Careers in Beauty Marketing: Information and Education Requirements

Learn about the education and preparation needed to become a beauty marketer. Get a quick view of the requirements as well as details about schooling, job duties and salary to find out if this is the career for you.

 

ssential Information

Beauty marketers create promotion strategies for advertising products such as lotions, potions, sprays and creams. A bachelor’s degree and an internship or experience is usually necessary for these careers. Professionals must also understand the beauty and fashion industry.

Required Education	Bachelor’s typically needed
Other Requirements	Internship often required, understanding of the industry
Projected Job Growth (2012 – 2022)*	13% for all marketing managers
Median Salary (2013)*	$123,220 annually for all marketing managers

Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Beauty Marketing Career Information

Beauty marketing careers range from beauty store counter assistant to director of marketing. At its most basic level, marketing involves promoting a company’s beauty products, which can range from cosmetics to fragrances to hair care products. Marketing professionals work with other executives in sales, advertising, public relations and promotion to examine the demand for beauty products and find ways that the company can meet that demand.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual salary for marketing managers, including those in the beauty industry, was $123,220 as of 2013 (http://www.bls.gov). The BLS projected that employment for this occupational group would grow by 13% from 2012 to 2022.

Career Possibilities

Some beauty marketers begin their careers by working in a retail store as a beauty adviser, counter representative or sales associate. Prospective beauty marketers learn what products appeal to customers and how to promote them. Other entry-level positions in beauty marketing include marketing or administrative assistant at a cosmetics or beauty company.

After several years of experience, or earning a bachelor’s degree, individuals can become a marketing manager, product manager or sales representative. Some professionals choose to focus on market research or promotions, or they may pursue careers in beauty product development. At this level, professionals execute the marketing plans developed by the executive leadership and assist with developing pricing and promotion strategies. Experienced beauty marketers help develop marketing plans and oversee their execution.

Education Requirements

To work as a cosmetics counter representative, job candidates may only need a high school education. Those with a degree may qualify for advanced positions as a marketing manager, account executive or vice president.

According to the BLS, those wishing to pursue a career in marketing should consider majoring in business administration with a focus on marketing. Courses in marketing, management, finance, accounting, economics, market research, consumer behavior, sales, advertising and communication can be useful in this career. Understanding the beauty and fashion industry is also important. Some education programs specifically focus on beauty marketing topics, including package design, beauty formulations, beauty trends and forecasting.

Experience is another important factor for landing a job in the industry. Prospects can apply for internships in the beauty industry, and the BLS indicated that many employers seek candidates who have completed internships.

This article, Careers in Beauty Marketing: Information and Education Requirments, was originally posted here.

Photo is from here.

The Most Important Question of Your Life

Everybody wants what feels good. Everyone wants to live a carefree, happy and easy life, to fall in love and have amazing sex and relationships, to look perfect and make money and be popular and well-respected and admired and a total baller to the point that people part like the Red Sea when you walk into the room.

5 Lessons on Bringing Your Dream to Life

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt

I grew up with a stepdad who was a dreamer. He lived in a world where positive affirmations created a positive life. He believed that going after your heart’s desire was as important as anything else. He lived in the clouds and in his designs and in his visions.

I used to wake up and find that he had left post-it notes on my bathroom mirror with quotes about reaching my dreams such as, “You can if you think you can,” and “Quitters never win, and winners never quit.”

He bought me a pillow speaker when I was seven, so every night I could listen to a subliminal tape repeating how I would succeed beautifully in life.

He held a vision for himself to create his own business. He invented a product to put on every street sweeper and set out to make this dream come true. He worked tirelessly at it for many years, and eventually it took off. He had done it. He was living his dream.

I would love to say that this is where the story ends. I would love to say that he lived happily ever after embracing his dream. But that just wouldn’t be the truth.

What actually happened is that my stepdad’s dream—this life that he created—began to unravel almost as quickly as it had been created. And eventually, he lost everything: his dream, his family, and his life.

(He was never the same after his business folded; his zest for life left him, and he ended up dying at 56 from unknown causes. I think that his spirit was broken and his will to live was no longer there.)

But, even though it ended so badly and sadly, he happened to pass on the dreaming torch to me. And I carry it proudly and almost defiantly.

Dreamers aren’t always revered in our society. Sometimes they are seen as flaky or irresponsible.

