The multitude of tasks involving deadlines, research, formatting, and originality can be overwhelming, especially for students faced with essay writing. Technology, however, offers a myriad of applications and tools that streamline the process. These tools can help both college and post-graduate students enhance their work quality while reducing stress levels. Here we discuss 7 tools that aid in stress alleviation and improving writing quality.
1. Grammarly – For Polished Grammar and Style
Best for: Checking grammar, spelling, punctuation, and tone detection.
The majority of students in the world use Grammarly when writing because it has become one of the most trusted automated essay writing applications. In addition to the basic grammar and spelling checks, it examines the clarity, engagement, and general tone of your work. The suggestions can change from basic to advanced. For example, they can include sentence restructuring, vocabulary change, tone adjustments or even plagiarism checks.
Why it helps:
- Provides instant feedback while composing text
- Seamless integration with web browsers and word processing software
- Custom writing milestones based on the type of work set
- Available on the web, as a chrome extension, MS Word Add-in, iOS, and Android.
2. Zotero – For Research and Citation Management
Best for: Gathering, organizing, and citing sources
Zotero is an open-source citation management tool that enables students to track their references while researching. It automatically retrieves citation information from web pages, academic journals, books, and other sources.
Provides assistance by:
- Automatically generating citations in numerous formats e.g. APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.
- Saving associated PDFs and notes with each reference.
- Offering plugins for Google docs and Microsoft Word.
- Available on Windows, Mac, Linux, and through web browser extensions.
3. Evernote – For Organizing Notes and Ideas
Best for: Note taking, organizing research, drafting assignments
Evernote is a sophisticated note-taking application that allows you to capture ideas and drafts in one central location. As you research information, takeover and compile data from various platforms such as content-relevant websites, by organizing them into notebooks, adding tags, attaching files, and directly clipping web pages into your notes.
Why it helps:
- Sync across devices for global access
- Ideal for group studies and writing projects
- Integrates with other tools like Google Drive and Slack
- Available on: iOS, Android, Web, Windows, macOS
4. Hemingway Editor – For Clear, Concise Writing
Best for: Increased readability and sentence restructuring
Available on: Windows, Mac, Web
This tool focuses on highlighting overly complex phrases, passive voice, and the use of too many adverbs. It promotes the ability to write in a straightforward, concise, and impactful way, which is particularly useful for essays and academic writing.
Why it helps:
- Provides a score based on the overall readability of the provided content
- Color-coded feedback improves editing
- Encourage the use of active voice with simpler phrasing
- Platforms: Web, Windows, macOS
5. Scrivener – For Structuring Large Assignments
Best for: Writing long essays, dissertations, or research papers
Scrivener is more than just a word processor. It’s a project management tool tailored for writers. It facilitates splitting work into sections that can be easily rearranged along with notes, outlines, and research stored in the same project file. This tool is particularly useful for writing theses or multi-part research papers.
Why it helps:
- Perfect for controlling extensive and multifaceted writing tasks
- Corkboard and outline views for better organization
- Can export documents on numerous formats
- Platforms: Windows, iOS, macOS
6. QuillBot – For Summarising and Paraphrasing
Best for: Summarising bodies of text and paraphrasing ideas
With this tool, students are able to enhance their vocabulary and paraphrase entire sentences as well as condense them into smaller, witty sentences. For revision, this tool is extremely helpful as it allows content to be effortlessly changed into different words while retaining the core of the message.
Why it helps:
- Various options for paraphrasing (Standard, Formal, Fluency, etc.)
- Integrated grammar check and citation creator
- Perfect for shortening articles while retaining their main points
- Platforms: Microsoft Word add-in, Chrome extension, Web
7. Trello – For Task and Time Management
Best for: Organizing and monitoring the timeline of the assignment
Trello enhances learners’ workloads by enabling them to visualise a specific part of the work and everything it entails. It allows users to design boards per subject or project, use cards for each assignment, and then set deadlines or reminders. This application works wonders for splitting large projects into smaller tasks that can be accomplished easily.
Why does it aid you?
- Effortless drag-and-drop functionality
- Excellent for handling different types of work at once
- Provides collaboration options for group work
- Accessible on web, iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS
Conclusion
Writing an assignment doesn’t need to be a frenzied or anxiety-inducing process. With the right tools for the various stages of the task, including writing, organising, researching, and time management, it is possible to get more done with less effort and feel more confident. If you start using some of these apps within your workflow, you will most likely notice how active and efficient you have become. These applications will come in handy if you are writing an essay or a research paper.