What if I told you to build a garage but offered you no tools to work with, or told you to paint a portrait but you had no brushes, paints, or canvas? You can’t complete either of these tasks without tools. So what if I handed you a hammer, a saw, and a handful of …
We’ve all read something that makes us pause and reread the sentence or paragraph over again. Found in everything from books to blogs, and even in our own writing, confusing and unclear sentences can take their toll on readers. But I’m here to help you improve the clarity of your writing, so your readers know …
You may have written a few synthesis essays in your English classes, but knowing how to synthesize information has value far beyond your Dracula essay. This skill is used in countless areas—from history to science—and can come in handy in both professional and personal settings. While we may still talk about essays a little bit …
Most of us have bad habits we’d like to break. Maybe you’re guilty of hogging the only TV in the dorm or leaving your Chinese takeout boxes all over the living room (both of which drive your roommates crazy). If your bad habits only cause a few disagreements with your roommates, maybe it’s not worth the …
Would you write an email to your boss using the same word choices and style that you’d use to send an email or text to your friend? Would you start your email to your boss with “Hey dude, wassup?” Probably not. Why? Because writing to your boss demands a higher level of professionalism and formality …
Teachers often assign essays that have to meet a minimum word, paragraph, or page count. Unfortunately, this often leads to a paper littered with wordy sentences. Instead of adding more context or evidence to your thesis, you end up with a lot of fluff. While the most important thing in your mind is meeting that …
With all the writing you do during the school year, one of the last things you might want to do during summer vacation is write some more. However, keeping up a consistent writing habit will help build your skills (and may even lead to more enjoyment when you’re analyzing Hamlet or Beowulf when school starts …
If you’re used to texting, you might not think that things like spelling, capitalization, or punctuation even matter, but … just imagine ur reading an entire news article textbook or even a blog post with no capitalization and no punctuation it would be really hard to tell where one thought ended and it would be …
The last time I baked cupcakes, I followed the directions on the box to the letter. I’m far from a celebrity chef, so following the recipe would be the only way for me to bake anything edible. My grandmother, on the other hand, never made anything from a box. I don’t even remember her following …
Less is more, they say. Which, to be honest, kind of bothers me because it’s inherently incorrect. Less most certainly is not more—it is less. However, there are times when having less is better. So for the sake of accuracy, let’s say this—less is better…sometimes. So far I’ve said practically nothing, and I feel better …
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. …
Back in the day—when you were in elementary school—you learned about past tense, present tense, and future tense. You’ve gotten along all this time knowing these three basic tenses. But now your prof has thrown out the term “literary present tense,” and it has put you into a slight tailspin. Don’t worry—it’s not a completely …
Ever been invited to a formal event, such as a party or dance, where the invitation specifically states “formal attire required”? We all know what formal means in a party invite. It means you can’t show up in your favorite hoodie or yoga pants. Writing a formal essay is like going to a formal event. …
For years your teachers have told you that if you borrow someone else’s exact words, you need to put quotations marks around those words. They also told you that you need to use quotations (as well as paraphrases and summaries) to support your research essay. That’s all well and good. And it doesn’t seem too …
I get it. The grammar police can be annoying when they continually correct your grammar. But do you know what’s even more annoying? This: If you recognize the grammar error in this sign, good for you! The grammar police won’t be handing you a citation this time. If you don’t recognize the error, the grammar …
Imagine these two (potentially) devastating scenarios: You fire up your laptop to complete research for your upcoming essay, and you see a message that says, “No Internet Connection.” You text the girl you went out with a few days ago to ask if she wants to go out with you this weekend, and she replies …
I bet on at least one occasion you cheered for a high school or college team simply because it was the home team. We’re generally biased toward our own school or town, so it’s only natural to want them to win. This type of bias is common and usually pretty harmless. We love a good game …
Have you ever had to meet a specific word count for an essay and found yourself coming up short? Did you “revise” by simply adding words here and there trying to stretch it out? Or have you ever written a paper and it seemed like it was full of fluff, rather than strong content? These …
As an English teacher, I can tell you that everyone makes mistakes in writing. And in my years as a TOEFL tutor, I’ve seen just about every kind of TOEFL writing mistake you can imagine. Still, certain kinds of writing mistakes are more common than others. The trick to creating a top-scoring TOEFL essay is …