But growing up with a dreamer and becoming one myself, I can say without a doubt that being a dreamer allowed me to create the life I am living today. It allowed me to believe that anything is possible, and that definitely is a good thing.

I believe that carrying big dreams in our hearts and then bringing them to life is an essential part of living fully. Just because my stepdad’s dreams didn’t go as he had hoped definitely doesn’t mean that all dreams will fail.

Quite the opposite, really. I have brought many dreams to life. And I give him a lot of credit for that. During our journey together I learned some powerful life lessons about dreaming, each of which helped me hold true to my dreams:

1. Believe in yourself as much as you believe in your dream.

I have seen many beautiful dreams fail simply because the dreamer didn’t have the self-confidence to see them through. They worried that maybe it was too big of a dream. They started to feel that maybe they weren’t actually good enough to want something so amazing.

Knowing that you are worthy of your dream is an essential part of bringing it to life. Growing up with positivity and affirmations helped create a solid foundation of self-esteem for me. I don’t believe my stepdad had this self-confidence, which is one of the reasons why his dream fell apart.

2. Be okay with failing.

If you never try to reach your dreams because you’re afraid that you’ll fail, then you’ll never know for sure if you could have made them come true.

I saw my stepdad go through several “failed” versions of his product before he came up with the final one. And each time, he was even more determined to create something that held his vision. He learned from each prototype and then incorporated these changes into the final version.

He was okay with failing and with making mistakes; he knew that it was part of the process. Knowing this gave me permission to make mistakes in my own life as I’ve moved toward my dream.

I’m sure I’ll continue to make mistakes, but one thing that stays true throughout each of these so-called failures is that I am here today because of them. Each one led to a shift in my perspective and a different path, which led me to the next, and the next.

3. Keep going.

I have worked for myself for the past 10 years. And throughout that time, I have had many moments where I wondered if this entrepreneurial lifestyle was worth it. I have questioned why I took this path and asked myself if I should just get a job with the security of a regular paycheck.

But the dreamer in my heart knew that I needed to keep going. I saw my stepdad keep at it, and I knew that he eventually reached his dream by doing so. And so I kept going and stayed on course, knowing that perseverance is the way to success. Staying power and continuing on is what separates the true dreamers and the achievers from the dream hobbyists.

4. Enjoy being different.

Being a dreamer transcends the dream itself. It’s a personality trait, a lifestyle, a way of thinking and being. When you’re a dreamer, your life isn’t going to look like everyone else’s. You think differently. You act differently. You live differently. And sometimes, this can feel uncomfortable.

My stepdad was definitely an outcast—he didn’t have many friends. And while I don’t think this needs to be the case, I do think it’s important to bring friends into your life that will accept you and embrace your dreams rather than minimize or criticize them.

I love that I have created a life where I get to do pretty much whatever I want. And I love that I have brought into my life a loving community that understands me and appreciates the dreamer in me. It’s definitely possible to enjoy being different and to find a tribe who enjoys it, too.

5. Allow your dream to change.

I believe that one of the reasons my stepdad’s dream fell apart was because he was holding onto the original vision without being open to new manifestations of it. Dreams change, just like we do. But when we resist those changes, we miss out on new possibilities.

Someone offered to buy my stepdad’s company for a lot of money, but because this wasn’t part of his original dream, he wasn’t even willing to consider this possibility. Shortly after he refused this offer, his company fell apart.

While this was heartbreaking at the time, the lesson that I have taken from it is that sometimes we have to allow our dreams to change. Sometimes we have to let go of our original plan and surrender to the possibility of whatever our dream may become.

My stepdad taught me that being a dreamer is something to be embraced rather than denied.

I’m a proud dreamer who takes risks and lives my life in this space of passion and innovation. Even though his dream was never fully realized, I’m glad my stepdad was an incurable dreamer.

It allowed me to grow up with hope and faith and creativity and life. And I’m proud that I have taken this trait on and will continue reaching my own dreams. I would love for you to do the same in your own life. The world can definitely never have too many dreamers.

