How Long Does it Take to Write a Three-Page Paper?

Our users have posed and answered this, and questions like this, many times.

• How long does it take to write a 3-page essay?
• How many words in a 3-page paper?
• How long to write a 3-page paper?

This and related questions have all been consolidated here to help students understand how to write a 3-page essay or paper and how long that really is.

The Short Essay or Paper

Sometimes it is tougher to write a 3-page research piece than it is to write a longer one. When you consider how many words is a 3-page paper, you know that you will be writing a piece that is about 750 words long. In that short amount of “time,” you will have to identify a topic, develop a thesis statement, and then develop that thesis.

Examples:

Page Count	Average (40 wpm)
1 pages	12.5 minutes
2 pages	25.0 minutes
3 pages	37.5 minutes
4 pages	50.0 minutes
5 pages	62.5 minutes
6 pages	75.0 minutes
7 pages	87.5 minutes
8 pages	100.0 minutes
9 pages	112.5 minutes
10 pages	125.0 minutes
25 pages	312.5 minutes
50 pages	10.4 hours
100 pages	20.8 hours
250 pages	52.1 hours
500 pages	104.2 hours
750 pages	156.3 hours
1,000 pages	208.3 hours

 

Word Count	Average (40 wpm)
100 words	2.5 minutes
125 words	3.1 minutes
250 words	6.3 minutes
500 words	12.5 minutes
600 words	15.0 minutes
750 words	18.8 minutes
800 words	20.0 minutes
1,000 words	25.0 minutes
1,500 words	37.5 minutes
2,000 words	50.0 minutes
2,500 words	62.5 minutes
3,000 words	75.0 minutes
3,500 words	87.5 minutes
4,000 words	100.0 minutes
5,000 words	125.0 minutes
7,500 words	187.5 minutes
10,000 words	250.0 minutes
20,000 words	8.3 hours
25,000 words	10.4 hours
30,000 words	12.5 hours
50,000 words	20.8 hours
75,000 words	31.3 hours
100,000 words	41.7 hours

 

What Influences How Long It Takes to Write a 3-Page Paper?

Although you may end up speculating how long a 3-page paper would take to complete in general, the matter is a little more complex in reality. Different factors should be taken into consideration if you are estimating how long it will take you to finish your assignment. All of them influence whether you’ll finish the essay quicker or slower. The same can be said if you’re writing even 4 pages, 5 pages, or 6 pages for an essay. A 4-page paper, 5-page paper, 6-page paper, and even 8-page paper will be influenced by all these factors, and it will be wise to think of all these aspects when trying to think how long to write a paper.

But we’re talking about 3-page papers now, so let’s talk about the particular aspects that influence how long to write an essay like this.

• The Topic

The essay’s topic is one of the things that has the biggest influence on the amount of time you’ll spend writing your 3-page paper. Some topics are, of course, easier compared to others, especially if they’re familiar to you. You already know the basics and know what’s going on with a topic like that for the most part, so it won’t give you headaches, and the writing process will be smooth. Since you are familiar with it, you can immediately get started and get to the point of the essay. Of course, this doesn’t mean research is still not needed, but at least you’ll know how to perform research and what kind of information should be used.

Not to mention, finding good resources will be much easier, and you may be able to create a solid argument for each paragraph in a much easier way.

On the other hand, if you’re not familiar with the topic, things can get a little bad. You have to research some more in order to understand the topic, and also to form ideas on top of that. It’s going to be difficult when you don’t know what you should be writing. You’ll also take longer to find good resources, especially when you aren’t sure which ones to trust. Overall, this will slow you down, and it will take longer to write 1000 words for an essay.

There’s also the aspect of choosing a topic you’re passionate about. It’s no surprise that you’ll work much harder, and you’ll enjoy the entire process when you’re working on something you’re passionate about. Well, this applies when it comes to a college essay too. If you like the topic, you will automatically be willing to give it your best, and you may even be willing to start working on it as soon as possible. This way, even if you’re writing a 1000-word essay, you’ll be able to finish everything much faster. And just like that, if the topic is boring or you’re simply not interested in it at all, it will quickly make everything slower, and you’ll take longer to finish the assignment.

• Your Writing Speed

It’s no surprise that how fast you are as a writer can also easily influence when you’re finishing the paper. Whether you’re writing by hand or you’re typing on your laptop or computer, you’ll have your own speed, and the faster you are, the more likely you are to finish your 3-page essay early.

