helpful professor logo

How to make an Essay Longer – 21 Easy Tips!

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]

Learn about our Editorial Process

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 to make an essay longer

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

  • Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 10 Reasons you’re Perpetually Single
  • Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 20 Montessori Toddler Bedrooms (Design Inspiration)
  • Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 21 Montessori Homeschool Setups
  • Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 101 Hidden Talents Examples

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
  • EDIT Edit this Article
  • EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Happiness Hub Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
  • Browse Articles
  • Learn Something New
  • Quizzes Hot
  • Happiness Hub
  • This Or That Game
  • Train Your Brain
  • Explore More
  • Support wikiHow
  • About wikiHow
  • Log in / Sign up
  • Education and Communications
  • College University and Postgraduate
  • Academic Writing

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 1,780,153 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

Step 1 Choose a slightly larger 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.

Step 2 Adjust the font size.

Manipulating Spacing and Margins

Step 1 Increase the spacing between lines.

  • 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.

Step 3 Increase the bottom margin by a quarter.

Adjusting the Header and Footer

Step 1 Lengthen your header.

Expanding the Content

Step 1 Spell out numbers less than ten.

  • 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.

Step 5 Ensure that each paragraph has a topic and a concluding sentence.

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

Step 6 Be as descriptive as possible.

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

Step 7 Draw out your conclusion.

Community Q&A

Community Answer

  • 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

how to make a essay look longer

  • 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

Write a Five Paragraph Essay

  • ↑ 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

Jake Adams

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

  • Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Grace Baker

Grace Baker

Nov 19, 2018

Did this article help you?

how to make a essay look longer

Dec 7, 2017

Lucan Wrigley

Lucan Wrigley

May 22, 2017

Susan Smith

Susan Smith

Aug 10, 2016

Anonymous

May 27, 2017

Do I Have a Dirty Mind Quiz

Featured Articles

Enjoy Your Preteen Years

Trending Articles

DnD Name Generator

Watch Articles

Make Fluffy Pancakes

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Info
  • Not Selling Info

Don’t miss out! Sign up for

wikiHow’s newsletter

how to make a essay look longer

How to Make an Essay Longer Without It Feeling Forced

how to make a essay look longer

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.

How to Make an Essay Longer

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.

how to make a essay look longer

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.

how to make a essay look longer

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.

how to make a essay look longer

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.

EasyBib Writing Resources

Writing a paper.

  • Academic Essay
  • Argumentative Essay
  • College Admissions Essay
  • Expository Essay
  • Persuasive Essay
  • Research Paper
  • Thesis Statement
  • Writing a Conclusion
  • Writing an Introduction
  • Writing an Outline
  • Writing a Summary

EasyBib Plus Features

  • Citation Generator
  • Essay Checker
  • Expert Check Proofreader
  • Grammar Checker
  • Paraphrasing Tools

Plagiarism Checker

  • Spell Checker

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

Grammar and Plagiarism Checkers

Grammar Basics

Plagiarism Basics

Writing Basics

Upload a paper to check for plagiarism against billions of sources and get advanced writing suggestions for clarity and style.

Get Started

Essay Writing Guide

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

How to Make an Essay Longer

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!  

How to Make an Essay Longer

On this Page

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.

How to Make an Essay Longer

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.

Order Essay

Paper Due? Why Suffer? That's our Job!

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.

Tough Essay Due? Hire Tough Writers!

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.

Nova A.

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.

Was This Blog Helpful?

Keep reading.

  • How to Write an Essay - A Complete Guide with Examples

How to Make an Essay Longer

  • The Art of Effective Writing: Thesis Statements Examples and Tips

How to Make an Essay Longer

  • Writing a 500 Word Essay - Easy Guide

How to Make an Essay Longer

  • What is a Topic Sentence - An Easy Guide with Writing Steps & Examples

How to Make an Essay Longer

  • A Complete Essay Outline - Guidelines and Format

How to Make an Essay Longer

  • 220 Best Transition Words for Essays

How to Make an Essay Longer

  • Essay Format: Detailed Writing Tips & Examples

How to Make an Essay Longer

  • How to Write a Conclusion - Examples & Tips

How to Make an Essay Longer

  • Essay Topics: 100+ Best Essay Topics for your Guidance

How to Make an Essay Longer

  • How to Title an Essay: A Step-by-Step Guide for Effective Titles

How to Make an Essay Longer

  • How to Write a Perfect 1000 Word Essay

How to Make an Essay Longer

  • Learn How to Start an Essay Effectively with Easy Guidelines

How to Make an Essay Longer

  • Types of Sentences With Examples

How to Make an Essay Longer

  • Hook Examples: How to Start Your Essay Effectively

How to Make an Essay Longer

  • Essay Writing Tips - Essential Do’s and Don’ts to Craft Better Essays

How to Make an Essay Longer

  • How To Write A Thesis Statement - A Step by Step Guide

How to Make an Essay Longer

  • Art Topics - 200+ Brilliant Ideas to Begin With

How to Make an Essay Longer

  • Writing Conventions and Tips for College Students

How to Make an Essay Longer

People Also Read

  • article review
  • dissertation introduction
  • critical essay writing
  • descriptive essay examples
  • research paper outline

Burdened With Assignments?

Bottom Slider

Advertisement

  • Homework Services: Essay Topics Generator

© 2024 - All rights reserved

Facebook Social Icon

  • Link to facebook
  • Link to linkedin
  • Link to twitter
  • Link to youtube
  • Writing Tips

How to Make an Essay Longer

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.

Find this useful?

Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.

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!

Share this article:

Post A New Comment

Got content that needs a quick turnaround? Let us polish your work. Explore our editorial business services.

5-minute read

Free Email Newsletter Template

Promoting a brand means sharing valuable insights to connect more deeply with your audience, and...

6-minute read

How to Write a Nonprofit Grant Proposal

If you’re seeking funding to support your charitable endeavors as a nonprofit organization, you’ll need...

9-minute read

How to Use Infographics to Boost Your Presentation

Is your content getting noticed? Capturing and maintaining an audience’s attention is a challenge when...

8-minute read

Why Interactive PDFs Are Better for Engagement

Are you looking to enhance engagement and captivate your audience through your professional documents? Interactive...

Seven Key Strategies for Voice Search Optimization

Voice search optimization is rapidly shaping the digital landscape, requiring content professionals to adapt their...

4-minute read

Five Creative Ways to Showcase Your Digital Portfolio

Are you a creative freelancer looking to make a lasting impression on potential clients or...

Logo Harvard University

Make sure your writing is the best it can be with our expert English proofreading and editing.

How To Make An Essay Longer (An Ultimate Guide)

How To Make An Essay Longer

how to make a essay look 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. 

Are you struggling with essay writing?

Get your assignments done by real pros. Save your precious time and boost your marks with ease.

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.

Did you like our article?

For more help, tap into our pool of professional writers and get expert essay writing services!

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.

Featured Posts

How to respond to a discussion post: tips to stand out and for responding.

how to make a essay look longer

How to Write a Term Paper

how to make a essay look longer

How to Write a Dissertation

how to make a essay look longer

How to Write an Essay

how to make a essay look longer

How to Write a Research Paper

how to make a essay look longer

How to Write a Discussion Post

how to make a essay look longer

How to Make an Essay Longer With or Without Adding Words

blog image

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.

1Less understanding of MS Word or Google DocxI had zero idea about font spacing during the study. I wrote in very little font with no spacing, which makes the essay short.
2Limited use of transition wordsI didn’t use transition words like “however, furthermore, moreover” to make your essay longer. These words are most important to expand the text
3Limited researchWhen I was a student, researching anything in-depth was exhaustive and tiring work for me, and this is the same for all students today. In today’s world, every topic is covered with research; students just need to do deep research.
4English is not a native LanguageJust like me, most of the students don’t have English as their native language, which makes it hard to write more and more. 
5Don’t add examples in the essayExamples are very important for an essay, and when I was a student, I mostly skipped these things and made the same mistakes the students made in the present.

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.

FirstlyInitiallyTo begin with
MoreoverFurthermoreIn addition to
AdditionallyIn the first placeHowever
On the other handIn contrastconversely
In conclusionOverallTo summarize

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.

Order Original Papers & Essays

Your First Custom Paper Sample is on Us!

timely deliveries

Timely Deliveries

premium quality

No Plagiarism & AI

unlimited revisions

100% Refund

Try Our Free Paper Writing Service

Related blogs.

blog-img

Connections with Writers and support

safe service

Privacy and Confidentiality Guarantee

quality-score

Average Quality Score

  • How It Works
  • Prices & Discounts

How to Make an Essay Longer Than It Really Is: 9 Hacks that Work

Stefani H.

Table of contents

Share this article

Achieve Academic Success with Expert Assistance!

Crafted from Scratch for You.

Ensuring Your Work’s Originality.

Transform Your Draft into Excellence.

Perfecting Your Paper’s Grammar, Style, and Format (APA, MLA, etc.).

Calculate the cost of your paper

Get ideas for your essay

How to Expand Your Essay Without Losing Your Reader’s Attention

image

Table of contents

  • 1 Essential Parts of an Essay
  • 2.1 Illustrate Your Ideas With Examples
  • 2.2 Include Quotations to Increase the Word Count
  • 2.3 Build On Your Message
  • 2.4 Make Sure the Notions Are Clear
  • 2.5 Elaborate More Transitional Phrases
  • 2.6 Provide Supporting Evidence To Achieve Required Word Count
  • 2.7 Always Create an Outline to Fit the Paper’s Word Count
  • 3 Tricks Which Can’t Work for Your Teacher

Is your essay word count not up to the mark? Each of us faced this problem when writing voluminous works. You have already outlined all your thoughts and developed your idea, but the length of writing is still insufficient. Don’t worry, there are some easy tricks to solve this problem. In this article, we will share with you working tips on how to make your essay longer. We will also warn you about techniques that should not be used to make your essay longer, not to put your assessment at risk.

