Aim for 2-3 complex sentences per paragraph.

• Combine shorter sentences into longer, more complex ones. Look for sentences on the same topic that can be joined. Use coordinating or subordinating conjunctions like "although," "because" or "when."
• Add dependent clauses starting with words like "that," "which," "who," or "whom." For example, change "Students study hard. They want to get good grades." to "Students who want to get good grades study hard."
• Use parallel structure and coordinating conjunctions to combine sentences. Change "The essay was informative. The essay was also persuasive." to "The essay was informative and persuasive."
• Include lists and examples. Lists of three or more related items, with or without bullets, take up space and provide useful details. Examples also add length and help clarify your points.
• Discuss the implications or consequences of ideas. Explain how concepts relate or build upon each other. For example, change "New technologies are emerging rapidly. They have advanced features." to "New technologies with increasingly advanced features are emerging rapidly, facilitating improvements in many areas of life."
• Use transition words like "furthermore," "moreover," "in addition" and "another" to introduce new but related thoughts. They create flow and coherence between sentences and paragraphs.

Varying your writing in these ways will not only lengthen your essay but also strengthen it by creating rhythm, flow and depth. Your writing will become more compelling and complex, allowing you to fully explore all aspects of your topic. With practice, paraphrasing can become second nature.

5. Include Quotes and References

To beef up an essay and reach your required word count, incorporating relevant quotes and references from credible sources is an easy strategy.

Dropping in short quotes from experts or key figures related to your topic is an effective way to boost your word count by 30-50 words at a time. For example, if you're writing about environmental protection, consider including a compelling quote from Jane Goodall or David Attenborough on conservation. Just make sure the quote is properly attributed and relates directly to the point you're making.

Citing references, examples and case studies is another simple method for adding length and substance to your essay. For each source, aim to include 2-3 sentences introducing the reference, a sentence or two summarizing key details, and a citation in the proper format (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).

For example:

"A recent study from the Environmental Protection Agency found that recycling just one ton of paper can save 7,000 gallons of water. The study analyzed paper production from start to finish and concluded that recycling has significant environmental benefits compared to making paper products from raw materials. (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2020)."

Including a mix of both quotes from notable public figures and references to credible studies or reports on your topic is ideal for boosting an essay's word count and lending more credibility and persuasive power to your writing. You can find excellent open-source references, statistics, examples and quotes on virtually any subject by searching online databases, company/ non-profit organizations' websites and reputable media publications.

With some digging, you'll find plenty of material to incorporate into your essay. Just be sure to properly introduce, explain and cite each reference or quote to achieve an essay length that hits your target word count. Padding your essay may be necessary at times, but do so in a meaningful way. Keep your writing concise while also being compelling and backed by evidence.

6. Address counterarguments

Addressing counterarguments and providing a thoughtful rebuttal can add depth to your writing while increasing the overall word count. This demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of the topic and shows critical thinking skills.

When crafting an argumentative essay, it is important to acknowledge opposing viewpoints in a fair and balanced manner. Consider potential counterarguments to each of your main points and address at least one major counterargument for each point.

Explain why you believe the counterargument is flawed or limited in scope before restating your own argument. This shows readers you have anticipated and can effectively respond to reasonable objections.

If you're arguing that students should be required to wear school uniforms, you may acknowledge counterarguments regarding freedom of expression and individuality before explaining why uniform policies have benefits that outweigh these concerns. A thoughtful rebuttal of major counterarguments can comprise an entire paragraph or two for each point, significantly increasing the overall word count.

7. Provide in-depth analysis

Delve deeper into your arguments by offering thorough analysis and interpretation of the topic. By exploring different facets and implications, you can enrich the content of your essay while also increasing its length through detailed examination and discussion.

To lengthen your essay, choose one of your main points and unpack it in greater detail. Discuss the nuances, complexities and subtleties surrounding your argument. For that point, consider the historical context, social implications, related theories, and differing interpretations. You can examine how your argument applies to various subgroups or consider its impact on public policy.

The more facets of the issue you can analyze and the more connections you can make to other concepts and ideas, the longer your discussion of that point will become. Providing in-depth analysis with specific examples and relevant details fleshes out your writing and demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the topic.

Write more with generative AI

Now you can go back through your essay, with the help of our essay generator , and see where you can elaborate on a point, add an additional example or two, rephrase something more concisely, or insert a call to action. The key is to be authentic and not just add fluff for the sake of adding words.

Now get to writing and make that essay as compelling and wordy as possible. The finish line is in sight, you just have to power through the final stretch. Keep your head down, your fingers typing, and soon enough you’ll have a completed essay you can feel proud of.

P.S. Hypotenuse AI offers a 7-day free trial to help you write more with less time. Sign up for a free account here. No credit card required!

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21 Helpful and Easy Tips to Make an Essay Longer

Bookman Old Style > Times New Roman.

When you're writing a school paper after researching and typing for what feels like ages, but you still haven't reached your teacher's required page count, it's normal to feel frustrated. Maybe you get a little creative and play Microsoft Word gymnastics with different fonts and spacing, or become super expressive with your descriptions. There's also a chance you missed something on the assignment rubric, or overlooked the opportunity to include more quotes from trusted sources. You might even be able to load up on a few more examples for your argument, easily boosting the word count with additional research. Still a couple pages behind the limit? Don't worry. Below, we have over 20 tips to help you hit that page requirement.

1. Make sure you included everything on the rubric. If you forgot a whole section focusing on the counter argument, that could be the reason why your paper is a couple pages shorter than needed.

2. Load up on transitional phrases. Your paper isn't long enough, therefore it may be necessary to add some transitional phrases because they take up space. On the other hand , this could make your paper really wordy, however , it may be necessary. See what I did there?

3. Spell out your numbers. There are four editorial styles — AP, APA, MLA, and Chicago. Each one has a different rule for spelling out numbers, which can work out in your favor. For instance, in APA, you write out all numbers under 10. So a one-character "7" becomes a five-character "seven." In MLA, you spell out all numbers at the beginning of a sentence, and all simple numbers (those that are one or two words). Make sure to check the assignment rubric to see what style your paper should be written in!

4. Ditch the contractions. Honestly, you probably should not even be using contractions in a formal essay, so if you are filling up your paper with "don't," "won't," and "can't," switch them out for "do not," "will not," and "cannot."

5. Use numerous examples. Make sure to do extensive research on your essay topic and come up with at least 2-3 examples for every argument presented. One example might seem like enough, but adding a couple more points improves your paper and boosts its word count.

6. Add quotes. Including quotes, whether they be from a book, news article, or trusted source, helps strengthen and validate the point you're making in a paper. But you can't just drop a quotation without context. Introducing, writing out, and properly unpacking a quote can add value — and length — to your essay.

7. Start getting really descriptive about everything. How illustrative can you get about the evolution of electricity, you ask? Well, the answer is: Very. The howling wind gushed passed Benjamin Franklin at 30 miles per hour on that cold, rainy night, pulling the string of his kite taught as it fought to stay in the sky and sent his grey hair flying up in the sky like silvery wisps.

8. Try to make your header longer. If possible, of course. Some teachers clearly state what information needs to be included in the header. But if there's no guideline, add what you can within reason — I'm not sure your teacher is going to appreciate your TikTok or Insta handle listed on the page.

9. Have someone proofread. Getting another pair of eyes to read your paper might reveal some areas in need of work. Maybe you need to elaborate a bit more on a certain argument, or include a quote to strengthen an example.

10. Revisit your introduction paragraph. Sometimes, an introduction is easiest to write after the paper has been written. Having already presented and thoroughly discussed the argument in the essay's body paragraphs, you have a more concrete understanding of what direction the paper takes. There might be some information or ideas you can add into the intro, to better set up the paper's points.

11. Make your spacing larger. Your teacher probably won't be able to tell the difference between double spacing and 2.5 spacing. *fingers crossed*

12 . While you're at it, expand the spacing between the characters. Yes, I'm talking between each and every letter.

13. Raise the font size from 12pt to 12.5pt. Nobody has to know!

14. Make all periods and commas 14pt. It sounds tedious, but simply command-f and search for the period, that way you can change all of them at once.

15. Put extra space around your (super long and bolded) title. It needs some space to shine and breathe, obvs.

16. Change the font. You can't get too crazy or else your teacher will call you out, so you stick with something super similar to Times New Roman, but slightly bigger, like Bookman Old Style. However some teachers specify a certain font in the paper's assignment requirements — in the case, don't try to switch things up.

17. Reverse outline. After you've finished penning your essay, read it through and write an outline on what you have written so far. This strategy can reveal some paragraphs in need of further development. If you notice one super long paragraph, try breaking the ideas down into separate paragraphs. This might bump the page count up a bit, and give you the opportunity to include a few more transition sentences.

18. Make your margins bigger. You have to be careful about the left and right margins, and the top can be tricky. But the bottom margin, you can practically make it as big as you want. And then you can...

19. Add a fancy footer with page numbers. Obviously (hopefully), your teacher will appreciate your attention to detail and presentation.

20. Add a header with the title of your paper to every single page. Just in case your teacher forgets what your paper is about. You only want to help.

21. Make a separate cover page. Technically, the rubric didn't say it couldn't count as page one.

When I'm not holed up in my room going on a completely unproductive Netflix binge or Tumblr stalking Timothée Chalomet, I'm searching for awesome celeb news stories that Seventeen readers will love!

Leah Campano is an Associate Editor at Seventeen, where she covers pop culture, entertainment news, health, and politics. On the weekends, you can probably find her watching marathons of vintage Real Housewives episodes or searching for New York City’s best almond croissants. 

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21 ways How to make an Essay Longer: Words, Formatting Pages

• by Joseph Kenas
• February 21, 2024
• Custom Essay writing

Making your essays longer is an art that many students are still struggling to master. The main reason is that they do not know how to make essays longer effectively.

Luckily, there’s a way you can learn how to do it while also keeping your sanity. Read on. 

How to Make an Essay Longer: 21 ways

By using words , 1. increase your sentence length.

One of the popular ways to increase your paper’s length is by increasing your sentence length. The number of words in one sentence determines the average sentence length for your paper as a whole. 

So, by adding words to each sentence, you will increase your average sentence length and therefore increase your paper’s overall length.Do this as you consider the optimum word length for your content.

2. Add an Extra Page of Content

Additional pages add depth and breadth to a paper, making it much more complicated than a simple request for information or opinion.

3. Use Numerous Examples

The best way to make your essay longer is to include examples. You can also use adjectives, adverbs, and similes. Use some lengthy words, but don’t overdo it.

Do not make the sentences too long or complicated. Make the length of each sentence vary. Include lots of details about each example you give.

4. Replace Every Period with a Question Mark

This is among the simplest ways to lengthen your essay. Simply open up your word processor, do a find and replace, search for a period, and replace it with a question mark.

You will get amazed at how many of your grammatically correct sentences when you use this trick.

5. Use More Direct Quotations

One of the simplest ways to lengthen an essay is simply using more direct quotations from your sources. 

In almost any case, you should use direct quotations only when you fear that paraphrasing would alter the effectiveness or meaning of the author’s words or when you are quoting a passage that contains special wording.

6. Use More Words in Your Headings

Making an essay longer is a good thing. Headings are an essential way to tell the reader what each section of your paper is about. 

You can use longer words to make your essay sound more sophisticated and educated, which will impress the teacher or professor who reads your paper.

However, don’t get carried away with this technique.

7. Use More Adverbs and Adjectives

It is among the most useful ways of how to make essays longer. It is recommended that you add adverbs and adjectives in every sentence.

You can use the phrase “very” in front of an adjective. 

You can also use it to compare two ideas or objects. It will increase your word count and lengthen your composition.

8. Expand Each Paragraph for Clarity 

Try looking at each paragraph and asking yourself if there is anything else you could add to help explain your point or make the paragraph flow better. Besides, an optimal paragraph exhausts your point.

9. Add a Footer with Page Numbers

Adding a footer with page numbers can make your paper look longer. There’s not much to say here other than adding a footer and playing around with the font size until it looks like your paper is longer.

10. Rethink Your Word Choices 

Choose longer words over shorter ones when you can, without making it too complicated for the reader to understand what you’re saying. For example, instead of saying “he sprinted,” say “He ran quickly” or “he darted.”

Also, use contractions to observe the grammar rules.

By Using Formatting Methods

11. use a larger font size.

Making your essay longer can be as easy as increasing the font size on the paper. It may not sound that much, but using a 12-point font instead of a 10-point font will make your essay seem longer. 

In addition to changing the font size from 10 to 12, you should also change the spacing from double to 2.15. 

12. Remove the Space between Paragraphs

First, remove all double-spacing between paragraphs by changing them to single spacing.

This will add some length, and it will not be too noticeable because most people leave a space after each paragraph anyway.

If your paper is already single-spaced, then skip this step.

13. Increase the Spacing between Lines

The most obvious way to make your essay or paper longer is to just write more words.

