How do you write an essay when you literally have no idea where to start? Help! 😭

[DafnaSheber]

I'm a freshman and I have my first college essay due in two weeks and I have absolutely no idea how to start. Like, I open my laptop and I just stare at the blank screen and my brain goes... nothing. Completely empty.

In high school, my teachers gave us templates. Five paragraphs, intro with thesis, three body paragraphs, conclusion. Easy. But my professor said "don't do that" and now I'm lost. What do I do instead? How do people just... write?

I've watched YouTube videos. I've read guides online. They all say different things and I'm more confused than before. Someone tell me the REAL way to start. Like, step one, open laptop. Step two... what?

Please help a desperate freshman. I'm literally losing sleep over this.

 

[KenBurt]

Dafna, step two is: read the prompt. like actually read it. then read it again. then highlight the verbs. "analyze" means something different than "discuss" which means something different than "compare." if you do what the verbs ask, you're already halfway there. then take ONE of those verbs and write one sentence that does that thing. just one sentence. then another. before you know it, you have a paragraph. small wins add up. you're not writing an essay, you're writing 20 sentences that happen to be related.