what questions to ask yourself when writing an essay

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Prewriting (Invention) General Questions

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Beyond the strategies outlined in the previous section, these questions might help you begin writing.

Explore the problem — not the topic

• Who is your reader?
• What is your purpose?
• Who are you, the writer? (What image or persona do you want to project?)

Make your goals operational

• How can you achieve your purpose?
• Can you make a plan?

Generate some ideas

• Keep writing
• Don't censor or evaluate
• Keep returning to the problem

Talk to your reader

• What questions would they ask?
• What different kinds of readers might you have?

Ask yourself questions

Journalistic questions

Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? So What?

Stasis questions

Conjecture: what are the facts? Definition: what is the meaning or nature of the issue? Quality: what is the seriousness of the issue? Policy: what should we do about the issue? For more information on the stases, please go to the OWL resource on stasis theory .

Classical topics (patterns of argument)

• How does the dictionary define ____?
• What do I mean by ____?
• What group of things does ____ belong to?
• How is ____ different from other things?
• What parts can ____ be divided into?
• Does ____ mean something now that it didn't years ago? If so, what?
• What other words mean about the same as ____?
• What are some concrete examples of ____?
• When is the meaning of ____ misunderstood?

Comparison/Contrast

• What is ____ similar to? In what ways?
• What is ____ different from? In what ways?
• ____ is superior (inferior) to what? How?
• ____ is most unlike (like) what? How?

Relationship

• What causes ____?
• What are the effects of ____?
• What is the purpose of ____? - What is the consequence of ____?
• What comes before (after) ____?
• What have I heard people say about ____?
• What are some facts of statistics about ____?
• Can I quote any proverbs, poems, or sayings about ____?
• Are there any laws about ____?

Circumstance

• Is ____ possible or impossible?
• What qualities, conditions, or circumstances make ____ possible or impossible?
• When did ____ happen previously?
• Who can do ____?
• If ____ starts, what makes it end?
• What would it take for ____ to happen now?
• What would prevent ___ from happening?

Contrastive features

• How is ____ different from things similar to it?
• How has ____ been different for me?
• How much can ____ change and still be itself?
• How is ____ changing?
• How much does ____ change from day to day?
• What are the different varieties of ____?

Distribution

• Where and when does ____ take place?
• What is the larger thing of which ___ is a part?
• What is the function of ____ in this larger thing?

Cubing (considering a subject from six points of view)

• *Describe* it (colors, shapes, sizes, etc.)
• *Compare* it (What is it similar to?)
• *Associate* it (What does it make you think of?)
• *Analyze* it (Tell how it's made)
• *Apply* it (What can you do with it? How can it be used?)
• *Argue* for or against it

Make an analogy

Choose an activity from column A to explain it by describing it in terms of an activity from column B (or vice-versa).

Rest and incubate.

(Adapted from Linda Flower's Problem-Solving Strategies for Writing, Gregory and Elizabeth Cowan's Writing, and Gordon Rohman and Albert Wlecke's Prewriting.)

Flower, Linda. Problem-Solving Strategies for Writing . Third Edition. Orders, 1989.

Neeld, Elizabeth Cowan, and Gregory Cowan. Writing . Scott, Foresman, 1986.

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7 Powerful Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Start Your Essay

Do you ever find yourself diving into writing without much planning before you start your essay?

I see this A LOT with the students I work with and a few things tend to happen:

– the writing process takes a lot longer – the writing process is more stressful – they end up having to cut loads of words that aren’t relevant – they go off on tangents and don’t answer the question – they get lower grades because of it.

I don’t want this to happen to you. Instead, follow my simple planning process before you start your essay, and you’ll find the whole process much easier AND you’ll achieve higher grades.

In this episode, I take you through a worked example essay question, and teach you the 7 simple but powerful questions you should ask yourself before you start your essay to ensure your arguments are strong, coherent, and that you actually answer the task you’ve been set.

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How to Actually START Your Essay

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36 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Writing Your Personal Statement

April 25, 2017

Phase I of Writing Your Personal Statement: 36 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Begin

In less than 650 words, you have to persuade a stranger to care about you and your application. That’s why the Common App personal statement is one of the most discussed aspects of the college application. Think about how much time you spend on homework, standardized testing, and extracurriculars. This single essay will influence admissions officers as much as these other factors. You could be the perfect applicant, but if your reader doesn’t get to know you and CARE about YOU, you won’t be admitted.

There is no formula for creating the perfect personal statement. The best personal statement topic for your friend might not work well as a topic for you. The topic that might inspire your friend to show his most unique thoughts, the challenges he’s overcome, and the maturity he has gained, might not help you reveal what’s most interesting and compelling about you.

So, how can you write the best possible personal statement for you and your application? Here are the first steps in the process.

1. Start early!

The worst thing you can do is rush the creation of your personal statement. The next two steps below might take weeks...and these occur before you even have a good first draft and can start multiple rounds of edits. You should edit your personal statement multiple times. You should get feedback from as many family members, friends, and teachers as you can.

But, before you get to this stage, you need to choose the perfect topic (and the best Common App essay prompt )  for you .

So, when is the right time to start the process of writing your personal statement ? You should start brainstorming for your personal statement as early as the spring of your junior year and as late as the summer between junior and senior year.

Why shouldn’t I start earlier? A successful personal statement relies on having a strong and mature sense of yourself. It can also rely on your understanding of what you’d like to do in college, what type of college community you’d like to be a part of, and why you care about your education. Starting too soon might mean you need to start over (see step 3) after you really do some soul-searching about college.

There is a lot of thinking and planning that happens before you start writing, so that’s why you should start early. You will complete your best work when you’re not up against a deadline and you’ll be able to start over (again, see step 3) if this is in your best interests.

2. Brainstorm

If you complete this stage of the process with care and attention, you won’t be faced with Step 3. This step in the process helps you pinpoint that perfect topic for you... which won’t be the same perfect topic for someone else.

To start the process of writing your personal statement , ask yourself the series of 36 questions below. These will help generate topics that will be important and meaningful to you. Keep a written list of possible topics you could choose.

• What’s your main academic area of interest?
• Why does this matter to you?
• When did this interest first start to matter to you? Was there a specific event that sparked your interest?
• How did your interest evolve over time?
• Did you ever face a really big challenge in continuing to learn about or study this topic?
• Was this challenge the result of your gender, race, or religion?
• Was this challenge the result of your family’s socio-economic background or the result of the culture of the place you lived?
• Would you still pursue this academic interest if you earned a very small income with your future job in this area?

Activities:

• What’s an extracurricular activity you do that’s incredibly rare?
• What’s an extracurricular activity that has shaped your personality and character?
• Why does this activity matter so much to you?
• When did this activity first start to matter to you? Was there a specific event that sparked your interest?
• How did your interest in and commitment to this activity evolve over time?
• Have you done something with this activity that no one else you know has done?
• Did you ever face a really big challenge in continuing to pursue this activity?
• Was this challenge the result of your family’s socio-economic background?
• Was this challenge the result of the culture of the place you lived?

Life-events:

• Is there something you’ve done or experienced that changed you forever in a positive way?
• How did this event make you more mature, compassionate, self-aware, determined, or strong?
• Is there a day from your life that you reflect on often? Why is this day so memorable to you?
• Are you similar to or different from your parents / siblings? What made you this way?
• When did you feel like you didn’t fit in with a group of people? What made you different than others?
• Is there something (non-academic / extracurricular) that you devote A LOT of time to? Why do you do this?
• What have you done that didn’t earn you praise, attention, or success?
• What makes you feel like your life is meaningful and important to you?
• What is one thing that you would never change about yourself or your life experiences?

Once you’ve created your list of topics, you’ll need to start narrowing them down. For each topic, ask yourself:

• Is this a topic I care about?
• Is this a topic that I’ve cared about for more than 1-2 years?
• Is this a topic I think shows something about my character and personality?
• Is this a topic that shows something impressive and / or unique about my achievements or activities?
• Is this topic memorable to me? Do I think about this fairly often in my life?
• Am I the only student in my high school class who would write about this topic?
• Does this topic show only positive things about my character, maturity, and perspective on life?
• Would I be interested in reading about this topic if someone else wrote about it?
• Could I write 10 pages about this topic (far more than you’ll need to write, of course)?

If the answer to most or all these questions is “yes!” you’ve probably landed on an ideal topic for you! And get started with writing your personal statement ! 

I talk more about choosing your personal statement topic, as well as some of the best topics and worst topics here:

3. Start over?

Have you already written your 650 words? Ask yourself: is this best possible story I could tell about myself to admissions officers? What does this story show about me? Is there anything that’s negative in this essay? Is there anything that would make me appear privileged, immature, irresponsible, unfriendly, boring, or unmotivated?

One of the best skills you can develop while writing your personal statement is not to be too attached to your writing. Good editors make BIG changes. And sometimes “big change” means starting over from scratch.

I’ll share my story as a cautionary tale. After careful planning, I wrote the first draft of my personal statement during the summer before my senior year of high school. I was really proud of it. I’d developed a (I thought) complicated and literary metaphor throughout the personal statement. I printed it off. I gave it to my dad to read. He read it through once and said, “you should start over from scratch.”

I was shocked and horrified. What about the more than 5 hours I’d spent planning and writing this essay? My dad pointed out to me the ways in which my personal statement didn’t show the most impressive things about me. It was fine. But it wasn’t unique. It wasn’t personal.

Writing your personal statement is a very strategic part of your college application. There are many "bad" topics you should avoid , there are many “good” topics you could choose, but there are a few that are “outstanding” because they bring a new, personal, thoughtful, and insightful angle to your application and your personal story. This is the personal statement you want to write! Your personal statement needs to engage your readers in less than 650 words in a way that convinces them to believe in you. Your admissions officer will need to advocate for you in order for you to be admitted. You want this person on your side.

Ask your family, friends, and teachers to read your personal statement or consider the topic you’ve selected. Do they feel like this piece of writing or this topic shows the person they know and love? Could this topic make a stranger care about you in the way that your family, friends, teachers care about and support you? This is your personal statement topic selection goal!

Tags : common app , common app essay prompts , personal statement for college , writing your personal statement , college application , applying to college , college application essay , common app personal statement , Personal Statement

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Introduction

Background on the Course

CO300 as a University Core Course

Short Description of the Course

Course Objectives

General Overview

Alternative Approaches and Assignments

(Possible) Differences between COCC150 and CO300

What CO300 Students Are Like

And You Thought...

Beginning with Critical Reading

Opportunities for Innovation

Portfolio Grading as an Option

Teaching in the computer classroom

Finally. . .

Classroom materials

Audience awareness and rhetorical contexts

Critical thinking and reading

Focusing and narrowing topics

Mid-course, group, and supplemental evaluations

More detailed explanation of Rogerian argument and Toulmin analysis

Policy statements and syllabi

Portfolio explanations, checklists, and postscripts

Presenting evidence and organizing arguments/counter-arguments

Research and documentation

Writing assignment sheets

Assignments for portfolio 1

Assignments for portfolio 2

Assignments for portfolio 3

Workshopping and workshop sheets

On workshopping generally

Workshop sheets for portfolio 1

Workshop sheets for portfolio 2

Workshop sheets for portfolio 3

Workshop sheets for general purposes

Sample materials grouped by instructor

Questions to Ask Yourself as you Revise Your Essay

COACHING + PUBLISHING

FORMATTING + DESIGN

FREELANCE COMMUNITY

Writing a Salable Personal Essay: 5 Key Questions to Ask Yourself

by Amy Paturel | Jun 3, 2015

Even if you’ve spent weeks crafting the perfect personal essay — and friends and family have declared it brilliant, compelling, powerful prose — that doesn’t mean it’s a shoo-in for publication.

On the contrary. Editors have limited space for personal essays , and often the only way to snag that real estate is to touch them with your story.

In 2005, I wrote an essay about coming to terms with my flat breasts and boyish shape. It was rejected five times , but I kept up my relentless pursuit to find a published home and before long, Health Magazine snapped it up. Since that first sale, I’ve continued to publish essays (and get paid!) in print and online pubs including Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times, Spirituality & Health, Parents and Women’s Health.

While I’d like to believe every piece I write is essay gold, the truth is, I never give up on my pursuit of a sale. And that’s more than half the battle when it comes to personal essays.

Think you have a salable piece? Here are five key questions you need to ask yourself:

1. Do I have a great story?

The experience you’re writing about doesn’t have to be life-changing, or even a huge event, but the story should involve some personal transformation. Maybe you survived a pit bull attack, received flowers from a stranger or trashed your wedding dress.

No matter what the event or experience, it should result in you seeing the world differently than you did before. If your story is something your reader may have experienced (like feeling your baby kick for the first time), you have the extra burden of saying something profound, funny or otherwise important, so you’re not revisiting old territory.

2. Is this the right time to tell my story?

If you have an essay that’s relevant to current events or an upcoming holiday, you have a better chance of making a sale.

Due to publication lag time, if you’re going to claim something is newsworthy, it should have happened within the past few weeks. On the plus side, unless you’re dealing with a newspaper, local magazine or weekly news magazine, timing may not be as critical.

If you’re looking for a sale though, it doesn’t hurt to send your essay about your relationship with your mother four to six weeks before Mother’s Day (convert weeks to months if you’re targeting a national newsstand magazine).

3. Does my story have a universal theme?

A salable essay isn’t just about you! Sure, it may start with your experience, your journal entry or memories and eventually the lesson you learned, but the essay is a way of connecting your unique experience to something your reader can relate to .

Bottom line: People don’t want to read about your uterus — or your favorite little black dress — unless it means something to them.

Ask yourself whether your story will touch readers or make them think about an issue differently. Will it motivate them to act (by calling their moms, for example), or change in some way?

Good essays aren’t just about the first time you fell in love; they’re about the first time I fell in love, too. If you can make your readers recall an event or life experience of their own, then you’re on your way to a great essay.

4. Does my story have great characters?

The best essays have identifiable characters. Readers can visualize them, hear them and feel them. They might even recognize the character as someone in their own lives.

Whether you’re painting a picture of your best friend, a lover or a giant stuffed Elmo, your essay should contain vivid characters . And vivid characters create conflict — either within themselves or with those around them — and that promotes change.

In personal essays, the character who changes and evolves is you. So in your essays, strive for conflict, both within yourself and with other characters.

5. Does my story have a clear take-home message?

Write one sentence describing your take home message. If you find that difficult, you might need to re-work your piece.

Once you know what the “take-home message” is, re-read every paragraph in your essay and ask yourself if it supports your point.

It’s tempting to throw in funny anecdotes that are related to your story but don’t apply to the bigger message or theme. Avoid the temptation. After reading your story, readers should be able to clearly state what it’s about. If they can’t, chances are you don’t have a salable piece.

Even if your story has all of these components, you might not make a sale. The truth is, essay markets are dwindling and the real estate for essays is slim.

But writing essays isn’t just about making a sale. The practice is also a journey in self-discovery. It allows you to experience your life events twice — once in reality and the second time on the page.

Think of writing essays as a cathartic exploration of yourself. They’re a form of writing therapy; a method for discovering your own truth; a way to find your true story. These are an essay’s sweetest rewards. The sale is just the frosting.

How have you sold personal essays? Share your stories in the comments!

If you’re interested in learning more tools of the essay-writing trade, sign up for Amy Paturel’s six-week online essay-writing workshop. Her next class begins June 15, 2015. Visit www.amypaturel.com/classes for details. Bonus: TWL readers get a 10-percent discount! Contact [email protected] to sign up at the discounted rate.