Furthermore, when you’re a fast writer, it will help you write down an idea before it escapes. Otherwise, you may end up getting lost halfway through a sentence, as the thought slips away from you and you’re left without the brilliant idea you had seconds ago. Writing fast ensures you can write down an idea before your mind moves to another one. With that said, when it comes to how long does it take to write a paper, you also have to consider how long does it take to learn to type fast. If you want to be able to type faster and thus finish your papers faster, try some typing exercises by playing typing games and anything of the sort. You will not regret it when you’re about to write a 2000-word research paper.

• Planning

It should be a rule of thumb that planning your essay before actually starting the writing process is necessary if you want everything to go well. This applies whether we’re talking about a 1200-word essay, a 1500-word essay, a 2000-word essay, and even essays of 2500 words or a 10-page paper. Therefore, even if you’re only writing 3 pages, you’ll still have to plan everything accordingly.

So, whether you’re writing a high school, middle school, or admission essay, it’s best to start planning way before you start writing the actual paper. It needs to start with a proper introduction, and after you are introducing the subject in the intro, you’re moving to the important points or ideas of the paper, which are backed up by research.

If you have clear instructions given by your teacher already, everything will happen smoothly, and you’ll have fewer issues. If you were just given a topic, you’ll have to start planning yourself. This will take a little time, but it will shorten the amount of time you spend writing the actual 3-page essay.

• Research Experience

Whether you’re writing a simple essay, a research paper, or a thesis, one thing is for sure – you need to do research. The research part will also take time, so it’s not just the actual writing process that should be added to the amount of time it takes to finish a paper. You need to consider the research time too.

But do you know what else should be taken into account apart from the research itself? Your experience with research. Have you done the research for other papers in the past, or is this your first time? Asking yourself this question is essential. After all, someone who’s never done the research for something in the past may not know for sure how to perform research in the first place.

• Distractions

If you’re asking “how long will it take me to write this paper?”, you should think about whether you’ll have distractions or not. Depending on where you’re writing your essay, you may end up being distracted by something in the middle of the writing process and end up losing time as a result. For instance, if your phone keeps ringing, or if you’re in a noisy library or you have noisy roommates, you’ll easily become distracted and lose time that could be used to finish your essay instead.

For this reason, it’s best to find a nice and quiet place where your paper becomes your main focus. The better and quieter the place, the faster you’ll be writing your essay, and the more likely you are to finish your 3 pages earlier.

• Reading Comprehension

Do you have good reading comprehension skills? This will also influence how long to write it takes. The reason behind this is that not all people can pick up information the first time they write something. Some take longer to understand things and may have to re-read something multiple times until they can obtain the necessary information for making up their points.

You should think about your reading comprehension skills, too, if you are trying to estimate the amount of time it will take to finish the essay.

• Number of Words

Some teachers don’t give you a number of pages, but rather something more specific, respectively, a number of words that you should respect for your paper. Some essays are 1000 words, others are 1200 words, 1500 words, 2000 words, and so on.

So, how many words would 3 pages be, then? How many words is 3 pages double spaced? Usually, 3 pages will be about 750 words double spaced. Now, 3 pages double spaced is how many single-spaced? If you want to write 3 pages single spaced, that will be about 1,500 words. Knowing the 3 pages double spaced word count and single-spaced word count is important if you want to estimate how long it may take you to write based on your teacher’s instructions.

• Post-Writing Actions

You can’t just finish your paper and send it to your teacher like that. After writing an essay, you need to proofread and edit as well. This helps you find any grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors and edit them. Again, this is going to take some time, so if you’re making a schedule before you start the essay, you will find enough time for this time as well.

You may also want to consider how many words is three pages, how long should a research paper be, or how long should a college application essay be. When editing, this information will let you know whether you wrote more than necessary and delete information that doesn’t help bring anything relevant to the topic. This also takes time.

Can You Influence the Amount of Time It Takes to Write a 3-Page Paper?

Several factors may influence how long it takes for you to write a 3-page paper, but that doesn’t mean you cannot do something to make the time shorter and ensure you finish your paper earlier. If you’re running out of time for your essay or you just want to make sure you work on your next one more effectively, here are some ways to make the process faster and thus finish the paper before your deadline.

• Start Researching Early

Even if you’re not going to start working on your essay today or tomorrow, it’s best to look up some useful resources that will help you complete your essay. It will save time and will make the task less stressful. Otherwise, if you’re doing the whole research right before the essay, you can easily become overwhelmed, and stress will slow you down too. Don’t make this mistake.

If you planned to start your essay a few days later, then start looking up information the days before that. It will help you a lot for sure. Once you have all the information collected, you will be able to get to writing as soon as you want to. It’s much better than working on both your essay and your research last minute.

