Have you ever heard that touching a frog will give you warts or that Twinkies never expire? These urban legends have been around a long time, but they’re simply myths. While touching some frogs can irritate your skin, frogs don’t cause warts. They’re caused by viruses. And Twinkies? Well, they may not be made from …
Remember those packs of building blocks you used to get as a kid? Each pack contained just enough tiny pieces to construct your favorite superhero, princess, or jet fighter. As a child, you likely relied on the picture on the front of the plastic package, rather than any set of directions, to build your creation. …
Hungry for tacos? Feel like you can’t fully concentrate on your writing assignment until you make a trip for a late-night snack? As tempting as a few tacos and a burrito sound right now, don’t rush to satisfy your cravings just yet. Instead, continue reading as this blog post contains important information you’ll need to …
Tell me if this has happened to you: your phone gets dunked in water (we won’t discuss how), and you start researching to see if putting it in rice will actually save it. You read a few blog posts and watch a few videos. But instead of immediately putting your phone in a bag of …
Think you’re ready to write your synthesis essay outline? That’s awesome! But I’m going to ask you for a favor: pump your brakes for a second, so you can ask yourself this question: Have I ever written a synthesis essay before? If the answer is no, then you’ll want to check out How to Write …
Creative geniuses cannot create their masterpieces until they’re inspired. Perhaps you’re that creative genius who simply hasn’t been inspired to write a thesis statement to help focus your thoughts for your upcoming compare and contrast essay. Perhaps you don’t fancy yourself a creative genius at all. Maybe you’re more of a major procrastinator who’s only …
Have you ever watched a great film trailer and thought, “I have to see that movie!”? A good trailer gives you the basic premise of the movie, shows you the highlights, and encourages you to want to see more. A good thesis statement will accomplish the same thing. It gives readers an idea of the …
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 is a fact. It is not persuasive and not debatable. If you answered “yes” …
As you know by now (for I tend to remind you ad nauseam), the thesis statement is the most important sentence in your essay. It’s the backbone of your paper. In other words, it’s the star around which your ideas orbit, the bread crumbs in your essay meatballs, or any other metaphor that articulates the …
There’s an easy way and a hard way to do just about everything in life. However, the things most worth doing are almost always more difficult. For instance, it’s hard to go to school, work a job to pay for it, and then come home and study at the end of it all. It’s much …
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. …
Imagine that you’re on a road trip on a hot day. You spy an ice cream shop and whip the car into the parking lot for a cold, towering, double-scoop cone. Mmm. The server places the ice cream in your hands … without a flipping cone. You fumble with the cold, sloppy mess as you …
“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration” —Thomas Edison Edison was right. It takes a lot of hard work to be a genius. I’m here to tell you that it takes a lot of hard work to be a good writer too. One of the first steps you can take to be a good writer, …
Hypothesis: (noun) a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation. Yikes! That sounds pretty serious (and a little intimidating too). Don’t let it scare you, though. In simpler terms, a hypothesis is an idea of what you think will happen in your experiment or …
Your class has been writing a few argumentative essays here and there, and you have to admit … you’re getting pretty good at it. But now your instructor says that you need to take it a step further and write a synthesis essay. The name might be a little intimidating, but don’t worry—I’ll be here …
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 be about. That’s exactly what your argumentative …
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 it up and fail …
Think back to the last concert you watched. I bet the performers ended with their greatest chart-topping hit, right? Why? Because they want to end their concert with a high-energy song that everyone knows. They want to play that song—the one everyone waits all night to hear. By leaving you excited about the final moments …
Think revising and editing aren’t necessary? Check out this ad: It looks like the educational software ad writers of this company don’t know the difference between “their” (possessive) and “they’re” (they are). Would you feel confident purchasing educational software from a company that doesn’t know basic grammar (or perhaps simply doesn’t care enough to proofread …
People who read a book before watching the movie adaptation often claim that the book is better than the movie. When you ask them why, they simply shrug and say, “It just was.” This reply works fine if you’re talking about a movie with your friends, but if you have to write a comparison essay …
What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the word “hero”? Do you think first responders rushing to the scene of a tragedy to help victims? Maybe you’re reading this before lunch, and the first thing you think of is a hero sandwich. While both of these are legitimate types of heroes, they …