Essential Parts of an Essay

Any essay consists of three main parts: introduction, body part, and conclusion . The first paragraph exists to interest the reader, attract his attention, and bring him up to date. A topic sentence is a common beginning for an essay. It briefly reflects the main narrative of the paper.

Then follows the main part, divided into one to three paragraphs, each presenting new ideas. In the central section, you present the bulk of the intended information. Be sure to follow the logic of the narrative, and remember to use linking words to transition between topics.

And finally, there are conclusions. You can find some examples of strong conclusions on  writing service PapersOwl . In this paragraph, you have to clearly and briefly lay down the thoughts that you came up with in the course of essay writing. In simple words, if the reader only gets acquainted with the introduction and conclusion, he should be able to clearly understand what the essay is about.

more_shortcode

Tips on How to Make an Essay Longer

Well, you have already completed the basic requirements and written the three main sections of the paper, but still, there are not enough words to fulfill the minimum page count. This will never happen when you purchase custom essays  written by professionals. However, let’s point out the ways to improve your essay quality and get a perfect score.

Illustrate Your Ideas With Examples

The requirements for some essays include the obligatory use of examples to reinforce ideas. Adding visuals to your essay will not only help increase the word count but also make it easier for readers to understand. Give multiple examples to support your information. Provide an example from the lives of famous people, a convincing argument, your own experience, or even scientific experiment data. This will allow you to sound more convincing and also fill the paper’s word count.

Include Quotations to Increase the Word Count

Many worthy thoughts have already come upon the greatest minds of mankind. By using relevant quotations, you can expand the volume of your essay, filling it with deeper meaning. Choose  quotes for essay  papers that seem appropriate to you and integrate them into writing. Quotations may be presented as ideas that inspired you to create your paper. However, do not forget to read the citation rules and references formatting so as not to be accused of plagiarism.

Build On Your Message

Read your finished writing again and ensure you have expressed yourself clearly and haven’t missed any detail. Develop your points to share them with the public as unambiguously as possible. Give a few additional arguments, view the topic from new angles, and expand the backstory to immerse the reader in the context of the paper. Don’t forget about the counterargument section .

Make Sure the Notions Are Clear

If you have used professional vocabulary in your writing, do not forget to add an explanation. You can create a small glossary or simply explain the meaning of the terms in the general flow. Such important details should be available to the reader so that he has the opportunity to understand the key information.

Elaborate More Transitional Phrases

Having smooth transitions between one idea and the other, one paragraph and another, will ensure ease of reading. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to add length to an essay, you can enrich the text with transitional words and structures. And although this will not add extra information, it will help you keep the narrative coherent.

Provide Supporting Evidence To Achieve Required Word Count

Examine the data, and figure out information that can be supporting evidence for the thoughts you’ve outlined in your essay. The presence of visual indicators leads to an increase in the level of trust in you as a specialist. The trick of presenting more evidence can greatly increase the word count in your essay.

Always Create an Outline to Fit the Paper’s Word Count

Long-form essays require clear structure. Writing an essay outline will save you from the problem of not reaching the minimum word count. In the process of structuring your thoughts, you must indicate how many words you need to write in each section. What should you do if you have already written an essay without having developed an outline before, and now you need to expand it? You still have to create a plan yourself or resort to assignment writing help  online. Analyze the finished work, write down the main structural units, and calculate the number of words. This will give you an idea of which paragraphs to expand.

Tricks Which Can’t Work for Your Teacher

Sometimes, in a desperate desire to lengthen their essay, students resort to ineffective methods. As a result, they remain dissatisfied with their assessment. Let’s look at what mistakes you should avoid so as not to endanger your performance.

Do not try to enlarge your essay by formatting . Increasing line spacing or making the font size bigger won’t get you to the point. The problem is that the larger font is visible, so your teacher will notice your cheating straight away. Playing with standards of margin size and choosing larger font will undermine your reputation in the teacher’s eyes. It’s always better to provide more examples or simply make the header longer to poet some extra space for the research.

Shifting the responsibility to your trusted friend is not an option. Many people advise giving your paper to a friend for verification, but this is not at all a reliable solution. You can entrust the check to a professional writer, who will check if you missed something and if the font size and other formatting are correct. However, delegating paper verification to a friend if he is not a certified linguist will not bring results.

Adding more words by eliminating abbreviations does not require much work, but it greatly simplifies the content of your research. Don’t resort to a redundancy writing  strategy, but try to add a couple of sentences to the conclusion. This will not only increase the length but give you some extra points for interesting ideas.

Plagiarizing other writers’ thoughts and directly copying phrases and paragraphs is the worst idea of all. Your research paper is supposed to be original, and each argument you provide should be formulated creatively. However, there are still some tricks to beat Turnitin  that professional writers have shared with students. Still, don’t try to make your essay longer by copy-pasting.

The last point is not to double your own argument. We know it can be hard for students to come up with ideas on how to increase the length of the paper, but parroting your own points is not going to make your essay interesting for readers. Try to add a couple of sentences to each of the existing paragraphs instead.

Writing an essay is a difficult and complex task. Turning your thoughts into coherent and structured phrases is more of a challenge than it might seem. However, when you have wandered into a dead end, do not despair. Taking a fresh look at your writing will help you gather your thoughts and write a great essay. By following our simple tips, you can easily add length to your paper and get a high score.

Readers also enjoyed

Legal Essay Topics for Student

WHY WAIT? PLACE AN ORDER RIGHT NOW!

Just fill out the form, press the button, and have no worries!

We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy.

how to make a essay look longer

Menu

  • In The News

How to Make an Essay Look Longer

It’s somewhat difficult to make demands on essays for students – demanding that they have 500 words, for example, leads to really, really, very, extremely superfluous lists of adjectives and describing words like this sentence to up the word count. Other teachers use the page count as a metric of completion. But what happens when you have 4 and a half pages done of your five page essay? There are plenty of writing techniques to flesh ideas out and make it longer, but I’m assuming that your essay is perfect as it is and you want a more technological answer. Here are a few techniques that have served me well. I use them all the time.

Note: This tutorial is for Microsoft Word as a part of Office 2007, although many of the same techniques can be used in previous or subsequent versions of Word.

Font Choice and Font Size

First, font or font size is a fairly easy way to make an essay longer. Some teachers demand that Times New Roman size 12 be used. However, when they forget to add that to the rules, you can change it to whatever you want (assuming there’s no blanket statement about it on the syllabus). You want to choose a font that maximizes height. Obviously you don’t want to choose a font that’s too difficult to read, as it may annoy the person grading it. Below is a picture of the word “Hello” printed four times, each at size 12. The fonts, from left to right, are “Angsana New”, “Calibri”, “Times New Roman”, and “Algerian”.

Font size can also make a big impact on your paper. Going with a size 72 font will undoubtedly make your paper surpass the required page count, but isn’t the best idea. Just changing the font size from 12 to 13 can add a few lines to your paper. Below is a picture of identical text in two columns, both in Times New Roman, but size 12 on the left and size 13 on the right.

Even if your teacher demands size 12 Times New Roman, you might be tempted to change it anyway. Slight changes are fairly hard to measure in a printout, however, it is possible. For instance, if a teacher were to print out the word “the” in Times New Roman size 12 on a piece of transparency paper, they could then hold it over a word “the” in your essay and confirm whether or not it’s identical. Probably not going to happen, but it actually has happened to me before.

Space Between lines

The spacing between lines is very difficult to measure because although in most fonts the top and bottom edges vary significantly. In some fonts, there is a common edge except for letters that hang above or below the line, but in fonts that are meant to look more like handwriting, there is not. In any case, even with common edges, it’s not likely that your teacher will whip out a ruler and measure. Too large a gap may arouse suspicion, but changing an essay from double spaced to 2.1 spacing may actually make a large difference. The thing to remember is that the longer the base essay, the more they amplify the length. So for instance, if your essay is 10 lines with double spacing, and you change the spacing to 2.1, you get an extra 0.1 of a line for every line you’ve written, and 0.1×10 = 1. So, for every ten lines you actually write, you get the effect of having written eleven instead. For an essay that’s 4.5 pages, this tiny change can easily bring you over the 5 page mark and is virtually undetectable. Below is two paragraphs, the left with single spacing and the right is 1.1 spacing. This really demonstrates the potential of the small change.

To change the spacing between lines, you’ll need to access the “Paragraph” menu (I believe that in older versions of Word this could be done by going to Format -> Paragraph). In Word 2007, it can be accessed by going to the “Page Layout” tab of the ribbon and clicking on the pop-out button of the Paragraph rectangle.

From there, under Line Spacing, choose “Multiple”, and under At, choose a number close to something normal, like 1.1 or 2.1. You can increase this difference at the risk of the teacher noticing.

Changing the margins of a page is another great way to change the length of your paper. By decreasing the amount of space the words can take up per page, you increase the number of pages required to fit your existing content. Changing the left margin is a bit risky since most papers are left-justified, meaning that the left edge will be relatively the same for all papers. The right margin, however, can be changed to your heart’s content, since the length of words, number of letters, and number of spaces greatly affect each line’s right edge. You can also increase the amount of space taken up by the header and footer of a document.

Lengthen Header Content

One final way you can make a paper appear longer is by adding more lines to the header of your document. If you make it too long, be sure to have it on only the first page and not every page, as this would be incredibly obvious.

6-Lines-In-Header

Other Notes

If your teacher demands that an essay be 5 pages long and no longer , but your paper is slightly longer, you can use these same techniques in reverse to make your paper look shorter . For instance, you can change double spacing to 1.9 spacing, or increase the margins.

111 Comments

If you must have MLA format and the essay is turned in electronically the teachers will be able to see the changes of font size and other things. So the easiest thing for me is to increase the font size of just the periods to 14 instead of the required 12 font. This makes your essay lines more spaced out and sentences longer. Even though it is not a huge change, it makes a very big difference.