A better idea may be to change the line spacing of your document from double-spacing to 2.5 or 3 spacing. Every character in your essay makes sense and spacing is treated as a character .

Using this trick can make a big difference in your paper’s length without having to add in any unnecessary filler just so that it meets the minimum requirement.

14. Increase Your Margin Sizes

Margins happen to be the space between your text and the edge of the page. So, if you have a one-inch margin on both sides of your text and increase it to 1.5 inches, you’ll be adding an extra quarter of an inch to each sentence in your paper.

If your paper has a lot of sentences, that’s some extra real estate you can add-in.

15. Add More Commas to Your Sentences

One of the popular ways is to add more commas to your sentences. But be careful not to change the meaning. 

A longer sentence can be broken up into multiple sections with commas, or a single section can be expanded by adding more sentences between commas.

Each comma adds about the width of a letter, which can add up if you use them correctly. 

16. Insert an Image into Your Essay

If your essay is already complete but still short of the required number of pages, inserting an image or two can be a nice way to pad your paper. 

Just make sure the image has something to do with your topic. You wouldn’t want to insert a picture of a beach scene if your essay was about space travel!

Other Ways 

17. have someone proofread.

Among the most valuable tools in learning to make an essay longer is having someone proofread your work.

If you’ve written a shorter paper and expanded it to the max, the second pair of eyes can be very helpful in pointing out places where you need to add additional information or where you can restructure sentences to make your writing more effective.

18. Expand Each Section of your Outline into Multiple Paragraphs

Add a whole new paragraph to introduce additional information about the characters, setting, plot, or theme as needed. Don’t just add a new topic without supporting it with evidence from the text. 

19. Get New Ideas from Blogs

When you are working on your essay and need to find more ideas for making your essay longer, you will want to consider using the internet. You may find that the internet is a great place to get ideas and tips on making your essay longer. 

20. Enhance Your Transitions 

If you find that your essay is still too short for the word count, you can add transitional sentences. Furthermore, transitions help clarify what you are saying rather than taking away from it.

21. Make a Title Page

It can be with just your name and class; print it, take a picture of it, and add it to your essay as a photo with the caption “title page.” 

Why Students Want to Make Essays Longer

Students want to make essays longer because they think it will give them more points on their scores. This is simply not true.

The essay is not graded based on length. Thus, there is no reason to write more than what is necessary to prove your point.

Another reason students want to make essays longer is because they don’t know how to summarize their main points without repeating themselves. This may seem okay, but it can be very easy to do when trying to write quickly.

The right way to avoid this problem is by creating an outline before writing your essay and following it closely once you start writing.

Students also want to make their papers longer when they want to show off in front of a teacher.

They think that if they provide more details in their writing, a teacher will be impressed and give them higher grades. 

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Paperrater review, not just the us – british students are also drowning in debt, professor boosts pass rates by bringing math to the workplace, methods on how to lengthen an essay.

You’ve got an essay to write, and you’re struggling to hit that word count, huh? Don’t worry, you’re definitely not alone. Many students face this issue. It’s like you’ve said everything you need to say, but you’re still a hundred words short.

The good news is there are several tricks to help make your essay longer without just adding fluff. You can add more examples, dive deeper into explanations, or even include some quotes from experts. It’s all about finding ways to expand on your ideas and provide more detail. We’re going to go through some practical tips that can help you add those extra words and make your essay even better. Let’s dive in and make your writing shine!

How to Make an Essay Longer Starting with the Intro and Conclusion

One of the simplest ways to make an essay longer is by expanding the introduction and conclusion, like using an AI essay summarizer but the other way around. These sections provide opportunities to add more content without feeling like you’re just adding filler. Adding depth to these parts not only increases your word count but also strengthens your overall argument.

In the introduction, you can include more background information , define key terms , or provide context for the topic. This helps to set a stronger foundation for your essay. For example, by talking about the historical background or the significance of the topic, you make your introduction more engaging and informative. It also helps the reader understand why the topic is important.

“Renewable energy is essential for reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.”

A longer version could be:

“Renewable energy, which includes sources like solar, wind, and hydroelectric power, is vital for reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. As the world faces the pressing challenges of climate change and environmental degradation, transitioning to renewable energy sources has become more important than ever. This shift not only helps mitigate the effects of climate change but also promotes sustainable development and energy security.”

Another effective technique is to present a brief overview of the key points that will be discussed in the essay. This gives the reader a roadmap of what to expect and makes your introduction more comprehensive. Additionally, you can include a hook, such as a relevant quote or a startling fact, to grab the reader’s attention from the start.

In the conclusion, you can summarize your main points in more detail, restate the significance of your topic, or suggest future areas of research . This helps to reinforce your arguments and leave a lasting impression. You provide a more thorough wrap-up by revisiting the key arguments presented in your essay and elaborating on their importance. Also, you can connect your conclusion to broader implications or real-world applications, making it more impactful.

“In conclusion, renewable energy offers many benefits.”

“In conclusion, renewable energy offers numerous benefits, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting sustainability, and enhancing energy independence. By investing in renewable technologies and encouraging their adoption, we can address the urgent issue of climate change and move towards a more sustainable future. Future research should focus on improving the efficiency and accessibility of renewable energy sources to maximize their impact on global energy systems.”

Another way to expand your conclusion is to propose further research or actions that could be taken based on your findings. This not only adds length but also shows that you have thought deeply about the topic and its potential future developments.

How to Make Your Essay Longer with Descriptive Language

Descriptive language is a student’s best friend when trying to make an essay longer. It allows you to add detail and depth to your writing, making it more engaging and thorough. Let’s look at how you can use descriptive language to paint a vivid picture with your words, making your essay not just longer, but also more interesting.

First, think about how you can describe your topic in more detail . Instead of saying “ The forest was beautiful ,” you could say, “ The forest was a lush, green paradise, filled with towering trees, vibrant wildflowers, and the soothing sounds of birds singing .” You help the reader visualize the scene and add valuable length to your essay by adding more specific details.

Next, consider making lists and using formatting to expand your ideas. For example, if you’re writing about the benefits of exercise, you could list various advantages in a detailed way:

You make your essay look more organized and substantial by breaking information into lists.

Including synonyms is another effective technique. Instead of repeating the same word, use different words with similar meanings. For instance, instead of saying “ important ” several times, you could use “ significant ,” “ necessary ,” or “ vital .” This not only adds variety to your writing but also helps in extending your essay.

By painting a full picture with words, creating detailed lists, and using synonyms, you can add both length and depth to your writing, so your essay is not just longer, but also more captivating and well-rounded. Overall, a pleasure to read!

How to Lengthen an Essay with Quotes and References

Using quotes and references is a great way to lengthen an essay while adding credibility and depth to your arguments. However, it’s important not to rely solely on them ; your own analysis and interpretation should still be the main focus of your essay.

Let’s start with quotes. Including quotes from experts or relevant sources can provide strong support for your points. They show that you’ve done your research and help back up your arguments with authoritative voices. But remember, it’s not just about inserting a quote. You need to introduce it properly and explain its relevance to your point.

For example, if you’re writing about the impact of climate change, you might include a quote like this:

Short version : “Climate change is a significant threat to our planet,” according to Dr. James Hansen. Longer version : “Climate change is a significant threat to our planet,” explains Dr. James Hansen, a leading climate scientist. His extensive research shows that rising global temperatures are leading to more extreme weather patterns, melting ice caps, and rising sea levels. These changes are not only affecting natural ecosystems but also posing severe risks to human communities worldwide.

Now, let’s talk about references. References are used to give credit to the sources of your information and to allow readers to follow up on the original sources if they want to learn more. They add weight to your arguments by showing that your points are grounded in established research. Just like with quotes, make sure to integrate references smoothly into your essay and explain their relevance.

For example, if you’re discussing the benefits of a Mediterranean diet, you might reference a study:

Short version : A study shows that the Mediterranean diet can improve heart health. Longer version : According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine , the Mediterranean diet, which includes high consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats like olive oil, has been shown to significantly improve heart health. The study found that individuals who adhered to this diet had a 30% lower risk of cardiovascular events compared to those who followed a standard low-fat diet.

These tools help support your arguments with solid evidence, making your writing more persuasive and informative. Just remember to balance them with your own analysis and insights to create a well-rounded and engaging essay.

Transitional Words to Make Your Essay Longer

There’s nothing wrong with incorporating transitional words into your writing—they help connect your ideas and make your essay flow better. Plus, they can add length without making it seem like you’re just adding fluff.

Transitional words are the glue that holds your paragraphs and sentences together. They guide your reader through your argument, showing how each part relates to the next. Whether you’re adding a new point, showing a contrast, or summing up, there’s a transitional word for every situation.

Here’s a table with different groups of transitional words you can use to make your essay longer:

You can easily add more length to your essay by using these transitional words. But remember, they’re not just for padding—they help clarify your argument and make your writing more readable. So, go ahead and sprinkle them throughout your essay to make it longer and more effective!

How do you lengthen an essay?

To lengthen an essay, you can add more details, examples, and explanations to your existing points. Expand on your arguments by including additional evidence and quotes from credible sources. Use descriptive language to provide a richer narrative, and make sure to elaborate on the significance of each point you make. Also, consider adding a brief overview in the introduction and a more detailed summary in the conclusion.

How can I make a 200 word essay longer?

To make a 200-word essay longer, start by expanding your introduction and conclusion. Provide more background information and context for your topic. Break down your main points into smaller sub-points and elaborate on each one. Use transitional words to smoothly link your ideas and make sure that each paragraph is fully developed with supporting details and examples. Adding quotes and references can also help extend your essay.

How can I make my essay longer without cheating?

You can make your essay longer without cheating by thoroughly developing your ideas and arguments. Add more examples and details to support your points, and ensure that each paragraph is fully fleshed out. Use descriptive language to paint a vivid picture and connect your ideas with transitional phrases. Additionally, you can include quotes from experts to add credibility and depth to your essay. Revising and expanding your introduction and conclusion can also help increase the length.

How do you make an essay longer in MLA?

To make an essay longer in MLA format, you can add more content while adhering to MLA guidelines. Expand your introduction to provide more context and background information. Use detailed explanations and examples in your body paragraphs. Incorporate quotes from credible sources, and ensure they are properly cited in MLA format. Improve your conclusion by summarizing your main points in more detail and discussing the broader implications of your argument. Additionally, make sure to format your paper correctly with double-spacing, appropriate margins, and a Works Cited page.

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Essay Extender for Students

Have you ever struggled to reach the specific word count while writing an essay? Our online essay extender can help you get the desired word count with just a few simple steps. All you have to do is:

• Copy and paste your essay.
• Choose how many words you need in your paper.
• Click the "Extend" button.

💎 5 Key Advantages of the Essay Extender

🙋 when to use the ai essay extender, 📜 essay extender free examples, 🖇️ essay word extender tips, 🔗 references.

Our essay word extender offers a range of benefits that can enhance your writing experience. Here are some of them:

With its user-friendly interface, our online essay extender can assist you in various ways. Check out these ideas on how you can use the tool.

1. To Increase the Word Count

One of the most common uses of our essay extender is to increase an essay's word count. You add words to the entire text or a specific part, for example, introduction, conclusion, or body paragraphs. This gives you more control over where you want to expand an essay and helps you tailor the extension to the academic requirements .

Our tool adds words without compromising the quality of their writing. Since it uses advanced AI algorithms, it extends the text while maintaining the coherence and flow of the original content.

2. To Add a New Part

AI essay extender can also help you add a new part to your essay. For example, if you have already written the introduction and body paragraphs but are struggling with the conclusion, our tool can generate it.

Similarly, if you need to add a new body paragraph to support your argument , our essay extender can generate a paragraph based on your prompt. This feature is particularly useful when you are short on time and need to complete your essay quickly.

3. To Get New Ideas

Sometimes, you only need a fresh perspective to improve your writing. Our essay extender can generate unique ideas by developing a body paragraph on any topic. This feature is helpful for those who are stuck with their writing and need some inspiration to continue. You can use this generated paragraph as a starting point and further develop it according to your ideas and arguments.

Wanna see how essay extender generator works in practice? Let's try it together. Imagine you're writing an argumentative essay on "Should all internships be paid?" We'll use our tool to add some words to a body paragraph and then develop an effective introduction.

All internships should be paid for the simple fact that interns are providing valuable work and skills to the company. It is unfair to expect young workers, who are often already struggling with student debt, to work for free. Interns are not just shadowing or observing; they actively contribute to the company's operations and success. By not compensating them, companies are perpetuating a cycle of unpaid labor and exploiting the enthusiasm and eagerness of young workers. Furthermore, paying interns shows that their time and contributions are valued, allowing them to gain practical experience without financial strain.

