Think back to the last concert you watched. I bet the performers ended with their greatest chart-topping smash 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 of the concert, performers know you’ll be more likely to have positive memories. You’ll also more likely be convinced that your hard-earned dollars were well spent. The conclusion of your argumentative essay should be like the last song at your favorite concert: memorabl ..read more

When I sat down to write this post, I knew I wanted to provide you with a handful of interesting choices for Death of a Salesman essay topics, but I admit that when it came time to get started, I was stumped. Sure, I had one or two excellent topic ideas, but after that, I had to dig a little deeper to think of more creative and interesting options. Why am I telling you this?  I want to remind you that even those of us who write about writing can struggle to get the creative juices flowing. So if you’re frustrated because you can’t think of anything “good” to write about for your Death of ..read more

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 its ad)? Probably not. Why? Because simple typos are generally a result of sloppy work—and that’s what your professor is going to think if you turn in a paper with the same type of errors. Typos and grammar errors are bad enough, bu ..read more

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 about a book and its film adaptation, your teacher is going to expect a little more (okay a lot more) than “it just was.” If you need a push to help you move beyond that basic “I just like it more” as your standard of comparison, keep reading to learn how to write a killer book and movie comparison essay ..read more

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 aren’t today’s focus. This article focuses on tragic heroes. Specifically, we’re going to look at the difference between your average, run-of-the-mill hero and a tragic hero. And because you’re probably here because you need to write an essay about a tragic hero, we’re going to cover that too. Without ..read more

If I asked you to tie an overhand knot, you might stumble a bit. Actually, if you’ve never been a scout, you might think it’s impossible for you to know how to tie such an obscure knot. But what if I showed you an example? It would certainly help, right? Check out the video below to learn how to tie an overhand knot. I’m pretty sure that most of you have tied this knot more than once in your lifetime. But as the video states, you simply didn’t know the official name of the knot you were tying. So. What does tying knots have to do with writing a persuasive speech? Admittedly, not much. But it ..read more

To some people, writing a formal outline for a speech is about as much fun as getting a flu shot. I get it. If you’re not a fan of outlines, it can be pretty tedious to sort out where to put an “A,” a “1,” or a “b.” The mere thought of it is enough to drive you mad. In all reality, though, outlining isn’t that bad, and it’s important to realize that there are some things in life that we just have to do—simply because they’re good for us. When you’re a student, sometimes writing a formal outline is one of those things. Even if you don’t find writing an outline that painful, there can be times w ..read more

When I was a kid, my older brother tried to convince me that I was an alien and that Mom and Dad would send me back to my own planet if I misbehaved. Older siblings can be pretty persuasive, and if you’ve ever fallen victim to this persuasion (as I may have done once or twice), you already have a good understanding of what it takes to convince an audience. How do you translate your experiences of being persuaded into being persuasive in your upcoming persuasive speech?   Here’s what you need to know to write a persuasive speech on just about anything. The Art of Persuasion Before you get start ..read more

Have you spent the afternoon surfing the ‘net and checking every social media app in existence just to avoid working on your expository essay? Are you spending more time procrastinating than you are writing? That’s okay. I can’t blame you—writing an expository essay can be frustrating. It doesn’t have to be that difficult, though. All you need is a gentle push in the right direction. That’s what I’m here for. In this post, I’ll show you how to write an expository essay outline. I’ve even included a downloadable outline template you can use to create your own outline. But Wait … What’s an Expos ..read more

Let’s say you and your pals are in the middle of an all-night cram session for a big exam when you realize you’re out of food. You volunteer to make a snack run to the convenience store, and on your way out the door, someone yells, “Grab me a bag of chips!” It’s not until you’re actually standing in the chip aisle that you realize your friend didn’t specify which type of chips she wanted. You stare for what seems like hours (okay maybe three seconds) at plain, baked, barbeque, and even some bizarre cappuccino-flavored concoction before texting her to learn that she wants a specific brand of ba ..read more