In addition to that, I usually add just enough description to my sentences in order to barely create one new line of text before going to the next paragraph. It is also beneficial to end a paragraph on the second to last line of a page. That way the next paragraph is forced to appear on the next page altogether.

If you are turning in your essay online, use these and the larger font periods only, as everything else will likely be checked by the system when you upload it.

If you turn it in online, turn it in in PDF format, it’s standardized and they can’t see the font size easily

Unfortunately, this is not true. While it may not be obvious ow to inspect a PDF to get the font, the easiest thing to do is copy some text and paste it into Microsoft Word – it’ll retain its font.

This + the commas

THANKS GANG

REALLY REALLY LIKE THIS

This helped me so much!!!

It’s 5 am, my paper’s topic would have sent me to sleep hours ago if it weren’t for the Red Bulls, and you’ve been added to my list of “People I Will Buy a Drink for if I Ever Meet Them”.

You my good sir have just made my night! If you’re ever in Atlanta I will be MORE than happy to buy you a drink as well! 🙂

I don’t know you. But I love you.

You are amazing. Another thing that I tried at one time was to bold the periods. it made my 4 1/4 page research paper into a 5 page paper. Just trying to help out some more.

Recently I had to write a 12-page essay on a mostly-factual topic. It wasn’t pretty. I was on the eleventh page when I found that I simply couldn’t add any more to the paper no matter how I tried. A quick change to all the margins from 1.0 to 1.1 boosted my essay to fill the entire twelfth page! I wish I had found this article earlier, though, as I didn’t know that modifying the left margin is risky.

In retrospect, I really should have just changed the line spacing from 2.0 to 2.1, but I couldn’t figure out how to do that thanks to Word’s confusing line spacing interface. Now I know that I can set the spacing to “multiple” and achieve the desired effect!

I also recommend “adding space between paragraphs of the same style” as is done by default in Word 2010. It doesn’t make a really significant difference, but for every paragraph you write you’ll gain about 1 extra line.

To all you essay writers out there: these techniques should really only be used as a last resort. If you are able to flush out your entire essay, do that instead of modifying its layout. Only when you are completely stuck and need just one more page or so should you use the strategies here.

I was struggling to write 10 pages of term paper. Thank you for the tips!!!!

10? I can barely write 5 wow

Thank you!! =,) Thank you so much!

tnx so much that helps a lot .I had to write 3 pages and I only had 1 page and ur advice works!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You sir are amazing. Thank you SO SO SO much.

I owe you a drink sir. It’s 5:00 A.M. and this paper is due in a few hours. Five and a half pages out of eight! Tough night oh and screw Marry Shelley and Frankenstein.

in college i made my periods a font size bigger and doing that to all puntuation can add up to 1/4 to a page and teacher will NEVER know

I have two 12-15 page research essays due in the same week and this post just saved my life. I never would’ve thought of changing the line spacing from 2.0 to 2.1, but it added about another page length to what I’d already typed. Bless you.

ERMERGERD these pointers helped out sooo much I absolutely hate typing term papers for my class and this helps out a bunch THANKS A MILLION.

praise the man, you are the new black baby jesus. bruh, you are my sunshine on a cloudy day, I am your loyal friend to the ends of the fiery underworld, all of the twinkies shall be yours. may your palm tree forever sway high.

This…I…well, thank you, brother. This is the greatest comment I have ever received. I feel giddy.

Hey, I’m a TA and when I have to grade lab reports, I always select all and change to 12pt times new roman even if it looks like it is already, and I check the margins and spacing. I don’t actually ever have to take points off for length, just check to make sure that the essay has x number of examples of y thing and an explanation for each. Be careful because I know a few of the English TAs do that to all the papers before the prof. grades them if the TAs aren’t grading.

thank you sooo much you just saved my English grade and my date that was depending on my English grade. you are the best person ever I love you!!!

3 page assignment due by the end of tomorrow, and had really hit my limit at around 2 1/2 pages of B.S’ing. You’re the real MVP tonight.

Go to the Font Dialog box (Ctrl+D) and under character spacing change from normal to expanded very subtle but gives you a couple lines

I love you.

You are amazing, this helped me so much, Thank you

i literally used to use all of these in high school, i just wish i could have found this page instead of having to figure it out on my own

If your page is a little too long, try changing the font to Garamond, it looks the same as Time New Roman, but is smaller

Are you married? If not, I’d totally marry you for this advice. Thank you so much, brilliant person!

For me I had a required 12 point font size but if you type in a 12.5 point font size the it really helps without being too noticeable on a printed copy.

Another good tip is to change the font color to grey instead of black (on the printed papers) This is a good tip because it will make the words pop off the page less, and therefore the teacher will have a harder time reading what you wrote. This is also good because if your teacher magically notices your letters are the wrong shade, you can blame it on your printer.

There’s something so rewarding about sitting here screwing with margins, spacing, adding random and pointless space lines to the header, and going through the entire paper making every blessed period 14 pt font until the paper is long enough. Thank you so much for the tips!

Arial looks to be larger than Times New Roman and is a standard looking font

Useful… very useful… although I turn my work in electronically, my teacher allows this stuff, because he used this kind of thing in school

there is a font on 2013 word called verdena, its like calibra but a little bigger. changing all of the periods to size 16 is very useful too

Another tip-increase the size of periods, commas, apostrophes etc. Ex if I’m typing in 12 size font, I increase the size for periods, commas etc to size 14.

Another thing that might help is to have more paragraph breaks.

Thxs so much man ur a life saver! 2.1 Is the best spacing and so hard for my teachers to notice

Thank You… Thank You Very Much.

Another good way to increase the amount of writing without actually writing more is to mess around with widow-orphan controls (Under line-spacing options). You can set it so that if you write a paragraph with one word on the next page, it’ll put another line on that page to make the one word less lonely. That can add at least a half-page if you work it right.

This is so helpful!

Awesome. Better tip – Courier font is the biggest font and still passes as acceptable on essays. Check it out, I promise.

You just made my 15 page paper much more delightful. AP classes in high school are an absolute pain! 🙂

Another way to make your paper longer is to double space between sentences. Not the double space between the lines, but in between the sentences double click the space bar. It’s what I’m doing right now and you might not have noticed until I told you.

Its 2016, I’m exhausted, and I had to crank out 12 pages. You may not even read this comment. But you are a true American Hero. If you are ever in the state of Michigan (particularly the lower peninsula), I will purchase you a beverage. Infinitely grateful. Best of luck to you, sir!

THIS HELPED SO MUCH WITH MY 30 PG ESSAY

Verdana seems to be the largest proper looking font I’ve seen so far. I highly recommend it.

The thing i do the most to make a paper longer if specifics are required is 2 spaces after the periods. depending on the length of the paper it can add half a page or more. I wrote a 75 page paper over the summer, with every detail specified, except nothing about spaces between sentences. 69 with one space, 72 with 2.

This just saved my life. English 1101 is going to be the death of me….can’t wait for next semester.

OMG. Heart u! My teacher says she knows a font near identical Times N Roman, but a teeny bit wider, so it makes 3 pages 3.5 pgs. Any Ideas?

Also, changing the file type to a pdf if you have to turn it in electronically will confuse the hell out of most english/humanities teachers to the point where they’ll never discover a 2.3 spacing change in between paragraphs

http://cdn1.thecomeback.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/94/2015/02/Screen-Shot-2015-02-19-at-11.56.00-AM.png You the real MVP

Not a typical trick but if it is permitted use Chicago style citations (or any footnote based citation style… if any others exist). While it does not technically add to the length of an essay as references do not count the lines upon lines of footnotes can add pages upon pages to an essay. At certain points I have literally had half the page just be lines of footnotes. While it obviously adds nothing it does provide the illusion of a lot more going on, especially if it is something you have to print out. Plus you know it looks better, is easier to read, and makes paraphrasing a breeze.

I use the Courier New font. It is by FAR the best font, not only because it looks cool, but because it is MEGA HUGE. It saved me a TON of space on my English Essay. My teacher passes it because it is an “adequate font” and “not a fancy, hand-writing-type font.”

If your essay is to be turned in digitally, there is an extremely underhanded tactic that can be used to increase word/character count. Turn the font color to white, then place random periods in your essay. This will cause the character count to go up, and is almost impossible to detect unless it is being actively searched for.

This man has saved me on around 50 essays and will continue saving me. Tank you Jacob Binstein.

Thx sooo much!!

Thank you so much! This is very helpful:) Xx Ali

THX SO MUCH!!!!

Oh my god thank you so much

Another cool trick is to use the replace all tool to change just the punctuation from size 12 to size 14 fonts.

I have a 2-page essay due in 9 days and I can’t include pictures or sites in the length. This will help a lot. Thanks!

wow this actually really helped with my paper. thanks so much but I wish I found this a few years ago.

this saved my aSS LAST YEARRRR

THANK YOU SO FUCKING MUCH

thIS SAVED ME LAST YEAR THANK YOU SO MUCH BRO

Thank you, so much man you are so amazing btw a really good font that you can use is courier new and it makes it look good and takes up a lot of space just saying think about using it.

Merriweather is bigger than all of your fonts.

Cambria looks exactly like Times New Roman but is slightly larger which will make it still look like it is in MLA format

A G I W Y A (a genius is what you are)

Nice job! thank you!

Thank you!! I am bolding the periods and changing the line spacing!! Helped so much! <3

Thanks, bro. More like Jacob Einstien bro. Heck yeah, man.

Hi, I’m a college instructor, and we know all these tricks. Some of them I deduct points for. Others I will return an essay ungraded for. You know what is an even better idea? Write to the actual demands of the assignment.

Or don’t, but ooh I hope you end up in my class.

Some instructors know some of these tricks. But it would be a far cry to say that all instructors look for all of these.

You know what’s an even better idea than searching out articles which, to you, are apparently irrelevant? Writing assignment instructions which don’t require an exact number of words.

Good Job Jim! Congrats on killing the creativity of the nation and forcing students to suffer through your class by making them meet arbitrary standards that teach them to use fluffy jargon instead of clear concise points! Pat yourself on the back Jim!