A strong analytical question

• speaks to a genuine dilemma presented by your sources . In other words, the question focuses on a real confusion, problem, ambiguity, or gray area, about which readers will conceivably have different reactions, opinions, or ideas.  
• yields an answer that is not obvious . If you ask, "What did this author say about this topic?” there’s nothing to explore because any reader of that text would answer that question in the same way. But if you ask, “how can we reconcile point A and point B in this text,” readers will want to see how you solve that inconsistency in your essay.  
• suggests an answer complex enough to require a whole essay's worth of discussion. If the question is too vague, it won't suggest a line of argument. The question should elicit reflection and argument rather than summary or description.  
• can be explored using the sources you have available for the assignment , rather than by generalizations or by research beyond the scope of your assignment.  

How to come up with an analytical question  

One useful starting point when you’re trying to identify an analytical question is to look for points of tension in your sources, either within one source or among sources. It can be helpful to think of those points of tension as the moments where you need to stop and think before you can move forward. Here are some examples of where you may find points of tension:

• You may read a published view that doesn’t seem convincing to you, and you may want to ask a question about what’s missing or about how the evidence might be reconsidered.  
• You may notice an inconsistency, gap, or ambiguity in the evidence, and you may want to explore how that changes your understanding of something.  
• You may identify an unexpected wrinkle that you think deserves more attention, and you may want to ask a question about it.  
• You may notice an unexpected conclusion that you think doesn’t quite add up, and you may want to ask how the authors of a source reached that conclusion.  
• You may identify a controversy that you think needs to be addressed, and you may want to ask a question about how it might be resolved.  
• You may notice a problem that you think has been ignored, and you may want to try to solve it or consider why it has been ignored.  
• You may encounter a piece of evidence that you think warrants a closer look, and you may raise questions about it.  

Once you’ve identified a point of tension and raised a question about it, you will try to answer that question in your essay. Your main idea or claim in answer to that question will be your thesis.

• "How" and "why" questions generally require more analysis than "who/ what/when/where” questions.  
• Good analytical questions can highlight patterns/connections, or contradictions/dilemmas/problems.  
• Good analytical questions establish the scope of an argument, allowing you to focus on a manageable part of a broad topic or a collection of sources.  
• Good analytical questions can also address implications or consequences of your analysis.
• picture_as_pdf Asking Analytical Questions

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11.2: Getting Ready- Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Research Essay

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• Steven D. Krause
• Eastern Michigan University

If you are coming to this chapter after working through some of the writing exercises in Part Two, “Exercises in the Process of Research,” then you are ready to dive into your research essay. By this point, you probably have done some combination of the following things:

• Thought about different kinds of evidence to support your research;
• Been to the library and the internet to gather evidence;
• Developed an annotated bibliography for your evidence;
• Written and revised a working thesis for your research;
• Critically analyzed and written about key pieces of your evidence;
• Considered the reasons for disagreeing and questioning the premise of your working thesis; and
• Categorized and evaluated your evidence.

In other words, you already have been working on your research essay through the process of research writing.

But before diving into writing a research essay, you need to take a moment to ask yourself, your colleagues, and your teacher some important questions about the nature of your project.

• What is the specific assignment?

It is crucial to consider the teacher’s directions and assignment for your research essay. The teacher’s specific directions will in large part determine what you are required to do to successfully complete your essay, just as they did with the exercises you completed in part two of this book.

If you have been given the option to choose your own research topic, the assignment for the research essay itself might be open-ended. For example:

Example \(\PageIndex{1}\):

Write a research essay about the working thesis that you have been working on with the previous writing assignments. Your essay should be about ten pages long, it should include ample evidence to support your point, and it should follow MLA style.

Some research writing assignments are more specific than this, of course. For example, here is a research writing assignment for a poetry class:

Example \(\PageIndex{2}\):

Write a seven to ten page research essay about one of the poets discussed in the last five chapters of our textbook and his or her poems. Besides your analysis and interpretation of the poems, be sure to cite scholarly research that supports your points. You should also include research on the cultural and historic contexts the poet was working within. Be sure to use MLA documentation style throughout your essay.

Obviously, you probably wouldn’t be able to write a research project about the problems of advertising prescription drugs on television in a History class that focused on the American Revolution.

• What is the main purpose of your research essay?

Has the goal of your essay been to answer specific questions based on assigned reading material and your research? Or has the purpose of your research been more open-ended and abstract, perhaps to learn more about issues and topics to share with a wider audience? In other words, is your research essay supposed to answer questions that indicate that you have learned about a set and defined subject matter (usually a subject matter which your teacher already more or less understands), or is your essay supposed to discover and discuss an issue that is potentially unknown to your audience, including your teacher.

The “demonstrating knowledge about a defined subject matter” purpose for research is quite common in academic writing. For example, a political science professor might ask students to write a research project about the Bill of Rights in order to help her students learn about the Bill of Rights and to demonstrate an understanding of these important amendments to the U.S. Constitution. But presumably, the professor already knows a fair amount the Bill of Rights, which means she is probably more concerned with finding out if you can demonstrate that you have learned and have formed an opinion about the Bill of Rights based on your research and study.

“Discovering and discussing an issue that is potentially unknown to your audience” is also a very common assignment, particularly in composition courses. As the examples included throughout The Process of Research Writing suggest, the subject matter for research essays that are designed to inform your audience about something new is almost unlimited.

Hyperlink: See Chapter 5: The Working Thesis Exercise” and the guidelines for “Working With Assigned Topics” and “Coming Up With a Topic of Your Own Idea.”

Even if all of your classmates have been researching a similar research idea, chances are your particular take on that idea has gone in a different direction. For example, you and some of your classmates might have begun your research by studying the effect on children of violence on television, either because that was a topic assigned by the teacher or because you simply shared an interest in the general topic. But as you have focused and refined this initially broad topic, you and your classmates will inevitably go into different directions, perhaps focusing on different genres (violence in cartoons versus live-action shows), on different age groups (the effect of violent television on pre-schoolers versus the effect on teen-agers), or on different conclusions about the effect of television violence in the first place (it is harmful versus there is no real effect).

• Who is the main audience for your research writing project?

Besides your teacher and your classmates, who are you trying to reach with your research? Who are you trying to convince as a result of the research you have done? What do you think is fair to assume that this audience knows or doesn’t know about the topic of your research project? Purpose and audience are obviously closely related because the reason for writing something has a lot to do with who you are writing it for, and who you are writing something for certainly has a lot to do with your purposes in writing in the first place.

In composition classes, it is usually presumed that your audience includes your teacher and your classmates. After all, one of the most important reasons you are working on this research project in the first place is to meet the requirements of this class, and your teacher and your classmates have been with you as an audience every step of the way.

Contemplating an audience beyond your peers and teachers can sometimes be difficult, but if you have worked through the exercises in Part Two of The Process of Research Writing, you probably have at least some sense of an audience beyond the confines of your class. For example, one of the purposes “Critique Exercise” in Chapter 7 is to explain to your readers why they might be interested in reading the text that you are critiquing. The goal of the “Antithesis Exercise” in Chapter 8 is to consider the position of those who would disagree with the position you are taking. So directly and indirectly, you’ve probably been thinking about your readers for a while now.

Still, it might be useful for you to try to be even more specific about your audience as you begin your research essay. Do you know any “real people” (friends, neighbors, relatives, etc.) who might be an ideal reader for your research essay? Can you at least imagine what an ideal reader might want to get out of reading your research essay?

I’m not trying to suggest that you ought to ignore your teacher and your classmates as your primary audience. But research essays, like most forms of writing, are strongest when they are intended for a more specific audience, either someone the writer knows or someone the writer can imagine. Teachers and classmates are certainly part of this audience, but trying to reach an audience of potential readers beyond the classroom and the assignment will make for a stronger essay.

• What sort of “voice” or “authority” do you think is appropriate for your research project?

Do you want to take on a personal and more casual tone in your writing, or do you want to present a less personal and less casual tone? Do you want to use first person, the “I” pronoun, or do you want to avoid it?

My students are often surprised to learn that it is perfectly acceptable in many types of research and academic writing for writers to use the first person pronoun, “I.” It is the tone I’ve taken with this textbook, and it is an approach that is very common in many fields, particularly those that tend to be grouped under the term “the humanities.

For example, consider this paragraph from Kelly Ritter’s essay “The Economics of Authorship: Online Paper Mills, Student Writers, and First-Year Composition,” which appeared in June 2005 issue of one of the leading journals in the field of composition and rhetoric, College Composition and Communication :

Example \(\PageIndex{3}\):

When considering whether, when, and how often to purchase an academic paper from an online paper-mill site, first-year composition students therefore work with two factors that I wish to investigate here in pursuit of answering the questions posed above: the negligible desire to do one’s own writing, or to be an author, with all that entails in this era of faceless authorship vis-á-vis the Internet; and the ever-shifting concept of “integrity,” or responsibility when purchasing work, particularly in the anonymous arena of online consumerism. (603, emphasis added)

Throughout her thoughtful and well-researched essay, Ritter uses first person pronouns (“I” and “my,” for example) when it is appropriate: “I think,” “I believe,” “my experiences,” etc.

This sort of use of the personal pronoun is not limited to publications in English studies. This example comes from the journal Law and Society Review (Volume 39, Issue 2, 2005), which is an interdisciplinary journal concerned with the connections between society and the law. The article is titled “Preparing to Be Colonized: Land Tenure and Legal Strategy in Nineteenth-Century Hawaii” and it was written by law professor Stuart Banner:

Example \(\PageIndex{4}\):

The story of Hawaii complicates the conventional account of colonial land tenure reform. Why did the land tenure reform movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries receive its earliest implementation in, of all places, Hawaii? Why did the Hawaiians do this to themselves? What did they hope to gain from it? This article attempts to answer these questions. At the end, I briefly suggest why the answers may shed some light on the process of colonization in other times and places, and thus why the answers may be of interest to people who are not historians of Hawaii. (275, emphasis added)

Banner uses both “I” and “my” throughout the article, again when it’s appropriate.

Even this cursory examination of the sort of writing academic writers publish in scholarly journals will demonstrate my point: academic journals routinely publish articles that make use of the first person pronoun. Writers in academic fields that tend to be called “the sciences” (chemistry, biology, physics, and so forth, but also more “soft” sciences like sociology or psychology) are more likely to avoid the personal pronoun or to refer to themselves as “the researcher,” “the author,” or something similar. But even in these fields, “I” does frequently appear.

The point is this: using “I” is not inherently wrong for your research essay or for any other type of academic essay. However, you need to be aware of your choice of first person versus third person and your role as a writer in your research project.

Generally speaking, the use of the first person “I” pronoun creates a greater closeness and informality in your text, which can create a greater sense of intimacy between the writer and the reader. This is the main reason I’ve used “I” in The Process of Research Writing: using the first person pronoun in a textbook like this lessens the distance between us (you as student/reader and me as writer), and I think it makes for easier reading of this material.

If you do decide to use a first person voice in your essay, make sure that the focus stays on your research and does not shift to you the writer. When teachers say “don’t use I,” what they are really cautioning against is the overuse of the word “I” such that the focus of the essay shifts from the research to “you” the writer. While mixing autobiography and research writing can be interesting (as I will touch on in the next chapter on alternatives to the research essay), it is not the approach you want to take in a traditional academic research essay.

The third person pronoun (and avoidance of the use of “I”) tends to have the opposite effect of the first person pronoun: it creates a sense of distance between writer and reader, and it lends a greater formality to the text. This can be useful in research writing because it tends to emphasize research and evidence in order to persuade an audience.

(I should note that much of this textbook is presented in what is called second person voice, using the “you” pronoun. Second person is very effective for writing instructions, but generally speaking, I would discourage you from taking this approach in your research project.)

In other words, “first person” and “third person” are both potentially acceptable choices, depending on the assignment, the main purpose of your assignment, and the audience you are trying to reach. Just be sure to consistent—don’t switch between third person and first person in the same essay.

• What is your working thesis and how has it changed and evolved up to this point?

If you’ve worked through some of the exercises in part two of The Process of Research Writing, you already know how important it is to have an evolving working thesis. If you haven’t read this part of the textbook, you might want to do so before getting too far along with your research project. Chapter Five, “The Working Thesis Exercise,” is an especially important chapter to read and review.

Remember: a working thesis is one that changes and evolves as you write and research. It is perfectly acceptable to change your thesis in the writing process based on your research.

Exercise 10.1

Working alone or in small groups, answer these questions about your research essay before you begin writing it:

• What is the specific research writing assignment? Do you have written instructions from the teacher for this assignment? Are there any details regarding page length, arrangement, or the amount of support evidence that you need to address? In your own words, restate the assignment for the research essay.
• What is the purpose of the research writing assignment? Is the main purpose of your research essay to address specific questions, to provide new information to your audience, or some combination of the two?
• Who is the audience for your research writing assignment? Besides your teacher and classmates, who else might be interested in reading your research essay?
• What sort of voice are you going to use in your research essay? What do you think would be more appropriate for your project, first person or third person?
• What is your working thesis? Think back to the ways you began developing your working thesis in the exercises in part two of The Process of Research Writing. In what ways has your working thesis changed?

If you are working with a small group of classmates, do each of you agree with the basic answers to these questions? Do the answers to these questions spark other questions that you have and need to have answered by your classmates and your teacher before you begin your research writing project?

Once you have some working answers to these basic questions, it’s time to start thinking about actually writing the research essay itself. For most research essay projects, you will have to consider at least most of these components in the process:

• The Formal Outline
• The Introduction
• Background Information
• Evidence to Support Your Points
• Antithetical Arguments and Answers
• The Conclusion
• Works Cited or Reference Information

The rest of this chapter explains these parts of the research essay and it concludes with an example that brings these elements together.

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• Focus and Precision: How to Write Essays that Answer the Question

About the Author Stephanie Allen read Classics and English at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, and is currently researching a PhD in Early Modern Academic Drama at the University of Fribourg.

We’ve all been there. You’ve handed in an essay and you think it’s pretty great: it shows off all your best ideas, and contains points you’re sure no one else will have thought of.

You’re not totally convinced that what you’ve written is relevant to the title you were given – but it’s inventive, original and good. In fact, it might be better than anything that would have responded to the question. But your essay isn’t met with the lavish praise you expected. When it’s tossed back onto your desk, there are huge chunks scored through with red pen, crawling with annotations like little red fire ants: ‘IRRELEVANT’; ‘A bit of a tangent!’; ‘???’; and, right next to your best, most impressive killer point: ‘Right… so?’. The grade your teacher has scrawled at the end is nowhere near what your essay deserves. In fact, it’s pretty average. And the comment at the bottom reads something like, ‘Some good ideas, but you didn’t answer the question!’.

If this has ever happened to you (and it has happened to me, a lot), you’ll know how deeply frustrating it is – and how unfair it can seem. This might just be me, but the exhausting process of researching, having ideas, planning, writing and re-reading makes me steadily more attached to the ideas I have, and the things I’ve managed to put on the page. Each time I scroll back through what I’ve written, or planned, so far, I become steadily more convinced of its brilliance. What started off as a scribbled note in the margin, something extra to think about or to pop in if it could be made to fit the argument, sometimes comes to be backbone of a whole essay – so, when a tutor tells me my inspired paragraph about Ted Hughes’s interpretation of mythology isn’t relevant to my essay on Keats, I fail to see why. Or even if I can see why, the thought of taking it out is wrenching. Who cares if it’s a bit off-topic? It should make my essay stand out, if anything! And an examiner would probably be happy not to read yet another answer that makes exactly the same points. If you recognise yourself in the above, there are two crucial things to realise. The first is that something has to change: because doing well in high school exam or coursework essays is almost totally dependent on being able to pin down and organise lots of ideas so that an examiner can see that they convincingly answer a question. And it’s a real shame to work hard on something, have good ideas, and not get the marks you deserve. Writing a top essay is a very particular and actually quite simple challenge. It’s not actually that important how original you are, how compelling your writing is, how many ideas you get down, or how beautifully you can express yourself (though of course, all these things do have their rightful place). What you’re doing, essentially, is using a limited amount of time and knowledge to really answer a question. It sounds obvious, but a good essay should have the title or question as its focus the whole way through . It should answer it ten times over – in every single paragraph, with every fact or figure. Treat your reader (whether it’s your class teacher or an external examiner) like a child who can’t do any interpretive work of their own; imagine yourself leading them through your essay by the hand, pointing out that you’ve answered the question here , and here , and here. Now, this is all very well, I imagine you objecting, and much easier said than done. But never fear! Structuring an essay that knocks a question on the head is something you can learn to do in a couple of easy steps. In the next few hundred words, I’m going to share with you what I’ve learned through endless, mindless crossings-out, rewordings, rewritings and rethinkings.