This article, 5 Lessons On Bringing Your Dream to Life, was originally posted here

Photo is from here

5 Things Students Must Know About the New SAT

Practice mental math

By now, it is likely not news that the SAT is undergoing a comprehensive revision. Unfortunately for test-takers who will sit for the Redesigned SAT soon after its 2016 release, prep materials for the exam are relatively scarce. Despite this reality, there are still ways to ready yourself. Here are five such tips:

1. Practice with graphs

The Math section of the Redesigned SAT will increase its focus on algebraic and general problem solving, as well as data interpretation. Geometry will still be present, but it will account for a much smaller portion of the test.

To prepare for this shift, review and practice with ACT Science materials. Both ACT Science and SAT Math employ data interpretation and graphing skills, so the time you spend on one exam can benefit you on the other. Due to this increased overlap, it may even make sense to take both the SAT and the ACT. A number of colleges accept both tests, and many will use the score that is most advantageous to you.

2. Learn to work without a calculator

One of the most significant changes on the Math section is a calculator-free portion. This allows the SAT to test for real mathematical understanding, as opposed to the ability to enter numbers into a machine. It is essential to ensure that you can solve the problems outlined above (save for data analysis) without your calculator, so consider completing all your math homework and test practice by hand. This may make the work harder in the short term, but in the long term, you will be ready for this section of the Redesigned SAT.

3. Understand new answer formats

In the past, if a student was struggling with a specific portion of the SAT, I would sometimes recommend that he or she skip the most difficult questions, as wrong answers negatively impacted overall scores. On the Redesigned SAT, that advice is no longer relevant. You will no longer be penalized for wrong answers, and this means that there is no longer a reason to leave any questions blank. Random guessing will remain ineffective, but eliminating even one incorrect answer choice can lead to an improvement in your overall score. When you prepare for the exam, focus on not just finding the correct answers, but on quickly identifying incorrect responses too. This can include “guesstimating” Math questions, and avoiding Evidence-Based Reading and Writing answers that deal in absolutes.

Another important change in answer formats will be the extended-thinking question in the Math section. This question will be a word problem followed by several related questions, all of which test your problem solving skills. The answers to these questions will be “open” (or student produced), rather than multiple-choice. One way to start preparing for the extended-thinking question is to treat all math problems as essentially “open” – solve each practice question with the possible responses covered, and write your answer in the margin. After you finish, compare your result with the answer key. This process will not only help you improve in extended-thinking, but you will almost certainly become stronger with multiple-choice questions, as well.

4. Focus more on reading and less on vocabulary

The Redesigned SAT will feature a single Evidence-Based Reading and Writing portion. Here, the primary shift will be an emphasis on parsing real-world texts. Vocabulary will still be relevant insofar as you will need to understand what you read. Gone, however, will be the esoteric terms that characterized earlier versions of the SAT. Instead of memorizing lists of vocabulary words, work on “unpacking” passages. As one example, this sample question requires students to define “parties” given the specific context of the passage. “Parties” is not a challenging term in and of itself, but determining the shade of meaning that is appropriate to the context can be.

Study materials developed for the Literature SAT Subject Test can be helpful when preparing for the Redesigned SAT since analysis will be much more important than regurgitation. The test will also use real-world documents drawn from various realms of history and culture. You cannot possibly read every important document, but you can browse several from each era so that the language is somewhat familiar to you come exam day.

5. Investigate the essay

Beginning in spring 2016, the essay portion of the SAT will no longer be required for all students. Many schools may still ask test-takers to submit it, but you will need to investigate this on a case-by-case basis. If none of your top-choice colleges ask for it, you may decide to opt against the essay. If you do need to complete the essay, be aware that it, too, is in the midst of a transformation. Specifically, you will now be asked to provide a critical evaluation of a provided passage, rather than your own free-form response to an open-ended topic. Critical analysis is a very different technique to wield, but the skills you learn while preparing for Evidence-Based Reading and Writing will stand you in good stead.

This article,  5 Things Student Must Know About the New SAT, was originally posted from here

Photo is from here

New SAT vs Old SAT: Changes You Must Know

Standardized Test with Pencil

The new SAT (2016) is changing drastically from the old SAT.  In terms of content, no other SAT changes in the past few decades have been this dramatic.  If you’re familiar with the old SAT, here’s what you must know to understand and do well on the new SAT.

I’ll summarize the largest must-know changes below, but for those of you who are serious about the new SAT, it will be well worth your time to read some of our in-depth guides to the new SAT.  After all, a few minutes of reading through our expert guides on the new SAT is nothing compared to the sweet payoff of a high score on the new SAT and acceptance to the colleges of your dreams!