You can also hit enter a couple times in the header sections, which effectively makes each page start a couple lines farther down.

Thx this is a great advice. I have to write a paper for civics and i will totally use this!!!!!! 🙂 😉

Lol that professor’s comment cracked me up Thx for the laughs.

Some of the best advice I have ever received on increasing page length of an essay, is to go through each paragraph, and try to find a way to add words so that the last line just barely word-wraps.

What I mean is that the last line of each paragraph should have only 1 or 2 words. This makes a huge difference, especially if you have a lot of paragraphs.

I don’t think I’ll worry about my teacher noticing any of these tricks since when I asked him if he wanted the paper in MLA, he asked what MLA was… Thanks for this!

any one here in 2019?? Oh and thks

Courier New is way bigger that Algerian.

the font “Press Start 2p” is the largest font for Google Docs

I just finished a 20-page paper for a test and this has really helped. One other thing I recommend is adding a space before and after each paragraph. Press Ctrl+A to select everything, then add a space before and after each paragraph to get every paragraph.

I’m on week 8 of procrastinating and have a paper due in 5 days. These tips helped! Thanks so much 🙂

bro your a genius i got a A on my book report

Im on page 9 of a 10 page essay and I was wondering if I change the font size from 12 to 12.5, would it be too noticeable? It adds length, i’m just hoping my professor and TurnItIn won’t detect it.

Thank you so much! Ur a Lifesaver!

This is so funny, looking at all the comments they are either written really late at night or super early in the morning hahaha.

This is genius! They didn’t tell me anything about margins, so I changed it!

fuckin genius, bro

*adds yours name to ‘list of fckin geniuses’*

i just realised one more thing that can help— use the REALLY REALLY long dashes instead of colons or semicolons. It takes more space and though it’ll barely make a difference, im so proud of thinking of that myself

It has been 10 years, and we are all still struggling with essays.

the biggest font is actually roboto mono

My teacher only said 1 page size thirteen and what it had to be about. thank you

Hey! Nice article. I agree with you that choosing the right font and font size is very essential. Your content contains different valid points and is very beneficial for all designers. Thanks.

ooooh thanks for the advice!

don’t forget typing random words and making them white

thanks for the advice

MY ass is saved It’s almost 8pm and i have an english 5 pg essay to write. A Geography 5 page essay to write and presentation. And 20 lessons of calculus to get done before tomorow morning.

Grammar is another way to lengthen essays. Don’t use contractions, for one thing, use the definition of a big word instead of the big word itself (e.g. use ‘ it was of little value or importance’ instead of ‘it was trivial.’ Lengthens word count and takes up more space on the page.

Leave a Comment Cancel Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

SEND A MESSAGE

  • Free Samples
  • Premium Essays
  • Editing Services Editing Proofreading Rewriting
  • Extra Tools Essay Topic Generator Thesis Generator Citation Generator GPA Calculator Study Guides Donate Paper
  • Essay Writing Help
  • About Us About Us Testimonials FAQ
  • Studentshare
  • Study Guides
  • How To Make Your Essay Look Longer Without Looking Stupid

How To Make Your Essay Look Longer Without Looking Stupid

When you have to write an essay, there’s usually a required word count you have to compose. It’s not a problem when your topic is exciting, and sources are inexhaustible. Most of the time you need to write an essay on an issue that a) is boring; b) what the hell one can say about it at all.

If you are lucky to have a topic case like that, it’s OK if you’ve run out of ideas on the second page. Result: you’ve written all you had in mind and more, but your essay still doesn’t match the required volume. Well, any writing process has its circle of life, and insufficiency of words is its integral stage. The next everybody-wants-to-get-there stage is a word redundancy. It is hard to believe, but this second stage is even more agonizing and takes almost as much time as getting through the first one. One fine day you'll also get there, but for now, you need to focus on making your text grow in scope.

There are two primary ways to convince your professor that your essay meets the volume requirements. The first way is to expand your paper content to fill up your essay with the needed amount of words to make your essay longer on google docs. Plain and simple: need more words - add them. As for a second way, I wouldn’t honestly say that there is any second way because it is rather a kind of visual fraud. But for those desperate who don’t have any other option, I’ll outline technical ways to make your essay look longer.

Let’s get down to the business.

  • 1. How to make your essay longer with words
  • 1.1.Making essay longer: a Jedi way
  • 1.2. Making essay longer: a trickster's way
  • 1.3. Words and phrases to make your essay longer
  • 2. Desperate ways to make your essay look longer
  • 2.1. Period trick and plays with font to make essay look longer
  • 2.2. How to change the size of margins on Google docs
  • 3. Final touch

How to make your essay longer with words

If you decided to increase the word count of your paper, you have two options. The first one is a fair but the most time-consuming way of doing it. When you realize that your essay doesn’t meet the volume requirements, you either expand your topic or deepen your research to gain some new information to describe. I call it a Jedi way.

Another option is to water down your text a bit. What I mean is adding more words without adding any informativity. Basically, the word windiness is the eighth deadly sin for any writer, but still, the way out when you’ve written down everything you could, but it is still not enough. This is what I call a trickster’s way, and although it is not something I’m proud of, I’ve become a master of this technique. And yes, I’ll share the tricks with you. But I’m going to start from the noble methods of expanding your text. Notice, that it is the only one that can contribute to the content of your paper.  

Making essay longer: a Jedi way

How To Make Your Essay Look Longer Without Looking Stupid : How to make your essay longer with words

  • Make sure you’ve written everything you could. First of all, you need to read carefully what you’ve already have written. Analyze the structure of your narrative. Is something missing? Maybe you can add one more argument or expand those that you’ve already provided? Think! 
  • Make your topic broader. It is risky but sometimes the only technique to compose an essay of a required scope. So if you feel that there is nothing more to say on a topic that you’ve chosen, think of the reasonable ways to widen it. It’s OK to contact your professor and ask for her/his advice on this one.  
  • Do more research. Yes, I know that essay isn’t a 30-page term paper on African-Americans segregation , and you aren’t obliged to fulfill any complex topic analysis and background search. Still, you have to give your professor at least something coherent. If you see that you’ve used all the sources you had and have described all the results, then keep digging. Look for some alternative points of view or factual information. Statistics, charts, case studies - anything goes.  
  • Illustrate your points with examples and citations. Think of an example for each argument you provide. If nothing comes up, do research, ask a friend. Besides, you can use at least one juicy quote to support your statements. It can serve not only for expanding your text but as an excellent essay hook to catch your reader’s attention. Quoting is one of the rhetoric methods to prove the point, so what are you waiting for? Google the hell of it!

And that’s it. There is no other honest way to increase the number of words in your essay. Everything said below are tips on how to twist your professor around your finger.

Caution! The tips below can turn you into eternal writing bluffer!

Making essay longer: a trickster's way

A hawk-eyed professor will surely notice your efforts to increase the amount of text volume artificially. But you always can respond that it is a part of your writing style (a poor one, yes, but still). So, what to do:

Making essay longer: a trickster's way

  • Restate paragraph’s first sentence at the end of it. If possible, take opening sentence idea or concept and explain it in other words. Each of your paragraphs has a core idea, so don’t be afraid to be wordy while explaining it. If you cannot do so, rewrite the first sentence and place it at the end of the paragraph. This will add a couple of more words to the count.
  • Do not use contractions. Since it is academic writing, using contractions is not required, and avoiding it also adds a few characters to the total equation. As a senior student, you will be prohibited to use contractions anyway, therefore start training right now.
  • Spell out numbers lower than four. In case your essay is heavy with numerical data and digits, write down all the one hundred sixty-five figures as words. Don’t spell out one, two, and three as your professor will see that you’re desperate, so adopt such approach only when truly pressed into a corner.
  • Use vivid adjectives with more letters to them. In academic essay writing, synonymic rows are a thing to use quite often. To increase word count, use really luscious adjectives as much as you can. However, using more than five in a row will make your mark lower.
  • Act as a wordsmith. Where a normal person would’ve written ‘I like this painting a lot,' a wordsmith would’ve rather used ‘This splendid masterpiece of modern art touches upon my deepest emotions thanks to its delicate, gentle brushstrokes and master’s spectacular attention to the tiniest details.’ Give vent to your inner composer, write on a grand scale!
  • Write down your stream of thoughts. Try to take a topic you are writing on personally. Elaborate on your own attitude to the thing you write about and then set your mind free to express everything you can say on the topic. Include your associations and childhood memories.
  • Expand the lead-in words to phrases. I’m just going to provide you with a list for it.

Words and phrases to make your essay longer

Words and phrases to make your essay longer

Such words as ‘ on ’ and ‘ about ’ you can replace by the phrases:

In regards to ...

With reference to ...

On the topic of ...

Regarding the idea (that) ...

Considering the issue of ...

Peculiar details concerning the subject ...

Ways to expand your ‘ because ’:

Due to the fact that ...

Because of a fact that ...

For the reason that ...

In light of the fact that ...

Considering the fact that ...

A reasonable way to explain it is that …

For, to  

In order to

For the purpose of

To make it possible

For the sake of

In the interest of  

Time-pointers are your Eldorado of extra words:

Now, currently

At the present time ...

At the point of time ...

According to the current state of affairs ...

At a present situation ...

According to the situation that has developed as of today ...

For as long as I can remember

At all times

Forever and ever

On the occasion of

At the very moment when

The day the situation occurred

In the final analysis

Considering all the aforementioned arguments

After all is said and done

With regard to all said above

So, to sum up all the statements pointed out above (See? See?!), I want to ask you not to run mad after these stretching phrases. Don’t turn your text into a garbage bin.

Desperate ways to make your essay look longer

Desperate ways to make your essay look longer

Before I start pointing out the technical ways to fool your professor, I want to warn you one more time. These are the obvious ways to cheat. Your lecturers and tutors read dozens of essays every day. They have a good eye on formatting details, and unless they had eye surgery the day before reading your essay, they would notice the fraud.