Top tips and golden rules

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been told to ‘write the question at the top of every new page’- but for some reason, that trick simply doesn’t work for me. If it doesn’t work for you either, use this three-part process to allow the question to structure your essay:

1)     Work out exactly what you’re being asked

It sounds really obvious, but lots of students have trouble answering questions because they don’t take time to figure out exactly what they’re expected to do – instead, they skim-read and then write the essay they want to write. Sussing out a question is a two-part process, and the first part is easy. It means looking at the directions the question provides as to what sort of essay you’re going to write. I call these ‘command phrases’ and will go into more detail about what they mean below. The second part involves identifying key words and phrases.

2)     Be as explicit as possible

Use forceful, persuasive language to show how the points you’ve made do answer the question. My main focus so far has been on tangential or irrelevant material – but many students lose marks even though they make great points, because they don’t quite impress how relevant those points are. Again, I’ll talk about how you can do this below.

3)     Be brutally honest with yourself about whether a point is relevant before you write it.

It doesn’t matter how impressive, original or interesting it is. It doesn’t matter if you’re panicking, and you can’t think of any points that do answer the question. If a point isn’t relevant, don’t bother with it. It’s a waste of time, and might actually work against you- if you put tangential material in an essay, your reader will struggle to follow the thread of your argument, and lose focus on your really good points.

Put it into action: Step One

Let’s imagine you’re writing an English essay about the role and importance of the three witches in Macbeth . You’re thinking about the different ways in which Shakespeare imagines and presents the witches, how they influence the action of the tragedy, and perhaps the extent to which we’re supposed to believe in them (stay with me – you don’t have to know a single thing about Shakespeare or Macbeth to understand this bit!). Now, you’ll probably have a few good ideas on this topic – and whatever essay you write, you’ll most likely use much of the same material. However, the detail of the phrasing of the question will significantly affect the way you write your essay. You would draw on similar material to address the following questions: Discuss Shakespeare’s representation of the three witches in Macbeth . How does Shakespeare figure the supernatural in Macbeth ?   To what extent are the three witches responsible for Macbeth’s tragic downfall? Evaluate the importance of the three witches in bringing about Macbeth’s ruin. Are we supposed to believe in the three witches in Macbeth ? “Within Macbeth ’s representation of the witches, there is profound ambiguity about the actual significance and power of their malevolent intervention” (Stephen Greenblatt). Discuss.   I’ve organised the examples into three groups, exemplifying the different types of questions you might have to answer in an exam. The first group are pretty open-ended: ‘discuss’- and ‘how’-questions leave you room to set the scope of the essay. You can decide what the focus should be. Beware, though – this doesn’t mean you don’t need a sturdy structure, or a clear argument, both of which should always be present in an essay. The second group are asking you to evaluate, constructing an argument that decides whether, and how far something is true. Good examples of hypotheses (which your essay would set out to prove) for these questions are:

• The witches are the most important cause of tragic action in Macbeth.
• The witches are partially, but not entirely responsible for Macbeth’s downfall, alongside Macbeth’s unbridled ambition, and that of his wife.
• We are not supposed to believe the witches: they are a product of Macbeth’s psyche, and his downfall is his own doing.
• The witches’ role in Macbeth’s downfall is deliberately unclear. Their claim to reality is shaky – finally, their ambiguity is part of an uncertain tragic universe and the great illusion of the theatre. (N.B. It’s fine to conclude that a question can’t be answered in black and white, certain terms – as long as you have a firm structure, and keep referring back to it throughout the essay).

The final question asks you to respond to a quotation. Students tend to find these sorts of questions the most difficult to answer, but once you’ve got the hang of them I think the title does most of the work for you – often implicitly providing you with a structure for your essay. The first step is breaking down the quotation into its constituent parts- the different things it says. I use brackets: ( Within Macbeth ’s representation of the witches, ) ( there is profound ambiguity ) about the ( actual significance ) ( and power ) of ( their malevolent intervention ) Examiners have a nasty habit of picking the most bewildering and terrifying-sounding quotations: but once you break them down, they’re often asking for something very simple. This quotation, for example, is asking exactly the same thing as the other questions. The trick here is making sure you respond to all the different parts. You want to make sure you discuss the following:

• Do you agree that the status of the witches’ ‘malevolent intervention’ is ambiguous?
• What is its significance?
• How powerful is it?

Step Two: Plan

Having worked out exactly what the question is asking, write out a plan (which should be very detailed in a coursework essay, but doesn’t have to be more than a few lines long in an exam context) of the material you’ll use in each paragraph. Make sure your plan contains a sentence at the end of each point about how that point will answer the question. A point from my plan for one of the topics above might look something like this:

To what extent are we supposed to believe in the three witches in Macbeth ?  Hypothesis: The witches’ role in Macbeth’s downfall is deliberately unclear. Their claim to reality is uncertain – finally, they’re part of an uncertain tragic universe and the great illusion of the theatre. Para.1: Context At the time Shakespeare wrote Macbeth , there were many examples of people being burned or drowned as witches There were also people who claimed to be able to exorcise evil demons from people who were ‘possessed’. Catholic Christianity leaves much room for the supernatural to exist This suggests that Shakespeare’s contemporary audience might, more readily than a modern one, have believed that witches were a real phenomenon and did exist.

My final sentence (highlighted in red) shows how the material discussed in the paragraph answers the question. Writing this out at the planning stage, in addition to clarifying your ideas, is a great test of whether a point is relevant: if you struggle to write the sentence, and make the connection to the question and larger argument, you might have gone off-topic.

Step Three: Paragraph beginnings and endings

The final step to making sure you pick up all the possible marks for ‘answering the question’ in an essay is ensuring that you make it explicit how your material does so. This bit relies upon getting the beginnings and endings of paragraphs just right. To reiterate what I said above, treat your reader like a child: tell them what you’re going to say; tell them how it answers the question; say it, and then tell them how you’ve answered the question. This need not feel clumsy, awkward or repetitive. The first sentence of each new paragraph or point should, without giving too much of your conclusion away, establish what you’re going to discuss, and how it answers the question. The opening sentence from the paragraph I planned above might go something like this:

Early modern political and religious contexts suggest that Shakespeare’s contemporary audience might more readily have believed in witches than his modern readers.

The sentence establishes that I’m going to discuss Jacobean religion and witch-burnings, and also what I’m going to use those contexts to show. I’d then slot in all my facts and examples in the middle of the paragraph. The final sentence (or few sentences) should be strong and decisive, making a clear connection to the question you’ve been asked:

  Contemporary suspicion that witches did exist, testified to by witch-hunts and exorcisms, is crucial to our understanding of the witches in Macbeth.  To the early modern consciousness, witches were a distinctly real and dangerous possibility – and the witches in the play would have seemed all-the-more potent and terrifying as a result.

Step Four: Practice makes perfect

The best way to get really good at making sure you always ‘answer the question’ is to write essay plans rather than whole pieces. Set aside a few hours, choose a couple of essay questions from past papers, and for each:

• Write a hypothesis
• Write a rough plan of what each paragraph will contain
• Write out the first and last sentence of each paragraph

You can get your teacher, or a friend, to look through your plans and give you feedback . If you follow this advice, fingers crossed, next time you hand in an essay, it’ll be free from red-inked comments about irrelevance, and instead showered with praise for the precision with which you handled the topic, and how intently you focused on answering the question. It can seem depressing when your perfect question is just a minor tangent from the question you were actually asked, but trust me – high praise and good marks are all found in answering the question in front of you, not the one you would have liked to see. Teachers do choose the questions they set you with some care, after all; chances are the question you were set is the more illuminating and rewarding one as well.

Image credits: banner ; Keats ; Macbeth ; James I ; witches .

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• Educational Assessment

Good Questions for Better Essay Prompts (and Papers)

• April 8, 2020
• Jessica McCaughey

Most professors would admit that they’ve found themselves frustrated when grading papers. Yes, sometimes those frustrations might stem from students ignoring your clear, strategic, and explicit instructions, but more often, I’d argue, “bad” papers are a result of how and what we’re asking of students, and how well we really understand our goals for them. Further, we often struggle to strike a balance between providing too much information and too little, and placing ourselves in a novice’s shoes is difficult. In an effort to combat these challenges, I present a series of questions to ask yourself as you begin developing or revising prompts.

1. What do you want your students to learn or demonstrate through this writing assignment? Is an essay the best way reach these goals? If so, do they understand those learning goals? Assigning an essay is, for many instructors, our go-to. But paper writing isn’t always the best assessment tool. Think hard about what it is you’re hoping for your students to take away from an assignment. Are there other, better forms the assignment might take? And if the answer is a resounding, “This paper is the right venue!” you should consider whether you are explicitly conveying to your students why you’re asking them to do certain work. Transparency benefits them tremendously. Transparent assignment design—being explicit about how and why you are facilitating their learning in the ways that you are—helps all students, but it particularly helps those students who may not have the experience, networks, or models in college that other students have, such as first-generation college students, minorities, or students with disabilities. Whether in class discussion or in the written prompt itself, strive to follow these transparent assignment design principles .       2. Who is the audience (real or imagined) for the assignment, and what is the purpose of the text? For most writing assignments, the “audience” is, of course, the instructor, and students strive to meet that instructor’s expectations, even if they’re guessing about what this instructor knows, wants, and expects.Even assignments as specific as “Write a letter to the Editor on X topic” beg for more detail. (Is this for my hometown paper or the New York Times ? Those letters will of course read very differently.) And when it comes to purpose or goals, while it might seem obvious to you what the purpose of this paper is, it might not be to your students. Work to be as explicit as possible as you can in what you’d like them to achieve in their paper. You might use language such as, “In this paper you are writing to an audience of scholars in X field, who are/are not familiar with your topic,” or “Your overarching purpose in this paper is to persuade your reader towards a specific, implementable solution to the problem at hand, and support your argument with scholarship in the field.”

3. Do you want to read their papers? This question may seem silly, but it’s not. In every field, professors have the capacity to set students up for authentic, engaging assignments. If you don’t feel excited to read the paper, you can likely imagine how difficult it will be for students to engage in the much more substantial process of writing it. So, consider retooling the assignment into something you look forward to spending time reading. Might you consider new genres, audiences, or purposes for their writing? Develop a traditional essay into a problem-solving task ?

4. What does good writing look like in your field? How can you convey this to students? We all know what good writing looks like in our fields, but students sometimes don’t even understand that writing forms, expectations, and conventions vary from discipline to discipline. Whether we like it or not, and whether we think we have time for it or not, it is our job to teach students about texts in our specific disciplines. Maybe that includes offering them annotated sample papers. Maybe this happens over a series of beginning-of-class conversations as they’re drafting. Maybe it’s showing them some of your own work or looking closely at the writing in a flagship journal. Regardless of how you do it, be sure that a part of the writing process for your students includes exposure and at least an introductory understanding to what “good” writing is to you and your field.

5. Are your grading criteria clear—and thoughtful and reasonable? We know that clear grading criteria—whether in the form of a rubric or a narrative—is key to student writer success, but it’s not as simple as assignment weights to columns such as “Grammar” and “Thesis.” In order to think deeply about how we’re grading, we also have to interrogate what assumptions we have about our student writers? What do we think they already know? Why do we think this? What do we prioritize in an essay, and more importantly, why is that the priority? Do our priorities align with our learning goals for students? These answers to these questions too should be transparent to students as they embark on your writing assignments.

6. What support and structure are you able to provide? Traci Gardner’s Designing Writing Assignments illustrates that the kinds of prompts that allow students to write strong papers share certain characteristics, and among the most important is providing support, both materially and in their process (35). How are you going to facilitate the writing that you want to see your students develop and showcase it in your prompt? Can the assignment be broken down into smaller, scaffolded steps? Or, if you want the students to practice managing projects and figure this out themselves, how can you serve as a guide as they work through time and resource management in order to do so? As scholars, we are not expected to create excellent work without feedback, and we shouldn’t expect it of our students either. We’re not only teaching content and, as noted above, what writing looks like in our discipline, but we’re also working to instill a writing process. Before assigning a paper, be clear about how you’ll build in steps, support, and this process of feedback and revision into your assignment.

7. Does it make sense for this particular assignment and your particular class to include a reflective element? Research shows that metacognition and reflection aid in the transfer of knowledge and skills , so building in some way for students to reflect on the writing and learning they’ve done through your assignment is a valuable way to help them take that knowledge forward, into other classrooms and, later, the workplace. 8. How can you go through the writing process yourself to create the most productive possible prompt? Ask for feedback from colleagues—or your students! There’s no shame in showing students a prompt and revising it based on their questions, perceptions, and, after the semester ends to benefit your next class, their writing.

Bio: Jessica McCaughey is an assistant professor in the University Writing Program at  George Washington University , where she teaches academic and professional writing. In this role, Professor McCaughey has developed a growing professional writing program consisting of workshops, assessment, and coaching that helps organizations improve the quality of their employees’ professional and technical writing. In 2016, she was nominated for the Columbian College’s Robert W. Kenny Prize for Innovation in Teaching of Introductory Courses, and in 2017, she won the Conference on College Composition and Communication’s Emergent Researcher Award.

References:

Elon Statement on Writing Transfer. (29 July 2013). Retrieved from http://www.elon.edu/ e-web/academics/teaching/ers/writing_transfer/statement.xhtml  

Gardner, Traci. (2008).  Designing Writing Assignments . National Council of Teachers of English.  https://wac.colostate.edu/books/gardner/  

• Jessica McCaughey is an assistant professor in the University Writing Program at George Washington University, where she teaches academic and professional writing. In this role, Professor McCaughey has developed a growing professional writing program consisting of workshops, assessment, and coaching that helps organizations improve the quality of their employees’ professional and technical writing. In 2016, she was nominated for the Columbian College’s Robert W. Kenny Prize for Innovation in Teaching of Introductory Courses, and in 2017, she won the Conference on College Composition and Communication’s Emergent Researcher Award.

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19.2 Getting Ready: Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Research Essay

If you are coming to this chapter after working through some of the earlier chapters in this book, then you are ready to dive into your research essay. By this point, you probably have done some combination of the following things:

• Thought about different kinds of evidence to support your research;
• Been to the library and/or the internet to gather evidence;
• Developed an annotated bibliography for your evidence;
• Written and revised a working thesis for your research;
• Critically analyzed and written about key pieces of your evidence;
• Considered the reasons for disagreeing with and/or questioning the premise of your working thesis;
• Categorized and evaluated your evidence.

In other words, you already have been working on your research essay through the process of researched writing.

But before diving into writing a research essay, you need to take a moment to ask yourself, your peers, and your teacher some important questions about the nature of your project.