New SAT Study Guide — This guide starts with a very detailed comparison of the new SAT versus the old SAT and then goes on to flesh out a full study plan for the New SAT.  We also have section guides for New SAT vocabulary and New SAT Reading Section.  Also don’t miss our famous Allen Cheng’s In-Depth New SAT vs Old SAT comparison here.

Class of 2017: New SAT vs Old SAT — Is it worth it for the class of 2017 to try the old SAT?

New SAT Scoring: What’s a good score on the New SAT?

Fast Summary: The Main Differences

The major differences are highlighted in yellow.

	Old SAT	New SAT
When can you take it?	January 2016 or Before	March 2016 or After
Which classes can use it for college?	High School Class of 2016, 2017	Class of 2017, 2018+
Lowest and Highest Score Possible	600-2400	400-1600
Median Score (a satisfactory score)	1500	1000
75th Percentile Score (a good score)	1720	1150
25th Percentile Score (a bad score)	1270	850
Time	3 hour 45 minutes	3 hours 50 minutes
Sections	Reading, Writing (Mandatory Essay), Math	Reading and Writing (together), Math, Optional Essay
Guessing Penalty	1/4 point off for wrong answers	No guessing penalty (but this doesn’t matter much)
Format	Pencil and Paper Only	Pencil and Paper ORComputer
Math Change Highlights	Geometry and shapes	Data interpretation and graphs
Reading Change Highlights	Memorizing vocab, sentence completion	Evidence support, data reasoning
Writing Change Highlights	Individual sentences and grammatical rules	Passage-based questions.
Essay Changes	25 minutes, answer to a theoretical prompt	50 minutes, analyze another essay

 

The One-Sentence Summary of New SAT vs Old SAT

For those of you who are interested in a summary of big-picture changes: The New SAT will be a lot more like the ACT in that it will test school skills more and rely on “testing tricks” less.

This article, New SAT vs Old SAT: Changes You Must Know, was originally posted here.

The picture is from here.

4 Reasons You Shouldn’t Join the Peace Corps (and 1 You Should)

By Stephanie Ormston

If you’re considering joining the Peace Corps, you probably have grand visions of backpacking across Africa or helping beautiful little children learn English. And while you will get to do some pretty amazing and noble things while serving as a volunteer, let me tell you that it isn’t all Kumbaya and saving the world.

I would know. I spent three years working as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English and arts programs in rural Azerbaijan. It was the most rewarding experience of my life, but it certainly wasn’t easy. And when people ask me if they should join the Peace Corps—well, I wouldn’t recommend it to just anyone.

Before you take the leap and sign up, it’s important to consider the challenges of Peace Corps life and whether or not you’re ready for them. To get you thinking, here are a few good reasons not to go.

Reason #1: You Can’t Stand Being Away From Friends and Family

The Peace Corps is a significant commitment, requiring three months of training in your host country, followed by two years of service at your permanent site. You accrue two days off for every month you work, but the Peace Corps will not pay for your travels. This makes it difficult to return for a visit, and you feel very, very far from home.

So it’s important to consider ahead of time if you’re comfortable being away from your loved ones for this long. Is there anything that’s going to happen at home that you will regret missing? Is your sister going to have a baby? Is your best friend planning to get married? One night I stayed up until 4 AM so I could Skype into my father’s 50th birthday party, where family and friends surrounded him. When I closed the computer, I was left in the total darkness of my rural village, and I cried. There was nothing else to do. If you choose to join the Peace Corps, there will be moments that you will miss, and you have to decide if you’re okay with that.

Reason #2: Sleeping on the Couch (Read: Being Poor and at the Mercy of Friends) Doesn’t Appeal to You

The position is called “volunteer” for a reason. The Peace Corps gives you a monthly stipend that allows you to work alongside the people of your community. While this is plenty to live on in a developing country, it is not enough to save for your return. You receive a readjustment allowance upon finishing your service, but it’s only intended to get you an apartment and hold you over until you get a job. If you want to see the world on your way home (and this is a great opportunity to do so) you won’t be left with much at all.