So, in case you’ve run out of any decent ideas to fill up your essay with words till the needed count, and there is nothing left to add to it, there is a trick. You can make it appear longer as a result of smart formatting. Here’s a list of gimmicks you can grab and run:

  • Format your heading giving each element its own line.
  • Think of an extended title for your paper.
  • Use line breaks.
  • Use slightly bigger line spacing (like 2.25 instead of 2).
  • Choose larger letter spacing.
  • If allowed, make keywords or even entire sentences in bold.

Period trick and plays with the font to make the essay look longer

The first coming into mind, an obvious, a bold way to visually expand your essay is to pick a slightly bigger font. In any case, don’t make it bigger on more than 1 pt. Slightly means a little bit! Like 17pt instead of 16pt.

On the screenshot is an example of how your essay will look like if you change a font from 11 pt to 12. On this fragment, it seems not like a big difference. But if you have at least 500 words essay, this trick will help you to make your essay one-page quarter longer.

Period trick and plays with the font to make the essay look longer

I’ve checked the so-called period trick a couple of times and, in my opinion, it doesn’t work at all. What am talking about? The thing is that some students believe that if you replace the periods in your text with the periods of a bigger font, it will make help your opus seem longer. Well, it won’t.

How to change the size of margins on Google Docs

One more trick to use when you have reached the bottom of your despair is increasing the margins of your document. It is easy to do in any version of Word (1997-2013), but it is a bit confusing on Google Docs. What you need to do is to find and add-ons option. Here:

How to change the size of margins on Google Docs

Then press ‘Get add-ons’ button. You’ll see the window with add-ons available for installing. So find the one that is called Page Layout Tool. Here you are! Now you can keep cheating with the margins of your paper even on Google Docs!

How to change the size of margins on Google Docs

As well as with the font changing, the key to a successful trick with margins is to remember the limits.

Final touch

If you have read this guide till the final thoughts, you are probably in big eternal-essay-writing trouble. But at this point, I have nothing more to tell you except to relax. If you have two more hours to make your essay longer with words, you will definitely cope with a task. If not, you can always use one of my formatting tips and hope for better.

In my turn, I hope that you will heed the pieces of advice I gave you between the lines. The main of them - don’t rely on lazy methods of extending your writing. Excuse my somewhat lecturing tone, but it all is for your sake.

P.S. If you want to see more living examples of artificial increasing of the text content, carefully revise this article. I had to use a whole bunch of techniques I’d told you about to make this article look more respectable. But let it be our little secret, ok?

  • The effect of culture on globalization in African countries
  • Cultural competence as part of multicultural counselling
  • Democratic Practices in Botswana
  • How to Write a Hook for an Essay: Catchy Ideas with Examples
  • 135 Best Topics for Compare and Contrast Essays
  • 60 Best Persuasive Topics For Essays
  • Best Informative Essay Topics
  • Argumentative Essay Topics: Art, Music & Movie Argumentative Essay Topics
  • 138 Outstanding History Research Paper Topics and Free Help
  • Macbeth Study Guide: Main Themes
  • Macbeth Study Guide: Represent of Lady Macbeth
  • To Kill a Mockingbird: Main Quotes
  • TERMS & CONDITIONS
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • COOKIES POLICY

21 Helpful and Easy Tips to Make an Essay Longer

Bookman Old Style > Times New Roman.

21 tricks to make an essay longer

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.

Headshot of Noelle Devoe

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!

Headshot of Leah Campano

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. 

preview for Seventeen US All-Sections Dynamic Playlist

School & Campus Life

Girlfriends driving on a cabriolet vehicle.

The Best Road Trips to Take With Your Besties

college student gift ideas

61 Gifts That’ll Make College 100x Better

hocus pocus costumes halloween

16 “Hocus Pocus” Costumes That Are Scarily Good

stanley quencher h20 flowstate tumbler 40 oz

TikTok's Beloved Stanley Cup is Back in Stock

amazon prime day 2023 airpods pro sale

AirPods Pro Are The Lowest Price Ever on Prime Day

backtoschoolcaptionslead

Back-to-School Captions to Help You Win Day One

40 college dorm room essentials dorm necessities for 2023

These Items Make Your Freshman Year SO Much Better

tiktok travel essentials

You Need These TikTok-Famous Amazon Travel Hacks

best dorm bedding

The Best Dorm Bedding for Your Cozy College Life

dorm ideas lead

15 Cool Dorm Room Decor Ideas

Clothing, Product, Fashion, Plaid, Pattern, Font, Design, T-shirt, Street fashion, Brand,

35 Memes That Describe the Back to School Struggle

8 of the Best Dorm Mini Fridges

How to Make an Essay Look Longer on Word: A Guide

Have you ever been in a pinch trying to meet a page count for an essay? Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. Making your essay look longer on Microsoft Word is a skill that can save you when you’re in a tight spot. Here’s the lowdown on how to pad out your essay without adding extra fluff.

Step by Step Tutorial on How to Make an Essay Look Longer on Word

Sometimes, you just need a few more pages to meet that page requirement. With these steps, you’ll learn how to make your essay look longer without adding more content.

Step 1: Adjust the Font Size

Increase the font size of your essay by .5 or 1 point.

While most essays are required to be in 12-point font, increasing it to 12.5 or 13 can add some length without being too noticeable. Just be sure to check your essay prompt or syllabus to ensure you’re not violating any rules.

Step 2: Increase the Margin Widths

Slightly expand the margins of your document.

By default, Word documents have 1-inch margins. Increasing them to 1.25 inches can add some extra length to your essay. Again, make sure this is allowed by your instructor before making any changes.

Step 3: Use a Bigger Font for Headings

Make the headings and subheadings in your essay a larger font size.

This not only makes your essay appear longer but also makes it more organized and easier to read. Just don’t go too overboard—keep it professional and clean.

Step 4: Increase Line Spacing

Adjust the line spacing of your essay.

Most essays require double spacing, but you can increase this to 2.1 or 2.2 to add some length. This is another change that is not easily noticeable but can make a significant difference.

Step 5: Add More Words to the Header and Footer

Include additional information in your essay’s header and footer.

You can add your name, the essay’s title, the date, and the course number to both the header and footer. This adds more content to every page without affecting the actual body of your essay.

After completing these steps, your essay will look longer, and you’ll be closer to meeting that page requirement without having written any additional content. It’s a simple yet effective way to meet those strict guidelines.

Tips for Making an Essay Look Longer on Word

Here are some additional tips to make your essay look longer without affecting the quality of your writing:

  • Try using a font that is slightly larger by design, such as Arial or Cambria.
  • Add quotes from relevant sources to support your arguments and increase length.
  • Increase the size of periods and commas from 12pt to 14pt.
  • Use more descriptive language to flesh out your points.
  • Make sure each paragraph has a clear topic sentence and a conclusive ending sentence.

Frequently Asked Questions About Making an Essay Look Longer

What is the easiest way to make an essay look longer.

The easiest way is to increase the font size by .5 or 1 point, which can add a subtle amount of length to your essay.

Can increasing the margins get me in trouble?

It can if you exceed the guidelines set by your instructor. Always check the requirements before adjusting margins.

Does adding more quotes make my essay look longer?

Yes, adding relevant quotes can increase the length of your essay, but make sure they add value and are properly cited.

Will increasing line spacing be too noticeable?

Not necessarily. A slight increase from double spacing to 2.1 or 2.2 is subtle and commonly overlooked.

Can I make the punctuation bigger to increase length?

Yes, changing the font size of periods and commas can add extra space throughout your essay.

  • Increase the font size slightly.
  • Expand the margins a bit.
  • Use a bigger font for headings.
  • Increase the line spacing.
  • Add more words to the header and footer.

It’s no secret that sometimes word counts and page requirements can seem downright oppressive. But with these creative yet simple tweaks, you can make your essay look longer on Word without compromising the integrity of your writing. Just remember to follow the guidelines provided by your instructor and to use these tips responsibly. After all, substance should always take precedence over page count. But for those times when you need just a little extra length to meet a requirement, these tricks can be lifesavers. So the next time you’re staring down a seemingly insurmountable page requirement, take a deep breath and remember: you’ve got the tools to make it work. Now go forth and conquer that essay!

Matt Jacobs Support Your Tech

Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.

His work can be found on many websites and focuses on topics such as Microsoft Office, Apple devices, Android devices, Photoshop, and more.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related Posts

  • How to Turn Off Double Spacing in Word 2013: A Step-by-Step Guide
  • How to Remove Page Number from First Page of Google Docs and Google Sheets
  • How to Include a Word Count in Your Essay: A Step-by-Step Guide
  • How to Double Space in Word 2010: A Step-by-Step Guide
  • How to Single Space in Word for Office 365: A Step-by-Step Guide
  • How to Fix Microsoft Word Line Spacing Too Big: A Step-by-Step Guide
  • How to Do Double Spacing in Word: A Step-by-Step Guide
  • How to Change Margins in Google Docs (A Quick 4 Step Guide)
  • How to Double Space in Word 2013: A Step-by-Step Guide
  • How to Set 1 Inch Margins in Word for Office 365: A Step-by-Step Guide
  • How to Set Up 1 Inch Margins in Word 2010: A Step-by-Step Guide
  • How to Change Margins in Word: A Step-by-Step Guide
  • How to Double Space on Google Docs for iPad, iPhone & Windows
  • How to Set Margins in Word 2010: A Step-by-Step Guide
  • How to double space in Word: A step-by-step guide
  • Formatting Documents: A Guide to Single Spacing in Word
  • How to Use a Signature Font in Word for Office 365: A Step-by-Step Guide
  • How to Double Space in Google Docs
  • How to Change Page Margins in Excel 2010: A Step-by-Step Guide
  • How to Set 1 Inch Margins in Word: A Step-by-Step Guide

Get Our Free Newsletter

How-to guides and tech deals

You may opt out at any time. Read our Privacy Policy

  • Free Essay Examples

30+ Tips and Tricks to Make Your Essays Longer

How to make an essay longer (30+ useful tips and tricks).