All internships should be paid for the simple fact that interns are providing valuable work and skills to the company. It is unfair to expect young workers, who are often already struggling with student debt, to work for free. Interns are not just shadowing or observing; they actively contribute to the company's operations and success. For example, a student who is completing an unpaid internship at a marketing firm may be responsible for creating social media content, conducting market research, and assisting with client meetings. These tasks require time, effort, and skills, and the intern should be compensated for their contributions. By not compensating them, companies are perpetuating a cycle of unpaid labor and exploiting the enthusiasm and eagerness of young workers. Moreover, unpaid internships often come with hidden costs that can be a significant burden for students. For instance, a student interning in a different city may have to cover transportation, housing, and other expenses on top of working for free. Furthermore, paying interns shows that their time and contributions are valued, allowing them to gain practical experience without financial strain. Companies should recognize the contributions interns bring to their organization and compensate them accordingly for their hard work.

Internships have become a common way for students to gain practical experience and valuable skills in their chosen field. However, the issue of whether these internships should be paid or not has sparked a debate. While some argue that unpaid internships provide valuable learning opportunities, others believe that all internships should be paid to ensure fair treatment of young workers. In this essay, we will explore why all internships should be paid, including the value that interns bring to organizations and the hidden costs of unpaid internships.

Check out these helpful tips to work on your academic writing skills and extend an essay manually.

• Expand your arguments . Instead of simply stating your point, provide more detailed examples to support your ideas.
• Use transitional phrases . Transition phrases such as "in addition," "furthermore," and "moreover" can help you connect your ideas and add more depth to your essay.
• Include relevant statistics and data . Adding statistics and data from reliable sources can boost the credibility of your essay and help you expand your arguments.
• Incorporate quotes . Including quotes from experts or authoritative individuals adds depth and weight to your essay.
• Provide background information . If you feel that certain concepts need more explanation, you can provide background information to help the reader better understand your points.

Remember, when expanding on your arguments, it is essential to do so smartly. This means providing detailed explanations and relevant examples that add length to your essay and strengthen your points.

❓ Essay Extender FAQ

Updated: Apr 12th, 2024

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On this page, you can find a free essay extender for students. With the help of this tool, you can increase the word count of any text – paste it into the related field and add the necessary details. The essay extender can add particular paragraphs or double your words in two clicks! Don’t miss the helpful tips and examples of text expansion.

12 Ways to make your Essay Longer: Words, Phrases, Transits

by James Khim | Oct 17, 2022

Writing a high school or college essay requires a lot of research and typing. Even after toiling for hours or days, frustration arises when you find out that you are out of the word count.

However, with additional research, the inclusion of more quotes and descriptions can make up for the word count shortfall. There are different tricks you can use to boost your word count and reach the page requirement of your teacher. 

You can make an essay longer by writing more points, explaining your arguments well, or including insightful questions. In addition, you can use formatting hacks to increase the length of an essay by writing shorter paragraphs, using larger fonts, and adding illustrations to an essay. However, these methods should adhere to academic writing standards.

et us explore each one of these tips in detail and add more ways to lengthen an essay.

Ways to Increase Word Count and Make an Essay Longer

1. write more points.

In the outline of your essay, the body has points that you had to explain. If you are yet to meet the word count, including more points in your body is one of the ways of making up for this.

Also, you can increase the sources and anecdotes in explaining a point so that you get more ideas. 

Adding more sources will provide extra evidence for the reader and makes it possible to increase your word count significantly.

You will not only be providing additional support for your argument but also boosting the paper’s word count. 

2. Using illustrations

Including illustrations is the perfect way to make your essay lighter but longer.

These illustrations can be in the form of screenshots, charts, graphs, infographics, and images.

This helps to make your arguments strong and the essay longer. The trick revolves around making a better argument with a deeper precision. However, always ensure that the illustrations you add are relevant to the arguments of the essay. 

3. Use short paragraphs

The use of precise and well-formatted paragraphs can also help to make your paper longer. A shorter paragraph makes the essay more coherent and gives it a better reading experience.

The paragraphs must have a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence. These are the elements that make a readable paragraph with points that are flowing effortlessly. 

4. Stretch the headers

When there is a possibility, try to make your headers longer. In most cases, teachers state what they expect you to include in the header.

You are given the information but there is no limitation to the header word count. In the absence of the guidelines concerning word count, expand on the header to reach the essay’s word count. 

5. Let another person proofread your essay

When you involve an extra eye to go through your essay, it is possible to spot areas where you have not exhausted. A friend, teacher, or classmate can proofread your essay and spot important areas that need more elaboration.

In doing so, you will be adding more words to the essay and covering the deficit. You can add more explanations to the arguments by including relevant quotes that will give it more strength. 

6. Expanding your arguments

If you check the outline you made before writing your essay, it will be possible to spot areas that need more alterations. The outline is the ultimate guideline that will show you if you have drained your points.

When you were writing, it is possible to skip vital points. Therefore, you can lengthen your essay by adding more arguments. Feel free to use first-person language to introduce personalized opinions if needed.

If you did not outline, check what you have written, analyze what the audience needs then know what to include. Writing more points in your essay is one of the best ways of adding more words to your essay.

7. Explain more

Giving more explanation is also a good way of topping up the word count. You can check the arguments and see if some sections still need more explanations.

Inadequate explanations could be one of the reasons why your essay is short of words.

Go to the introduction, body, and conclusion and give deeper explanations to points that were not well elaborated.

8. Seek clarifications from your instructor

Most teachers, professors, and teaching assistants are always willing to guide students. If you develop a good rapport with them, they are the best source of guidance especially when it comes to essay writing.

They will look over your essays and spot the necessary areas that need tunings before you do a final submission. 

When you have plenty of time remaining before the submission deadline, try to get an appointment with the teachers so that you go over the paper together. The instructor is the best person to give you helpful tips to increase your word count.

9. Include more references and evidence

When you add more references alongside evidence, you will not only make your essay longer but also stronger. An extra reference that goes with evidence will give you a chance to make more explanations that will eventually top up the word count. If you refer back to your essay outline, you can still make each point better by including more supporting details.

10. Include relevant quotations

Apart from adding references and evidence, you can also bring in quotations for strengthening and lengthening the paper.

Make sure that the quotations you add are relevant to the paper’s arguments. The inclusion of a quote that supports the points makes the paper more powerful.

11. Include more transitions

If your essay is only short of a few words to reach the expected limit, transitions can do the trick. Smooth transition words to connect paragraphs or sentences can give you the extra words you need. Their use in connecting one sentence to the next one also makes the essay a seamless flow. 

12. Check the prompt of the essay again

The prompt of the essay is the ultimate guide that shows you how to outline your essay. If you check it again, you can find something you missed discussing in the essay.

Look at the prompts or essay questions from a different perspective to get more ideas. In this way, you can become more thorough and get more words for your essay.

Consulting your instructor about the essay prompt can also help you to find new ways of tackling the subject of the essay. 

13. Check the introduction

As usual, the introduction is one of the most important parts of an essay. It not only sets out the paper’s tone but also captures the attention of your audience

. However, the introduction does not have to be a short paragraph. You can expound by including more information or simply expand on the ideas you already have.

Adding a quote or a simple story can make the introduction even catchier and attention-grabbing. Taking a moment to revise your introduction adds more words and also makes it a better one. 

Alternative to Score High in an Essays without Writing

It is not easy to get good grades if you cannot write essays that will satisfy your teacher. If the instructors and friends are not helping you, the best alternative is to get professional help. Many online academic writing websites can help you to get your assignment done. 

Select a good writing firm that employs quality and professional writers. These services have writers and editors who scrutinize your essay to ensure it is in line with your guidelines.

As usual, plagiarism will be a subject of concern. Only select writing services that can manually check the essay and also use plagiarism scanners to check for copied content. Online reviews from previous clients can guide you to select the best paper writing services.

An academic assignment is very sensitive and that is why you must give your essay to only professional writers. Check if they are accredited and the number of years they have been offering the same services to students.

Look at their guarantee policy, the turnaround time, previous complaints from clients, and other important factors.

Essays can weigh you down because they need a lot of research and writing. Even so, there is no excuse for late submission or submitting poor-quality papers.

You only have to submit your order in time and give all the necessary instructions. Even more importantly, you can check and ask for revisions if there are areas your requirements were not met. 

The Best 7 Websites

How to Make an Essay Longer the Smart Way

Have you ever had a writer's block while writing your essay? You are there staring at your word count hoping there is a magic way to lengthen your essay quickly. You are not the only one who's facing this problem. Many writers struggle to fit the word count requirements without sacrificing quality.

It takes careful planning to write an extended essay without compromising quality. With the ever-evolving world of academia, students have to find smart and crafty ways to catch the reader's attention and find extra words to make their essays longer.

Why Do Essays Have a Word Count?

True mastery of essay writing is achieved through the creation of a compact and compelling composition. The notion that the worth of an essay is intricately linked to its length, is simply a fallacy. However, why do instructors and examiners insist on students reaching the required word count?

When the emphasis shifts from a minimum to a maximum word count, students are prompted to narrow down their thoughts, including the key points of a given issue. This method encourages creativity and results in improved essays.

The requirement of an essay word count compels students to broaden their minds, and carefully reflect on their ideas, forcing them to condense their ideas in a deep and impactful way. This technique encourages writers to build a link between head and heart, filling their compositions with true passion that reverberates onto the page, rather than simply meeting a criteria.

Instead of surrendering to the urge to generate filler words from the depths of their minds, pupils working with a word limit compose with intention, each word a deliberate decision reflecting a desire to convey a significant message.

What are some Informative Tips to Make an Essay Longer

Tip 1: make longer and elaborative paragraphs.

Extending paragraphs to at least four sentences is a practical approach to increase your paper's length. Short paragraphs may lack depth, leaving room for expansion. To provide well-structured and informative content, you can delve deeper into the topic, add more details, provide examples, or offer additional explanations.

This contributes to a more comprehensive discussion and naturally increases the page count. However, it's essential to maintain clarity and coherence while expanding, ensuring that the added content remains relevant and aligns with the paragraph's main idea. This technique helps to optimize the length and quality of your writing.

Tip 2: Expand on Your Points

Review your existing arguments and analysis. Expanding on your points within an essay involves carefully examining your current opinions and analysis. It creates an opportunity to enrich the depth and breadth of your content.

This process demands a critical eye and a commitment to enhancing the overall quality of your writing. To achieve this, consider the core concepts and ideas you've presented and try answering basic questions on your content. For instance, you may ask yourself: "Can I delve deeper into this?" 

Answering this question helps you open the door to more detailed explanations and the inclusion of illustrative examples. Answering different questions increases your essay length and elevates the reader's understanding. It comprehensively explores the subject, producing a more robust and persuasive essay.

Tip 3: Provide More Evidence in your Description

Incorporate additional evidence and examples to support your claims. Expanding your essay by providing supporting evidence is a potent strategy for enhancing the credibility and persuasiveness of your arguments. Introduce a rich tapestry of supporting materials such as additional research, relevant quotes, statistics, case studies, and real-life incidents to extend your essay effectively. 

Giving more detail such as quotes from credible sources provides external validation for your work, providing weight to your arguments. Add depth to your writing by incorporating statistics that have factual weight and offer numerical context to your statements. Engaging case studies brings the abstract into the concrete, demonstrating real-world applications of your ideas.

Real-life anecdotes humanize your arguments, making them relatable and memorable. You may make your essay longer while boosting its depth and influence by carefully adding case studies and other components.

Tip 4: Develop Sub-arguments on Significant Topics

Create sub-arguments or subtopics related to your central thesis. The strategic use of sub-arguments or subtopics is a clever approach to lengthening your essay while keeping it focused and relevant. Create a more complete and complicated debate by drawing secondary themes or concepts from your primary argument.

These sub-arguments act as distinct facets of your primary idea, allowing for deeper exploration and offering readers a richer understanding of the subject matter. 

Tip 5: Incorporate Counterarguments

Discuss and then disprove counterarguments. Integrating counterarguments into your essay is essential to extend its length and demonstrate a thorough understanding of the subject. You participate in a critical conversation that strengthens your work by acknowledging opposing ideas and then expertly debunking them.

This method indicates a willingness to explore opposing viewpoints, which increases your credibility as an informed writer. You increase the essay word count by offering a platform for counterarguments and possibilities for in-depth examination and refutation. Your work will be more convincing and thought-provoking, appealing to a broader audience.

Tip 6: Include Transition Sentences in your Writing

Add transition words between paragraphs and sections to connect your ideas more effectively. Incorporating well-crafted transition sentences into your essay is a refined strategy beyond merely lengthening your work. It enhances its overall coherence and readability. Transition sentences serve as bridges, guiding your reader smoothly from one point to the next. 

These sentences establish logical connections and offer additional context and explanations, making your arguments more accessible. Explicit linking ideas reduces the risk of confusion and ensures that your essay reads like a cohesive narrative rather than a disjointed collection of paragraphs.

These transition words provide readers with a roadmap through your essay, creating a more engaging and understandable reading experience. Thus, employing transition sentences extends your essay and elevates its overall quality.

