It’s the first day of class, and your instructor hands you the syllabus. As you browse through, you get to the list of assignments and your eyes widen–a 15-page research paper is due at the end of the semester. You’ve never written 15 pages of anything...

Research Paper:  Two words that strike fear into the hearts of many students. Four syllables that create panic, dread, and anxiety. But they don’t have to. Writing a research paper takes time and requires effort, but if you have a good topic and credible...

You’ve really hit the big leagues now. Gone are the days of teachers telling you exactly what to write and giving you research paper topics that drive you out of your mind with boredom. You have freedom to choose your own topic now! (No need to write one...

When writing a speech, it’s second nature to think about the audience. The presenter keeps the audience foremost in mind when deciding how to formulate the speech from the subject to the structure to the tone. Some people get so wrapped up in thinking about the...

In the past, you might have had problems getting that polished, professional feel to your essays, but you couldn’t quite figure out why. Are your ideas too underdeveloped? Is your thesis statement not good enough? Do you not have enough support for your arguments?...

The dreaded “I” word. How can one letter be so malignant when it comes to academic writing? It’s likely that many of your teachers and professors have drilled it into your head that using first-person writing in your essays will immediately result in another...

If you have spent any amount of time writing papers for your university social sciences courses, you have probably had to learn a thing or two about APA citation. Contrary to popular opinion, APA does NOT stand for A Pain in the A**. Though it may seem so....

The scenario: It’s Sunday evening, and you’ve fallen way down the rabbit hole as you research your topic for your psychology class research paper. You’ve found so much good stuff that you’re positively giddy! Seeking and consuming information can...

Think back to the last time you tried to persuade someone to do something or to see an issue from your point of view. Did you succeed in convincing your teacher to give up grading or your parents to continue paying your cell phone bill for another year? No? Probably...

Think of your favorite movie. Got it? Now think about the opening scene. What does that scene accomplish? For most, the opening scene draws the viewer in, introduces one or more of the main characters, and gives the audience a taste of what the movie is going to...

Writing a thesis statement can be a bit scary. I’m not sure why, exactly. I mean, it is generally regarded as the most important sentence in your entire paper, true. It is the backbone, they say. I guess you could say it is the make or break, do or die, mess...

Critical thinking: What would essay writing be without it? Well, you know what Mr. Spock would say. In fact, without critical thinking, essays would be highly illogical. Critical thinking allows you to dig under the surface to understand and articulate a subject...

You’re sitting in class, and let’s face it, your mind is wandering a little bit. But then your instructor says that your next assignment is to write a Rogerian essay. Confusion strikes. You immediately sit up in your seat, hoping for some sort of elaboration...

Let me ask you this. How many hours does it take for a typical college student to earn $1,000? Whether you’re working in a restaurant, a coffee shop, or in retail, chances are it will take you approximately 100 hours to earn that much money. 100 hours? That’s...

Have you ever tried to wrap a present without tape? It’s no easy task, but it can be done with a bit of dexterity, patience, and lots of ribbon. Wrapping up your essay can sometimes feel like wrapping a present without tape—it can be difficult at times, and...

You stare down at your computer clock and panic as you see another minute slip by—it’s 11:31, and you now have 29 minutes to email your essay to your instructor. You’re not even close to being done.   You didn’t mean to procrastinate, but other...

Have you been studying Othello in class so long that you’re on a first name basis with the title character? Do you feel even though you’ve spent so much time studying the play in class you’re still unsure of the play’s major themes? Do you need to write...

Do you remember that analytical essay you were assigned a week or two ago?  Do you realize that it’s due in a few days, and you haven’t even started it yet?  Yes, really; it’s due in a few days, so it’s time you stop procrastinating and begin...

You’ve been staring at your blank computer screen for what feels like hours, trying to figure out how to start your analytical essay. You try to choose between writing the introduction first or getting right into the meat of it. But somehow, it seems too...

I had a chance to sit down with Natalie H. who has been an editor for Kibin since June 2013. We talked about what makes a literary analysis essay tick and what makes it ick, and I asked her about her all-time writing pet peeves. Here’s what Natalie had to...

If you follow the news, you might think that the world has lost its mind. So many problems and so few solutions. Why bother? Yet people are offering solutions to these problems. You might have read some of them in op-eds, policy papers, office memos, or problem-solution...