Being in California, the UC schools loom large for a lot of my students. Many of their parents have attended UC schools, and the system’s stellar reputation combined with its low sticker price make these schools top choices for many of my students and their families. Admissions decisions for the UC schools are being released […]
Helpful College Admissions Tips
It’s fall-senior year of high school. The weather is getting cooler and the amount of school events and activities planned are piling up. Buying class rings, preparing for Homecoming and senior class trips are all many students can think about at this time. Despite all the excitement and the crush of planning that happens in […]
What Is the Difference Between an Essay, a Dissertation and a Thesis?
These three assignment types; essays, dissertations and theses are all important to students because at some point in the life of a student, there will be the request to complete at least one of the assignment types listed above! Essays, dissertations and theses are all types of academic documents, produced by scholars and students and […]
College Fairs – Are They Helpful for College Admissions?
College fairs are important for college admissions even though they are noisy, crowded and sometimes overwhelming. The first thing you will notice is a sea of booths, usually set up in alphabetical order, with college representatives waiting behind them. These representatives are eager to meet you and share their knowledge about their specific schools. College […]
Creating Narrative Tension in a Novel
Narrative tension is the tension characters in a novel feel about unresolved and unfulfilled events and needs. That’s why it’s so important to suggest a story’s promise in a dramatic context, so that a storyteller creates characters who have a need to act, and to act in spite of obstacles. When characters in a story […]
A Series of Articles on Autobiography
ESSAYS ON AUTOBIOGRAPHY: NUMBER 1 Preamble: Nearly seven years ago I wrote my first essay on the nature of autobiography. It was some two years after completing my initial draft, the first edition of my own autobiography. I am now working on the 5th edition of that autobiography some twenty years after the inception of […]
Writing a Flawless Research Paper in 4 Easy Steps
When it comes to writing a good research paper, you can learn many of the latest methods in research and report writing from your professors and librarians. Assuming you don’t wait until the last minute, most research papers can usually be completed by following a few general guidelines. For detailed reports, you can write a […]
Analysis of Dostoevsky’s Idiot
Dostoevsky is a Russian writer known for his penetrating insight into character and espousing the philosophy of existentialism. His famous books are the Karamazov Brothers: Crime and Punishment and the Idiot. In the idiot he portrays characters with ironic stoicism. There is a rich pageantry of literary thought. The idiot aims to bring out the […]
Essay – How to Write it Perfectly
A good essay must have this permanent quality about it; it must draw its curtain round us, but it must be a curtain that shuts us in not out” -Virginia Woolf The word essay has been derived from the French word ‘essayer’ meaning “to try” or “to attempt”. An essay is thus, a literary initiative […]
Plot: A Main Ingredient for a Well Made Story
Some so-called experts insist that a story doesn’t require a plot. However, whether found in a short story or a novel, a story requires a plot, otherwise the “story” is like bread without yeast – flat. A writing without a plot may be a narrative, a scene, or perhaps a descriptive essay, but anything without […]