If you’re havin’ essay problems, I feel bad for you, son. I got 99 problems but a hook ain’t one. I don’t have a hook problem, aside from the sick pleasure I glean from mangling popular song lyrics to suit my purpose, nor does Jay Z, if all those platinum albums are to be believed. …
Whenever you’re writing an essay for a class, to get into your dream school, or for some other reason besides “just for the heck of it,” you usually need to write a minimum number of words or pages. And while there are probably topics you could write about forever — an ode to your pillow …
In an age where communication in the simplest form is all the rage, you can learn a lot from Twitter. Being able to write an engaging sentence in 140 characters or fewer can be a great skill to apply to writing an essay, like when tackling those all-important thesis statements. But, in the most obvious sense, …
True or false? Writing a research paper is time-consuming. True: Writing a research paper is very time consuming. You can’t just grab a few random sources and try to make them work. You certainly can’t start writing a research paper a few hours before it’s due and expect to write an “A” paper. True or false? Writing …
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 people listening to their speech that they break out …
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 unrelenting letter of the alphabet: “F.” As a curious student, you …
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 or point of view. To put it another way: If you want to …
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 writing that analytical essay! Keep reading this blog …
Every student has to take English classes at some time or another. In all of these classes, you’ll have to write stuff (cue theme from “Jaws”). Given a choice between two classes, “Writing 101” and “Breaking Rocks with Your Head,” most students would pick the latter. Why is that? What is it about writing an …
Good transition words guide your reader from one thought in your writing to the next. They allow you to arrange your ideas in a clear and meaningful way that the reader can easily follow. If you think of writing as being a type of journey, you can think of transition words as being like sign …
In a 1971 fight, Joe Frazier famously floored boxing champ Muhammad Ali with a strong left hook, leading to Ali’s first ever professional loss in the boxing ring. This is most definitely not the source of the word “hook” in writing, but the analogy is as solid as Frazier’s punch. No matter what type of …
Chances are your professor has given you an assignment to write an essay that reflects on a piece of literature, or another body of work like a film or play. Do you know how to write a good essay? One basic way to elevate the quality of your next essay is to stop summarizing and …
Think back to the last time you saw a really great stand-up comedy show. The jokes were funny. The comedian was a good story teller, transitioning effortlessly between segments, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Now think about a time when you saw a really terrible comedian. It may have been the …
It’s hard to imagine that MTV’s reality series, Jersey Shore, can teach little more than the correct way to Jersey Turnpike, how to spot a ‘Guido’, or a snazzy new vocabulary. However, with a little effort and an open mind, we’ve discovered three great lessons Jersey Shore can teach you about writing better essays. So, …