When I came back to the States, I plunged right into graduate school. With no savings to back me up, I had to get a part-time job to supplement my full-time education, find an apartment an hour away from campus where rent is cheaper, and haul my childhood furniture up to sleep on (I now crash on an air mattress when I go home). My life is a little bit harder now because of my service, but I’m also much more equipped to handle those challenges. On that note:

Reason #3: You Suffer from Separation Anxiety When You Leave Your iPhone at Home

Being a Peace Corps volunteer is not a comfortable job. In fact, one of the core expectations is that you will “serve where the Peace Corps asks you to go, under conditions of hardship if necessary.” Living conditions typically involve no electricity or running water, your Peace Corps-issued cell phone will be an expensive relic from last century, and showering is enjoyed cold and once a week.

These are the things that most people are concerned about, but they’re also the first you’ll adjust to. Psychological hardships are a different story. You will be stared at often, andlikely verbally harassed. Your hair color, skin color, and even the way you dress will make you stand out. If you’re a woman, you’ll face extra oppression in countries where gender roles are still very distinct compared to America. On top of all this, you will be facing these challenges without your familiar creature comforts or support network within reach.

That being said, the Peace Corps does a great job of offering support resources to volunteers who need it. In-country support from licensed physicians, as well as informal peer counseling, are all free options at your disposal should you need them. But don’t think you’ll get free therapy every week—most of these consultations happen remotely.

Reason #4: You Don’t Know What You Want to Do

No matter where the Peace Corps sends you, if you are running from the decision of what to do with your life, it will find you and rear its big ugly head. Yes, the Peace Corps is a good choice when you’re finishing school and have nothing but time and freedom, but you shouldn’t go just because you’re afraid of having nothing else lined up. There were 60 other volunteers in my group in Azerbaijan, and many of them joined because they didn’t know what else to do with their lives. Within the first six months, 13 members of my group had left, and I believe it was because they joined for the wrong reasons.

In case I haven’t convinced you already, being a Peace Corps volunteer isn’t an easy job. You shouldn’t join unless you’re truly committed to serve.

The Reason Why You Should Join

Now, if you’ve thought through all of these factors and are still ready to sign on to be a volunteer—congratulations! You’re in for one of the most valuable experiences of your life. I owe the person I am today to those three years in Azerbaijan. I finally feel comfortable in my own skin, and I’m confident that I am capable of doing almost anything.

Being a volunteer is a 24-hour a day, 7-day a week job. You’ll love it with every fiber of your being one moment, and hate it with the same intensity the next. But you’ll return with some of the best friends you’ve ever had, and some of the greatest stories you’ll ever tell. Stay tuned for the next two installments of this series to hear some of mine.

Think the Peace Corps is for you? Get started with the application process today (it will take about a year from starting the application to getting on the plane). Looking for a smaller commitment? Check out Peace Corps Response. You can apply directly to a project, based entirely on your qualifications, and work for anywhere from 3-12 months.

Article, 4 Reasons You Shouldn’t Join the Peace Corps (and 1 You Should), was posted here.

Photo is found here.

Why I’m telling some of my students not to go to college

April 23rd, Albany, Oregon, USA Welding Class. Teacher: Dave Ketler Linn-Benton Community College, Albany, Oregon. Photograph by Stuart Isett

BY JILLIAN GORDON  April 15, 2015 at 1:23 PM EST

Editor’s Note: This month, thousands of students across the country will receive college admission letters and will have to make their decision on which college or university to attend. But teacher Jillian Gordon argues that this decision could be the first step on an expensive, illogical path for many students, not all of whom will need a four-year degree or benefit from a college environment.

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As the flowers start to bloom and it begins to look a little greener outside, many teachers are feeling the weight of winter stress lifting off of them. But the opposite is happening to high school seniors across the country who are in the midst of making a tough decision: where, and if, they should go to college.

I teach agricultural science, an elective course at my school. I am lucky that the students in my room walk in each day because they made the choice to be there, and for the most part, this allows me to connect with these students in a way that is more difficult in the core class environment. I get to know them, their families and their siblings. Because of this connection, it is really important for me to talk to my students about their plans for after graduation.

I tell many of my students not to go to a four-year college. Many of you are gasping at this point, I’m sure. But with student loan debt reaching an all-time high of $1.2 trillion (surpassing credit card debt), and little research to support that the investment is worth it, I am cheating my student by not encouraging them to make the best choice for themselves. And a four-year degree is not always synonymous with “best choice.”