Writing an essay with a minimum word count can be a challenging task, particularly when you've exhausted all your ideas and arguments. However, fear not!

In this article, we will explore over 30 useful tips and tricks to help you make your essay longer while maintaining quality and coherence. So, let's dive right in:

1. Expand your Introduction

Begin by expanding upon the background information and context provided in your introduction. Elaborate on key points and include additional examples to strengthen your thesis statement.

2. Develop more Arguments

Take the opportunity to introduce new arguments, viewpoints, or counterarguments in each paragraph. This will help you support your thesis further, add depth to your analysis, and ultimately lengthen your essay.

3. Add Additional Evidence

Include extra evidence, quotes, statistics, or facts to support your claims. This will not only bolster your arguments but also help you add length to your essay.

4. Provide Detailed Explanations

Ensure that you offer thorough explanations for each point you make. Expanding on your ideas will add substance to your essay and contribute to its overall length.

5. Strengthen Transitions

Improve the flow and coherence of your essay by using appropriate transitional words and phrases. This will help link your paragraphs together and make your essay appear longer.

6. Integrate Relevant Examples

Incorporate real-life examples, anecdotes, or case studies to illustrate your arguments. This technique not only adds depth to your essay but also increases its length.

7. Use Illustrative Comparisons

Draw comparisons between various concepts, events, or literary works to enrich your essay. Such comparisons will expand upon your arguments and add more substance to your writing.

8. Explore Different Perspectives

Discuss different perspectives regarding your topic and elaborate on counterarguments. This will demonstrate your ability to consider diverse viewpoints and make your essay more comprehensive.

9. Analyze in Depth

Delve deeper into the analysis of your evidence and arguments. By providing comprehensive analysis, you not only strengthen your essay but also increase its word count.

10. Include Subheadings

If appropriate, use subheadings to organize your essay. This not only enhances readability but also adds length and structure to your work.

11. Emphasize Key Points

Highlight important points by using bold or italics. This technique draws attention to key concepts while also increasing the overall length of your essay.

12. Extend Your Conclusion

Elaborate on your main ideas in the conclusion and summarize your arguments. Additionally, consider expanding upon the implications or broader significance of your topic.

13. Describe Relevant Background Information

Provide detailed descriptions of relevant historical, social, or cultural contexts. This will add depth and substance to your essay, making it longer and more informative.

14. Integrate Quotations

Incorporate well-chosen quotations from reputable sources to support your arguments. Remember to provide proper citations and expand upon the significance of each quote.

15. Use Academic Jargon Appropriately

Employ academic jargon or specialized terminology when appropriate. However, be cautious not to overuse it, as this may make your essay verbose and difficult to comprehend.

16. Expand Your Vocabulary

Diversify your word choice by utilizing synonyms and varied sentence structures. This will not only add sophistication to your writing but also increase the length of your essay.

17. Incorporate Relevant Definitions

Explain key terms or concepts relevant to your topic in greater detail. This will not only enhance the reader's understanding but also assist you in reaching your desired word count.

18. Address Counterarguments

Devote some paragraphs to acknowledging and refuting counterarguments effectively. By doing so, you strengthen your own arguments and provide a comprehensive analysis of the topic.

19. Present Real-Life Applications

Discuss real-life applications of your topic or examples of how it impacts society. This will demonstrate a broader understanding and, consequently, augment your essay's length.

20. Adopt a Comparative Approach

Draw comparisons between different theories, studies, or authors on the same topic. This analytical approach expands upon your essay and showcases a deeper level of understanding.

21. Utilize Relevant Analogies

Incorporate analogies that help clarify complex ideas or enhance your arguments. Analogies not only add depth but also contribute to increasing the length of your essay.

22. Address Potential Exceptions

Acknowledge exceptions or limitations to your arguments, providing an opportunity for further discussion. Analyzing these exceptions helps expand your essay and indicates your objectivity.

23. Refine Your Thesis

Review your thesis statement and ensure it is precise and concise. Revise or clarify your thesis to make it more comprehensive, thus increasing the length of your essay.

24. Elaborate on Methodology

If your essay includes research or experiments, provide detailed information about the methodology employed. Expanding on this section will lengthen your essay and enhance its academic rigor.

25. Reflect on the Implications

Consider the wider implications of your arguments or findings. Reflecting on the consequences broadens your essay's scope and adds valuable content.

26. Incorporate Relevant Case Studies

If suitable, include in-depth case studies to illustrate your points. Analyzing case studies provides a nuanced perspective and increases the length of your essay.

27. Include an Appendix

If applicable, add an appendix to your essay. This section can contain additional information, charts, graphs, or data, thus increasing the overall length.

28. Request Peer Feedback

Seek constructive feedback from classmates or peers, asking them to identify areas that could be further expanded or clarified. Their feedback can help you identify opportunities to lengthen your essay.

29. Review and Revise

Carefully review your essay, ensuring it is well-structured and coherent. Revise your writing, clarifying ideas and expanding on key points to achieve the desired length.

30. Avoid Redundancy

While the goal is to lengthen your essay, avoid excessively repeating the same information or arguments. Redundancy diminishes the quality of your work, so instead focus on elaboration and depth.

31. Proofread Diligently

Finally, proofread your essay meticulously. Correct any grammatical or spelling errors, refine your sentences, and ensure that your writing is clear and concise.

By implementing these 31 tips and tricks, you can successfully make your essay longer while maintaining quality and coherence. Remember, the primary goal is not to artificially inflate word count, but to provide a comprehensive and well-supported analysis of your topic.

Happy writing!

Related Posts

How to write a short essay: step-by-step guide with useful tips.

Curious about how to write a short essay? Here's a comprehensive guide on how to write a short essay effectively, covering everything you need to know.

How to Write an Analytical Essay - A Comprehensive Writing Guide

Writing an analytical essay can be easier with EssayAI. Learn from this comprehensive guide on how to write an analytical essay to enhance your essay writing skills.

How to Write a Process Essay: A Writing Guide

Writing a process essay can pose challenges, especially if you're new to the format. Discover how to craft effective process essays with helpful structures and tips from EssayAI.

How to Write a Position Paper: A Detailed Guide with Practical Tips

Learn how to write a position paper effectively with tips and guidelines. Follow EssayAI's step-by-step instructions to write a well-structured and persuasive position paper.

  • +44 (0) 207 391 9032

Recent Posts

  • Abstract vs. Introduction: What’s the Difference?
  • How Do AI detectors Work? Breaking Down the Algorithm
  • What is a Literature Review? Definition, Types, and Examples
  • Why Is Your CV Getting Rejected and How to Avoid It
  • Where to Find Images for Presentations
  • What Is an Internship? Everything You Should Know

How Long Should a Thesis Statement Be?

  • How to Write a Character Analysis Essay
  • Best Colours for Your PowerPoint Presentation: Top Colour Combinations
  • How to Write a Nursing Essay – With Examples
  • Academic News
  • Custom Essays
  • Dissertation Writing
  • Essay Marking
  • Essay Writing
  • Essay Writing Companies
  • Model Essays
  • Model Exam Answers
  • Oxbridge Essays Updates
  • PhD Writing
  • Significant Academics
  • Student News
  • Study Skills
  • University Applications
  • University Essays
  • University Life
  • Writing Tips

Tips on How to Make an Essay Longer

Since 2006, oxbridge essays has been the uk’s leading paid essay-writing and dissertation service.

We have helped 10,000s of undergraduate, Masters and PhD students to maximise their grades in essays, dissertations, model-exam answers, applications and other materials. If you would like a free chat about your project with one of our UK staff, then please just reach out on one of the methods below.

Writing essays can be a challenging task, especially when faced with strict word counts. Sometimes, despite thorough research and thoughtful arguments, your essay may fall short of the required length. If you’re struggling with a long essay and wondering how to make your essay longer, this guide provides practical strategies to increase your essay length effectively without compromising on quality.

Understand the Requirements

Before you start adding words to make your essay longer, it’s crucial to understand the essay requirements thoroughly. This includes the topic, word count, formatting guidelines, and any specific instructions provided by your supervisor or professor. Knowing these details ensures that you meet the expectations and avoid unnecessary filler content.

Expand Your Introduction

The introduction sets the tone for your essay and provides a brief overview of the topic. To make your essay longer, consider expanding your introduction. Start with a hook to grab the reader’s attention, provide more background information on the topic, and outline the structure of your essay. This not only increases your essay length but also makes the introduction more engaging and informative.

Add More Evidence and Examples

One of the most effective ways to make your essay longer is to include additional evidence and examples. Support your arguments with more detailed evidence, such as statistics, quotes from experts, and real-life examples. This not only adds length to your essay but also strengthens your arguments and makes your essay more convincing.

Elaborate on Ideas

When you’ve made your main points, go back and see where you can elaborate. Sometimes, initial drafts can be quite concise, missing out on opportunities to expand on ideas. Look for sections where you can delve deeper into explanations, provide further analysis, or explore different perspectives. This method helps to increase your essay length while adding depth to your content.

Integrate Quotations

Incorporating quotations is another effective strategy to make your essay longer. Find relevant quotes from reputable sources to support your arguments. Remember to integrate these quotations smoothly into your text and provide explanations or interpretations. This adds credibility to your essay and contributes to the overall word count.

Use Transitional Phrases

Transitional phrases help to connect ideas and ensure a smooth flow in your essay. They can also add to your essay length. Phrases such as “furthermore,” “in addition to,” “moreover,” and “consequently” can be used to link paragraphs and sentences. However, use them judiciously to avoid redundancy .

Include Additional Subheadings

Adding subheadings can help structure your essay better and make it easier to read. They can also provide an opportunity to introduce new sections and expand on your points. Each subheading should represent a key idea or argument that you can explore in detail. This approach not only increases your essay length but also enhances its organisation.