You should also consider the type of essay you’re writing when you’re doing the research. It’s important to research relevant information and not waste your time with things you will not even use in your work. You’re writing a 3-page essay, not a thesis, so you won’t have to worry about how long is a thesis paper or how long should it take to write 5-page paper and finding as much information as you can to write great numbers of pages.

• Focus

Whether you’re researching or writing, you shouldn’t underestimate the power of focusing. You need to make sure you’re done with this before the deadline, so you cannot afford to not concentrate on what you’re doing.

For this reason, you need to first make a paper schedule. This could include a certain number of hours per day for research and some hours per day for writing the essay. When doing this, you’ll know exactly how long it will take to write your paper, especially if you start early.

On top of that, you should get rid of any potential distractions as well. Not doing so will make you lose focus when you hear a noise or your phone is bombarded with notifications. You should work on your essay in a quiet place where you can be alone. There should be no radio or TV running, and social media should not be open. Your mobile phone should be on silent to ensure you’re not tempted to check your messages or answer your calls until you’re done with the paper. Focusing on your essay alone for a while will make the amount of time it takes to finish it much shorter.

• Make an Outline

It doesn’t matter if you’re writing a three-page paper, four-page paper, or five-page paper. An outline will be necessary. Without having a set outline at the start of the writing process, you will take much longer to write the paper. This is because you’ll have no idea what direction you should follow or what to write next. When you have an outline, though, you will know what and where to research.

“Isn’t it difficult to make an outline for my paper?” you may be asking. Luckily, it’s not difficult, and if you are already familiar with the topic or it’s something you’re interested in, the outline will just come to you more naturally.

Not to mention, the outline is not something irreversible. You can always make multiple outlines or change parts of it until you obtain something you’re satisfied with. As soon as you obtain the right outline, your writing will go smoothly and much faster.

• Start Brainstorming

Brainstorming can be very useful for your essay writing time. If you brainstorm in advance, you’ll spend less time thinking about ideas when you’re writing the paper. Sometimes, ideas end up coming at the wrong times – we’ve all been there. This is why your ideas can come to your mind when you’re not actually in the middle of writing your paper. So, sit down and brainstorm because this will also help you with making the outline and even with finding solutions for various problems. If you brainstorm, you will save a lot of time as you won’t have to stop to think about ideas during the writing process.

• Think of How Many Words You Want for Each Section

In an essay, you will have an introduction, body, and conclusion. Each section will have its own role in your essay, and you need to pay attention when writing each one of them. Therefore, you need to think for yourself how many words you want each section to have.

So, how long should an intro be, for example? An intro should introduce the topic and ask the question you’re going to answer in the body of the paper. It shouldn’t be too long and boring, but it also shouldn’t be too short and quick. Decide on an approximate number of words based on the length of the essay, respectively, 3 pages. Keep in mind that the body will be the longest part of the essay. How long is an essay supposed to be will also influence how long each section is going to be.

If you know early in advance how many words you want each section of the essay to have, including each paragraph of the body, you’ll make the writing process much faster.

Can a 3-Page Essay Take As Much As Longer Essays to Write?

Usually, people expect a 3-page essay to take less amount of time compared to a, let’s say, 5-page essay. But then again, there are just too many aspects to consider. An essay of 3 pages can take just as long as essays containing more pages if you don’t know enough about the topic, if you’re distracted, or if you’re not planning in advance. With the right planning, even a 5-page paper double spaced or 4-page paper double spaced will take less time to write, maybe just the same amount of time it takes to write 3 pages.

On average, writing 3 pages can take about 37.5 minutes on a keyboard, and 1.3 hours if you’re handwriting. If you add in the research, citations, adding links, formatting, and all of that, it could take around 5 hours. But if you’re not doing things in an organized way, it can instantly take longer than that. It all depends on how you’re planning, researching, and writing.

When Deadlines are Short

One mistake that students make is underestimating how long to write a 3-page paper. And so, they think they can put the project off until the last minute. All of a sudden, they are asking themselves:

• how to write a 3-page essay in an hour or
• how to write a 3-page essay in 2 hours

If you are in this situation and wondering how to write a 3-page essay fast, you are probably out of luck. It won’t get done.

On the other hand, you can always check out a review of essay writing services, get online, and order one up from a service that can put together an original piece for you in an hour or two. You may not know how to write a 3-page paper in an hour, but there are skilled writers who can if you find the right service.

So, how long will it take you to write a 3-page essay or paper? The answer is, it depends. It depends on your ability to narrow a topic and develop a thesis statement quickly; it depends on how fast you can find the right resources and your skill as a writer. Just remember, the shorter research pieces can sometimes take longer than the larger ones.