Essayist: Academic Writing App

Name: Essayist: Academic Writing App
Rating: 4.5 (371 reviews)
Author: Essayist Software Inc.

APA, MLA, Chicago & More

Free · In‑App Purchases

371 Ratings
Awards

Editors’ Choice

Apps
Ages

4+
Years
Category

Productivity
Developer

Essayist Software Inc.
Language

EN
English
Size

65.1
MB

Try Essayist for free today! "Mac App of the Year 2025 — Apple" "App of the Day" — Apple "Editors' Choice" — Apple "A-Plus Apps for Students " — Apple "Apps You Need This Week" — Apple Essayist allows you to write APA, MLA, Chicago & Harvard Style essays with ease. From in-text citations and footnotes to references and page setup, Essayist takes care of everything. It greatly simplifies the academic writing process. AUTOMATIC FORMATTING Essayist formats everything for you. Upon starting a new essay it sets up the title section/page, margins, font, line spacing, alignment, page headers/footers, etc. It formats your references, in-text citations, footnotes/endnotes, figures, tables, table of contents and more. UNIVERSAL REFERENCE MANAGER Store and manager references in a universal reference manager backed by iCloud. Search for, add, and store references in one place and use references across multiple essays. Create separate collections (folders) within the reference manager to organize and manage references. Add references quickly and easily using Google Scholar, Essayist’s built-in search, by pasting a URL or manual entry forms. Once added, references are automatically formatted and added to your essay’s references/works cited list. CITATIONS (IN-TEXT CITATIONS, FOOTNOTES, ENDNOTES) Add in-text citations and footnotes/endnotes with ease. Simply tap the insert citation button and select the reference you wish to cite. An in-text citation/footnote/endnote is automatically created for you GENERAL FOOTNOTES Add general footnotes to any essay. EQUATIONS Essayist supports equations backed by LaTeX. CITATION STYLES Essayist supports four citation styles: AMA, APA, MLA, Chicago/Turabian Harvard & Vancouver. EXPORT Export your work to PDF or Word. MINIMAL INTERFACE A simple interface helps you write without distractions. You know all those buttons in other word processors you never use? We got rid of those. ABSTRACT, APPENDICES & TABLE OF CONTENTS Add an abstract, appendices and a table of contents to your essay. FIGURES & TABLES Easily add figures and tables with all the required information (caption, title, numbering, notes, etc.). REGULAR UPDATES We are working hard to make Essayist the best academic writing app it can be. If you have feature requests or encounter issues, please don't hesitate to contact us at contact@essayist.app MORE - iOS & macOS versions (universal purchase) - Built-in Universal Reference Manager - Pre-defined & customizable paragraph styles (Block Quote, Headings, etc.) - Bold, Italicize & Underline options - Import BibTeX - Multiple reference types (News Article, Magazine, Website, Dictionary, etc. …) - Two paper sizes: US Letter & A4 - Two font choices: Times New Roman & Arial - Word Count & Page Count - Multiple background choices - Spell Check, Auto Completion & Auto Capitalization - Dark mode - Designed for Accessibility PRICING Essayist Pro requires a subscription. Choose between a monthly and a yearly subscription. Terms of Use: https://www.iubenda.com/terms-and-conditions/82031685 Privacy Policy: https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/82031685

Ratings & Reviews

4.5

out of 5

371 Ratings

Editors’ Choice

The simplest way to compose an A+ essay. Choose your citation style and the app will format your work to match. Then use the built-in source manager to look up–and properly cite–your references.
The best way to write correctly formatted and cited tessays!
Mar 24

If`m
I used this app for nearly my entire degree program. This tool was invaluable. The citation manager helped me to easily re-use citations across assignments and classes. Each new assignment, I could look through my past bibliography and drag and drop sources to inform my thesis. This is how I began every assignment. I always got positive feedback from my instructors for my formatting and citations, which were of course greatly aided by Essayist.I only have two nitpicks. First, the only way to insert a table is to do so as an image. I would create the table in Word or something, take a screenshot, and then insert it as a picture. This is workable, but I would have liked to see a proper table tool. Second, I wish I could have switched from an annual plan to a month to month plan mid-term. I graduated several months earlier than expected, so I still have several months of Essayist left.Excellent app overall. The iPhone app is also excellent. I wrote, exported, and submitted an entire APA formatted and cited paper from my phone for one of my GenEds once. It got an A!
The best way to write correctly formatted and cited tessays!
Mar 24