Revise Your Conclusion

The conclusion is your final opportunity to leave a lasting impression on the reader. To make your essay longer, revise your conclusion to summarise the main points more comprehensively. Reflect on the broader implications of your arguments, suggest areas for future research, or provide a thought-provoking statement to end your essay on a strong note.

Detailed Descriptions

Another way to add length to your essay is by providing more detailed descriptions. Whether you’re describing a concept, a historical event, or a piece of literature, go into more detail. Describe the context, the key elements, and their significance. This not only helps to make your essay longer but also provides a richer reading experience.

Address Counterarguments

Addressing counterarguments shows that you’ve considered different viewpoints and strengthens your essay. By acknowledging and refuting opposing views, you can add depth to your arguments and increase your essay length. This demonstrates critical thinking and a thorough understanding of the topic.

Use More Words

Sometimes, simply rephrasing sentences to use more words can help make your essay longer. For instance, instead of saying “The study shows,” you can say “The results of the study clearly indicate.” However, ensure that the added words are meaningful and do not compromise the clarity or quality of your essay.

Edit and Proofread

After implementing these strategies to make your essay longer, it’s essential to edit and proofread your work. Ensure that the added content is relevant and contributes to your argument. Check for any grammatical errors, inconsistencies, or redundancies. A well-polished essay not only meets the required length but also maintains high quality.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

While these tips can help you make your essay longer, it's important to avoid common pitfalls that can diminish the quality of your work:

Adding unnecessary words or sentences just to increase the word count can weaken your arguments and bore the reader.

Ensure that all additional content is relevant to your topic and supports your thesis statement.

Do not sacrifice clarity for length. Your essay should remain clear and concise, even with the added content.

The Bottom Line

Increasing the length of your essay requires careful consideration and thoughtful expansion of your ideas. By following these strategies, you can effectively make your essay longer while maintaining its quality and coherence. Remember, the goal is to add value to your essay, not just to meet the required word count.

Essay exams: how to answer ‘To what extent…’

How to write a master’s essay, writing services.

  • Essay Plans
  • Critical Reviews
  • Literature Reviews
  • Presentations
  • Dissertation Title Creation
  • Dissertation Proposals
  • Dissertation Chapters
  • PhD Proposals
  • Journal Publication
  • CV Writing Service
  • Business Proofreading Services

Editing Services

  • Proofreading Service
  • Editing Service
  • Academic Editing Service

Additional Services

  • Marking Services
  • Consultation Calls
  • Personal Statements
  • Tutoring Services

Our Company

  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Become a Writer

Terms & Policies

  • Fair Use Policy
  • Policy for Students in England
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Editing Service Examples
  • [email protected]
  • Contact Form

Payment Methods

Cryptocurrency payments.

  • Buy Custom Assignment
  • Custom College Papers
  • Buy Dissertation
  • Buy Research Papers
  • Buy Custom Term Papers
  • Cheap Custom Term Papers
  • Custom Courseworks
  • Custom Thesis Papers
  • Custom Expository Essays
  • Custom Plagiarism Check
  • Cheap Custom Essay
  • Custom Case Study
  • Custom Annotated Bibliography
  • Custom Book Report
  • How It Works
  • Writing Guides
  • +1 (888) 398 0091
  • Essay Samples
  • Essay Topics
  • Research Topics
  • Writing Tips

Essential Ways on How to Make Your Paper Longer

July 23, 2024

You finished writing your paper and need to submit it soon. However, the number of pages does not correspond to the criteria provided by your professor.  You ask yourself how to make an essay look longer? Fortunately, it is possible by using the following tricks.

  • You may use a larger font. In case your professor did not give you exact specifications about the font which you can use, you should choose some popular one like Courier New,  Cambria, Arial or Bangla Sangam MN. Nonetheless, try not to exaggerate. We do not advise you to use, for instance, Lucida Handwriting or Arial Black, because your professor will see that you are trying to make your paper look longer by applying a larger one.
  • You can slightly adjust the font size. For example, if your professor asks to use 11 pt., to make paper longer, apply 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 11.5 size. Compare the adjustments and apply the one which is not too eye-catching.
  • If you wonder how to make an essay longer period trick, just extend the size of commas and periods. To do it, you should press control+F on the keyboard. You will see a window with find and replace function. All you need is to select all the 11.pt commas and periods and then change them to the 12 pt.
  • You could also change the spacing between your paper lines. In case the single or double spacing is required, follow the next steps: open “Format” and “Paragraph”. You will see the line “Spacing”. In this case select “Multiple”.  Then just enter 1.1 or 2.1 in the box.
  • You should scale down the right margin. To reduce it without noticing, change it only by a quarter. For example, if your professor requires the margin size of 1.5 cm, reduce it to 0.9 cm.  In order to do it, click “Format” and then “Document”. Enter 0.9 in the box next to “Right”. This tip can help you to extend your paper without any noticeable changes. Do not reduce the left margin. As the documents are always justified on the left margin, it helps to create a visible change.

5 More Tips on How to Make an Essay Longer

Here are some pieces of advice from experienced essay writers and students:

  • Try to increase the bottom margin by a quarter. In the “Document” find the box which is next to “Bottom” and enter 1.25. In case it is too visible, change it for instance to 1.15.  With this useful tip, you can make your paper look longer without noticing.
  • Expand spacing between the words. It will also increase the number of pages in your paper.  Open “Font” and then “Advanced” window. In the “Expanded” enter 1.6 into the box. It is next to the button “By”.
  • Increase the header of your essay. Include your name, the title, the number of the course, the date, the name of your teacher, number of your student ID card and email. Include all necessary information which may extend your header. Do not forget to use double spacing.
  • The title of your paper should be placed on the line under the header.  You should put it in the center. You can also expand the font size. Check whether you use double space between the title and the header as well as between the title and the first paragraph.
  • By adding a footer page which includes numbers your composition will look longer as well.

When you know everything about period tips which would make your essay longer, now it would be useful to learn how to make an essay longer with words.

  • If you need to enter a number and it is less than ten, then spell it out. For instance, spell out two instead of writing the numeral. This tip helps to make your paper longer. Moreover, it is professional because spelling out the numerals is required in formal writing.
  • It is forbidden to use shortenings in formal writing. So this is another possibility to extend your essay by writing them out. Instead of “won’t” use “will not”, or instead of “don’t” – “do not”.
  • Replace specific pronouns with names. For instance, “Barack Obama and Donald Trump” instead of “they”. However, do not exaggerate.
  • You should use a lot of descriptions in your capstone paper. While providing any new information, extend its description and give definitions, specific dates, and numbers, names of persons.
  • Make a short conclusion after each paragraph. Summarize the points and give your opinion if necessary.

You don’t need to ask anymore how to make a paper longer. Just use these methods and you will be surprised how the number of pages increases in a few clicks.

Sociology Research Topics Ideas

Importance of Computer in Nursing Practice Essay

History Research Paper Topics For Students

By clicking “Continue”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy. We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related emails.

Latest Articles

Debating in class or composing a persuasive paper is a fruitful intellectual practice. Doing so, participants and writers are expected...

Most students wonder whether it is possible to cite an article in an essay. The answer is “Yes”! Why not...

Let us explain what is what and how it can be used. An anthology is a published collection of poems...

I want to feel as happy, as your customers do, so I'd better order now

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.

  • AI Content Shield
  • AI KW Research
  • AI Assistant
  • SEO Optimizer
  • AI KW Clustering
  • Customer reviews
  • The NLO Revolution
  • Press Center
  • Help Center
  • Content Resources
  • Facebook Group

Tips on How to Make an Essay Longer

Table of Contents

When you have multiple papers or exams, it can be challenging to think about how to make an essay longer . Students often use tricks such as increasing margins or making their font larger in cases of pinch.

While these tips can make pages longer, there are easier ways to write a long, high-quality essay. It doesn’t have to be difficult to meet minimum word count or page counts – you can add length while adding clarity and depth.

Students attending college have been there. They’re writing a paper and the deadline is approaching, but they haven’t met the required word count or page length.

A paper’s length is important to any good college paper. The professor sees that you are able to follow the instructions if you meet the size requirements for a paper.

Here are tips on how to make an essay longer , as the deadline approaches.

Add Supporting Evidence

person holding open book viewing mountain view and green forest

If you only offer evidence for your first claim, that may be a problem. In your essay, you should have more evidence than your first claim, and you be able to prove your next points too.

To make your essay longer, you can find information that supports your claim. Look for something that you can use for the rest of your essay in support of your arguments.

Look at the details and examples that you have presented in your essay. Add information that illustrates your claims.

An essay, Shakespeare quote, a poem, an alphabet or a map might offer some details. Look at the facts of these supporting materials. They can help show your readers that you are also knowledgeable about the topic at hand.

You should be certain your information is valid, and you should have proof for any claims that you make. Support your claims by adding evidence to why you are right. If you are wrong, then support that claim with opposing evidence.

The only source you can use to explain a point are reliable and peer-reviewed ones. Do some extra research on it and add examples to illustrate your point. This can not only extend your research paper, but also add depth to your ideas and provide them with a little additional support.

Use Transitional Words

You can have natural ways to increase your essay length through transitional words . These words intend to connect sentences or words with more sentences and words that will help lengthen your paper.

Using transitional words will help you solve your essay word count problems.

Transitional words will keep your reader informed of what to expect next in your essay. It will also help your reader understand the idea that you are trying to convey to them.

Try to use transition words that will assist your reader follow your lines of thought in the essay. You can also use these words when you are trying to make a point. These words can be useful when you try to add more to a topic. As a result, transition words will help you write clearer essays.

You will then notice that your essay has a smooth flow. Use words such as: as, and, however, so, and, as such etc. You can use these words to transition from one point to another. You can put as many transitional words as you want. If you do not know what transitional words to use, you can try to find some online, and see what works for you.

When reading your essay, ensure that the sentences and thoughts flow from one to the next.

