In short
- Give each section its own card with a word count and the sources it uses.
- Pick one section per session and finish a rough version of it.
- Start with the section you know best; write the introduction last.
- Draft first, edit later, in a different session.
Sitting down to “write the essay” means facing a blank page and the whole word count at once. That’s why so many essays start the night before. Breaking it into sections turns one frightening job into several ordinary ones you can finish.
This lesson is part of step 7, write, check and hand in. It builds on the section cards from step 5.
How to write section by section
Have a card for each section
Each with its share of the word count, its main point in one sentence, and the sources it will use. If you planned the chapters in step 5, you already have these.
Choose one section for this session
Not “the essay”, just this section. Open its card, its sources and nothing else.
Write the main point first
Start the section with the sentence that says what it argues. Then add the evidence and your explanation of it.
Cite as you write
Put the citation in the moment you use a source, with its page. Leaving “(ref)” to fill in later costs far more time.
Stop at a section’s end, or mid-sentence
Finishing a section feels good. Stopping halfway through a sentence you know how to end makes the next session easy to start.
Write the introduction and conclusion last
Once the body is drafted, you know what you actually argued. Then the introduction can promise it and the conclusion can draw it together.
An example week
| Session | Section | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | The case for: evidence on behaviour | 400 |
| Tuesday | The case against: cost and fairness | 400 |
| Wednesday | Weighing it up: your judgement | 350 |
| Thursday | Introduction and conclusion | 350 |
| Friday | Edit the whole draft | - |
A 1,500-word essay, one session a day. The topic is the practice brief from step 1.
When you can’t start
Starting is often the hardest part, especially for ADHD brains. Make the first step tiny: open the card and write the section’s main point as one rough sentence. Set a timer for ten minutes and allow the writing to be bad. Once words are on the page, it’s editing, which is easier than starting.
If one section won’t come, write its main point in bullet points, mark it to come back to, and start the next one. You can fill the gap later, often in minutes.
Common mistakes
- Starting with the introduction and rewriting it five times.
- Polishing every sentence before moving on, and running out of time for the rest.
- Sessions with no target, where an hour passes and a paragraph appears.
Write one section at a time in KanBananza
- You can’t decide what to do first. Pick one for me suggests a single card to do next, and says why. Free
- Twenty-five minutes is hard to protect. A focus timer on every card (Focus on this card), with short and long breaks. Free
- Everything else on the board pulls at you. Just this card fills the screen with one card, its steps and the timer, and nothing else. Full Bananza
For your level
GCSE and A level
For a timed piece, plan the paragraphs first in a few minutes, then write them in order. For coursework, section by section works best.
University
An essay of 2,000 to 3,000 words fits well into five to eight writing sessions plus one for editing.
Dissertations
Break each chapter into sections of 500 to 1,500 words, each a card. A chapter is too big to be a single task.
Questions
Which section should I write first?
The one you know most about, usually a main body section. Leave the introduction and conclusion until last, when you know what the essay actually argues.
How much should I write in one session?
A section or part of one: often 200 to 400 words in a focused 25 to 50 minute session. Aim to finish a section, not to hit a time.
Should I edit as I write?
Not much. Get the section down first, then edit it in a later session. Editing every sentence as you go is one of the main causes of getting stuck.
What if I get stuck on a section?
Write a rough version in bullet points, mark it to come back to, and move to the next section. Momentum matters more than order.
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