What is the specific assignment?

It is crucial to consider the teacher’s directions and assignment for your research essay. The teacher’s specific directions will in large part determine what you are required to do to successfully complete your essay. They may specify how many sources you need to consult, how your essay should be organized, and how long it should be. The directions may even determine your topic. If you have been given the option to choose your own research topic, the assignment for the research essay itself might be open-ended. Alternatively, your instructor may have assigned you a topic to write about.

What is the main purpose of your research essay?

Has the goal of your essay been to answer specific questions based on assigned reading material and your research? Or has the purpose of your research been more open-ended and abstract, perhaps to learn more about issues and topics to share with a wider audience? In other words, is your research essay supposed to answer questions that indicate that you have learned about specific subject matter (usually a topic that your teacher already more or less understands), or is your essay supposed to discover and discuss an issue that is potentially unknown to your audience, including your teacher?

The “demonstrating knowledge about a specific topic” purpose for research is quite common in academic writing. For example, a political science professor might ask students to write a research project about the Bill of Rights in order to help her students learn about the Bill of Rights and to demonstrate an understanding of these important amendments to the U.S. Constitution. But presumably, the professor already knows a fair amount the Bill of Rights, which means she is probably more concerned with finding out if you can demonstrate that you have learned and have formed an opinion about the Bill of Rights based on your research and study.

“Discovering and discussing an issue that is potentially unknown to your audience” is also a very common assignment, particularly in composition courses. As the examples included throughout this chapter   suggest, the subject matter for research essays that are designed to inform your audience about something new is almost unlimited.

How do you select a topic?

If your instructor allows you free choice of topics, the choices can be almost overwhelming. How do you narrow the task to something that interests you, is manageable, and that has enough sources in the library or online to sustain an engaging argument? The best place to start looking for a research project topic is to examine your own interests, passions, and hobbies. What topics, events, people, or natural phenomena, or stories interest, concern you, or make you passionate? What have you always wanted to find out more about or explore in more depth?

To narrow the focus of your topic, you may try freewriting exercises, such as mindmapping or brainstorming. As the example below suggests, you can create a map with both images and text, which are related to branches centered on the main focus, “time management.” Based on this kind of mindmap, you have to narrow down or choose specific parts of your ideas instead of including all the ideas and topics that you had during the mindmapping process. You simultaneously want to ask a question–a broad, open-ended question that will guide your research. It is not necessary to propose a possible answer or working thesis at this stage, but you can speculate about a kind of argument that you can build through research. You may use your research question and working thesis to create a research proposal. For this part of writing, see “ Identifying Issues for Research .”

Looking into the storehouse of your knowledge and life experiences will allow you to choose a topic for your research project in which you are genuinely interested and in which you will be willing to invest plenty of time, effort, and enthusiasm. Simultaneously with being interesting and important to you, your research topic should, of course, interest your readers. As you have learned from the chapter on rhetoric, writers always write with a purpose and for a specific audience.

Therefore, whatever topic you choose and whatever argument you will build about it through research should provoke a response in your readers. And while almost any topic can be treated in an original and interesting way, simply choosing the topic that interests you, the writer, is not, in itself, a guarantee of success of your research project.

Here is some advice on how to select a promising topic for your next research project. As you think about possible topics for your paper, remember that writing is a conversation between you and your readers. Whatever subject you choose to explore and write about has to be something that is interesting and important to them as well as to you.

When selecting topics for research, consider the following factors:

• Your existing knowledge about the topic
• What else you need or want to find out about the topic
• What questions about the topic (or what aspects of it) are important not only for you but for others around you
• Resources (libraries, internet access, primary research sources, and so on) available to you in order to conduct a high quality investigation of your topic.

Read about and “around” various topics that interest you. As we argue later on in this chapter, reading is a powerful invention tool capable of teasing out subjects, questions, and ideas which would not have come to mind otherwise. Reading also allows you to find out what questions, problems, and ideas are circulating among your potential readers, thus enabling you to better and more quickly enter the conversation with those readers through research and writing.

If you have an idea of the topic or issue you want to study, try asking the following questions

• Why do I care about this topic?
• What do I already know or believe about this topic?
• How did I receive my knowledge or beliefs (personal experiences, stories of others, reading, and so on)?
• What do I want to find out about this topic?
• Who else cares about or is affected by this topic? In what ways and why?
• What do I know about the kinds of things that my potential readers might want to learn about it?
• Where do my interests about the topic intersect with my readers’ potential interests, and where they do not?
• Which topic or topics have the most potential to interest not only you, the writer, but also your readers?

Let’s practice how to select a topic and how to narrow down a scope for a research paper within a reasonable timeline. Suppose that, in one first-year seminar on Sociology, you are assigned to write a research-based argumentative essay on social media and privacy.

• Start a free writing or draw a mindmap in relation to the two key terms: social media and privacy. What words come to your mind? How would you relate them to the key terms or to one another? What questions do you have? Write and/or draw them down.
• Examine your initial thoughts. What part of your free writing or mindmap particularly attracts your attention and why? As if you have a magnifying glass, let’s zoom in that part. What specific topics do you like to have under the umbrella of social media and privacy? What would you argue about them?
• List what kinds of information and studies you may need to delve into these topics for an argument.
• Consider where you can find them including campus and local libraries, databases, and other digitally open sources.
• Assume that you have two weeks to complete a five-page research essay. Then, how would you plan a research and writing schedule to meet the deadline? By considering the steps above, make a timeline for the project.
• Compare your timeline with those of your classmates, and exchange each other’s rationales of timelines. Why do they look alike or different? How are the timelines realistic or ideal? After the discussion, if you’d like to revise your schedule for the research and writing, what compels you to reconsider the initial plan?

Continue Reading: 19.3 Planning Your Research

Composition for Commodores Copyright © 2023 by Mollie Chambers; Karin Hooks; Donna Hunt; Kim Karshner; Josh Kesterson; Geoff Polk; Amy Scott-Douglass; Justin Sevenker; Jewon Woo; and other LCCC Faculty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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The Personal Statement: Questions to Ask Before Writing

Written by Lisa Bleich.

As we meet with our clients to brainstorm for their personal statements (or college essays), it reminds us how much we enjoy delving into the depths of our clients and helping them think about how best to tell their story.  We are always amazed by their unique experiences and how they approach their lives differently depending on their interests or background.

However, it is also the most challenging part of the application process for most students.  Up until now the bulk of their writing has been in the form of a non-fiction, analytical essay about a book they read or a history paper.  Many struggle with what they should write about because they don’t know exactly what they want to communicate.  And for those 17 year olds who know what they want to write about, very few know how to tell it in a compelling, interesting way.  The personal statement must not only be compelling and interesting, but it should also convey the writer’s voice and personality in approximately 650 words.

I was reading a Forbes interview with Ryan Blair about how he became such a successful entrepreneur and it made me think how his story had all of the elements of a great personal statement. 

So what are some keys questions to ask yourself before you sit down to write to get at your own unique story?

What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses? Most people have something to overcome, something that makes them different from their peers.  How did you grapple with a weakness or accommodate for a weakness with your strengths?  The specifics of a story are what make for an interesting essay. Blair shows how he identified his strengths and weaknesses and used them to his advantage. He describes how what he learned in jail made him a successful businessman.  After reading this description, we care less about the fact that he was in jail and more about his business acumen.

What Are Your Key Themes?   Everyone has certain themes that run through his or her life.  Whether it’s that you enjoy working with kids, that you never quite fit in with your peers, or that you seek and enjoy challenge in academics and athletics.  Think about themes that cross over into various parts of your life and find a way to illustrate that theme through a particular story or series of events.  In Blair’s instance it was his ability to take risks and own his past mistakes.

What Is Your Inciting Incident?   In the literary world, every story has an inciting incident.  This is the incident that sets the story in motion.  So think about your own life and identify if there is one event that caused you to think about yourself or the world differently.  It could be suffering an injury that prevented you from playing sports, almost losing your first job because you forgot to tell your boss you wouldn’t be in, or something as seemingly mundane as watching a program on television that sparked your interest.  The key is to show the reader how and why this event impacted you.  In the Blair example, he had two inciting incidents, the first was a guidance counselor who told him had no real future and the second was his time in jail.  Each one impacted him to take risks and prove that he could be successful.

What Do You Want to Communicate? Once you determine your topic, think about what you want the admissions person to say about you after he or she has read your application.  It should tie back to your strengths and weaknesses.  The personal statement is the opportunity to go beyond what is listed in your application and learn more about you.  What drives you?  What makes you tick?  Why do you think the way to do?  What anecdote will best communicate how you approach the world?  Blair believes passionately in fighting instincts and the willingness and ability to change and adapt to any environment as the key to success.  He illustrates this by describing anecdotes about playing Connect Four before hiring employees and (not) writing a business plan.

Good luck writing your story.  We welcome suggestions for writing the personal statement from those in the trenches!

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How to ask a question in an essay (with tips and examples)

An essay question is designed to test your understanding of a given subject. It is typically framed as a statement, or series of statements, that require you to answer with an essay-length response. The purpose of asking questions in an essay is to explore ideas, concepts, and topics in greater depth, enabling you to demonstrate your knowledge and critical thinking skills.

Essay questions are often composed of several parts. The introduction sets the stage, giving the reader an overview of what’s to come. The body of the question will typically contain the main points you need to discuss in your response. Finally, the conclusion will ask for your overall thoughts on the topic and provide you with a final chance to drive home the overall argument of your essay .

Sometimes an essay question can be divided into two or more sections, each containing a separate, but related, set of instructions. This type of question requires you to break down the topic into chunks, focusing on one element at a time before connecting them together in a cohesive way.

Essay questions are a great way to show off your understanding of the material, so make sure to read the question carefully and provide thoughtful, comprehensive answers. Think about the key concepts and relationships that are being addressed and focus on the underlying message or point of the question. Doing so will ensure that you are providing the best possible answer to the essay question.

Asking the right questions can be a major factor in writing a successful essay . The goal is to craft questions that are both thoughtful and direct – questions that will help you uncover and explore the key ideas within the essay topic. Here are some tips on how to ask questions in an essay:

Focus on the Big Picture

When crafting questions, it’s important to keep the big picture in mind. Start by thinking broadly about the topic and narrowing it down to a specific question. Ask yourself, “what overall insight can I gain from this topic?” or “what relevance does this topic have to the present world?”

Use Open-ended Questions

Open-ended questions allow for more creative exploration of the topic than closed-ended questions. An open-ended question is one that requires the reader to think critically and offer more than a single answer, while closed-ended questions are ones where the reader sees only one possible answer. Examples of open-ended questions include: “What are the most important considerations to make when exploring this topic?” and “How could this topic impact future generations?”

Be Mindful of the Structure

Questions should have a clear structure and logical flow. When crafting questions, make sure that each subsequent question builds upon and expands upon the previous ones. This helps to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the topic.

Think Critically

Asking critical questions encourages deeper thinking and analysis. Questions that require the reader to reflect on the implications or consequences of their answers are especially effective. Examples of critical questions include: “What are the ethical implications of this topic?” and “How can this topic be used to better the world?”

Incorporate Problem-solving Questions

Problem-solving questions are those that challenge the reader to consider an issue from multiple points of view and to develop an appropriate solution. In addition to being interesting and thought-provoking, these types of questions also allow the reader to apply their own knowledge and skills towards solving the issue. Examples of problem-solving questions include: “What steps can be taken to reduce environmental damage?” and “What legal policies should be instituted to prevent discrimination based on gender or race?”

By following these tips, you can ensure that your questions are well-crafted and thoughtfully constructed. Asking the right questions will enable you to uncover important insights and make your essay a success!

Tip 1: Read the Prompt Carefully and Analyze Keywords

Understanding the essay prompt is key to coming up with questions that are relevant and meaningful. You should begin by carefully reading the prompt and evaluating any keywords or topics to consider. This will help you to stay focused on the task at hand and ensure that your questions address the relevant points.

It is a good idea to make a list of all the keywords in the prompt and then come up with a few questions for each keyword. This will help you to tailor your questions to the specific points of the essay and ensure that you don’t miss any important details. Additionally, make sure to focus on the main topic and try to avoid getting sidetracked by tangential topics.

Finally, it is important to remember that the essay question should be clear and concise, so you need to make sure that your questions provide an effective way to explore the topic in depth. Avoid asking too many questions that are overly general or provide little insight into the subject matter.

Tip 2: Brainstorm Ideas

Brainstorming is an important step in the essay writing process. It involves generating ideas and topics related to the essay prompt or topic. Brainstorming can help you come up with a range of possible questions related to the essay prompt, as well as the many ways those questions could be addressed.

First and foremost, it’s important to carefully read the essay prompt and analyze any keywords or key topics within the prompt. Then, think of broader topics that may relate to the prompt. For example, if the prompt is about the history of the civil rights movement in the United States, consider what specific events, people, or legislation could be included in an essay about this topic.

It can also be helpful to generate ideas related to the prompt by doing research online or by consulting additional texts. This way, you can find new facts, data, or examples that can be used when forming questions and developing arguments for your essay. Additionally, conducting research and familiarizing yourself with other essays on the same topic can help you gain a better understanding of vocabulary and sentence structure related to the prompt.

Finally, brainstorming can involve coming up with multiple questions from a single prompt. This means exploring different angles on the same topic and creating questions that can be answered in various ways. For instance, if the prompt is asking you to write an essay on the effect of the civil rights movement on public education, consider how this topic can be approached and what unique points you can make using evidence and facts.

Seeking Feedback to Ask Engaging Questions

When you are writing an essay , it is easy to get stuck on coming up with the right questions. Seeking feedback from peers or editors can be a great help in this process. Having someone else read your work can help identify areas that need improvement or need more thought. It also gives you the opportunity to get outside perspectives and develop new ideas for asking questions.

Having feedback from others can help you answer questions more effectively. It can also help you see your own essay from a different angle, helping you to come up with more engaging questions. Sometimes, even just talking about the essay idea to someone else can provide insight into the topic and help you come up with new and interesting questions.

When seeking feedback, it’s important to explain your goal: to come up with engaging questions. That way, the person reviewing your work can offer more help in that area. Additionally, it can be helpful to share any research you’ve already done, sources you’ve consulted, or any reading material you’ve found that could support your ideas.

To get the most out of feedback, it’s important to ask questions that will help you better develop your ideas. You might want to ask questions such as “What other questions could I ask to explore this topic further?” or “Are there any other points I could make to support my ideas?” Asking these types of questions will help you get the most out of the feedback and gain valuable insight into the topic.

Seeking feedback from peers and/or editors is a great way to improve your essay and come up with engaging questions. By leveraging feedback from others who are familiar with the essay topic , you can gain valuable insight, identify potential gaps in your understanding, and develop better questions. Ultimately, seeking feedback can help you write a better essay and ask questions more effectively.

Tip 4: Ask Clarifying Questions

Asking clarifying questions about the essay prompt or topic can be extremely helpful when trying to select the right question. It is important to focus on the key elements of the essay and try to understand the overall message or purpose being conveyed in the prompt. This can help guide you in finding the best question to ask in order to get the most out of your essay.

What Are Clarifying Questions?

Clarifying questions are questions that are used to help better understand a given topic or prompt. They are asked to gain a clear, concise understanding of what is being asked in the essay. For example, if the prompt for an essay was “Describe the changes that occurred in the economy during the Industrial Revolution”, a clarifying question might be “Which countries are being referenced when discussing economic changes during the Industrial Revolution?”.

How Can Asking Clarifying Questions Help?