Graders also consider this when marking an essay.

Insert Quotations

Use quotes that have meaning to you. They could be from a book, an artist, or a famous person.

You could also use quotes to highlight some of your own ideas. Be sure that it has meaning to you and express your point of view. This will help strengthen the argument you are making. It can also help support a theory or argument that you are presenting.

If you have a well-researched paper, it is likely that you have already included quotes. Quotes are an easy way to add something extra to your argument while also increasing your essay’s word count.

Care to use some quotes on your essay. In some cases, if you do not use quotes sparingly and in the right way, your essay might look poorly written.

Your essay will grow because of this, but also shows that reliable sources agree with you and solidifies your arguments.

Create an Outline

An outline serves as a guide and the first part of writing an essay.

In this case, your outline could be your guideline. Make sure you understand the format of your paper before you begin writing. It is also a good idea to write down your thoughts before beginning.

Doing this will help to organize your thoughts and will lead to a more efficient and creative writing experience. This means doing the necessary research to understand what you are writing about. The more you know about what you are writing about, the easier it will be for you to make your essay longer.

If you take a second look, you may discover some areas that have been overlooked or neglected. It can also help you find any point you need to clarify further.

Take the opportunity to lengthen your writing.

You may also find larger paragraphs that can be broken down to introduce new ideas. Make sure you can expand your words by highlighting your ideas in supporting evidence.

As you write, your ideas develop. Which is why starting with an outline is highly recommended, so your writing has direction.

Write a Conclusion

Make sure that all of your key points have been summarized and that you have provided the reader with a solution to your arguments.

If necessary, you can use your conclusion to develop your ideas. It’s the perfect time to summarize your introduction and essay body.

Make sure you write a strong conclusion. Doing so will help your Reader’s Digest what they have read and break them down into shorter, valuable information.

In the event you have written your conclusion, it means that you have completed your essay.

Call a Friend

You can highlight any confusing points in your essay by having someone else look at it. Revision of any arguments that were unclear and addition of more information and supporting evidence will help readers understand your essay better.

Note that you are writing the essay as someone who is well-versed in the subject. Providing enough information to get the reader to understand your presentation is important.

Having someone check your essay gives you another set of eyes to correct it accordingly. Do not feel bad when someone recommends changes to your paper. It gives you the chance to lengthen your essay while keeping you from missing important details.

The majority of students struggle with writing their essay in 3-5 pages. So they resort to adding evidence, transitional words, quotations, and creating an outline to give their essays a little more depth .

A deadline of a few pages or words may seem like a challenge when it comes to reaching one’s minimum page count. It is possible, however, with tricks such as increasing font size or line spacing.

Using these tips, you can add length to your research paper while also making it more excellent.

Tips on How to Make an Essay Longer

Pam is an expert grammarian with years of experience teaching English, writing and ESL Grammar courses at the university level. She is enamored with all things language and fascinated with how we use words to shape our world.

Explore All Long-form Articles

Write longer essays with these tips.

Almost all advice about how to make your essay longer tells you to do gimmicky things that will lead to…

Write a Unique 2000 Words Article in Record Time

Writing a 2000 words article in a short period can seem like an impossible dream for many writers. Are you…

The Ultimate Guide to How Long Should a Blog post be

How long should a blog post be is an often asked question. The answers are different according to whom you…

Interesting Basic Tips How to Make Your Essay Better

There might be a lot of tips you see online on how to make your essay better. An essay is…

The Longform Article: Why you need it

The longform article is meant to solve problems. But should you use long form pieces for every business problem? Keep…

How Many Pages is 3000 Words: A Key to Convert Word Count

To start, let’s define what a standard 3,000-word essay should look like. How many pages is 3000 words falls anywhere…

Your browser is ancient! Upgrade to a different browser or install Google Chrome Frame to experience this site.

  • 1-866-387-8250
  • Research Paper Writing
  • Coursework Writing
  • Dissertation Writing
  • Term Paper Writing
  • Our writers
  • Testimonials

How to Make Your Essay Longer The Right Way

how to make a essay look longer

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.

how to make a essay look longer

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

how to make a essay look longer

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.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Pay For Essay
  • Write My Thesis
  • Buy College Papers Online

rapidessay.com

IMAGES

  1. How to make your essay longer

    how to make a essay look longer

  2. How To Make An Essay Longer with these easy Tips and Tricks (Without adjusting Margins)

    how to make a essay look longer

  3. 4 Ways to Make an Essay Appear Longer Than It Is

    how to make a essay look longer

  4. How to Make an Essay Longer: 7 Useful Tips

    how to make a essay look longer

  5. 4 Ways to Make an Essay Appear Longer Than It Is

    how to make a essay look longer

  6. How to Make an Essay Appear Longer Than It Is (with Examples)

    how to make a essay look longer

VIDEO

  1. How to make your essay longer

  2. Make essay writing easier😍 #studentlife #productivity #edubirdie #uni #students #university

  3. How to write an IELTS Essay

COMMENTS

  1. How to make an Essay Longer

    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.

  2. 4 Ways to Make an Essay Appear Longer Than It Is

    To make your essay appear longer, try increasing the font size to 12.1, 12.3, or 12.5. See which adjustment makes the biggest difference without being too noticeable. [2] 3. Increase the size of periods and commas. Hold down control+F on your keyboard. This is the find/replace function.

  3. How to Make an Essay Longer: 18 Tips that Actually Work

    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 ...

  4. How to Make an Essay Longer or Shorter

    3 Get to the point. The best arguments are clear and direct, and your paper should strive to be the same. We could've built up that last sentence by talking about the different styles of communication or the pros and cons of being direct, but instead, we got to the point.

  5. How to Make an Essay Longer the Smart Way

    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 ...

  6. How to Make an Essay Longer Without Writing Useless Fluff

    Look at your topic from a new angle. If you're writing a persuasive or argumentative essay, consider counterarguments or alternate views. Addressing these arguments (and taking them down point by point) not only adds length to your essay, but it strengthens your own argument, too. 3. Think outside the box.

  7. How To Make an Essay Longer

    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 ...

  8. How to Make an Essay Longer

    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.

  9. 12 Real Ways to Make an Essay Longer

    If you're struggling to meet that minimum word count, it helps to know how to make an essay longer without ruining your hard work with repetition. ... Have your friend read the essay and give you feedback. Ask them to look for what might be missing or unclear about your work.

  10. 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. ‍.

  11. How to Make an Essay Longer With or Without Adding Words

    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.

  12. How to Make an Essay Longer Than It Really Is: 9 Hacks that Work

    So, here are three mistakes you should avoid at all costs if you're trying to make your essay longer. 1. Play with fonts and spacing. You might think you can cheekily increase the font size from 12 to 14, use a larger font or increase the line spacing and make your essay appear longer but hey, stop right there.

  13. How to Make Your Essay Longer Without Losing Your Reader's Attention

    Table of contents. 1 Essential Parts of an Essay; 2 Tips on How to Make an Essay Longer. 2.1 Illustrate Your Ideas With Examples; 2.2 Include Quotations to Increase the Word Count; 2.3 Build On Your Message; 2.4 Make Sure the Notions Are Clear; 2.5 Elaborate More Transitional Phrases; 2.6 Provide Supporting Evidence To Achieve Required Word Count; 2.7 Always Create an Outline to Fit the Paper ...

  14. How to Make an Essay Look Longer

    The thing to remember is that the longer the base essay, the more they amplify the length. So for instance, if your essay is 10 lines with double spacing, and you change the spacing to 2.1, you get an extra 0.1 of a line for every line you've written, and 0.1×10 = 1. So, for every ten lines you actually write, you get the effect of having ...

  15. How To Make Your Essay Look Longer Without Looking Stupid

    Period trick and plays with the font to make the essay look longer. The first coming into mind, an obvious, a bold way to visually expand your essay is to pick a slightly bigger font. In any case, don't make it bigger on more than 1 pt. Slightly means a little bit! Like 17pt instead of 16pt.

  16. How to Make Your Essay Longer: 5 Powerful Ways

    Put the latter in the next paragraph. By using this principle in your writing, you will make your essay more digestible. It also avoids unnecessary confusion, which usually kicks in whenever you're reading lengthy pieces. By having more short paragraphs, you'll have an effective solution for making your essay longer.

  17. 21 Helpful and Easy Tips to Make an Essay Longer

    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 ...

  18. How to Make an Essay Look Longer on Word: A Guide

    Step 2: Increase the Margin Widths. Slightly expand the margins of your document. By default, Word documents have 1-inch margins. Increasing them to 1.25 inches can add some extra length to your essay. Again, make sure this is allowed by your instructor before making any changes.

  19. How to Make an Essay Longer (30+ Useful Tips and Tricks)

    In this article, we will explore over 30 useful tips and tricks to help you make your essay longer while maintaining quality and coherence. So, let's dive right in: 30+ Tips and Tricks to Make Your Essays Longer 1. Expand your Introduction. Begin by expanding upon the background information and context provided in your introduction.

  20. Tips on How to Make an Essay Longer

    Use More Words. Sometimes, simply rephrasing sentences to use more words can help make your essay longer. For instance, instead of saying "The study shows," you can say "The results of the study clearly indicate.". However, ensure that the added words are meaningful and do not compromise the clarity or quality of your essay.

  21. Essential Ways on How to Make Your Paper Longer

    With this useful tip, you can make your paper look longer without noticing. Expand spacing between the words. It will also increase the number of pages in your paper. Open "Font" and then "Advanced" window. In the "Expanded" enter 1.6 into the box. It is next to the button "By". Increase the header of your essay.

  22. Tips on How to Make an Essay Longer

    To make your essay longer, you can find information that supports your claim. Look for something that you can use for the rest of your essay in support of your arguments. Look at the details and examples that you have presented in your essay. Add information that illustrates your claims. An essay, Shakespeare quote, a poem, an alphabet or a map ...

  23. How to Make Your Essay Longer The Right Way

    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.