Tip 7: Explain Your Methodology

Explain your methodology more thoroughly if your essay involves research or data analysis. Elaborating on the methodology employed in your paper, especially in research-based or data-driven works, augments your article's length and accuracy. You extend your essay and enhance its trustworthiness by providing a detailed explanation of your research approach. 

A detailed methodology section should outline your steps to gather, analyze, and interpret data, demonstrating transparency and sound research practices. This expansion provides a deeper understanding of your work's foundations and offers readers insights into your scholarly accuracy. Consequently, it fortifies the overall quality and substance of your essay while ensuring the authenticity of your findings.

Tip 8: Define Key Terms

Offer definitions and explanations for essential terms and concepts. Defining key terms and images within your essay is a dual-purpose strategy that can significantly enhance its length and reader comprehension. Providing clear and concise definitions helps extend the content and ensure your audience fully grasps the terminology integral to your topic. 

This practice eliminates potential confusion and aligns readers with your intended meaning. It demonstrates your expertise in the subject, showcasing your commitment to facilitating understanding. Your essay becomes more accessible and informative, appealing to a broader audience while increasing its word count through elucidating essential terms and concepts.

Tip 9: Elaborate on Introductions and Conclusions

Elaborating on your essay's introduction and conclusion is a strategic approach to enhance its length and overall impact. In the introduction, consider providing additional background information, historical context, or a more in-depth overview of the topic. Expanding the introduction lengthens the essay and prepares the reader for a comprehensive exploration. 

In the conclusion section, revisit and reiterate your main points, summarizing your arguments and insights concisely. Reinforcing these key takeaways supports your message, and a lengthened conclusion ensures a lasting impression on the reader, underscoring the significance of your work. Extending the introduction and conclusion makes your essay more comprehensive and memorable.

Tip 10: Use More Quotations

Incorporate relevant quotations from experts, scholars, or primary sources. Integrating a more significant number of references into your essay can effectively lengthen it while adding depth and authority. Quotes from experts, scholars, and primary sources serve as decisive evidence to support your arguments and provide valuable insights. 

However, it's crucial to weave these quotations into your text, ensuring they flow naturally and do not disrupt the narrative. Proper citation is essential to maintain academic integrity. By strategically employing relevant quotations, you increase the essay's word count and enhance its credibility and persuasive impact. These authoritative quotes reinforce your positions and offer diverse perspectives, making your writing more engaging and informative.

Tip 11: Explore Related Topics

If appropriate, explore related topics or subtopics that can contribute to the overall understanding of your central thesis. Exploring related topics or subtopics, when pertinent to your main thesis, is an astute approach to extending your essay's length while enriching its content. This strategy allows you to delve into interconnected ideas or themes that provide valuable context and depth to your central argument. 

The key is ensuring these related topics remain relevant and contribute to the overarching narrative. You provide a more holistic perspective, enhancing the reader's understanding of the central thesis by interweaving these subtopics. This expansion technique augments the length and showcases your ability to situate your argument within a broader intellectual framework, making your essay more comprehensive and enlightening.

Tip 12: Add Visuals or Graphics

Include diagrams, charts, images, or tables to illustrate your points or provide additional context if appropriate. Incorporating visuals or graphics into your essay, where relevant, is a sophisticated approach to increasing its length while enhancing comprehension and engagement.

Visual elements, such as diagrams, charts, images, or tables, can be powerful tools for illustrating complex ideas, providing additional context, and reinforcing your arguments. 

It's crucial to ensure that these visuals are integrated into the text, properly labeled, and thoroughly discussed to elucidate their significance. This approach extends the essay by reinforcing your points visually, making the content more accessible and memorable for a broader audience. Consequently, including visuals augments the essay's depth and visual appeal.

Tip 13: Revise and Reorganize your Content

Review your essay's structure and organization. Revising and reorganizing your article is a systematic and insightful approach to increasing its length while improving its overall coherence and effectiveness. You may uncover fresh perspectives and identify expansion opportunities by scrutinizing the structure and organization of your work.

This process often reveals hidden connections between ideas or highlights areas where further elaboration is needed. It allows you to rearrange sections for improved flow and can lead to discovering overlooked points that can be developed further. Through this thoughtful review and adjustment, your essay gains both in length and in the quality of its argumentation, ultimately delivering a more impactful and well-structured piece of writing.

Tip 14: Expand on Examples

If you've used examples to illustrate your points, expand on these examples with more details and analysis. Developing the examples employed within your essay is a powerful strategy to enhance its length while reinforcing the persuasiveness of your arguments. When you delve deeper into these illustrative examples, you give your readers a more immersive and comprehensive understanding of your presenting concepts. 

Offering additional details and in-depth analysis helps you breathe life into your examples, making them more vivid and relatable. This expansion increases the essay's word count and amplifies its effectiveness. The reader gains a richer appreciation of the subject matter, and your arguments become more convincing, leaving a lasting impression and elevating the overall quality of your essay.

Tip 15: Add Real-life Case Studies

If relevant, include case studies or real-life examples that illustrate your arguments. When pertinent, incorporating real-life case studies into your essay is a compelling method for extending its length while enhancing its engagement.

Presenting concrete instances and in-depth case studies helps you breathe vitality into your arguments, rendering them more relatable and memorable. These real-life examples serve as microcosms of your broader points, providing a tangible and practical dimension to your ideas. 

The real-life case studies add length to your essay and make it more captivating and informative, as readers can directly connect with the real-world relevance of your arguments. Ultimately, including case studies elevates your essay's overall quality, making it more impactful and educational.

Tip 16: Consult Additional Sources

If time allows, consult additional sources to gather more information and insights about your topic. Exploring different sources to gather more information and insights related to your case is a diligent approach that can increase the length and depth of your essay.

Establishing a wider net for research allows you to expose yourself to various viewpoints and expert perspectives. These supplementary sources can help increase your word count by furnishing your essay with fresh data, statistics, and scholarly analysis. 

Tip 17: Ask Another Person to Proofread your Work

Having someone proofread your essay is a valuable step in the writing process, especially when pressed for time. While you possess a deep understanding of your subject, an external perspective can identify areas of confusion or ambiguity you might overlook.

Having a friend, family member, or peer review your work and provide feedback helps ensure your message is clear and accessible to your audience. Their insights can pinpoint where additional information or explanations are needed, enhancing the overall quality of your essay. This collaborative approach allows you to refine your writing, giving you the chance to make your essay longer.

Tip 18: Take a Break from Your Work

Taking a break from your essay is a wise strategy when feeling stuck or tired. Staring at a screen for extended periods can lead to mental fatigue and writer's block. Stepping away, whether for a snack, a walk, or a chat with a friend, refreshes your mind and renews creativity.

It allows your brain to process information in the background, often leading to new insights and ideas. When you return to your essay with a fresh perspective, you're better equipped to tackle it effectively. This mental reset can be the key to overcoming writer's block and improving the quality of your work.

Tip 19: Ask for Help from Your Instructor

Seeking help from your instructor is a proactive step in improving your paper. Instructors are often open to reviewing drafts and offering guidance before the final submission. They can provide valuable insights on whether you're addressing the prompt effectively, potentially leading to more comprehensive content. 

Instructors may also share specific expectations or areas for improvement that can help increase word count while enhancing the paper's quality. This collaborative approach demonstrates your commitment to the assignment and enables you to refine your work, ensuring it aligns with their expectations and academic standards. It's a valuable opportunity for constructive feedback.

Can I use an AI to make my Essay longer?

Students are now able to benefit from using AI tools to speed up essay composition, such as ChatGPT and Bard AI Tools. Using complex algorithms and Machine learning, AI tools can generate additional content that is both voluminous and relevant making an essay longer.

AI writing tools, such as grammar checkers, provide helpful criticism and inspiration, assisting in the design of research questions and improving overall writing quality. However, it is important to point out that employing AI technologies, such as ChatGPT, to completely create an article may constitute plagiarism, breaking educational institution standards and resulting in penalties.

Text generated by AI is subjective and may contain incorrect information. While AI improves the writing process, students must follow institutional guidelines to maintain academic integrity.

The Bottom Line

Improving your writing abilities by developing strategic ability is mandatory for you to highlight your key points and make your essay longer. Imagine your articles as compelling art pieces that captivate readers and leave a lasting impression. With the right tips, students can foster the right skills for effective writing and critical thinking, ultimately producing more creative and impactful essays.

Get expert advice for smart essay lengthening. Discover strategies for making your paper longer without compromising quality. Optimize your writing today with AceMyHomework !

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How to Make an Essay Longer With or Without Adding Words

Your supervisor wants your essay to be at least four pages but you are even struggling to write two, isn’t it?

“According to an analytical rating of text quality study in  journal Assessing Writing , showed that longer texts or essays typically contain more cohesive devices, which has a positive impact on ratings of text quality.”

No need to worry; some tactics will help you in how to make an essay longer without putting much effort.

Table of Contents

Challenges in Making an Essay Longer

Making an essay longer is a challenge for an average student. As author had also faced some bad experiences when doing this. And you know what? Making an essay longer took more time than writing an essay. What the author faced and how he overcame these challenges are going to be discussed in the table.

Most student’s mentality is the same. When the author has faced these challenges during his study career, then today’s students may also face the same problem about how to make an essay longer.

However, worry not, as we have gathered different techniques and strategies to make your essay longer.

Make a Longer Essay without writing more

If you want to expand your essay a little bit or have a question about how to make my paragraph longer, then you don’t need to write more; just follow these magical tips to make your essay longer.

• Try to use the  Arial font style  because it is more visible and bigger than other types of fonts.
• Use a big  font size, like 12 , for the body text. The bigger your content size, the more length your essay will show.
• Thirdly,  use headings and subheadings  to uplift your content visibility, and above that, your content will look longer with more and more headings.
• Adjust the spacing between the lines. It is mostly adjusted on single or 1.15 in Google Docx; try to make it 1.5. When your lines have a  spacing of 1.5 , you will be amazed to see that your content looks longer.
• A final tip for how to make an essay longer is to break your big paragraphs into  short passages . Also, try to add spacing before and after each section to make your essay look more lengthy.

These magical tricks work only if you want to make your essay a little bit longer, but if you want your essay to expand on more pages, then you have to follow the below-mentioned strategies for making an essay longer.

Working Strategies for Making an Essay Full Longer

These are some working strategies commonly used for how to make your essay longer. To make you understand the concept of how to make an essay longer, we have taken a real time example.

Why Do Students Get bored in the Classroom?

School boredom is a common challenge that students face during school times. Boredom makes the students lazy, slow, and unethical during class. There are a lot of reasons for this situation.

One main reason for boredom is the need for more interaction between the students. When students don’t engage in extracurricular activities and have less interaction with other students, there is a high chance of boredom.

The student who is upset due to their family issues or problems may feel bored in school. Less student activities organized by school faculty also can lead the student toward boredom.

Students with mental illness or physical weakness may also get bored during class time. Finally, a tough curriculum and extra work burden may also make the student bored in classrooms.

Several steps can be taken to overcome these issues. For parents, they must give a lot of time and attention to their children and find out if they are facing any problems. Furthermore, School administration should also have a check and balance on teachers, and if they are giving extra work to students, then stop them.

The school administration should also take steps to give students some time to play, which will ultimately relax them and make them less bored during class time.

These reasons for boredom and their solutions help students to get out of the stress and boredom and help them stay more active

The above example is a bit similar to one of our students’ work. So, we are sharing real experience-based strategies that worked well for the students and our writers. Now, in light of this detailed example, we have gathered some valid points that will help you to make an essay longer on your own.

Expand on your ideas

This is the first and most effective way to learn how to make your essay longer. Let’s say you’re writing about students’ boredom, and your point is about the reasons for students’ boredom in the classroom. You should discuss the threat to student mental health. You can also talk about how it affects their homes, health, and livelihoods.

Here’s a brief example of how this expansion might look within an essay paragraph:

“School boredom is a common challenge that students face during school times. Boredom makes the students lazy, slow, and unethical during class. There are a lot of reasons for this situation. 

And above these reasons, there are multiple threats regarding student mental health, which can destroy their whole life. Furthermore, student boredom can also affect their home’s physical health and livelihoods”

Now as you see we have discovered more related ideas to classroom boredom, and you can also explain them in the essay to make it longer.

Add more evidence

Look into getting more information to back up what you’re saying. Put in quotes, numbers, or opinions from people who know what they’re talking about to make your point stronger. 

This will definitely work for your how to make an essay longer query! Double-check that the sources you use are reliable and related to the subject you’re discussing. Let’s continue with the research or evidence of an essay on why students get bored in the classroom. 

Here’s an example of how you can add these additional sources and evidence to your essay:

“According to a Westgate and Wilson research article in  Journal of Positive School Psychology , found that two-thirds of students were bored at some time during a typical school day. This research shows that there is a big ratio of students who are facing boredom in the classroom. 