Asking clarifying questions can help you hone in on the right question to ask in your essay. It can also help to provide context which can make it easier to craft an effective essay. Crafting the right questions before starting the actual writing of the essay can give you an advantage over other students who may not have put in the same time and effort to think through their essay topics.

Tips for Asking Clarifying Questions

When asking clarifying questions there are a few tips to keep in mind to make sure you get the necessary information from the prompt:

• Be precise – use precise language that is easy to understand and doesn’t leave room for interpretation.
• Ask why – don’t just ask what, but also ask why the prompt is asking what it is.
• Be specific – make sure the questions you are asking directly relate to the essay prompt.

Asking clarifying questions can help you develop a deeper understanding of the essay topic and ensure that you are crafting the best question for your essay. Taking the time to ask clarifying questions will be well worth the effort as it can help you construct an engaging and effective essay.

Tip 5: Be Specific

Writing effective questions for an essay requires some thought and consideration. Asking the right question can mean getting the most comprehensive answer or uncovering significant detail. For this reason, it’s important to be specific and avoid vague descriptions when writing your questions.

The difference between a specific and a general question can be seen in the wording and detail provided. A specific question will ask for detail, analysis, and examples, while a general question will provide broad statements or multiple choice answers.

For example, let’s say you are writing an essay about the Revolutionary War. A specific question might be, “What role did African Americans play during the Revolutionary War?” This question requires more detailed research and thinking as it is specific. A general question such as, “Who fought in the Revolutionary War?” is much too broad and does not require any further thought on the matter.

When writing your question, consider what information you need to answer the prompt. A good rule of thumb is to write out a sentence that contains the main idea or point of the question and then break it down into two or three parts. Each part should ask for more detail or analysis. For instance, a more detailed question than the one above could be, “What contributions did African Americans make to the Revolutionary War effort, and how did this influence the outcome of the war?”

In addition, be sure to avoid creating questions that have no real answer. Your questions should always be able to be answered with evidence and/or research. For example, avoid questions like “Do you think the Revolutionary War was good or bad?” as there is no clear answer or evidence to back up either side.

By taking the time to create specific questions for your essay, you are ensuring that you are asking the right questions and getting the most out of the research and thought process. Being specific will also help focus your research and answer the essay prompt more efficiently.

Overall, when writing questions for an essay, you must be sure to create specific questions that ask for detailed answers and provide evidence to back them up. Avoid general questions and questions that can’t be answered with evidence or research. With practice and careful consideration, you will be well on your way to creating specific and effective essay questions.

Tip 6: Avoid Vague Descriptions

When asking questions in an essay, it’s important to avoid making statements that are too vague. Vague descriptions can easily lead to confusion and may cause the reader to misinterpret the intention of the question.

By avoiding vague descriptions, you can ensure that your essay is clear and concise. This will also make it easier for readers to understand the message that you are trying to convey.

Vague descriptions generally contain words or phrases that have unclear meaning. These may include words such as “many”, “some” or “most”, as well as phrases like “it varies”. It’s important to avoid these types of words and phrases when asking a question in an essay .

In some cases, you may need to use a vague description. In these cases, it’s important to provide additional context so that the reader can interpret the intention of the question. You can do this by providing specific examples or additional details about the topic.

For example, if you wanted to ask how technology has changed our lives, you could provide an example of a specific type of technology and ask how it has impacted our lives. This would provide clarity on the exact question that you are asking and make it easier for the reader to understand.

Overall, avoiding vague descriptions is essential when asking questions in an essay. This will help ensure that your questions are clear, concise and easy to understand. Additionally, provide additional context and examples if you do need to use a vague description. This will make it easier for readers to interpret the message of the question and understand the point that you are trying to make.

Examples of Good Questions to Ask in an Essay

Asking the right question can make all the difference when writing an essay. A good question will do more than just state a fact—it will help you to explore an idea, argue a point, or provide insight. That’s why it’s important to understand what makes a good question.

When asking a question in an essay, it should be direct, pointed and relevant to the topic. Here are few examples of good questions to ask in an essay:

• What is the historical context of this issue?
• How does this argument fit into current debates on the topic?
• What are the implications of this argument for future research?
• What do other scholars have to say about this issue?

When using example-based questions, it’s important to make sure that the example is relevant to the subject and that the question being asked isn’t too broad or difficult to answer. Here are some examples of good example-based questions:

• How did John F. Kennedy’s speech on civil rights inform current policy debates?
• What impact did the invention of the printing press have on the spread of literacy?
• What role did the French Revolution play in the development of modern democracy?
• What are the implications of the Eurozone crisis for economic growth in Europe?

These types of questions encourage deeper exploration of a topic and can help you to develop a more nuanced argument. Remember to always focus on asking relevant questions that are directly related to the essay prompt.

Conclusion:

Writing an essay is a great way to answer questions, express your opinion, and tell a story. It’s important to make sure you ask the right questions in your essay. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself what you are trying to get out of this essay. Will it help you prove a point? Explain something? Move the reader’s understanding along? If you can answer these questions, you’ll be better prepared to pick the best questions for your essay.

Here are some key takeaway points to remember when asking questions in an essay:

• Read the prompt carefully and analyze keywords.
• Brainstorm ideas and develop multiple questions from one prompt.
• Seek feedback from peers and/or editors to refine your thoughts.
• Ask clarifying questions to help guide your question selection.
• Be specific when asking questions.
• Avoid vague descriptions.

By following these tips, you’ll be able to easily identify the right questions to ask in any essay. Asking the right questions will help you get clear answers and move the conversation forward. This will ultimately help you write a better essay that expresses your thoughts more effectively.

Making sure you reference the sources of information that you use in your essay is important for acknowledging the work of others and also for avoiding plagiarism. Including references in your essay can help to support your arguments, add credibility and make your writing more compelling.

When writing an essay, it is important to look for outside sources of information or data that backs up your argument, but always make sure to cite them properly. You should include a list of references at the end of your essay, providing details such as the authors’ names, the year the source was published, and the title of the source.

When formatting your reference list, check with your teacher or professor to find out if there is a preferred style, such as MLA or APA. The format may vary depending on the type of sources you used. For example, books require different information than online sources.

• For books: author name(s), title, edition number, publisher name, place of publication, date of publication.
• For articles: author name(s), title of article, name of magazine or journal, volume and issue number, page numbers, date of publication.
• For websites: author name(s) (if available), title of page/article, website name, web address, date of publication or last update.

It is good practice to cross-check your reference list with the in-text citations that you have used throughout your essay. Make sure the two match up. If you have any doubt about whether something should be referenced, it’s best to include it. It is also important to keep track of all information used in your research, so you can easily create a comprehensive list of references.

• Last Edit 01 MAY 2023

Nick Radlinsky

Nick Radlinsky is a devoted educator, marketing specialist, and management expert with more than 15 years of experience in the education sector. After obtaining his business degree in 2016, Nick embarked on a quest to achieve his PhD, driven by his commitment to enhancing education for students worldwide. His vast experience, starting in 2008, has established him as a reputable authority in the field.

Nick's article, featured in Routledge's " Entrepreneurship in Central and Eastern Europe: Development through Internationalization ," highlights his sharp insights and unwavering dedication to advancing the educational landscape. Inspired by his personal motto, "Make education better," Nick's mission is to streamline students' lives and foster efficient learning. His inventive ideas and leadership have contributed to the transformation of numerous educational experiences, distinguishing him as a true innovator in his field.

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Questions to Ask When Writing an Essay

Most teachers do not make use of a very important aspect of writing essays and papers. And that aspect is that the student should ask him/herself questions as a pre-writing preparation. Asking these questions will ultimately result in a better piece of writing. So, here are questions you should ask yourself as you get ready to write any essay or paper.

You may have a general topic area, but within that topic area, you will need to select a smaller sub-topic for your essay or paper. Here is what you need to ask yourself:

• What sub-topic will interest me the most? Check through your text and lecture notes for topic ideas, and pick one in which you have good interest. Writing an essay or paper on a topic you don’t like is like getting a root canal – painful, very painful!
• Is there enough information on the topic to fulfill the length requirement? If you need an 8-page paper on the Civil War, the Battle of Antietam will probably not cut it. Before you finalize your topic, check out what’s available for resource information.

Thesis Statement

Every essay or paper has to have a thesis statement. So, here is what you need to ask as you formulate that statement:

• Why is it important for the reader to know this?
• What is the main point I am trying to make?
• What is my opinion about these topics?

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There may be a large number of potential resources to use, but they are not all created equal. By the time you are in college, you can dump the idea of using encyclopedias of any kind. They are not appropriate for the type of research expected of you. So, here are your questions?

• Is the author of this book or journal article considered an expert on this topic?
• Can I find and use primary resources on this topic?
• If I have to use only secondary resources, are these the most current and relevant?

Choose your resources wisely – your professor will expect them to be of high quality.

Organizing Your Information

Before you make an outline for writing, ask yourself the following:

• Should the information or data be organized sequentially?
• In what order should the points I make be given? Most important to least important, or the other way around?

After the Rough Draft is Finished

You know you are not going to turn in the first draft of whatever you write. You have to review it and fix your errors – structural and grammatical. So, as you read through that draft, ask yourself the following:

• Do I have a logical flow of the points I am making?
• Do I have good transitional sentences between paragraphs and, for longer works, sections?
• Have I varied the length of my sentences?
• Does my introduction begin with something that will capture the reader’s attention right away?
• Have I stated my thesis in the introduction and made it very clear?
• Have I used spell and grammar checkers to catch errors?

Asking the right questions gets you to a “better place” in your writing and, ultimately, a better grade. If you have any concerns about your topic, resources, or the quality of your writing, send it over to some good  custom writing services like EssaySupply.com for a full review and edit. It will be returned to you polished and ready to go

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20 important questions to consider when writing an essay

1. who is your audience.

Every writer should consider their audience when writing. However, when writing for your own blog or website, it is important to understand who you are writing for.

Your audience may be an individual, a specific group, or a larger group. Your writing should be based on what they are looking for and what they are seeking out. For example, if you are writing a blog post about how to lose weight, you may be targeting people interested in losing weight.

However, you may also be targeting people who are interested in writing, as you may be writing on the topic of losing weight and writing at the same time.

Every writer should always consider their audience, as you want to provide them with the best material possible.

2. What is the purpose of your paper?

I’ve seen some pretty funny responses to this question, but you’ll get a better grade if you provide the instructor with a purpose statement that’s clear, concise, and logical. In other words, give your instructor an answer they can understand.

You could simply say that you’re writing a persuasive essay in order to convince readers to adopt your viewpoint. If you’re writing a research paper, you could say that you’re providing evidence to support a claim, or that you’re trying to answer a specific question. If you’re writing a memoir or a novel, you could say that you’re telling a story or creating characters that readers can relate to.

As long as your purpose statement is clear and logical, you’ll get points for providing the instructor with a response that they can understand and relate to.

3. What is the main argument or point you are trying to make?

The question of “What is the main argument or point you are trying to make?” is one of the most popular questions from an editor, reviewer, and reader. It’s also one of the most difficult to answer. When writing an essay, article, or book, we tell ourselves that we want to write about X. We believe that X is the problem, and we’re the hero who has discovered the solution. Then, we get stuck when we start writing and realize that the solution we’re presenting isn’t actually a solution at all. We have no idea how to fix X! Then, we panic, and we start to think that maybe X isn’t the problem after all. We think maybe we’ve misunderstood the problem or misdiagnosed it. This is why the question of “What is the main argument or point you are trying to make?” is so difficult to answer. Because we’re moving the goalposts as we write. We discover new problems and new solutions as we write, so the answer to the question changes over time.

For example, let’s say I write a book about how to manage your email. I tell myself that the main argument is that you can’t manage your email if you have to check it all the time. So, I need to show readers how to batch their email so that they can leave it for blocks of time. Then, I start writing, and I discover that many people have multiple email addresses, so they can check one address for personal and one for work. So, I need to teach people how to manage multiple accounts. Then, I discover that people use Gmail, Outlook, and other types of email, so I need to explain how to manage all of these different types. Then, I discover that some people don’t want to give up their email access because they rely on it for work. So, I need to explain how to set a boundary between work and personal email. The goalposts keep moving, and the main argument changes as I write.

The lesson is that you don’t need to know exactly what your main argument is before you start writing. Because you’re likely to discover things along the way. The important thing is to start writing and see where the story takes you. Use writing to clarify your thinking.

4. What evidence or examples will you use to support your argument?

When you’re writing an argumentative essay, you must use evidence to back up your argument. That evidence can take the form of statistics, examples, or expert opinion. The key is to make sure that your reader understands exactly why your argument is valid and true. Evidence is the key to making that connection with your reader, so be sure to use it!

For example, let’s say you’re writing an argumentative essay about why college athletes should be paid. You might use statistics to show how much money the university is making off of these athletes, and how little these athletes are getting for all of their hard work and effort. You could also use examples of other college athletes who were paid and how their performance improved as a result. Or, you could use expert opinion, with quotes from college athletic directors and coaches who support paying college athletes. All of these examples are forms of evidence, and they all help to make your argument stronger and more persuasive.

5. How well do you know the subject matter?

No matter what you’re writing about, whether it’s a book or a blog post, you should always do your research beforehand. When it comes to writing engaging content, it’s important to look beyond just Wikipedia and use other sources as well. Using multiple sources not only makes your writing more credible, but it also helps you find new information that you might not have known about otherwise.

For example, say you’re writing a blog post about “how to declutter your home.” If you just used Wikipedia as your only source, you would only know information related to the topic of decluttering. But if you used multiple sources and looked at related topics like “how to organize your home,” you would learn about different ways to organize your home and different tools that can help you do so.

6. What are the counterarguments or opposing view points?

To write an effective counter-argument, you must first understand the opposing viewpoint’s main points and how it differs from your argument. Next, you must address the main points of the opposing argument in a logical, factual manner, and support your counterargument with more evidence or facts. Finally, you must wrap up your counterargument in a way that segues into your original argument.

When writing a counterargument, it is important to remember that your writing should address the opposing argument directly, and not just be a list of arguments that you like better. Your counterargument should address the opposing argument’s main points, not just the points that are easy for you to refute.

7. How will you refute them?

This is a question that requires you to think about your opponent and what they’re saying. If you can refute their argument, you’ll be able to support your own and win the argument. Even if you don’t, knowing what the other person is saying can help you prepare for the conversation. If you know what they’re saying, you can prepare counter-arguments or ask more questions to help you understand their perspective more. So, try to think about what the other person is saying, and what you can say to refute that. Then, you can use that to help you in your own argument!

8. What is your thesis statement?

Always be open to suggestions and feedback. I have been a freelancer writer for over 15 years and have never once written an article that did not have to be revised at least once. I have learned over the years that when approaching the writing of a thesis statement that consensus is key. When you are writing a thesis statement, you are opening up your thoughts and ideas to be critiqued by your editors and by your readers.

When you begin your writing process, make sure that your editors know what your thesis statement is and what your thoughts are on the topic at hand. You may be surprised to see that your editors see things from a different perspective than you, and when they do, they are trying to bring the best version of your work out, and by including them in the writing process, you are opening yourself up to their feedback and ideas, which in turn, makes for a better thesis statement and overall piece of writing.

9. Is it clear and concise?

Read your content out loud. This will help you determine if your content is clear and concise. When you read your content, you want it to flow easily. Your writing should sound natural and not forced. If you can’t read it out loud without stumbling over your words, it’s not clear and concise. Make sure your content is easy to understand and doesn’t have a lot of unnecessary words or phrases. If you can’t read it out loud without stumbling over your words, it’s not clear and concise.

