1. Scrivener
This is my go-to when it comes to long writing projects. The app itself is marketed towards novelists, essayists, etc. It's perfect for college students writing research essays or even their theses. However, there is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to this app. There is a lengthy tutorial when you first download it that shows you all of its bells and whistles, but that took me over a week to completely sort through. This app makes it easy to outline, organize, reorder paragraphs/sections of text, and it's great for keeping all of your text and research in one place. You can use a split screen function, and you can import websites, articles, videos, etc. My absolute favorite feature is full composition mode. It allows you to focus your screen solely on the page so you can write distraction free. I have a terrible tendency to procrastinate, which makes working on my laptop extremely difficult because I get distracted so easily, but with this feature, I've definitely noticed a significant increase in my productivity. There's too many great features to list them all here, you'll have to see for yourself. The app itself is only available on MacOS at the moment, but a Windows version is coming soon. It's sold for a one-time purchase of $45.
https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview
2. Evernote
I love this because it's a note-taking app that can transfer between your devices. You just need to download it on both your computer and your phone and link your accounts, it's incredibly easy and honestly one of my favorite features. The app itself is very clean and easy to use. I started taking notes for school on this so that I could have them all compiled and because they are more easily accessible. You can add web clippings, PDFs, photos, videos, voice notes, etc. There is also a search tool that can find keywords in your notes and even in photos that you upload which I love. There are free versions and premium versions you can purchase for $7.99/month, but honestly, the free version is perfect for me.
3. Speare
This app is unlike anything I've ever used before. It's marketed as a 'thought processor' which made me very confused until I downloaded the free trial. Instead of having a chunk of text you can break it up by 'thoughts.' I think this is a great app for organizing your thoughts and for planning your essay content, however, I would look elsewhere for actually writing it. Download the free trial and try it out for yourself! The app is priced differently depending on how you choose to pay for it, but the most popular option is for $4.95/month (billed as one payment of $59.40).
4. Bear
This app reminded me a lot of Evernote in its design and functionality. It has the ability to sync your devices so that you can take your notes with you wherever. It also allows you to change the themes of your dashboard so you can make it bright or dark, whatever your preference is. It allows you a lot of different text editor, and apparently, it's good for writing code, although I don't use that function so I couldn't say if it is great for that or not. Overall, I like the look of it and the way it works, but there are a lot of functions that aren't available to free users. To upgrade to BearPro you can pay $1.49 for a monthly subscription or $14.99 for a yearly one. This price doesn't seem too unreasonable to me.
5. UlyssesÂ
The functionality of this app reminds me of a crossover between Evernote and Scrivener. It has a ton of feature, such as the ability to change the theme of your dashboard, easy keyboard navigation, a typewriter mode (which I think is super cool for focusing on the task at hand), the ability to add various attachments, a writing goals function what allows you to set goals for yourself for the day or for that writing session, etc. It's got a nice, clean look to it which I really enjoy, and again that compatibility between devices. You can try it free for 14 days, or ay $39.99/year or $4.99/month. However, they do have a student discount that allows students to pay $10.99 for a 6-month subscription.
