Do you remember the fable The Ant and the Grasshopper? The ants work all summer long preparing for winter and storing food. The grasshopper laughs at the ants, and he plays all summer because he has plenty of food (for now). When winter comes, the grasshopper is starving, begging for food because he didn’t prepare …
Compare the feeling you get when you earn an A on a paper to how you feel when you get a D on a paper. There’s really no comparison, is there? My goal in writing this post is for you learn more about compare and contrast essays, so you can skip that wretched feeling of …
You’ve been reading Macbeth very closely and have gotten pulled into the drama of it all. And let’s face it—the fact that it’s Shakespeare’s shortest tragic play certainly doesn’t hurt. But just because it’s shorter than the rest doesn’t mean it’s not packed with betrayal, murder, symbolism, foreshadowing, and a lot of other goodies to …
Ever been nervous on a first date or freak out the moment you’re supposed to start a new job? Most people have. Why? Because you want to start on the right foot. You don’t want to call your date “Kay” when her name is actually “Kali.” And you don’t want to trip over a chair …
Are you a self-proclaimed featherweight champion essay writer? Have you met a worthy opponent in the persuasive essay? Has it left you on the ropes and ready to throw in the towel? Don’t worry. I’m in your corner. I’m here to help you learn more about what makes an effective persuasive essay. Here are a …
RHETORICAL ANALYSIS ESSAY DUE NEXT WEEK! You cannot escape it any longer. Your essay is due a week from today. (Thank goodness for homework apps, or you would have completely forgotten about it!) Remembering that you have to write an essay is only half the battle, though. Now you have to figure out how to …
“Hey, you’ll never guess what happened to me last night!” “Dude! You gotta hear this!” If a friend approaches you with one of these lines, chances are she has a story to tell. And judging by the sounds of it, the story is a good one! We all know those people who tell great stories …
Tell me your life story. The older you get, the more of an impossible task this seems. Do you start with the day you were born? Do you include the story of your sixth birthday party or the story of when you were 17 and almost wrecked your mom’s car? How do you know what to …
You’ve just been assigned to write an opinion essay. “Opinions?!” You think, “I’ve got plenty of those!” But slow down, cowboy, you’re going to have to narrow it down to a single opinion. More than that, you must be able to support that opinion with facts, figures, or examples from the real world. “You are …
What’s your first reaction to these opening lines? The Egyptians lived a long time ago. Back in the day, kids worked in factories. If your reaction is a big yawn, I understand. Who wants to read lifeless writing like this? You might as well start your paper with, “Attention: this essay will bore you to …
Remember the days of elementary school reports when you had to write about events like the first Thanksgiving or the signing of the Declaration of Independence? Those were the good ol’ days when you could look up a few facts about a historical event, summarize the highlights, and voila, you had an A paper! Life …
Take a look at these four essay topics, and tell me why they won’t work as a topic for your paper: psychology Romanticism World War II music If you said that all of these are great subjects but they aren’t great topics because they’re too broad, you’re right. You cannot possibly write a good essay about …
You’re cruising through your writing class just fine. No speed bumps in the road to a decent grade. But then your instructor decides to put up a roadblock—a texting while driving essay. You screech to a halt. You weren’t paying attention to how to write essays most effectively and, instead, just wrote whatever came naturally. …
Any reader of some or all of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 60 Sherlock Holmes detective stories knows the author follows a certain formula. First, a stranger visits Detective Holmes and his sidekick Watson, presenting them with a mysterious criminal quandary. Then Holmes and Watson visit the scene of the crime where Holmes is able to …
The Problem: You don’t know how to write a proposal paper. The Solution: Find someone who does know how to write a proposal paper (that would be me) and read her advice (that would be this article). Problem solved. Phew! That was easy, right? So let’s get to work solving your problem. Follow me, and …
At this point in your academic career, you’ve gone through the main three types of essays—argumentative, narrative, and descriptive. And you have to admit, you’ve gotten pretty good at them. But now your teacher wants you to write an exemplification essay, and you feel a little lost. Don’t worry. That’s what I’m here for. I’ll …
Have you ever tried to debate (or argue with) someone who just cannot see your point of view? They’re so caught up in what they think is right that they won’t even consider opposing evidence. It’s frustrating, right? That’s because, for many situations, choices aren’t easy to make. We live in a world where most …
There’s an old adage that says writing is a process, not a product. And to help drive that point in, I’m going to show you how to write an awesome process essay. In fact, you can consider this whole blog post as a type of process essay. But instead of just simply telling you the …
You’ve written a narrative essay or two by now, and they’ve been pretty good. But they haven’t given you that sense of pride that you get from, say, a well-supported argumentative essay. So when your instructor assigns another narrative essay, you’re looking to just churn something out without giving it any pizzazz. Wait a minute! …
Aiming for the big ‘A’ on that next essay? Well guess what—winging it without an essay outline is just not an option! By now, you’ve probably made plans in one form or another. You’ve marked quizzes and paper due dates on a calendar. Maybe you’ve put together a surprise birthday party for your friend. Thinking about …
Okay, so an ear-shattering bang with a fiery-aftermath-type bang isn’t what I’m talking about when I say, “This is how to start an essay with a bang.” (But I bet this adorably suspicious kitten has one heck of a story to tell.) So what do I mean when I say, “Start your essay with a bang”? …