A bachelor’s degree is not a piece of paper that says “You’re a success!” just as the lack of one doesn’t say “You’re a failure!”

There is an epidemic of college students across the country choosing majors at four-year universities that do not lead to a viable career path after graduation. The “underemployment rate” for young college graduates is 44 percent. What does that mean? Almost half of the recent graduates in the United States are employed in positions that do not require a college degree.A few years ago, I worked closely with a student who very much wanted to be a reporter. She was passionate about it, and spoke about her dreams with wide eyes and a contagious smile. The issue? This student’s writing was subpar at best, and her talents, while immense, were not shown through her academic ability. She simply did not have the grades to make it through four more years of college.

Guilty of it myself, I watched as all of her teachers smiled at her and encouraged her to follow her dreams, no one having the courage to push in her a direction that was more logical for her to take. We smiled and watched as she dropped out of college and moved back home with no back-up plan in place. I had to learn the hard way that sometimes it’s our jobs as teachers to tell students no, otherwise life will do it for them — and life is rarely ready to catch them when they fall.

We are doing a disservice to our students. We are assuming all students need the same thing: that they need to go to college. When we know that it may not be the best choice for them, we are cheating them of reality and a worthy, challenging education simply because they are the textbook version of a “good student.” We do not have the courage to tell them no, so instead, we let the much harsher voice of life do it for us.

Many may argue that getting a four-year college degree is the key to achieving the American dream and the only path to upward mobility in terms of economic prosperity.

But when my students can go to a two-year technical school for about $20,000, receive an associate degree in welding technology and reliably earn a wage of up to $59,000 (some specialties, like underwater welding, can command up to $90,000 and more, with experience), I find the idea of a four-year university, where students graduate with an average of $30,000 in loan debt, the least logical path of upward economic mobility.

For some of my students, a four-year university is by far the best option for them. But this isn’t the case for all students, and we need to stop pretending it is. A bachelor’s degree is not a piece of paper that says “You’re a success!” just as the lack of one doesn’t say “You’re a failure!” As educators, it’s time to stop pushing all of our students to go to college, and instead push them towards the path that is right for them.

Jillian Gordon is a student teacher in agricultural education at Ridgemont Public Schools in Ridgeway, Ohio. Original article was posted here.

Photo is here.

Why You Should Really Go To College, In 2 Charts

The Huffington Post  |  By Mark Gongloff

Some people might tell you not to go to college. Don’t listen to them.

People who go to college make more money, a lot more money, than people who don’t. A chart from the latest Economic Report Of The President, a giant bundle of charts and economic analysis and policy pitches compiled annually by the White House, puts this plainly:

As you can see, male college graduates make about twice as much every year as male high school grads. The effect is even stronger for women: Female college grads make about 2.25 times as much as high school grads. That is mainly because less-educated women are penalized a lot more than less-educated men.

As you can also see from the chart, the income gap between people who graduated from college and people who didn’t has exploded since about 1980, which also happens to be about the same time middle-class wages started to stagnate and income inequality was starting to yawn wider.

Yes, college is expensive — too expensive for many people. Yes, students are gettingcrushed by loan debt, particularly black students. And yes, even having a college education may not be enough to keep your wages from falling, as this chart from the Economic Policy Institute, a labor-focused think tank, shows:

Despite these problems, college is still worth it. As you can see from the chart above, wage growth has been lousy for everybody since the Great Recession, but it has been much worse for people without college degrees.

Updated to add one huge caveat: People who started but did not finish college seem to have suffered worse income declines than anybody else, according to this chart. Not exactly sure why that would be, and that certainly makes student-loan debt more onerous. Still, you can’t finish college if you never start it.

The answer is not to tell kids to skip college — the answer is to make college more accessible to everybody.

Original article, Why You Should Really Go To College, In 2 Charts, was originally posted here.

Photo is from here.

Consider Online College Courses in High School

Taking online courses can help high school students cut college costs.

How to Write an Essay in 1 Day

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

1. Understand your goals

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

2. Choose a topic

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

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

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

3. Set deadlines

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

4. Arrange for reviewers in advance

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

5. Outline your essay

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

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

6. Stay organized

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

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

This article, How to Write an Essay in 1 Day, was originally posted here.

Picture is from here.