Furthermore, this research tells us that something is wrong with the students, and that is why they are facing this situation.”

Doing your research and having these things in your essay will make your essay more convincing and informative. We have now added the study as a piece of evidence to make the existing essay stronger and longer than before. These studies and research are most suitable when you are looking for a way  how to write a college essay  for exam preparation.

Include counter arguments and refutations

Try to explain the essay with counter arguments and refutations to make a comparison and explain why your point of view is more valid than others. This not only increases the length of your argument but also shows that you have a better grip on the subject. 

Considering other perspectives is important when trying to know how to make an essay longer. It helps you to show your complete understanding of the topic and allows you to reinforce your point. 

Here’s an example of how you can add opposing viewpoints or counter-arguments to your essay:

“While some argue that children’s boredom doesn’t happen, it’s just a myth. According to the control-value theory of achievement emotions (Pekrun, 2006;Pekrun et al., 2010), learners succumb to boredom when they attach little value to the task and when they lack control over the learning process. 

The theory clearly depicts that student boredom is not a myth, but a real issue that students face in today’s world.”

From the above example, we clearly depict an argument that people mostly make about boredom, and as a result, we come up with a counter-argument. By doing this, we make our point of view more strong and also learn about how to make an essay longer

Use transitional words to make your essay longer

Whenever you are thinking about how I can make my essay longer, use the below-mentioned connecting words and phrases to make your essay flow better and give it more length.

These transitions help link your ideas and paragraphs together. Even expert  essay writing services  providers use this trick. Here are some transition words to grab the concept.

Here’s an example showing the use of transitional words within a paragraph:

“The students who are upset due to their family issues or problems may feel bored in school, as there are many reasons for family issues. However, these issues can make the kid mentally sick.

Furthermore, it is recommended that parents keep their kid away from family problems so he can get less stress and focus on his work in the classroom.”

In the above example, we pick only one line from the above existing essay and use transition words to make your essay longer.

Provide Examples

On your way to learn about how to make an essay longer, try bringing in real-world examples or case studies to back up your points. It can add depth and substance to what you’re saying. Make sure the examples you pick really tie into the points you’re trying to make in your essay. 

Let’s consider an example:

“A real-life case study came up about a professor of civil engineering, Dr. Wong. He has a class of more than a hundred students, but most of them didn’t stay attentive because of boredom, and some students skip the class. So, he thinks about herself: Is he a boring teacher? 

He asks for a solution from a colleague. The coworker suggests that he doesn’t force students to learn everything. Also, try to make a gap during the lecture after some minutes to relax the students. Additionally, he suggested Dr Wong to create groups of students and give them interesting tasks to do and help them by going near every student.”

Now, we have provided a real-life example/Case study of a professor and his students, which helps us to understand the concept of class boredom in-depth and helps us to know how to make an essay longer. Students can use such kinds of examples for  college essay writing  to impress their professors.

Include More Descriptive Language

Try to make the short descriptions more lengthy. You can do this by adding vivid adjectives and adverbs to form a clear image for your reader. Additionally, instead of using very general terms, try to choose a specific and colour language. Let’s see how you can do this with a proper example. 

Basic Description:

“Boredom makes the students lazy.”

Enhanced Descriptive Language:

“Boredom is a state of mind in which a student may feel laziness, with no interest in worldly activities, and close himself/herself in the prison of his thoughts. “

As you see, we can also use descriptive language to make our essays longer. The above example is proof of this. But remember, it is not important to use enhanced descriptive language in every paragraph. Try to add it where you have to make an impact on the reader or audience with emotional or vivid images.”

Explain complex terms

A golden strategy on how to make an essay longer is to discuss complex topics, and break them down further. Offer step-by-step explanations or go into more detail about the intricacies of the subject matter. 

Pinpoint the specific aspects or components of the complex topic that might be difficult for your audience to understand. This could involve technical terms, abstract concepts, or intricate processes.

Here’s an example paragraph illustrating a step-by-step breakdown of a complex topic about blockchain:

“Students with mental illness may feel bored during class. But what is mental illness, and how is it connected with boredom?

Mental illness means a student may have to face any medical problem with brain functioning, or he takes medicines that indirectly affect brain functionality or any financial/family problem that makes them mentally stressed.” 

These mental problems can make a student bored in the class, and he may lack concentration in the class.”

What do we do in this section?  As you see, we pick only a single term about mental illness, and many people may think about how it affects boredom. We expand this term and relate it to mental illness. Hence, we get a firm grip on the essay as well as understand how to make an essay longer.

Make your essay perfect with these resources

To make your essay longer and to make sure it is balanced, you may need some online resources. Here are some resources that you can utilize.

AI Essay Writer

Want to add new data to your essay or want to make a new essay? Try our  AI essay writer tool  to write a perfect essay on your own. Whether a student from middle school or university, this essay writer tool is easy to use and totally free of cost.

Spell Checker

Have you written your essay but still need some spelling corrections? Never mind, utilize our  free spell checker tool  and make your essay error free.

Grammar Checker

Grammar mistakes are very serious when writing or making your essay longer. And you know that paid tools are costly to purchase. Worry not; we have a  free grammar checker tool  that will help you identify your grammar mistakes and tackle them in no time.

Plagiarism Checker

Many students, especially from middle school or high school, may find it difficult to write a complete essay by themselves. They may get help from an online resource, which in return comes out as plagiarism work. We have prepared this  plagiarism checker tool  for you to identify the plagiarism and remove it effectively from your essay.

Problem Solved

Well, these expert tips and tricks must have helped you learn how to make an essay longer tactfully with or without words. As per the required length, you can go about adopting one or all of these expert tricks as you need.

Still, if you have a problem extending your essay, just don’t hesitate to consult our experts, who are available 24/7 for you.

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How to Make Your Essay Longer The Right Way

All college students have been there. They’re writing a paper and the deadline is quickly approaching, but they haven’t met the required word count or page length. A paper’s length is an important part of any good college papers. Meeting the size requirements for a paper shows the professor that you are able to follow instructions. It’s easy to turn to an essay service for one time help when the deadline is nearing and you need to make your essay longer.

There are a number of tricks that every student has tried to reach that magic number. This includes everything from increasing the margin size to making the header longer or increasing font size.

While it is possible to increase the size of a paper like this, there are better ways to do it without angering your professor. It’s possible to add content in a pinch while also adding depth to your paper.

Below are some ways that you can make your essay longer if you’re struggling to reach the required word count.

Add Supporting Evidence

The first thing you should do when looking to make your essay longer is look back at any claims you made. Adding supporting evidence to any ideas that you’ve put forward in your essay is a simple way to make your essay longer. 

If you’ve only used a source or two to explain a point, it might be beneficial to do some extra research on it and add examples to further your argument. Not only will this make your research paper longer, but it will also add depth to your ideas and give them some added support.

Ensure that You’ve Included Everything

Take a look back at the rubric or the prompt for the paper and decide if you’ve included everything to make your research paper complete. You may have glanced over a counter-argument or something that needed to be explained further to meet the requirements. 

Ask yourself if you’ve answered all of the questions posed in the prompt or required by your research. Finding something that you’ve missed in the rubric could be the reason why your paper is shorter than the required length or word count.

Use Transitional Phrases

A natural way to increase the length of your essay is to use transitional words to jump from one idea to the next. Not only will this increase the size of your paper, but it will also allow your reader to follow easily follow your thoughts. Read through your essay and ensure that sentences and thoughts flow from one to another. 

This is also something that graders look for in marking an essay. These transitional words link sentences together and make for a clear and concise narrative. It’s a win-win situation.

Use Quotations

If you have a well-researched paper, it is likely that you’ve already included quotes. However, quotations are an easy way to add something extra to your argument while also increasing the essay’s word quote. Take care to ensure that your paper isn’t only quotations from other writers, this is a good way to spice up your essay.

This not only increases the size of your essay, but it also shows that other writers agree with your ideas and solidifies your arguments. That said, make sure you’ve formatted the quotes correctly and cited any sources.

Take Another Look at Your Outline

Many people see an outline only as a guide to begin writing a research paper. However, if you’re looking for places where you can make your essay longer, it might be worth another glance at your outline. 

A second look may turn up some points that you’ve overlooked or haven’t developed enough. It can also help you find any point you wanted to touch that you can clarify more. Take this opportunity to lengthen your writing and consider paying for a research paper if needed.

You may also find larger paragraphs that can be broken down to introduce new ideas. Break those paragraphs up and explain your ideas with more supporting evidence to increase the word count.

Review Your Introduction and Conclusion

Ideas evolve as you’re writing. Take a second look at your introduction. You may learn that you’ve left out key information that helps the reader in understanding your arguments. Expand on these points to help the reader understand your points and lead them into the supporting evidence that you will present.

The same can be said for the conclusion of your essay. Make sure that all of your key points have been summarized and that you’ve given the reader a solution to the arguments that you’ve made. If you haven’t, rewrite your conclusion to properly wrap up the essay.

Have Someone Read Your Essay

Having someone else take a look at your essay could highlight any points that are confusing. Go back and revise any arguments that were unclear and add more information and supporting evidence to give readers clarity. 

Remember that you are writing the essay as someone who is knowledgable about the subject. You need to provide the reader with enough information to understand your paper. This is helpful in ensuring that you haven’t left out any important details and giving you an opportunity to add length to your essay.

Read Your Essay Aloud

Reading your paper out loud allows you to become aware of any grammar or syntax errors. Rephrasing sentences to fix these errors could make your essay longer. You may also learn that you haven’t sufficiently supported your arguments. 

Spell Out Numbers or Contractions

One way to increase the length of your essay is to spell out numbers and contractions. Instead of writing “7,” write seven. Take out any “don’ts” and “won’ts” for do not and will not.

Keep in mind this might not be possible depending on any style requirements.

Breakup Paragraphs

In a pinch, you may want to look at breaking up longer paragraphs. If a minimum page count is your issue, this may be something that will be easy to do without making your essay unreadable.

When a deadline is approaching, reaching an essay’s minimum page or word count may seem like quite the challenge. However, it is possible without tricks like increasing line spacing or font size.

Use these tips to add length to your research paper while also making it more understandable for the reader.

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Need to Make Your Essay Longer? Here's How

Don't stress over it, it happens to the best of us—you've been given an essay assignment and have procrastinated, leaving you with three pages of writing that should be closer to six pages. A quick Internet search for advice produces questionable suggestions, including changing your font size to 12.5 (don't do it!), adding spaces between words and paragraphs, or increasing the margin size—all tricks that your professor has likely seen multiple times and will notice immediately.

Before you start going through and doing something so drastic as adding spaces where they shouldn't be, let's look at some more natural (and therefore, less obvious) ways of adding word count to your essay. Here are five tactics that will add word count to your essay quickly and correctly.

Include more transitional words

You should already have transitional words or phrases at the beginning of each paragraph in your essay. If you don't, add them as part of improving the overall structure and organization of your writing. But a lot of academic writers don't realize that these transitions can work within paragraphs, as well, to add more logical structure within the paragraphs (instead of simply between them). For example, consider the following paragraph, which is 83 words in length:

In order to create an essay that flows logically, you need to include transition words at the beginning of each paragraph. These transitions aren't limited to only the beginning of each new paragraph and can be used throughout the rest of the paragraph to show how each sentence is connected to the one that precedes it and follows it. Including multiple transitions helps readers maintain focus on what they're reading and helps ensure that the writer focuses on one major idea per paragraph.

Now, let's look at that same paragraph with transitional words added, both at the beginning and throughout the rest of the sentences.

To begin adding additional length and in order to create an essay that flows logically, you need to include transition words at the beginning of each paragraph. However, it's important to note that these transitions aren't limited to only the beginning of each new paragraph and can be used throughout the rest of the paragraph to show how each sentence is connected to the one that precedes it and follows it. As a matter of fact, including multiple transitions helps readers maintain focus on what they're reading and additionally, helps ensure that the writer focuses on one major idea per paragraph.

By adding transitions throughout, I have taken a paragraph from 83 words to 101 words through a relatively simple process. If you do this to each paragraph, you can add a significant number of words without doing much extra writing. Note that if you are being graded on the succinctness of your writing, your professor might argue that adding so many transitions makes your writing wordy. However, a teacher with even the most stringent grading policy must take into account that transitions at the beginning of paragraphs are necessary.