If`m

I used this app for nearly my entire degree program. This tool was invaluable. The citation manager helped me to easily re-use citations across assignments and classes. Each new assignment, I could look through my past bibliography and drag and drop sources to inform my thesis. This is how I began every assignment. I always got positive feedback from my instructors for my formatting and citations, which were of course greatly aided by Essayist.I only have two nitpicks. First, the only way to insert a table is to do so as an image. I would create the table in Word or something, take a screenshot, and then insert it as a picture. This is workable, but I would have liked to see a proper table tool. Second, I wish I could have switched from an annual plan to a month to month plan mid-term. I graduated several months earlier than expected, so I still have several months of Essayist left.Excellent app overall. The iPhone app is also excellent. I wrote, exported, and submitted an entire APA formatted and cited paper from my phone for one of my GenEds once. It got an A!
Outstanding Application & Support
07/24/2023

You Call Him Dr. Jones Lady!!!
I've been using Essayist for years as for a while I only had an iPad as my main driver yet had to write papers for school and this was the only applicaiton that allowed me to do so on the iPad while not only maintaining all APA formatting requirements but making it even easier to cite articles with it's Google Scholar search function. I've also had a couple of times where i'd reach out to their customer support and they were prompt in responding with answers or even potential updates and timing. I highly recommend this app to every student at every level as I used it through my MBA and i'm not using it to complete a doctorate.

Developer Response
Hi. Thank you very much for your kind review! We wish you all the best for your doctorate :)Till
Outstanding Application & Support
07/24/2023

You Call Him Dr. Jones Lady!!!

I've been using Essayist for years as for a while I only had an iPad as my main driver yet had to write papers for school and this was the only applicaiton that allowed me to do so on the iPad while not only maintaining all APA formatting requirements but making it even easier to cite articles with it's Google Scholar search function. I've also had a couple of times where i'd reach out to their customer support and they were prompt in responding with answers or even potential updates and timing. I highly recommend this app to every student at every level as I used it through my MBA and i'm not using it to complete a doctorate.
Developer Response 08/01/2023
Hi. Thank you very much for your kind review! We wish you all the best for your doctorate :)Till
I really wanted to like this
Dec 13

ilu_clow
For context, I’m attempting to use this primarily as a reference manager replacement for Zotero (Whom I imagine have to be on their list of direct competitors).in that context, this app is neat packaging on a practically unfuncitonal tool. Other than putting a word processor in a reference manger theres nothing new. And Zotero’s word plugin effetely does the same thing. While Essayist does insert and manage references better. It’s just not better enough to overlook all the other deficiencies. Deficiencies like the inability to simply drag and drop a PDF into the reference manger. Instead it makes you go to add first. A minor inconvenience magnified by the inability to import multiple references from Zotero at once (BibTEX Import just doesnt work when trying to import more tax 1 reference, and doesn’t import the PDF file as well).This makes it practically impossible to use this tool as a replacement for Zotero (unless you have hours to manually import hundreds or thousands of references, THEN import their PDFs 1 by 1 without being able to drag and drop).I love the idea of this app and desperately want it to be useful (for my context) but even if it were free I would never be able to use it as is let along paying a monthly (or yearly) subscription. I could never recommend this to anyone that already has a functional reference manager even though on paper this app sounds great.
I really wanted to like this
Dec 13

ilu_clow

For context, I’m attempting to use this primarily as a reference manager replacement for Zotero (Whom I imagine have to be on their list of direct competitors).in that context, this app is neat packaging on a practically unfuncitonal tool. Other than putting a word processor in a reference manger theres nothing new. And Zotero’s word plugin effetely does the same thing. While Essayist does insert and manage references better. It’s just not better enough to overlook all the other deficiencies. Deficiencies like the inability to simply drag and drop a PDF into the reference manger. Instead it makes you go to add first. A minor inconvenience magnified by the inability to import multiple references from Zotero at once (BibTEX Import just doesnt work when trying to import more tax 1 reference, and doesn’t import the PDF file as well).This makes it practically impossible to use this tool as a replacement for Zotero (unless you have hours to manually import hundreds or thousands of references, THEN import their PDFs 1 by 1 without being able to drag and drop).I love the idea of this app and desperately want it to be useful (for my context) but even if it were free I would never be able to use it as is let along paying a monthly (or yearly) subscription. I could never recommend this to anyone that already has a functional reference manager even though on paper this app sounds great.

Essay Writing Just Got Easier: This update addresses a reported crash related to endnotes. Thank you for emailing us! If you have feature requests or experience an issue, please email us. We usually respond very quickly and it really helps us improve Essayist.

Version 1.17.6

Dec 18

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Essayist: Academic Writing App

APA, MLA, Chicago & More

Ratings & Reviews

What’s New

Version 1.17.6

App Privacy

Data Not Linked to You

Accessibility

Supported Features

Dark Interface

Differentiate Without Color Alone

Reduced Motion

Information

Supports

Family Sharing

Featured In

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