10. Does it accurately reflect the main points of your paper?

Readers want to know that your argument is logical and organized. Do you jump around too much, or not enough? Do you use subheadings and transitions effectively, or do you rely too much on paragraph breaks? Think about how you used your space to create a clear argument and then make sure that your paper actually accomplishes that.

The easiest way to check this is by comparing your word count to your actual paper. If you have 2,500 words but you feel like you said a lot more, you might need to add more subheadings or add more information to a few of your existing ones. If you have too many words and not enough headings, you may need to split some of your longer paragraphs or remove a few altogether.

11. Have you chosen the right words to convey your ideas?

Writing is a process, and you should never think that what you have written is perfect and complete because you will always find ways to improve it. You will learn new words, better ways to say things, and more effective ways to explain topics. Even if you already feel satisfied with your writing, keep working and improving because there is always something else to learn.

Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you don’t know what word to use, ask someone else. If you want feedback on your writing, ask someone else. If you are confused about something, ask someone else. There is no such thing as asking too many questions.

12. Are your sentences clear and free of errors?

The best way to make sure your writing is clear and free of errors is to read it out loud. When you read it out loud it helps you to focus on the rhythm and flow of your writing. Reading it out loud also helps you to catch spelling and grammatical errors because you’re more focused on what you’re reading.

Also, reading your writing out loud helps you to make sure that you’re using the right words to convey your message. Sometimes when you’re just reading your writing silently, it can be easy to miss mistakes or not be as clear with your message. By reading it out loud you have a better chance of making sure that your writing is clear and free of errors.

13. Is your paper well-organized?

A well-organized paper must have a clear beginning and end. A paper’s beginning should set the context of the paper. The middle should address the main argument and the end should tie up any loose ends and provide the paper with a final conclusion that supports the main argument. The paper is organized to help the reader follow the argument and understand the paper’s thesis.

A well-organized paper should have a clear and logical structure. A paper’s introduction should do more than just state the topic of the paper. It should provide context, set the tone, and make a clear argument for the paper’s thesis. The body should address the main argument, include relevant evidence, and support the argument with a logical progression. Finally, the conclusion should restate the main argument, restate the paper’s thesis, and provide a sense of closure for the reader.

14. Does it flow smoothly from one point to the next?

Flow is important to a good essay, but not at the expense of a unique voice. If you’re trying to go back and add transitions, you may be tempted to add transitions that are too similar to your original writing. This can sound unna##tural and draw the reader out of your essay. Instead, focus on what makes your voice unique and how you can better use it to guide your reader through your arguments.

Remember that your essay is a reflection of your thoughts and ideas, not just a reflection of your ability to follow a format or write in a certain style. If you’re having trouble making your essay flow, take a step back and make sure that you haven’t lost your voice in the process.

15. Are your transitions effective?

This is a tough question. One way to answer it is to show the piece in progress to a few people and get their feedback. You can loop them in over a few rounds of edits, with the last round being the one you show to the questioner. Most people I know are happy to give feedback on something they’re reading if they know it’s a work in progress.

But you can also consider the question on your own. What are some things you do to move smoothly from one idea to the next? That’s a good start. Ask yourself, as you read your own piece, if you’re confused by the transitions. If so, what might you do to make them clearer?

16. Have you included an introduction and conclusion?

Since these sections usually carry the most weight in a writing assignment, it’s important that writers are able to make these sections meaningful and engaging. The introduction should set up the topic and the conclusion should summarize the topic with a call to action. For example, if the topic was about how to travel in style, the introduction would be about the importance of traveling and what it means to travel in style. The conclusion would be about the tips of traveling in style and how one can do so.

Including an introduction and conclusion is crucial because these sections help the reader understand and remember the topic. If the introduction and conclusion are not well written, then the entire body of work could fall apart.

17. Do they accurately preview and summarize the main points of your paper?

The reviewer should be able to get a good grasp of your paper’s important points, so this is a good place to start. Your introduction and conclusion are likely the most important parts of your paper and should be written with that in mind, so this is a great place to start the preview and summary process. The reviewer should be able to understand the purpose of your paper, why it is important, and where it fits in the current literature. Start there and work your way through your paper in a way that gives the reviewer a comprehensive overview of your work.

18. Have you proofread your paper for grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors?

Grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors do not have to be a cause for concern, especially if you have a solid understanding of the English language. If you have any experience as a writer, it is likely that you have proofread your own work. This is because you understand the language and grammar rules. You know what mistakes to look for and how to correct them. When asked this question, it is important to point out your experience as a writer and your understanding of the English language. This will help your employer to see that you are the perfect candidate for the job.

19. Have you cited all of your sources?

If you’re writing a college research paper, you’ll be required to cite your sources. As a writer, you should be aware of the different citation styles and choose the one that’s best suited to your needs. Do your research on which style is most commonly used in your field. By doing this you’ll be able to save time and effort by following a format that’s already been used effectively by others in your niche.

There are several different citation styles to choose from, including the Chicago Manual of Style, the American Psychological Association (APA), the Modern Language Association (MLA), and the American Medical Association (AMA). The best way to learn which style is most appropriate for your writing is to ask your professor or do some research online.

20. Have you checked for plagiarism ?

This is a difficult question for every writer who wants to get their work published in reputable journals and magazines. There is little doubt that these days it is much easier to search for an article’s text somewhere on the internet, rather than write it from scratch.

This is why it is important to convince the editor that your work is unique and that you have not copied it from anywhere else. It is essential to provide evidence that you have carried out a thorough, independent research, conducted interviews with experts and participants, and used your own analytical skills. In addition, it is advisable to write about your personal experience of researching the topic or producing this kind of work in the past, in order to convince the editor that you are an experienced writer.

About Rephrasely

Getting your wording just right.

Paraphrasing is a natural part of the writing process as it helps you clarify your thinking and suit your words to your audience. Using a Rephrasely helps structure and streamline this work, and our paraphrase tool offers 20 modes, many of them free, for accomplishing just this. The 20 modes we offer are diverse, including a summarize tool, a free grammar checker, a mode to simplify text, and a sentence shortener. There are sentence rephrasers and paraphrase rephrase tools, and we pride ourselves on having both, since our reword generator accounts for context at both the sentence and paragraph levels.

When you google paraphrase you will get a variety of results, from a free Rephrasely , to an article spinner, to a general phrase tool, and it can be hard to determine which of these rephrase tools will best help you complete your work. If you simply need to get a word rephrase, that is, reword only small elements within the sentence, many tools will suffice, but there is the risk that you end up with a tool that does not consider context and produces very awkward and ungrammatical sentences. Rephrasing is very much an art, and we’ve built our paraphrase bot to produce the most correct results in 20 modes in over 100 languages, making it the best paraphrasing tool at an exceptionally low cost. So whether you need to paraphrase deutsch, paraphrase greek, or paraphrase bahasa melayu, the next time you think, I need something to paraphrase this for me, you’ll know where to turn.

From keywords to paragraphs

Generating paragraphs with unique ideas can be challenging, and too often writers get stuck at this stage of the writing process. With our paragraph tool, you can enter keywords and let our AI generate paragraphs for you, so that you can have something to work with, refine the output, and become more engaged in your writing.

A paragraph generator creates links between your ideas, such that the output is sensible, unique, and stimulating, very close to what you would expect a thoughtful human paragraph writer to produce.

Paragraph makers are nice, but what about a short story generator? Because our AI is generalized, it serves a story generator, an essay generator, a poem generator, and much more. To generate compelling stories, you should provide the story generator with useful keywords from which it can develop plot elements, including characters, setting details, and any situational information. To generate reasonably good essays, you should likewise provide the essay maker with details around argumentative positions and any other pertinent ideas. If you more specifically want an introduction paragraph generator or conclusion paragraph generator, you can provide starter text and keywords that will best enable our essay creator to produce them.

You may well ask, “is this essay generator free?” Everything on this site is free within a 3-day trial, so you can test and develop confidence in our products. You may also be wondering where this is an essay automatic writer or if it will take a while to get results. All results appear within a matter of seconds, so you can move through your work as quickly as possible.

You may have professional needs for creating paragraphs as well, such as those needed for cover letter. Most of the time a cover letter template includes information that is not relevant to you; by using your own keywords, we can produce cover letter examples that are relevant to your use case and often require very little editing. By using this service, you can also learn how to write a cover letter and achieve the cover letter format you need.

Plagiarism checker free

Like everything else on our site, you can check plagiarism free within a trial, which is a great opportunity for those who want to check a paper for plagiarism without committing to paying before they see results. This free plagiarism checker is great for students and clearly indicates how to check for plagiarism by highlighting areas of similarity between the two texts. Just to be sure you are not accidentally plagiarizing, be sure to check all of your paraphrases as well.

The 5 Best Questions About Writing to Get You Into the “Write” Mindset

by Joe Bunting | 35 comments

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Do you have questions about writing? Maybe you wonder, “How do I make a living as a writer?” or, “How do I write a bestselling book?”

I hear questions like this all the time, but if I'm honest, there are  good  questions about writing and there are bad ones, and the two questions above are the second type.

Which of course raises the question, what are the best questions to ask about your own writing? If you want to go from an aspiring writer to published author and maybe even best-seller, what should you be asking?

In this article, I'm going to share a list of questions aspiring writers should ask themselves if they want to accomplish their writing goals.

The Power of Questions

I first decided that I wanted to become a writer when I was seventeen years old.

I was in my room reading A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens for high school, and for some reason the main character (and supporting cast) and the story touched me so deeply that—for a moment—I felt connected.

It was one of the first books that made me feel not alone.

You see, like many kids, I was bullied in school, and it had the effect of silencing me. I didn't trust people, and I had very few friends. But for some reason, reading that book at that time, it was as if Charles Dickens had reached through 120 years of history and spoken directly to me.

In that moment, that question people always ask when you're growing up popped into my head: “What do you want to be when you grow up?

Somewhat naively, I thought, “Maybe I should do this? Maybe I should be a writer.”

Because wouldn’t it be amazing to inspire this feeling in others?

To reach through words and pages and connect with a reader so they knew they also weren't alone, that there is one person, at least, who feels like they do?

In other words, I wanted to become a writer so I could connect to others.

And by asking myself great questions—specifically these five essential questions about writing—I started to overcome writer's block and hold onto my reason to not only write, but finish my book.

And all the ones after that.

5 Good Questions for Writers

There are five questions that have been most transformative for me in my writing, and I believe they're important for you, too. Ask yourself:

1. Why do you write?

George Orwell, in an essay about why we write , said this:

[We write out of] sheer egoism. Desire to seem clever, to be talked about, to be remembered after death, to get your own back on the grown-ups who snubbed you in childhood, etc., etc. It is humbug to pretend this is not a motive, and a strong one…. Serious writers, I should say, are on the whole more vain and self-centered than journalists, though less interested in money.

In other words, Orwell says we write to be admired.

But honestly, I think George Orwell was wrong. Fame, admiration, self-centered vanity aren't really what we're looking for.

We write to connect to others. Writers or not.

The truth is, being known, being loved, is so much better than being admired. Being loved gives us a chance for a personal experience that changes lives.

Just look at what Amanda Palmer said :

For most of human history, artists have been part of the community. Connectors and openers, not untouchable stars. Celebrity is about a lot of people loving you from a distance. But the internet—and the content we’re freely able to share on it—is about taking it back. It’s about a few people loving you up close, and about those people being enough.

Ask yourself, “Why do you write?”

Why do you really write? Is it about fame? Vanity? Celebrity? Or is it deeper than that?

Do you write to connect?

Good writing comes from writers who pour words onto the page with their heart.

And while asking published writers craft questions like, “How did you choose your point of view?” and “How much world building do you do before writing your story?” are great interview questions to ask for writing advice, they won't necessarily give you the momentum you need to write through the tough times.

Resistance will come.

All writers experience hardship at one point or another. But when you ask the right questions, the ones that empower your writer's mindset, you will find the reason to write through the difficult parts.

And then, you'll finish your book.

2. How do you change people?

I think it's great to make money at writing. I think it's important to get paid for your work.

However, the question, “How do I make a living writing?” is the wrong question (and type of question) to ask yourself.

Instead, ask yourself how you CHANGE people with your writing. How can you change people with your stories?

Because if you can inspire transformation in readers, they will pay whatever you ask for your book.

3. What can you write that no one else can?

If you can write something unique, something different from anything else in the market, something that people also like, your fans will buy everything and anything you ask.

While there are no original stories, it's always important for writers to put their own creative twist on stories that have already been done—and that have proven their impact on readers.

If you're interviewing a writer, this could be a cool question to ask: “What have you written that no other writer could write?”

What makes your writing unique? Why can nobody else write this book?

It's also an important question to ask yourself before you write your own book.

4. How do you connect your emotions to your story?

“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader,” said Robert Frost.

How do you get so deep into your characters (or else choose characters similar to you and your story) so that you can summon the emotional depth necessary to tell an entertaining and transformative story?

What this mean is how can a reader live vicariously through the main character's journey that they, like the protagonist, change after reading the book?

While plots drive the external parts of a story, the internal arcs of characters are what communicate theme. And these messages are what readers carry with them after they're done reading, and likely try to apply to their own mindsets about life.

Don't underestimate the emotional influence you can have on readers. In fact, prioritize it.

5. How can you live a story as interesting as the ones on the page?

Look at the writers you most admire. See how they took risks with their lives?

Ernest Hemingway, Mary Shelley, John Steinbeck, Virginia Woolf—they all lived lives as interesting as the ones they wrote about. Part of their marketing (their platform you might say) was based on how they lived , not just how they wrote.

The best writing comes from experience.

And so, your biggest asset as a writer comes from your experiences.

How are you going to create experiences that help you be a better writer? How will this help you connect with multiple readers, instead of one particular type of person?

What Questions Do You Bring to Your Writing?

Here are some questions I've heard from other writers:

• Why do I struggle at the end?
• What if no one connects with my art?
• What if I try to write one story and it becomes something else?
• What do I do with my fear?
• What if I’ve outgrown my story?
• Does rewriting always make your story better?

All of these are questions about writing worthy of your time and attention. However, if you want to become a writer—one with the motivation to make a career as an author—consider the five questions in this post.

These are the questions that will change your writing mindset first.

How about you? What questions are you bring to your writing? Let me know in the comments .

Pick one person you would like your writing to connect with.

Then, write something just for him or her.

Write for fifteen minutes . When you're finished, share your practice in the Pro Workshop here . And if you share, please be sure to give feedback on a few practices by your fellow writers.

Not a member? Join us here .

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

35 Comments

Hey Joe 🙂 I’m back! not sure for how long but at least for this post. I’ve been struggling for a long time and quite recently with my writing. Everyone seems to be pushing it down and inserting their opinions as fact and I’m starting to get lost in it. I might do this whenever you have a post to try to pull myself out. I hope I can keep up with my writing. Here’s my practice and thanks for the wonderful post.

It’s not easy to be a dreamer. To have so much light and imagination in your being that people notice, and shun you for it. It’s not easy to stand out from the crowd of different or flawed. It’s not easy to be different. But different is the only thing that the world needs so much but lacks greatly. Few dreamers share their dreams with the world and bend to conformity. Each instance of this is a dreadful loss, we lose something, something important.

I know it’s hard to be bullied and told to conform. The words will stick forever, growing stronger with age. “You’re not good enough, why try? You can’t win, you don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re not a professional, why would anyone listen to your voice, your message?”

Don’t listen to the voices inside your head. You’re so much better then they portray you. Keep going, don’t stop. We need your gift and your message. Without it the world won’t survive. Keep reading keep dreaming, don’t listen to what others say you are. Follow your heart, dream like there is no tomorrow, sing as if no one is watching. Dream on, dream on, we need your light.