Here is a list of some commonly used transition words that can be used for this purpose:

• …when in fact
• Accordingly
• Additionally
• After (this)
• All else being equal
• All the same
• As (was) mentioned earlier/above
• As (was) stated before
• As a consequence
• As a final point
• As a matter of fact
• As a result (of this)
• As for (this)
• As/So long as
• At any rate
• Be that as it may
• Because (of the fact that)
• Because (of this)
• By the same token
• By way of contrast
• Coincidentally
• Concerning (this)
• Consequently
• Considering (this)
• Despite (this)
• Due to (the fact that)
• Even though
• First of all
• First/Second/Third
• For example/instance
• For the purpose(s) of
• For the reason that
• For this reason
• Furthermore
• Given these points
• Granted (that)
• Granting (that)
• In a similar way
• In addition to
• In any case
• In any event
• In conclusion
• In contrast
• In order that/to
• In other words
• In particular
• In spite of (this)
• In that case
• In the (first/second/third) place
• In the event that
• In the hope that
• In the same way
• Inasmuch as
• Incidentally
• Instead (of)
• Looking at (this information)
• More/Most importantly
• Nevertheless
• Nonetheless
• Not only…but also
• Notwithstanding (this)
• On the contrary
• On the other hand
• On the subject of (this)
• One example (of this is)
• Or at least
• Owing to (the fact)
• Particularly
• Provided (that)
• Regarding (this)
• Regardless (of this)
• Regardless (of)
• Returning to the subject
• Significantly
• So much (so) that
• Specifically
• Subsequently
• Summarizing (this)
• That being the case
• That is (to say)
• The fact that
• This means (that)
• To conclude
• To illustrate
• To put (it) another way
• To start with
• Under those circumstances
• What this means is
• Whatever happens
• With (this fact) in mind
• With regards to (this)

Write a reverse outline

After the bulk of your paper has been written, going back through and creating a reverse outline can help you find gaps in your writing that could be further developed and filled by additional information or examples. It's as simple as reading back through what you've written and creating an outline of the major ideas, topics and subtopics you've included. If you've provided an example, include that on your reverse outline, as well.

Reverse outlining also helps you find paragraphs that might contain more than one major idea. When this happens, you'll need to divide the paragraph into more than one paragraph and further develop the points within them, ensuring that each paragraph has a topic sentence that matches what the rest of the paragraph is about.

Use expert quotes

One of the easiest ways to add to the word count of an essay is by including expert quotes. Not only do such quotes show that you have considered the thoughts and opinions of others who are well-read on the topic you're writing on, it also can add considerable length to a paper, especially if you include multiple quotes from several different sources.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing quotes and adding them to your essay:

• Be sure that the quote is applicable to the topic in general, and to the paragraph you're adding it to, in specific.
• Include quotation marks and the proper citation for each quote. Not doing so is plagiarism.
• If a quote is more than three lines, put it in block quote format.
• Separate multiple quotes with your own writing in between, perhaps as commentary on the substance of the quote previously noted.

Use multiple examples to back up your argument

In the same sense that using expert quotes adds to your essay's word count as well as the thoroughness of your research, using examples and anecdotes to expand on your hypotheses is a great way to provide proof for your argument. However, this doesn't have to be limited to one example per point you're making. Consider this: if you are writing a sociology paper about the dangers of social media use for adolescents, you should be able to find several anecdotes of how teenagers have been put in danger in various ways through their social media use. Along with these anecdotes, you can provide expert quotes (or quotes from the teenagers, themselves) to make your argument more solid and add word count to an essay that's too short.

Read your writing aloud

Finally, and after all of the above tactics have been used, read your essay out loud. This achieves two purposes. First, it allows you to proofread and check for any obvious mistakes that might remain after the initial first draft writing phase. Second, reading it aloud helps you to check for any areas that might not flow well (this is easier to hear than see) so you can add to them to achieve a better flow and organization to your writing.

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Paragraph Expander Free AI-Powered Text Expander to Lengthen Paragraphs

Need to lengthen your paragraphs and increase your word count? I got you. This free paragraph expander uses AI (artificial intelligence) and acts as a text expander that’ll instantly extend your writing to make your paragraph longer, remaining on theme with your content. This text expander’s advanced algorithms produce AI-powered content that fits in seamlessly with your original content—for free.

Hey there! You’ve hit your free limit for an hour . Don’t worry; you’ll be able to use my tools again in an hour.

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Use the Paragraph Expander to Meet Your Word Count Target and Improve Your SEO

A paragraph expander is a great way to create more in-depth content, based on what you’ve already written. If you’re sitting there thinking, “how do I make my paragraph longer?” then you’ve come to the right place. You can start with a single sentence, a short paragraph, or even a phrase, and create extra content.

There are plenty of reasons why you might want to use a paragraph expander:

• You’ve got a short blog post that you want to make longer, for SEO (search engine optimization) purposes—ideally, your blog posts should usually be 1,500+ words .
• You’re working on a school or college assignment and you haven’t quite met the word count requirements.
• You’ve got short-form content, like social media posts, that you want to use as the basis for a full-length article.
• You have a little bit of text that you want to expand and make paragraphs longer throughout your content.

In all these cases, you can copy and paste short sections of content into the paragraph expander and you’ll automatically get a longer, more detailed paragraph.

Here’s an example. Let’s say you’ve got a great tweet about email marketing (I created this one using RightBlogger ’s “Tweet/X Post Ideas” feature:

Looking to grow your subscriber list? 📈 Offer an irresistible lead magnet to entice visitors to sign up. It could be an exclusive guide, discount, or free resource! 

You want to write a whole blog post about growing your email subscriber list, and you plan to expand on the lead magnet idea. So you simply copy a couple of sentences into the paragraph extender tool:

Run the tool, and you’ll make your paragraph longer based on those starting 2 sentences. Here’s what it came up with for me:

“Want to boost your subscriber list and attract more visitors to your website? One effective strategy is to create a compelling lead magnet that will encourage them to sign up. Consider offering an exclusive guide packed with valuable insights, a special discount on your products or services, or a free resource that addresses a common pain point for your target audience. By providing something of value in exchange for their email address, you can significantly increase your chances of turning visitors into loyal subscribers.”

Ready to give it a try, yourself and write longer paragraphs?

How to Use the Paragraph Expander to Lengthen Your Original Text

The paragraph expander is really user-friendly—but just in case you want a helping hand, here’s a breakdown of what to do, step by step.

Step 1. Copy and Paste Your Original Sentence or Paragraph

First, you’ll need to choose a sentence (or short paragraph) to expand upon. It’s best to use something that feels a bit thin and underwritten. If you’ve already written a detailed, wordy paragraph, then running it through the tool may not give you such good results.

Once you’ve chosen the text you want to expand, simply copy and paste it into the tool.

Step 2. Select Your Tone and Writing Style

If you’re creating standard blog content, it’s fine to simply use the “Default”  tone & style in the paragraph expander tool. But if you’re writing something different, or your blog has a strong branded voice, then you may want to experiment with different tones and styles.

For instance, the “Fun & Quirky” style is a great fit for brands that are laid back and informal. The “Formal” style is a good fit if you’re working on a piece of academic or business writing.

Step 3. Generate an Extended Paragraph of Text

Once you’ve pasted in your text and (optionally) selected a tone & style, it’s time to generate your extended paragraph. Go ahead and hit the “Generate” button and your new text will appear almost instantly.

Bonus: Use My Free SEO Checklist Along With the Paragraph Expander

There’s a good chance you’re using the paragraph extender to help you produce blog posts that work well for search engines. As you write your blog post , you’ll also want to keep in mind the key principles of good blog SEO .

Here’s my personal step-by-step SEO checklist to use for your blog posts: 

• Make sure you’re using the Yoast plugin for WordPress
• Always optimize your post for a specific, achievable keyword phrase that’s relevant to your audience
• Optimize your post’s subheadings: this encourages Google’s rich snippets and can mean that your post gets indexed faster
• Only use one H1 header in your post (that should be the post title at the top of the page)
• Follow correct header hierarchy, with H2 subsections and H3 sub-subsections
• Make sure you include your primary keyword multiple times—but don’t go overboard (it should sound natural)
• Use both internal and external links in your blog post (with at least 3–5 external links)
• Craft an engaging meta description that includes your primary keyword, plus secondary keywords if possible
• Give each image an alt description, using keywords in the descriptions as appropriate
• Think about your blog post’s length—it should normally be at least 1,500+ words
• Craft a meta title (SEO title) that should work well in search engines
• Include keywords in your post’s permalink (also called the URL or slug)

The Key Features of the Paragraph Expander

We designed the paragraph expander to be super-easy to use—but if you’re curious about some of its key features, just keep reading.

Text (Copy and Paste Your Original Text)

The paragraph expander lets you paste in any text you like. (It doesn’t have to be in English, either.) Your text can be anything from a few words long to a couple of sentences long.

Note: There’s a limit of 500 characters for the tool. If you want to expand more text than that, you can simply run the tool multiple times.

Tone & Writing Style (Choose a Style That Matches Your Voice)

Like my other free AI blogging tools , the paragraph extender lets you select a tone & writing style. This is so the AI algorithm can create text that’s as close to your own writing voice as possible. 

You can use the paragraph expander as often as you like, so feel free to experiment with different styles. For example, bloggers often use styles like “Fun & Quirky”, “Casual”, and “Irreverent”. If you’re working on business or academic content, “Formal” or “Professional” might suit you well. And if you’re crafting a piece of copywriting to promote a product or service, then “Sales-oriented” or “Persuasive” could be perfect for boosting conversions. 

Language (Doesn’t Have to be English)

The paragraph expander doesn’t just work with English. You can use it with a whole range of different languages, including French, Spanish, Chinese, Danish, Polish, Japanese, Italian, and more.

Tip: Your input and output languages don’t need to match—though in most cases, you’ll probably be crafting extended content in the same language that you started out with.

Paragraph Expander Tool FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Got questions about the paragraph extender tool? Here’s everything you need to know.

What type of content can I enter into the paragraph expander tool?

You can give the paragraph extender tool any kind of content you want. That could be an excerpt from a past blog post, part of a draft you’re working on, a couple of brief sentences from an academic essay … or anything you like. For best results, you’ll want to choose content that’s concise and ripe for expanding upon. 

Even if you plan on editing the paragraph extender’s output, you might still find it’s a useful tool for getting past writer’s block.

The paragraph extender draws on the same AI writing technology behind tools like ChatGPT to create a unique sentence expansion of your input text.

Can I use the paragraph expander tool as an AI sentence expander? 

Yes, you can use this tool as a sentence expander too. Simply enter a short sentence and the tool will expand it into one (or more) sentences. 

Here’s an example for the sentence “The sky is blue”:

“The sky, with its vibrant hue, is a mesmerizing shade of blue that captivates the senses and evokes a sense of tranquility.”

Will the content from the paragraph expander tool pass a plagiarism checker?

The paragraph expander tool creates unique AI-generated content, based on your original words. This means it should easily pass a plagiarism check. For peace of mind, you may want to run your text through a plagiarism checker tool before you submit it for assessment or publication.

If you’re expanding a piece of text written by someone else, the expanded content should be sufficiently different to pass a plagiarism check. However, to avoid plagiarism of ideas, it’s important to cite your sources.

How else can I lengthen my writing to meet the required word count?

Using a paragraph extender is a useful quick fix when you’re trying to get your writing up to a certain word length. However, the tool won’t add in fresh ideas, and using it too extensively could make your piece seem overly wordy.

If you need to significantly extend a piece of writing, you might want to think about:

• Are there any key points that you haven’t covered? My free outline generator might help you to come up with these.
• Could you go into more detail by adding extra material, like examples or quotes? (You can include a discussion of these, too.)
• Have you missed out part of your piece, like the introduction or conclusion? I’ve got an introduction writer and conclusion writer to help you create these.
• Is there something more you could offer your target audience? What would make your message resonate with them?

If your writing often comes out too short, you may need to think about length earlier in the writing process. Using blog post templates , for instance, can help you create well-structured posts that meet the word count you’re aiming for.

Is there a Chrome extension for this tool?

For now, you can only use the paragraph expander here, as an online tool. There’s no Chrome extension or downloadable version, though RightBlogger’s Chrome Extension may eventually include this as a feature. I recommend keeping a tab open here with the tool so you can easily copy and paste text from your email, Google docs, Microsoft Word, or anywhere else you write.

Which other AI tools can I use to help create content?

You might want to use the full AI article writer to create a complete piece of content, in less than a minute. I’ve also got a YouTube script generator that you can use to help you make video content, and a whole range of useful blogging tools like the intro paragraph generator .

If you’re looking to change content around rather than expand sentences, the paragraph rewriter makes it easy to rephrase your text. There’s also a full grammar fixer (grammar checker) to help you with editing your writing.

Why did you make this paragraph expander a free tool?

I know, I know… what’s the catch? This paragraph expander is completely free. Here’s why. When I started blogging, years ago, I couldn’t afford to spend much money on my blog. Essential costs like web hosting took up most of my blogging budget. I knew that premium tools would help me grow my blog faster, but I couldn’t afford them. Instead, I hunted for free tools that did similar things—and I was so grateful to the bloggers who create those tools.

Today, my blog RyRob has been hugely successful, thanks in part to those free tools. I wanted to give something back to the blogging community, so I created the free paragraph expander. This tool is my gift to you.

You can use the paragraph expander as many times as you want, completely free. There’s no charge, and you never need to enter your email address, sign up, or jump through any hoops.

