Ask yourself this—how many hours do you spend interacting with technology each week?? Add up the number of hours you spend each week on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and other social media sites. Now add to that the number of hours each week you spend surfing the web, playing video games, or completing some other online …
“True friendship isn’t about being there when it’s convenient; it’s about being there when it’s not.” “A friend who knows your tears is much more valuable than a lot of friends who only know your smile.” Not a sappy friendship quote kind of person? Are you rolling your eyes just thinking about the cheesiness of …
What does it really mean to be boring? We can all point to a moment that was boring. And we’re quick to recognize a new one when it presents itself, but what are the criteria for something to fall into that category? When I worked as a cashier at a grocery store as a teen, …
“Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.” —Mary Shelley If you’re a math major enrolled in a required literature course, the painful and sudden change you might be experiencing right now is the fact that you have to write a paper about Frankenstein. There’s no need to be …
If you’re a lieutenant commander on the U.S.S. Enterprise, and your name is Spock, it’s a given that you’re all about logic. If you’re not Spock or a Vulcan (I’m assuming you’re not either of these), you might be guilty of faulty logic and might end up with at least one logical fallacy in your …
If I say “animal testing,” which of the following two images comes to mind? Image #1: Professional, ethical scientists carefully monitoring and testing animals and developing life-saving cures. Image #2: People needlessly injecting, probing, and torturing defenseless animals. While some of you may have an image that’s somewhere between ethical testing and torture, I’m sure …
In Greek Orphic tradition, Thesis, the goddess of creation, is worshiped for creating all of the matter we see in the world today. In the academic writing world, it feels as if we are often worshiping her ourselves. I mean, your thesis statement is kind of like the bedrock on which your paper will either …
Mass media is a constant in our daily lives. If you ever watch TV, read a news feed, surf the Internet, watch or hear an advertisement, or listen to the radio, you’re consuming media. Given that most of us are experts when it comes to consuming media, we should be experts on writing about media, …
How many times have you received a software update notification? If you’re like me, you have a love/hate (mostly hate) relationship with these notifications. Too often, what you think will be a quick and easy process turns into an hour-long nightmare. Sound familiar? Something so seemingly simple becomes deceptively complex. The same is true for …
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Practice makes perfect.” And you know that this applies to almost anything you do in life: sports, music, debate, public speaking, dungeon master, whatever. Essay writing skills are just the same. You must practice to get better. But practice only takes you so far. You’ll also need the right tools. …
Has this ever happened to you? Professor: Where is your thesis statement? Student: … If so, don’t worry. You’re not the first person to struggle with writing a thesis statement, and you won’t be the last. This part of essay writing has vexed many college students, but luckily, I’m here to show you the ropes. …
Most of us have heard the arguments about the devastating effects of global warming. We’ve also heard the arguments that the entire idea of global warming is a hoax. While the topic continues to be debated, what’s not debatable is that you need to write an essay about global warming. (Yes, really, you do. Did …
Some of the greatest figures in our human history have been rule breakers. There were the American revolutionaries who refused to pay their taxes without being represented in the British parliament. There was Nelson Mandela who joined the African National Congress and fought against Apartheid, which had been the law of the South African land …
Over the years, I’m sure at least some of your teachers have used unique writing assignments to help you learn. Maybe you learned about the Civil War by writing a letter from the point of view of Abraham Lincoln. Or maybe you learned about character and plot by re-writing the ending of Hamlet. Some topics …
You’ve known for a week that this day was coming. It’s the day you’ll have to write the dreaded in-class essay. You don’t work well under pressure. You have no time to organize your thoughts. You never know what to write. You’re freaking out and can feel your heart pounding out of your chest. You …
Ever hear the phrase “for illustration purposes only”? An illustration is a picture or drawing, but in this case, it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with actual images. “For illustration purposes only” means that examples are being presented to highlight or explain a topic. The same is true for an illustration essay. Its purpose …
“Short” is a relative term. Your English prof might assign a “short essay” that’s 3,500 words, while your history instructor might assign a “short essay” that’s only 500 words. Big difference. A longer paper has its advantages. Sure, you’ll have to write a lot, but a 3,500-word essay means you have more chances to write …
If you’re assigned to write a movie review, you need to watch a movie and then critically evaluate it. Logic dictates that, if you’re assigned to write a literature review, you’d read some type of literature and then critically evaluate it. But that’s not the case. Sometimes logic can fail you. It’s like if you …
You’re sitting in the back of a sociology class, trying to focus on the lecture, when the prof brings up a controversial topic, such as abortion, gun control, capital punishment, or marijuana legalization. I’m almost positive that you have a position on every single one of these topics. Knowing where you stand on a topic …
The year 2016 was pretty crazy, wasn’t it? It was the year of the summer Olympics in Brazil, where Michael Phelps won his 13th individual gold medal, breaking a record that was set by Leonidas of Rhodes in 152 BC. The Chicago Cubs won the World Series that year, which was the first time they …
“Wow! That stinks!” If you’re walking by a smelly factory, this might be an appropriate response. If you’re walking by a farm on a sweltering summer afternoon, this might be exactly what you’d expect to hear. This is not, however, what you want to hear from your prof when she reads your essay. So if …