Posts by Susan M. Inez:
When you hear the word “ESSAY,” what comes to mind? If you’re like a lot of students, you might think pain. Boredom. Tedium. Sheer misery. Rarely does the word “fun” come to mind. I get it. There are all sorts of reasons that you might hate writing an...
2018.7.9 / by Susan M. Inez
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” You might recognize this quote as part of the poem on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. It has almost become synonymous with immigrants coming to the United States in pursuit...
2018.6.18 / by Susan M. Inez
Here’s an all-too-common scenario faced by students everywhere: you’re assigned to write a paper, but you don’t know what to write about. Your prof tells you to write about something unique, something original, something that interests you. The problem is,...
2018.5.21 / by Susan M. Inez
Let’s pretend you wrote the following as a working thesis statement for your persuasive essay: Global climate change has been debated for many years. Do you think this is a persuasive thesis statement? (HINT: Say “no”!) NO: The thesis statement...
2018.5.16 / by Susan M. Inez
More often than not, when you’re assigned an essay, you think, “Great. I have zero interest in this topic. How am I supposed to write five pages about it?” But every once in a while, you get that essay assignment that encourages you to write about something...
2018.5.14 / by Susan M. Inez
Those of you who consider yourselves fashion mavens might hear the phrase “personal statement” and think about how you might make a statement with your outfit at your grand entrance at next weekend’s party. Though writing a personal statement generally has...
2018.5.7 / by Susan M. Inez
If you’re a rooster and you consider yourself king of the hen house, you can’t just casually wander around with the rest of the chickens. You need to strut your stuff. You need to walk with authority and crow like you mean it! Likewise, if you’re writing...
2018.5.2 / by Susan M. Inez
We’ve all been there. Your professor asks a question to the class about last week’s required reading. You look down at your book, out the window, and at your shoes. You pretend to contemplate the answer. The reality: you only “skimmed” the reading, and...
2018.4.30 / by Susan M. Inez
Ever sign into Facebook only to see that your BFF posted a long rant about how much he hates Facebook? The fact that he’s using Facebook to complain about how much he hates Facebook is a clear example of irony. Locating examples of irony in literature, though,...
2018.4.23 / by Susan M. Inez
What comes to mind when you hear the words “marijuana user”? Some people may automatically think Reefer Madness and see the film as an extreme exaggeration of users. Others may see it as a film with some underlying bit of truth to the dangers of marijuana....
2018.4.4 / by Susan M. Inez
If you’ve ever watched Survivor, you know how important it is for contestants to plan, form alliances, and do anything they can to avoid getting voted off the island by the Tribal Council. Writing an essay is kind of like being a contestant on Survivor. You...
2018.4.2 / by Susan M. Inez
Here are four statements you might receive from your professor as essay feedback. “Essay does not meet assignment guidelines.” “This is a good start, but ideas aren’t fully developed.” “This submission is a nice revision of your earlier draft.” “Exemplary!...
2018.3.28 / by Susan M. Inez
A guy walks up to a counter, orders lunch, and immediately starts a political debate with the man seated next to him. The two engage in a full-fledged argument before the server even brings his drink. Given that the two are at a counter arguing, does this mean...
2018.3.26 / by Susan M. Inez
Pretend you’re a pirate out on the high seas searching for treasure. Let’s say you have it on good authority that there’s a chest of gold buried on a nearby remote island. While you may have an idea which way you need to sail in order to get to the island,...
2018.3.21 / by Susan M. Inez
If you’re thinking the SQ3R Method is a new iPhone QR code scanner app that allows you to scan your essay for grammar errors, you’d be wrong. (Though that would be pretty awesome, wouldn’t it?) The SQ3R Method is actually a reading method that will help you:...
2018.3.12 / by Susan M. Inez
Do you freak out or feel stressed at the mere thought of trying to organize your ideas for a paper? Have you tried prewriting and outlining, yet can’t seem to pull your ideas together? If all those Roman numerals and upper and lowercase letters of a traditional...
2018.3.7 / by Susan M. Inez
If you’re reading this post, chances are you’re a student who has spent most of your life in school. Think about all those hours in the classroom combined with all those hours studying and all those hours in extracurricular activities. You’ve probably spent...
2018.2.21 / by Susan M. Inez
“If I ruled the world, summer vacation would last all year long, kids could stay up as long as they wanted, and everyone could eat ice cream for every meal!” My 10-year-old self had a lot of excellent suggestions for a perfect world. I’m sure we’ve...
2018.2.19 / by Susan M. Inez
Are you asking yourself why you should read this blog post? Are you asking, “What’s in it for me?” What if I promised that by reading this you’ll learn more about how to write an effective persuasive essay? What if I promised that by reading this you’ll...
2018.2.14 / by Susan M. Inez
Even though discrimination is an ugly part of society, you know that professors aren’t going to discriminate when it comes to handing out essay grades. No matter how many hours you work on your discrimination essay, if it isn’t good, your prof will let you...
2018.2.7 / by Susan M. Inez
Imagine a world where there are no books to read. If you’re a student, sometimes that might feel like a dream come true. Now imagine a world with nothing to read. That includes no internet (and certainly no social media). That dream can quickly turn into a nightmare....
2018.1.31 / by Susan M. Inez