If you like the paragraph expander, I’d love it if you’d check out RightBlogger , my AI powerhouse. It’s packed with useful tools to help you with your writing. While it’s aimed primarily at bloggers, there are tools in there that can create and edit all kinds of AI content. That includes a paraphrasing tool, grammar fixer, rewriter, idea generator, and many more.

Who is this paragraph expander tool designed for?

We created the paragraph expander tool with all sorts of people in mind. It’s for bloggers, writers, content marketers, content creators, SEO professionals, small businesses, students, and anyone who sometimes needs a helping hand creating longer pieces of high-quality content.

More From Forbes

College essays that worked and how yours can too.

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CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS - JULY 08: A view of Harvard Yard on the campus of Harvard University on ... [+] July 08, 2020 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology have sued the Trump administration for its decision to strip international college students of their visas if all of their courses are held online. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The college essay is a pivotal piece of the college application showcasing your individuality and differentiated outlook to admissions officers. What makes an essay truly shine? Let’s dive into the words behind three standout essays highlighted by university websites and a school newspaper's brand studio so you can get into the right mindset for crafting your own narrative.

Embracing Differences: Finding Strength In Uniqueness

Essay Excerpt: ‘Bra Shopping ’ (Harvard)

Featured by the Harvard Crimson Brand Studio , Orlee's essay recounts a student's humorous and insightful experience of bra shopping with her grandmother, weaving in her unique family dynamics and challenges at her prestigious school.

What Works:

• Humor and Honesty: The student's humor makes the essay enjoyable to read, while her honesty about her challenges adds depth.
• Self-Awareness: She demonstrates a strong sense of self-awareness, embracing her uniqueness rather than trying to fit in.
• Resilience: Her narrative highlights resilience and the ability to find strength in differences.

For Your Essay : To write an essay that embraces your uniqueness, start by identifying a quirky or challenging experience that reflects who a key insight into your experience. Think about how this experience has shaped your perspective and character. Use humor and honesty to bring your story to life, and focus on how you have embraced your differences to become stronger and more resilient.

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024

Best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024, finding connections: humor and self-reflection.

Essay: ‘Brood X Cicadas ’ (Hamilton College)

As an example on Hamilton's admissions website, Nicholas writes about the cicadas swarming his hometown every 17 years and draws a parallel between their emergence and his own transition to college life. He uses humor and self-reflection to create a relatable and engaging narrative.

• Humor: Nicholas uses humor to make his essay entertaining and memorable. His witty comparisons between himself and cicadas add a unique twist.
• Self-Reflection: By comparing his life to the cicadas’, he reflects on his own growth and readiness for change.
• Relatability: His narrative about facing new experiences and challenges resonates with readers who have undergone similar transitions.

For Your Essay: To infuse humor and self-reflection into your essay, start by identifying an ordinary experience or object and think about how it relates to your life. Write down funny or insightful observations about this connection. Use humor to make your essay more engaging, but ensure it still conveys meaningful self-reflection. This balance can make your essay both entertaining and profound.

Persistence and Multicultural Identity: Life Lessons From Tortilla Making

Essay: ‘ Facing The Hot Griddle ’ (Johns Hopkins University)

In this essay published by Hopkins Insider, Rocio uses the process of making tortillas to explore her multicultural identity and the challenges she has faced. Her story beautifully weaves together her Guatemalan heritage and her experiences growing up in the United States.

• Metaphor and Symbolism: The process of making tortillas becomes a powerful metaphor for the student’s journey and struggles. The symbolism of the masa harina and water mixing parallels her blending of cultural identities.
• Personal Growth: The essay highlights her perseverance and adaptability, qualities that are crucial for success in college.
• Cultural Insight: She provides a rich, personal insight into her multicultural background, making her story unique and compelling.

For Your Essay: To write an essay that explores your identity through a metaphor, start by thinking about an activity or tradition that holds significant meaning for you. Consider how this activity relates to your life experiences and personal growth. Use detailed descriptions to bring the activity to life and draw connections between the process and your own journey. Reflect on the lessons you've learned and how they've shaped your identity.

A winning college essay isn’t simply about parading your best accomplishment or dramatizing your challenges. It’s not a contest for which student is the most original or entertaining. Rather, the essay is a chance for you to showcase your authenticity, passion, resilience, social awareness, and intellectual vitality . By sharing genuine stories and insights, you can create an essay that resonates with admissions committees and highlights your unique qualities.

For you to have the best possible essay, mindset is key. Here’s how to get into the zone:

• Reflect Deeply: Spend time thinking about your experiences, challenges, and passions. Journaling can help you uncover deep insights.
• Discuss and Share: Talking about your stories with friends, family, or mentors can provide new perspectives and emotional clarity.
• Immerse Yourself: Engage in activities that you are passionate about to reignite the feelings and memories associated with them.
• Draft Freely: Don’t worry about perfection on the first try. Write freely and honestly, then refine your narrative.

The secret to a standout college essay lies in its authenticity, depth, and emotional resonance. By learning from these successful examples and getting into the right mindset, you can craft an essay that not only stands out but also provides a meaningful insight into who you are. Remember, your essay is your story—make it a piece of writing that you will always be proud of.

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How-To Geek

7 ways to speed up your workflow in microsoft word.

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Organize your folders, remove formatting from pasted text, customize the quick access toolbar, select sections without using your mouse, change the case without deleting your work, use find and replace, have a notepad and pen by your side.

Do you find yourself taking longer than you hoped to complete your Word document? Microsoft Word has many tools that can help to make your life easier, but knowing the following tips and tricks will go a long way to making your experience significantly more efficient.

This tip may seem unusual, as it's not something you would do in Word itself. However, taking the time to create folders and save your work in the right place will save you significant time. It's much like having a tidy desk—knowing where everything is stored and where to go to find something will avoid you having to remember where you put it. Then, if you want to amend, print, reference, or share an existing document, you already have a good idea of where you'll find that work.

Similarly, having folders already in place before you start your Word document will mean you already know where you'll save the work as you go. This will encourage you to save your work as soon as you begin, an essential step if you're working on the Word desktop app—the AutoSave function will only work once you have given your file a name and placed it in the correct location.

Right-click a more frequently used folder in Windows File Explorer and click "Pin To Quick Access" to force it to display in the left-hand sidebar menu at all times. This means you'll be able to open the folder with a single click, which is especially useful if a frequently used folder is stored within another folder.

Are you copying (Ctrl+C) and pasting (Ctrl+V) text into your work from another source, such as the internet or another Word document? If the source formatting differs from your Word document's formatting, you will end up with inconsistent font typefaces, colors, and sizes.

For example, pasting some text from the NYT website resulted in an oddly-presented paragraph.

To avoid this, select and copy (Ctrl+C) the text from the source, and head to your Word document. There, in the Home group on the ribbon, click the "Paste" drop-down arrow, and select the "Keep Text Only" icon .

The pasted text will then display according to the formatting you have set in that position in your document. For example, if you paste the text in a paragraph with a Normal style, it will adopt the defined formatting for this style. Likewise, if you paste the text in an area defined under a Heading style , it will appear as a heading.

Make sure you provide the necessary credits when copying other people's work. Microsoft Word lets you add citations and bibliographies to your document to help you with this process.

If you have actions that you perform regularly in your Word document and struggle to remember the many keyboard shortcuts that come with these commands, you can add single-click buttons to the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) to make these processes happen in an instant.

If all you can see in the top-left corner of your Word document window is the Word icon and the name of the document, this means you do not have the QAT displayed.

To enable the QAT, click the down arrow positioned at the right-hand side of any of the tabs on the ribbon, and click "Show Quick Access Toolbar."

The QAT will then appear next to the document name in the top-left corner of the window.

You may see some default QAT buttons appear, such as the AutoSave toggle. To add more icons, click the " Customize Quick Access Toolbar " down arrow. You can then choose from the options displayed, or click "More Commands" to see more options.

In the Quick Access Toolbar menu of the Word Options window, choose from the different options in the "Choose Commands From" menu, or click "All Commands" to see every option available. When you find and select an action you want to add to your QAT, click "Add," and then click "OK" when you're done.

You will then see your QAT at the top of your window, which you can use anytime. In the screenshot below, you can see the Save icon, two macro buttons, the Multilevel List icon, the Show/Hide icon, and the Draw Table icon.

The green check icons in the QAT shown in the screenshot above are macro buttons. You can create these to perform a series of actions or a personalized workflow-specific command in one click . These are invaluable additions to your QAT if you're a regular user of Microsoft Word. You can also create keyboard shortcuts for these macro buttons, which will further speed up your workflow.

Selecting words, lines, or paragraphs using your mouse can be a tedious task, especially if you're using a laptop mouse pad or struggling with work-related RSI . For many people, most of their work is on their keyboard, so it's handy to know some extra ways to move the cursor and select text using only the keys. We all know Ctrl+C for copy and Ctrl+V for paste , but the navigation shortcuts are just as essential for quick-paced work in Word.

Moving the Cursor

Avoid repeatedly tapping your arrow keys to move around. Instead, hold Ctrl and use the arrow keys at the same time to move the cursor more quickly:

• Ctrl+Up will move your cursor to the start of the current paragraph, and if you press Up again, you'll move to the beginning of the previous paragraph.
• If you press Ctrl+Down , you'll move to the next paragraph.
• Ctrl+Left or Ctrl+Right will move you across the line of text much more quickly.

Selecting Text

You can then follow a similar principle when selecting text, but hold Ctrl+Shift when pressing your arrow keys:

• Ctrl+Shift+Up will select the part of the line before the cursor, and then the line above, and then the paragraph above.
• Ctrl+Shift+Down will select the part of the line after the cursor, and then the line below, and then the paragraph below.
• Ctrl+Shift+Left or Ctrl+Shift+Righ t will select words across a line.

It's also worth knowing what the Home and End keys can do to help you quicken your work:

• Home and End move your cursor to the start and end of the line.
• Ctrl+Home and Ctrl+End move your cursor to the start and end of your document.
• Ctrl+Shift+Home selects all text before the cursor's position, and Ctrl+Shift+End selects all text after the cursor's position.

The best way to get used to these essential shortcuts is to open a Word document, type =lorem() , and press Enter to create a body of random text. Then, experiment with the above combinations of Ctrl, Shift, Up, Down, Home, and End.

If you have made a mistake or want to amend the case (capitalization), it might be instinct to delete the word and retype it. After all, selecting the text and using the Caps Lock key doesn't work. However, if you've got a large body of text you need to switch, retyping the work is a big time-waster.

Instead, select your text using Ctrl+Shift+Arrows, and then click the Change Case icon .

You can then choose from the options available to quickly change the case of the text you have selected.

I use Find And Replace all the time —and if you need to make wholesale changes to a word, part of a word, a word form, or other items each time they occur in a document, you should too. For example, if you want to change each instance of "Internet" to "internet," or change all examples of "reign" and "rain" to "rein," doing this manually might take hours, and you're bound to miss a couple.

Press Ctrl+H to launch the Find And Replace dialog box.

The Find tab helps you to identify words in a document, the Replace tab lets you change them for something else, and the Go To tab allows you to jump to specific places in your document.

If you click "More," you can perform your search with more specific parameters, such as matching the case, finding whole words only, or finding word forms.

As an academic proofreader, I can safely say that this single and straightforward shortcut has saved me the most time of all the tips in this article.

As advanced as Microsoft Word can be with all its features and ways to speed up your workflow, nothing beats having a notepad and pen by your side.

For example, noting down the different formatting and styles for a multilevel list before you launch the dialog box will help you to make sure your numbering, indentation, and fonts are accurate and consistent. If you're mid-way through typing a paragraph and something comes to mind for a different section of your work, having a notebook by your side means you can quickly jot things down without disrupting your momentum or forgetting what you wanted to do.

Yes, we love tech at How-To Geek, but I can't vouch enough for a simple notepad and pen as a desktop companion.

Speeding up your workflow is just one way to make the most out of Microsoft Word—take a look at our top tips for crafting a professional document .

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Do These 25 Things for Your Best Chance at a Longer Life

Cheapism / Lisa5201/nicoletaionescu/istockphoto

The Secrets of Long Life

We all die eventually — that’s the brutal truth we learn from childhood. But instead of drowning in existential dread, we can focus on staying on this planet as long as possible. And who knows, if you follow these 26 scientifically backed tips, you might hold the key to a very long, healthy life.

1. Quit Smoking

Starting with a "duh" moment, but while obvious, and we've all heard it a gazillion times, it's still true: Smoking kills.

It is a nasty habit that's never too late to kick. We know smoking is an addiction, and quitting is challenging, but when you weigh the downsides, you'll see there's nothing good about it. It makes you tired,  increases your risk  of cardiovascular diseases and cancers, drains your wallet, and it stinks. We could go on and on, but you get the point: ditch the cigarettes and reach old age. 