I agree: it’s not about money. It’s about a compulsion to connect. But you’ve nailed my questions: 1) What do I do with my fear?–certainly not what I’m doing now, editing the life out of my finished manuscript. 2) Does rewriting make my manuscript better? I’m beginning to doubt it. I think rewriting is a fear of submission. Even though it has already won a contest, and they are waiting for my final draft.

I think writers write for different reasons. I find the strongest reason I write is to escape into my stories. I love to create. There is something amazing about becoming lost in your novel, watching a world unfold at your fingertips.

I think connection is really fulfilling after I write. The connections I make with people and their interest in my writing drives me to complete my stories and to edit them.

When I’m truly lost in my story and my characters, their emotions become evident. Its amazing to take the adventures along with my characters, to not only see, write, but also feel their emotions.

If I ever make money at this hobby I love, it will be completely incidental.

Most people want to be in the arts assuming they value the arts. So we try to be in one of the major three, painting, music or writing. Soon enough we realize that physically or mentally we are not fit to be musicians or painters or writers and we eliminate those that for some reason turn out only to be fantasies.

For me to be a painter was something that I thought I can do and I would be able to do if I put effort into it, and I went in it wholeheartedly trying to learn it the best I can and do it as much as I can even though I spent most of my adult years in something else, the sciences. But I , also, always had the urge to write but writing does not come easy as painting does. So if you ask me why I want even to try to do it, my answer is simply why not if it gives me self-fulfillment one way or another. Because writing does not come easy for me I do not do it everyday even though I wished I were able to, reason being the difficulty and frustration that I always face when I try to write.

For me Music is out of the question for many reason and I have tried dabbling in it but gave it up. Of the other two I wished writing was as easy for me as painting is, it would have been my first choice.

Just because writing doesn’t come easy doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t do it. Every time I write I struggle. It doesn’t come easy to many writers. Writing is hard work, and you have to work at it. Most writers don’t have the words flowing effortlessly off their pens or off their fingertips on to the keyboard. They must work at it. If that’s what you want to do keep at it.

Elizabeth, you are correct, any activity that is worthwhile is never easy. I think what it all amounts to is self-fulfillment more so than a money-making proposition whether it is in painting or writing. Most artists have to depend on another income, painters rarely make a living off their artwork. They work for less than a dollar an hour selling their work, and I cannot imagine a writer or a poet is able to make a living off their writing unless they are so well known and consistently in demand that the publisher pays them lump sum in advance for any work they produce. What is important is that we do this first for ourselves. Yes, if our work is appreciated and gives others enjoyment and makes their life richer then that is a wonderful accomplishment even if it is not through monetary gains. But the way I look at it to call myself a writer I need to produce work consistently and it needs to be in a quality that I am satisfied with as the artist or the writer. For me the urge to write is so strong that I keep on trying with the hope that it will become much easier through hard work and in time. But, regardless it is worth the effort.

Why not combine writing and painting? I’m not very experienced in either yet, but I know that my strengths lie in visual storytelling. I’ve always wanted to be an author as a kid, but my imagination is better at conjuring images than words. So I tell stories through pictures. Try doing comics, or writing for animation. That way your experience in visual art will help you transition to writing as well.

Thanks Miko for your suggestion. I do write a monthly newsletter that deals with art subjects. It is actually a blog rather than a newsletter but I call it a newsletter on my website, because it goes only to subscribers. A blog, as I understand it, anyone can read.

The first book in which I became thoroughly engrossed was, ‘Of Human Bondage’, by Somerset Maugham. I was in the story and it was in me and; I was moved for all time by compassion and a strong sense of injustice. From that time onwards I have wanted to write, to put into words what moves humanity and find and record the lives of characters; and what moves, connects and relates difference. I am never sure of what I am writing and how a reader will read and take it to themselves. I am not frightened to write but I am frightened of being misunderstood or failing to relate the awe and wonder of human stories: the astonishment and sheer magic of what we are – the human condition of joy and sorrow, pain and death. So, having written that, I don’t know if it makes any sense at all or that where I am coming from will be rubbished. That’s what I fear. (164)

I think you are so on point Joe, especially about why we write. Orwell was definitely wrong. Your story about reading a Tale of Two cities and feeling relieve because of finally you Dickens understood something you were hungering for, something you wanted to hear, that’s where the power of writing is. In the connections.

Thank you, for making it so explicit because now we can easily tap into this internal motivation. I’ve had one great poetry teacher that told me, “whenever you write, address it to someone, whether it’s Rilke or your father.” The takeaway: as we write, the clarity of who we want to connect with is so important. Or the writing will suffer from a lack of personality, clarity and purpose.

Hi, Joe, here is my 15 minute Practice written for the person I’m thinking of:

Marie could look back over her life and see in all clarity how she became a member of the middle classes. It wasn’t her background, she was classed as Traditional Working Class. It wasn’t her money because what she had ever had she couldn’t hang on to. It wasn’t her education either. Marie never passed a scholarship or earned a diploma or a degree. She wasn’t very attractive or well-groomed: in fact she was rather plain and not a little bit peculiar looking. Yet she was personable, articulate and had a great sense of humour and seemed, on the front of it, quite creative.

Marie was just the sort of person the Church needed and it nearly killed her. She moved from pew to ministry training, to ordination and to being the vicar of seven parishes. Then she became lost in the class gaps. Marie never fitted; couldn’t keep up, felt socially excluded by the middle class, university culture and wealth of the national church. These days she keeps in touch, but only just. She spends her time whittling wood or drinking wine in the local pub and talks frequently to anyone who will listen about the socialisation of the Christian Church. (202)

Oooo, this is a fascinating character. I like this piece as a third-person narrator giving background, but it doesn’t feel like the story got started. The good thing is, this lays out an interesting story I’d like to read more of. And if Marie is in anyway related to the person you’re thinking of, I’m sure they’d find a character like this refreshing.

Marie is no relation of the person I’m thinking of, Ariel. But it is because of the kind of person I’m thinking of: middle class, wealthy, educationally and socially well-connected, that Marie finds herself alienated, (like so many others of her class), whittling wood and drinking wine in pubs. Marie simply doesn’t fit. The Church has almost lost a priest. That is Marie’s story thus far.

Ohh I see. That honestly makes it even more intriguing.

I posed this question to myself yesterday and I realized what the problem was – I cant ( and dont from past experiences) cant writ when I am happy in a relationship. Right now I am happy. When I am unhappy I can write what I want to happen. So if I want to continue writing and I do, I need to find another way to write or another style instead of love stories. Thats my new challenge.

Hi Debra. Someone once told me that for him living and writing were counterparts. When he is unhappy he writes happy storries and whan he is happy he is able to write unhappy storries. I wish you all the best and that your happy relationship opens a the door to a new dimension of writing.

Thanks Ingo I am exploring other ways to create from nothing, we’ll see what happens

To my childish heart I know that you are scared. You think you can never do it on your own. And there is nobody who can explain to how to do it. Don’t be scared. At least you found Socrates. You discovered that you are a bit like him. Asking people strange questions. Make them feel uncomfortable. Wondering about them self. He made you wonder about yourself and question yourself, what you know. But that was ok. It was more than that. It felt great. Oida ouk eidos – I know that I know nothing. These words solaced you. To know nothing was nothing to be ashamed of. On the contrary. It was fundamental. It was the first step on your journey to the truth.

Just a simple ‘thank you’, Ingo …

When I was a little girl, I would make little books out of “post it” notes and staple them together. I would have a title and “Scribble” the interior as the words. It looked so cute from what I remember. That was my 1st book. I think I have improved and have grown so much from that time……

That’s really cute! I think the whole process of kids discovering the writer in themselves is always a gem. I have fond memories myself–my “diaries” were more stories than anything else

Many thanks for your post, Joe. I write because I love it and because I would like to share my stories. I honestly admit that years back, I wanted to write for fun and money, but not for money any more. Writing is my favourite passtime. It takes my mind off every day problems and allows me to share my character’s lives. When writing, I also wish to satisfy myself by creating ‘good’ content, with choice words, descriptions, and a flowing, interesting text. To achieve this I’m constantly learning from posts on The Write Practice and dipping into manuals like The Elements of Style. Editing more than once, certainly improves my story as does re-reading it after a week or two. ! wish I could write like you, Joe, or like Hemmingway, Bronte, Steinbeck and many modern writers, too.

I haven’t done the exercise you sugggested, but will do.

The Writer and The Critic

“I am going to write a novel. I am going to write several pages a day until it is done. I will nurture my creative side with fun outings and buy pretty pens and pretty journals.” “Shut the hell up, you dumb red-head before I pimp slap you into hell.” The critic said. He pulled up a gold throne and took his place in my writing space. He smelled like crack smoke and looked like Don King mixed with Mr. T. I wrote some days and some days I procrastinated. The critic lit a smelly pipe and blew smoke in my face all day, every day. “I am writing. You should go away.” I begged, tears welling up in my brown eyes. “Bitch, I am here to stay. Turn up that reggae. I like that shit.” “Get the hell outta here, you fat pig mutha….. I hate you and what you stand for. I am going to write no matter what. It is my destiny. I am a red-headed bitch that is gonna write mutha…..and I don’t give a…..” I screamed at the obese black devil man. “I will go for awhile but I will return. It is a struggle and will always be a struggle. But one thing I hate is a woman who yells at me with confidence. I can’t handle a confident woman.” The critic whined then hauled ass. Poof, he was gone but the smell lingered. I sprayed with Glade then typed a few pages. I felt like a million bucks.

This was surprisingly moving! Part of me wants to suggest you rewrite it a couple of times, but a bigger part of me likes the “unfinished” quality of this piece.

I will not rewrite it. It is a true declaration of what my critic is like. He is a hatefilled stank mofo who I have to regulate daily. And he is capable of hitting and biting.

I have never been the kind of guy who was into reading or writing but then one day, when I hit the rock bottom of my life, I just got an idea for a story. An idea which didn’t let me sleep for countless nights till I bled it out. Given the fact that the idea was largely influenced by my experiences in personal life, I decided to name the story ‘Upset’. The word ‘upset’ has two meanings, one which means the state of anxiety, anger, guilt, etc. which summarises most of my life and the other, is an unexpected outcome of a fight which is how I hope my story ends. I am writing this story for all those people who have caused me pain, for the those boys who held me by my collar and pushed me into a wall, for those teachers who thought that I could never achieve anything in life and for those girls who rejected me for whatever reason. And don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to explain my pain to them, I am trying to hurt them back. I am not seeking to build a connection but to severe the connection between me and all of them. Writing about the helpless situations that I found myself in and the mistakes that I made on my own accord gives me a mild feeling of immoral satisfaction. I just simply do not seek anything more glorious than that from my writing.

Ironically, after reading this a dear friend asked about my trip to see BABYMETAL in Chicago last month. This is what I wrote:

BABYMETAL Live at Chicago’s House of Blues

As you know, I had been looking forward to the concert for a long time – nearly six months! The morning of the show, I woke to Doki Doki Morning.

I saw my wife off to work and our daughter off to school. I had had breakfast, shaved, and wore the outfit I had put together during my months-long wait. The outfit included the kitsune (fox) necklace I had made. The fox is BABYMETAL’s symbol.

I hopped into our new Chevy Trax, clicked OnStar and asked them to download directions to my vehicle. I listened to BABYMETAL the whole way, but I didn’t drive to the House of Blues. No way I was going to drive in “the city” on a night that was supposed to be fun! Instead, I drove to the Metra train station in Morton Grove, Illinois. I arrived and paid for my parking. Two bucks covered 24 hours, and I knew I’d be back long before then. It was about 10 a.m. I had a brief wait for the train and boarded. I didn’t get any weird looks from people, probably because I was pretty close to Chicago at that point, and there are all kinds of interesting-looking people there.

There was a Cubs game that day. (I think it was opening day, actually.) Several people on the train wore their Chicago Cubs gear, and there were even some children whose parents had pulled them out of school for the game. That made me feel good. More people at the ball game meant fewer people at the concert. Not that it would have mattered, as I found out.

Most of the passengers deboarded at Wrigley Field (home of the Cubs). I rode on. Oh, and my train ride only cost me five bucks. I wasn’t on a tight budget, and I was doing exceptionally well!

I arrived at Union Station. I pulled out my smart phone and opened the navigation app. (We live in the future!) I tapped in House of Blues and was easily guided through the streets of Chicago. Since I didn’t know where the House of Blues was, I figured I’d find it first, then pick out a nearby place to have some lunch. Very near Union Station, I passed by Al’s, a restaurant known for its Italian beef sandwiches. I wasn’t sure I wanted to walk all the way back to Al’s, but I made a mental note of it.

Before I even arrived, I saw the huge letters standing out from the side of the building declaring “House of Blues.” My heart leapt! I was nearly there!

As I approached I saw people standing outside. Not many, but some. The House of Blues was across the street from me, but looking I could see one person in a skeleton hoodie, and some others with various BABYMETAL T-shirts. Since I had no one with me, I figured I should cross the street and introduce myself. Maybe I could find a friend.

I passed the House of Blues so I could cross at the corner. Walking back toward the venue, I saw another group of people. There were more of them than in the first group I had seen. They were waiting in a roped-off queue. These were obviously the people with VIP tickets. I did not have a VIP ticket. VIP tickets cost an extra $200 and supposedly get the purchaser closer to the stage. (Because of the way the House of Blues is set up, this turned out not to be the case, making VIP tickets essentially worthless.) The purchaser does not get to meet BABYMETAL or the Kami Band (the band which plays behind the trio. Kami is a pun: Kami means “gods,” and in English the band is referred to as “The Gods of Metal.” But kami also means “hair.” Thus, the trio is backed by a hair band. Har har!). They do not get a photo of the girls (autographed or otherwise). They don’t even get a T-shirt. I wasn’t going to pay $200 just to get closer to the stage.

When I came to the first group I had spotted (three people at this point), I said, “I think I’ve found friends” and flashed a kitsune (“fox,” but also the name of the handsign BABYMETAL invented. It is a modified “devil’s horns” sign seen at other metal concerts.).

“You have,” a young woman said, and for a moment I thought she was going to take my hand. She didn’t, but she was most inviting. Introductions were made. There was Jay, an Asian man of about my age, Alex, a young man with kinky brown hair, and the young woman, Ruby. Alex immediately took over the conversation. He was very excited. He had seen BABYMETAL live before, and was certain we were in for a treat. He was an enthusiastic metalhead, and insisted BABYMETAL is very much a metal band (something which is hotly debated online). Soon enough two other people joined us. One was Mike, Ruby’s boyfriend (husband? Her “man?”). The other was Dylan, a 19-year-old from Wisconsin! Alex immediately began telling them how much they were going to enjoy the concert and how metal the band is.

“I’m not into metal,” Dylan said. “At all.” It took a moment for us to realize he was serious. It turns out Dylan enjoys electronic music. He loves the novelty of BABYMETAL, including their music. But comparisons to Metallica or Iron Maiden don’t impress him. That was when I realized what I had read about BABYMETAL fans was true: They come from all different backgrounds, and have a wide variety of tastes.

Dylan, as I’ve said, came from Wisconsin, but the Northern end of the state, almost in Minnesota. Ironically, BABYMETAL would be performing just a few miles from his home the very next day. But he had come to Chicago to see them because they would be performing at a festival, whereas they were the sole act at the House of Blues.

Mike and Ruby had come from Texas. They explained they were spending the weekend in Chicago, mostly so they could tell their friends back home that they went to Chicago for a vacation and not just to see BABYMETAL. They actually had few plans for what they would do for the rest of the weekend.

