Getting started on writing an essay for class, or anything else for that matter, can be incredibly challenging. Having the confidence to share your writing or knowing that it is ready to submit is even harder. Below are just a few resources that can make the process just a little less intimidating. 

1. Write shitty first drafts, then write a second draft, and a third draft, and so on. Eventually you will have written something that is not too embarrassing to share. 
2. Use the resources available to you. Almost all universities have writing centers and your tuition dollars are paying for the center - USE IT. 
3. Try reverse outlining. If you aren't sure that your paper is fully coherent or that it flows logically, making a reverse outline can help you clarify your main arguments and check for the logical flow of your paper. 
4. Read your work out loud. It feels really weird to do this, but it is an excellent way to look for grammatical errors and the flow of your writing. If what you wrote feels stilted and awkward to read out loud, it will feel the same for others to read. 
5. Use a checklist before you submit anything. This will help you catch last minute errors, ensure your citations are there, and verify that you met all the assignment criteria.

If you want to think more about writing, whether fiction or for an assignment, I highly recommend reading Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (excerpt linked above). 

The first week of classes is coming up. Are you ready? Have you thought about your academic and personal goals? There are a few concrete steps you can take to have a really successful first week back on campus. 

1. Make absolutely sure that you are enrolled in the correct classes for the semester.
2. Go through the university academic calendar and mark down important dates. Note the final enrollment dates, drop dates, holidays, etc. 
3. Mark your calendar with your own important personal dates, deadlines, goals, etc. If you're applying for law school, make sure you know when applications are due (remember, you need to ask for recommendation letters well in advance, but that will be a different post). If you're planning on taking any professional certification exams, what are the possible dates for those exams and how much time will you need to allocate for studying, in the lead up? 
4. Figure out your class schedule, which campuses / buildings / rooms your classes are in. Decide what your days are going to look like. There might be a certain day of the week when you need to remember to pack a lunch because you don't have much extra free time in your schedule, and other days when you'll have time to work at an on campus coffee shop for several hours between classes - know when those days are. 
5. Be aware of what you know, and what you don't know. At almost any university, your professors will have submitted to the book store in advance, the required textbooks for the course. You can find out which books are required in that way (and how much you'll need to budget for them). However, you will probably NOT have success emailing your professors and asking them to send you their syllabus. A few professors may have finished their syllabi weeks in advance, but just as many will wait until the last second to finalize details. You'll probably need to be satisfied with knowing the required textbooks for a course now, and waiting another week to find out all of the course deadlines and details. 

Finally, breathe, relax, and enjoy! All bodies and brains need rest - use the last week before classes begin to give yourself a little bit of rest and self-care. Read a book, get coffee with a friend, deep clean your apartment, do some meal preps to set yourself up for success during that first week back. 

So that's it - a few quick and easy ways to get yourself ready for the semester. Is there anything I've forgotten? What are the ways you get ready for the semester?