2. Move More

Longevity experts and doctors unanimously agree  that staying active is the key to vitality and preventing all kinds of diseases, including type 2 diabetes. This doesn't need to be a high-intensity workout — it could be as simple as light cardio, including walking, dancing, and swimming. At least 30 minutes of physical activity daily can make a huge difference.

3. Stay Away from Processed Foods

We are what we eat, and our diet affects how long we live as well. According to a recent study, ultra-processed food is linked to 32 health problems , which is definitely not a recipe for a longer life.  

Follow this rule of thumb: If the ingredients list includes things you never see in your kitchen, like hydrogenated oil, hydrolyzed protein, or high fructose corn syrup, then you should definitely stay away from it.

4. Drink Plenty of Water

We are made up of about 60% water, and staying well-hydrated drastically increases the chances of longevity. According to a  National Institutes of Health study published in eBioMedicine,  people who stay hydrated throughout the day tend to be healthier, with lower risks of chronic diseases, and live longer than those who don't. Staying hydrated flushes out toxins, supports your kidneys and liver, and aids in cell repair and regeneration. So, gulp down that water. 

5. Eat More Plants

Research on Blue Zones (areas with a high number of centenarians) shows that those who live there primarily eat  a 95% plant-based diet.  While lean meats are a beneficial source of protein, a number of studies show that avoiding red meat can reduce the risk of death from heart disease, cancer, and various other causes.

6. Wear Sunscreen Daily

Yes, you should wear sunscreen every day, even on cloudy days. Sunscreen is your first line of defense against skin cancer, including deadly melanoma. There is no safe level of unprotected sun exposure, and wearing a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30  or more every single day can protect you from DNA-damaging and deadly skin cancer.

7. Get Enough Sleep

Sleep your way to old age. A  2023 study found  that people with healthy sleep habits  have longer life expectancy than those who slept less. Aim to have at least 7 to 8 hours of good night's sleep to allow your body to repair and regenerate.

8. Get Regular Medical Checkups

We tend to go to the doctor only when we feel symptoms and the thing is, preventive care is essential. Regular health checks are your ticket to a longer, healthier life, as catching potential issues early significantly improves treatment outcomes. So don’t skip your annual visit to your GP, even if you feel in top-notch form. Better safe than sorry, right?

9. Eat Until You Are 80-Percent Full

Another healthy habit practiced by people in the Blue Zones, particularly those in Okinawa, Japan, is following the Japanese diet rule "Hara Hachi bun me,"  which roughly translates to "eat until you are eight parts full." Essentially, this means stop eating when you feel about 80% full. According to studies,  it takes up to 20 minutes for your brain to register that you are full. So, if you stop eating when you are about 80% full, it means you are already 100% full — you just don't know it yet.

10. Laugh More

Turns out, laughter truly is the best medicine. In a  study of 50,000 people  over 15 years, researchers found that those with a sense of humor lived an average of 8 years longer than their stern counterparts. So, wanna hear a joke?

11. Find a Purpose

Having something that gets you out of bed in the morning and keeps you going is essential for a long, healthy life.  Multiple studies  suggest that people with a sense of purpose may live longer and healthier lives.

12. Stay Socially Active

One is the loneliest number, and it's not great for your health either. Staying socially active boosts your mood, sharpens your mind, and can even add years to your life. According to the  Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health , people with strong social connections may live longer. Go ahead, make plans, join social clubs, and keep those connections strong!

13. Keep Learning New Things

You know that quote, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." Well, the second part might help you live, well, not forever, per se, but long enough. Learning new things keeps you intellectually stimulated and can help you adapt to unexpected changes. There’s a well-studied relationship between  lifelong learning and longevity.  It improves brain health, boosts happiness, and gives you that sense of purpose we talked about

14. Eat More Nuts

It may sound nuts, but living a long, healthy life can come from something as simple as introducing more almonds to your diet. According to  two Harvard studies , daily nut-eaters are less likely to die of respiratory disease, cancer, and heart disease and are more likely to live longer than those who rarely eat them.

15. Limit Sugar Intake

Disappointing news for those with a sweet tooth: indulging in sweets can send you to an early grave. Research shows  that a sugar-rich diet increases the risk of metabolic disorders, including diabetes and obesity, and shortens your life expectancy by several years. 

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans  recommend limiting added sugar intake to 10% of daily calories — if you eat 2,000 calories a day, no more than 200 calories should come from added sugars, which is about 12 teaspoons. 

16. Manage Stress

While stress is an inevitable accessory of the modern age we live in, and we often wear it like a badge of honor. But managing it is essential. Chronic stress wreaks havoc on your health, causing inflammation, increasing cardiovascular risks, and weakening your immune system. It even shortens your life expectancy. So, find your stress-buster, whether it’s chatting with friends, consulting a professional, exercising, or meditating.

17. Connect with Nature

That hike you were planning to cancel in favor of staying on your couch all day streaming Netflix? Don't! Multiple studies  show that people who spend at least two hours in nature each week report greater health and overall well-being, which ultimately leads to a longer life.

18. Do Volunteer Work

Turns out, good karma pays off. A review in the Journal of Health Psychology of the Longitudinal Study on Aging , which compiled data from more than 7,000 Americans ages 70 and older, shows that people who volunteer frequently tend to live longer than those who don't.

19. Meditate

Meditation often brings to mind an old Buddhist monk on a mountaintop, and studies show this image isn't far from reality, as this ancient practice has been linked to increased lifespan.  Meditation impacts your longevity by supporting the function of your telomeres and vagus nerve. It also reduces oxidative stress , lowers blood pressure, and boosts the immune system.

20. Get a Dog

Owning a dog might just help you live longer.  Studies  found that dog owners with heart disease had a 21% lower risk of death over 12 years.  

Playing with dogs boosts oxytocin, the "love hormone," which improves mood and reduces stress. Dog owners also tend to be more active and spend more time outdoors, both of which are great for heart health.

21. Try Gardening

Those with a green thumb can rejoice, as science has found a tie between gardening and longevity.  Many centenarians living in the "Blue Zones" share this common hobby, and it’s more than just a pastime.  Studies show  that gardening can lower the risk of dementia, improve cognitive function, and promote social connections. It also provides a sense of purpose and connection to nature, both important for longevity. (Don't forget, there are ways to garden even if you don't have a backyard .)

22. Remember to Floss

No matter how much you hate it, you should not toss the floss, as it turns out it might be your ticket to longevity. Research shows that people who floss daily live one to six years longer  than those who rarely floss or don't floss at all. Flossing daily reduces your risk of gum disease and also the risk of heart disease.

23. Wear a Seatbelt

According to the  National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) , in 2022, half of the people who died in crashes were unrestrained. Wearing a seatbelt can reduce the risk of death by 45% for front-seat passengers in cars and 60% for front-seat passengers in light trucks. So buckle up.

24. Drink in Moderation

Studies show  that moderate alcohol intake, let's say a glass of wine per day, helps raise levels of HDL cholesterol, known as "good" cholesterol, which is linked with reduced risk for heart disease. Alcohol also may discourage the formation of small blood clots that can lead to heart attacks and stroke.

25. Cook at Home

Maybe you should stay in tonight and fire up that stove , as cooking at home might just be the secret to a longer life. A study from  Cambridge University  found that people who cook up to five times a week have a 47% higher chance of still being around after a decade. 

26. Be Good to Yourself

Life is hard, and you are doing fine. That should be it! Sometimes, we are prone to being overly harsh with ourselves. While constructive self-criticism is a great motivator to change bad habits, being overly negative with yourself is known to increase anxiety and stress levels, which can wreak havoc on your health.

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Forgot where you put the keys? Experts (and a trivia buff) share tips to boost memory

Andee Tagle

Margaret Cirino

Where did I put the keys? Tips to improve memory

Eugene Mymrin/Getty Images hide caption

You don't have to be a trivia buff to be great at remembering things.

Monica Thieu , a four-time Jeopardy! contestant and winner of the game's 2012 college championship, uses memory techniques like mnemonic devices and flash cards to retain world capitals, TV shows, Olympic cities and more.

"With practice, absolutely everyone can make their memory stronger," says Thieu, who also researches memory, human cognition and emotion as a postdoctoral scientist at Emory University.

Listen to the podcast episode: Where did I put the keys? Tips to improve memory

That's because memory is selective. What our brains choose to remember is something we can train, says Charan Ranganath , director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California, Davis, and author of Why We Remember . "It can be biased, warped and reconstructed."

If you want to improve your memory, even if it's just remembering where you parked or where you put your keys, try these science-backed strategies from our experts.

Pay attention to what you want to remember

"The first necessary ingredient in creating a memory that lasts longer than the present moment is attention," says Lisa Genova , a neuroscientist and the author of Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting . "We need that input — otherwise that memory doesn’t get made, even if your eyes see it."

When people gripe about having memory problems, they're often having attention problems, she adds. For example, if you blame your memory because you can't find your parking spot, you probably weren't paying attention to it in the first place. So slow down and focus on what you want to remember.

Don't always depend on GPS. Your sense of direction will thank you

Create a rule and a habit.

If you repeatedly lose track of an object like your keys, wallet or cellphone, pick a designated spot in your home and keep it there when it's not in use, says Genova. That way, you don't have to expend effort trying to remember where you placed it.

"If you put it in the same place every time, you've made it [a fact], sort of like your address and birthday: My keys always go in this bowl. There's a rule and a habit," she says.

The more details the merrier

To form memories you'll naturally keep, make them as immersive as possible, says Thieu. This is especially helpful when you're tackling a subject that you find difficult to connect with.

Let's say you're trying to learn more about the Renaissance era. Commit the period to memory by absorbing information about it through a variety of mediums, says Thieu. Make a playlist of music from the era. Watch period dramas set at that time. And "any time you have an opportunity to learn something in a richer way, do it" — like going to a theater performance on the subject matter.

Our brains love to remember anything that's "meaningful, emotional, surprising or new," says Genova. So the more details you can give your brain to latch onto, the stronger that a memory becomes and the easier it is to recall later.

For relationship advice (plus health, finance and parenting tips and more),  subscribe to Life Kit’s newsletter .

Trigger your memory

When your brain creates a memory, it naturally weaves together all the sights, sounds, tastes and smells associated with that memory, says Genova. So use those connections to your advantage.

Let's say you're studying for a vocabulary test. If you always listen to Dua Lipa while you're studying and "have a chance to listen to Dua Lipa while you take the test, it might help you remember those words," says Genova. Psychologists call this process "context-dependent memory."

Genova suggests enhancing your study space with smells, music or certain tastes. Try chewing a piece of cinnamon gum, for example, while you're preparing for a big exam — and then again while you're taking it. Your senses can act as triggers for the rest of your memory to fall into place.

Negotiating isn't just for job offers. Here's how to use it in everyday life

"chunk" long strings of information.

If you have a big load of information to recall at once, Ranganath suggests a strategy that researchers call " chunking ." It's a way to organize longer strings of information to make them easier to recall. Let's say you want to remember the phone number (130) 555-1212. "That’s 10 digits, which is a lot to juggle around in my mind."

So "chunk" it into three parts, he says: 130, 555, 1212. Instead of recalling each number individually, you can recall the entire group — and then retrieve each individual number more easily.

Create a "mind palace"

Need to remember to grab eggs, milk and coffee creamer from the store? Ranganath suggests a method that memory researchers, as well as memory champions, call a "mind palace" — or the method of loci , which means "places" in Latin. You may have seen this ancient mnemonic device on TV shows like Sherlock .

This technique allows you to pair a place you know well, like your childhood home, with new information. Picture yourself placing the items of your grocery list around the house. Place a carton of eggs on your couch. Put milk on the kitchen counter. Put some creamer on the coffee table. Later on at the supermarket, recall this path through your house as you're shopping. It'll help you remember your grocery list.

How to start a new habit: think small

Try good old flash cards.

Don't overlook the power of reviewing flash cards, says Thieu. "Some of the best trivia experts I know do a lot of flash-carding."

Thieu likes to watch old Jeopardy! reruns and create flash cards for the information in each episode. Then, she'll use the cards to quiz herself. She also uses this technique to drill lists of more specific trivia information — say, the world's longest rivers or deepest lakes.

Take your flash-carding one step further by testing yourself before you learn the information, to see what you already know, and then afterward to see what you were able to remember. A pre-lesson test primes your brain for what you'll need to recall later on.

"We learn the most when we challenge ourselves — and that's an extraordinarily powerful tool for retaining information in the long run," says Ranganath.

Go easy on yourself

Lastly, don't expect your memory to be perfect, say our experts. It's normal to occasionally misplace your keys or forget to pay a bill.

"Life is an open-book test," says Genova. You're not cheating if you look something up or write it down. It could save your mental energy for something more meaningful.

The audio portion of this episode was produced by Margaret Cirino. The digital story was edited by Malaka Gharib. The visual editor is Beck Harlan. We'd love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at [email protected].

Listen to Life Kit on Apple Podcasts  and Spotify , and sign up for our newsletter .