Another person joined our group, another Asian man. Jay recognized him and introduced him as Zach. Jay and Zach began talking to each other in Japanese! Here was my chance to practice a bit with them. Turns out they are both Japanese. Jay now lives in California, and Zach is working for a company in Ohio. They met at a previous BABYMETAL concert. In fact, Jay had just seen them a few days earlier in Boston. (It must be nice to have that kind of money.)

I was rapidly making friends with this group. By now others had shown up. There was a woman whose outfit left no doubt she was a BABYMETAL fan. She had brought snacks to share and games to play while waiting in line. I wondered what she would do with her backpack when we entered the venue, but it turned out they had bins for all kinds of extra gear. There was also a young man from the south side of Chicago who was being very funny. I made the mistake of saying how funny he was and for the next four or more hours he never shut up. He only had about 30 minutes of good material.

Mike had disappeared, but he returned and was talking to Ruby. They let us in on a secret (a secret which Mike admitted he wasn’t sure he wanted to share): Anyone who goes to the restaurant at the House of Blues and spends a minimum of $20 can skip ahead of the line we were in, entering immediately after the VIP line. This was our chance to get something to eat and get a good spot in the hall! All of our little group went, except for Alex. I’m not sure if he didn’t have any money, or what, but he didn’t choose to go with us.

The food was excellent (I ordered a French dip sandwich) and reasonably priced. We actually had a hard time getting to $20! Fortunately we could supplement our meal with purchases from the gift shop to make the $20. Mike bought a fedora (ala Blues Brothers) which looked great on him, and I bought some chocolate bars to share in the line, which seemed appropriate since one of BABYMETAL’s songs is Gimme Chocolate.

We only had about three more hours to wait until they opened the doors. (And another hour and a half inside before the show started, Dylan noted.) A few people walked the length of the line making videos with their cell phones as the rest of us threw up kitsune. (I don’t say kitsunes because nouns in Japanese are both singular and plural.)

Soon a white limousine drove by. “There they are!” I cried and waved a kitsune in the limo’s direction. Some waved kitsune, but others laughed, assuming I was joking. It seems reasonable to me that if you are waiting for a show featuring celebrities and a limo drives by, there is a very good chance the celebs are riding in that limo. In any case the comedian we had met was still cracking what he thought were jokes and missed the limo entirely. He apparently thought I was saying the fire hydrant across the street looked like the members of BABYMETAL.

The powers that be moved us to just behind the VIP line, then moved us again when the VIP line got long. Two girls in Japanese kawaii outfits walked by with their parents. “かわいいね！” I exclaimed.

“かわいい。かわいい、” Jay agreed.

Not long after the limo drove by, Jay showed us a Twitter post on his phone. It was from the House of Blues, and showed BABYMETAL in their street clothes rehearsing for the show.

“That means they’re right on the other side of this wall!” I said to Dylan. He and I both jumped and squealed, flapping our hands like a couple of penguin flapping their wings. An awkward moment of silence followed.

“We totally fangirled on that,” I said.

“Yeah we did,” Dylan agreed.

When the doors finally opened for our group, we were instructed to form two lines, men on the right and women on the left. This was so security could frisk us. I was surprised how casual the frisking was. The guy found my wallet, keys and phone, but did not even check my legs, socks, the small of my back or my waistband. It would be pretty easy to sneak something in. This was also where people put backpacks, etc. into the bins.

When we went into the concert hall, our little group was separated. Jay and Zach had balcony seats. I was on the main floor, and the others had a spot in the モシュシュ (mosh’sh, a word invented by BABYMETAL. It is supposed to be a mosh pit in which no one gets hurt; all of the fun and no violence. As it turns out, that is exactly what it is.). I was not as close as I had hoped, but I was as close as I could get without being in the モシュシュ. In fact, I could look over the pit, so that was a good thing.

The concert started and the excitement in the air was almost a tangible thing. I forgot to mention that Alex had suggested ear plugs, insisting the show would be extremely loud. Everyone turned down his suggestion. Dylan said he would be deaf by the time he is 30 anyway, and I said as an old guy who has listened to a lot of rock n’ roll with headphones at high volumes, it was too late for me. As it turned out, the show was not unusually loud. I’ve heard much louder concerts. I don’t know if that was because of the band or the venue.

Probably the biggest thing BABYMETAL has brought to metal is dance. Iron Maiden and Slipknot aren’t dancing around the stage, but BABYMETAL is. When they performed Karate I had my first hint that this would be an unusual concert. The song is not about karate, but rather about striving to do one’s best, even against seemingly impossible odds. At one point in the song, the three girls collapsed onto the stage. Su-metal struggled to her feet then helped the other two to stand, singing the encouraging refrain as she did. I realized there was symbolism in their dancing. This didn’t surprise me, as there is a lot of symbolism in their lyrics. (That may be the subject of another missive, if you’re interested.)

They have fun songs, of course, touching on the joys of eating chocolate or chewing bubble gum. They performed these as well. But then came a part of the show in which the stage went dark, almost (but not quite) completely black. We could hear the girls speaking in English, telling about how the Fox God (BABYMETAL comes with their own religion) instructed them to tell the world bullying must stop. Then they sang Ijime, Dame, Zettai (Bullying No More, Forever). A partial translation reads:

Those who got hurt were not only I myself,

But also those who kept watching me. It was you.

During the guitar duet, Yuimetal and Moametal engage in a stylized fight as Su-metal covers her eyes, not wanting to see bullying. She then joins in their fight, demonstrating everyone gets hurt by bullying.

I was surprised to find tears in my eyes. I hadn’t expected this concert to be emotional. But there was more to come.

For a finale, they performed The One entirely in English. This time I was outright bawling as they sang about how we are all one and that we are strongest when we are united.

The last notes of The One faded as the audience cheered. The trio exited and I was in shock. Here I was at a concert featuring three teenage girls and I was crying my eyes out. Of course I didn’t want it to end (I’m sure none of us did), so I began to shout, “アンコレ！アンコレ！(Encore! Encore!)” But the audience was very American, and began to chant “Ba-by met-al.” They didn’t even attempt the Japanese pronunciation bebimetal.

After an appropriate hiatus, the three returned and sang Road of Resistance. It was a fitting end to the concert with an inspiring sing-along portion.

When they had finished singing, Moametal said, “You make me sooo happy!” (Yes, in English!) Yuimetal followed with, “I’m so happy to see you!” Then Su-metal wrapped it all up with a nice, brief speech, also entirely in English (their English is better than my Japanese). Then they gave their signature “See you!” and exited.

After the show I reconnected with Mike and Ruby, Jay and Zach. The crowd to purchase merchandise after the show was very thick, so I didn’t bother. I figure I can get all of that stuff on Ebay anyway.

There was an after party in a sort-of private bar at the House of Blues, but it was noisy, so I didn’t stay. It was pouring rain outside, but when it had slacked off a bit I called an Uber car. I’ve driven for Uber, but this was my first time as a passenger. I think my services are slicker, just sayin’. That turned out to be the most expensive part of my experience, going just over the $20 I had spent on lunch. I went back to the train station, got in my SUV and drove home, listening to BABYMETAL the whole way.

There are some details I’ve left out, such as the fact that the interior of the House of Blues is one of the gaudiest I’ve ever seen. I may edit this someday, but right now I want to get it to you.

Thanks for being my friend and taking an interest in what interests me.

All love, Bruce

“Where’s Eaton?”

I roll my eyes. The question everyone loves to ask me and that I never have an answer to. “Really, Mom? I don’t know.”

She stops whirling at the pot over the stove. Then reaching for the sugar, she asks, “Well why don’t you ever know?”

Shouldn’t the question be, why is he never here, or, why don’t you ever know where he is? I stand up from the table. “You’ve been asking me this question since I was five. And, I always give you the same answer. No one will ever know where he is. Just accept that, Mom.” I shrug.

She whines. “Well I can’t just accept that, I care about him and he’s your brother. And he doesn’t talk to me but once a year—if that!”

I shift my weight, glancing at the bright green palm leaves swaying by the window. “I’m going to go find him.”

Mom smiles. “Conversation always goes the same way, doesn’t it?”

I turn away, holding back an eye roll. I guess that’s why they always ask me.

It’s really their fault for naming their son after the cousin they themselves could never find. Like a…modern-day pirate, or something. Or a nomad sage. Maybe I should start at the top of the hill. I’ll find him standing at cliff’s edge breathing in ocean spray. Running away from wife and children.

I slap the yellow wall on the way out. “This is ridiculous! He lives right down the street!”

“Huh?” Mom’s already moved her mind on to other things. Must be nice having children to do your dirty work.

I step into the bright sunlight, plop into my car. I start the engine and roll slowly out the gravel driveway. The sun beams off my old yellow house. I sigh, rolling down the windows. First day back home, and I’m looking for Eaton. I have to laugh.

Welcome home indeed.

This is great! I love the fascinating twist of the two Eatons and the reason why. And I like the hints of lost Eaton’s personality and the guesses of where he might be. I’m guessing lost Eaton is a frequent topic of discussion if he’s the one the narrator assumed Mom was asking about.

The line “Well I can’t just accept that, I care about him and he’s your brother. And he doesn’t talk to me but once a year—if that!” doesn’t sound quite natural and true as dialogue to me. The sentiment does, but not the words. On the flip side, you’ve done a great job of sprinkling in action and description to keep the scene moving and show us what’s going on and how the characters are responding to each other. Nicely done, and thank you for sharing!

Thanks Alice! Yes, I see what you’re saying. Thanks for pointing that out. I appreciate the feedback!

I know you’re feeling alone right now. I know you feel like no one ever could or ever will feel the way you do. I’m not here to tell you everything will get better, that God will make a way (although he will.) I’m just here to sit and listen.

Why do you feel so lonely? You’re part of a race of 6 billion people. Not even counting all those who have gone before you, or all those who are still to come. Yet isn’t it strange that out of six billion, out of the millions you share your city with, the thousands who stream past you on your way to work, the hundreds you bump shoulders and jostle with on the train, and the multitudes of colleagues in your office, you still feel so alone?

You aren’t alone. I know this sounds like a platitude, but it’s true. Going on statistics alone, at least one person – whether alive or dead, whether known to you or not – has felt the same way you’re feeling right now. And statistics don’t lie. (42% of statistics are made up on the spot.)

I want to sit here and listen. I know how it feels to have so many people talking to you (talking at you?) and not a single one of them listening. I was laid off recently. Friends, family, well-wishers from all corners of life, saturating me with texts and Facebook messages and well-meaning advice. I hear this firm still has vacancies, have you considered applying there, why don’t you become an academic? And yes, they listened at the start, to my answers to their opening questions. How are you feeling? Have you started applying? But would you want to stay there anyway? But after a while, their voices took over. And I was alone in a storm of well-meaning advice.

Hey, you just used the phrase ‘well-meaning advice’ twice in the same paragraph. That’s not good form. But that’s okay, because I’m not here to pepper you with a beautiful speech. I’m here to listen.

Why do you feel so lonely? Really dig down deep – why? Are you trapped in a family where love is in short supply? Are you stuck in a career where no one values your contributions? Do you bear all the trappings of success yet feel that something deeper inside you is missing? I don’t know what your situation is, and maybe you don’t either. After I was laid off, I was depressed for weeks, and it had nothing to do with my prospects for finding another job. But maybe putting a finger on why you feel the way you do could be the first step to finding a way out.

And that’s another thing. If you don’t want to find a way out, that’s fine too. It’s perfectly alright to feel alone. It’s perfectly alright not to want to do anything about it. I struggled so much with feelings of legitimacy when I was laid off. Almost an anxiety-inception: first you get anxious that you’ve been laid off, then you get anxious that you are anxious that you’ve been laid off. After all, shouldn’t I be moving on? There’s still so much that I have – good friends and good family and good health – so why am I still so depressed? Why can’t I just suck it up and get on with life?

I don’t know if you’ve watched the movie Inside Out, but there’s a reason why it’s one of my favourites. Because it reminds us that sadness is legitimate. It’s okay to feel sad. You don’t always have to banish her to a little chalk box in the corner so that joy can run your life instead. And it’s okay to feel lonely. You don’t have to feel like it’s only okay to feel lonely for X amount of time, before it suddenly becomes Not Okay.

I don’t know who you are, and probably never will. Yet I hope reading this helped you somehow. That you found a listening ear, even though you didn’t say a word.

Take care. And remember that you’re not alone.

This is a great list of questions! I’m going to use them in my author about page.

I found your fifth question really interesting. It touches on the one topic that I believe can’t be set in stone, that some write to explore what they can not. Others write what they know. More often than not it ends up being a hybrid of the two.

I have to say that the most interesting life of a writer I’ve come across has had to have been Tolkien. To have been in the trenches of Verdun? You see that in nearly all of his writing he stays away from any themes connected to the War, but then you have the Dead Marshes.

I used to write for the joy of losing myself in a story, for the satisfaction of the words tumbling out on to the page. Words transcribed from Voices in my head. I used to write. So it was interesting reading this article and questioning why I used to call myself a writer and why I stopped. It’s been a whole year now since the voices and the urgency stopped. Interesting ( for me at least) too t I should chose to write a reply. Maybe, just maybe that small flame can be rekindled. Thanks Joe

I write because my characters have been following me for the last twenty years and they want their story to be told this is the third attempt putting their lives on paper (in my case on computer) even though I know the ending, I’m coming close this last four chapters are proving the most challenging but I just love being in their world and knowing them, yes I feel like they are good and bad friends this is why I write

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• Campus Culture
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5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Writing Your Common App

• admit advice
• application strategy
• college application essays
• college fit
• writing tips

We may be squarely in the midst of this application cycle, but if you haven’t started your essays, here’s what 2019 University of Nebraska graduate, Kelsey Nekl, advises you do before you start the writing process.

To begin your statement you should open up with a few facts about yourself, and be sure to state where you are from, what you are interested in studying, and what extracurricular activities you are involved in. Give the reader a brief idea of who you are before you get into the details.

Now that you’ve established a basic overview of yourself, it is time to let your personality shine. There are a variety of points you can discuss, and you should include as many relevant topics as you can. Here are some examples:

• PERSONAL FACTS: Special, distinctive, or impressive facts about you. Do you have any major accomplishments that have had an impact on you? Do you hold a leadership position at school or in the community for an extracurricular activity?
• CAREER INTEREST: What made you interested in pursuing a career in your chosen field of study? Is there someone in your life who has influenced or inspired your decision to take this path? Explain how that person has made a difference in your life and what qualities they render that make them outstanding.
• EXTRACURRICULAR EXPERIENCES: Experiences in and outside of the classroom that contributed to your decision to study a specific subject. Did you have a special experience in a particular class, job, or internship that influenced you?
• CAREER EXPERIENCE: What are your educational and career goals and how will this college provide the opportunities for you to accomplish those goals? Including this information will show the admissions team that you are knowledgeable about the school and you have a genuine interest in attending college there. If there is a special fact or statistic about this school that sets them apart from other colleges, feel free to include that!
• WHAT MAKES YOU SUCCESSFUL: Characteristics and skills that you possess that will make you a successful student. Do you have integrity, determination, honesty, and confidence? Share that in your statement and provide examples of how you have portrayed these characteristics. What skills do you render that will set you apart from other applicants? If you are involved in Speech at school, explain how you have developed communication skills and how that will benefit you in the future. If you excel in mathematics, share some information about your analytical mindset and how that will benefit you. The possibilities are endless here. Make sure these are personal to you and relate to your chosen field of study.

Remember to be true to yourself. This is your opportunity to show college admissions who you are and why they should choose you to attend their school. Make a great impression! I hope these tips will spark some ideas for you as you begin the college application process.

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