Olympic Writing: Stretch First, Then Go For the Gold
Getting ready to write that paper? Why not start with a 5 minute warm-up exercise? Surely Joannie Rochette and Sidney Crosby stretch before hitting the ice… So, before you settle into writing your...
View ArticleWhile Studying: Breathers, Breaks, and Bridges
Many students find it helpful—even essential—to build regular 5 minute breaks into long study sessions. For every 25 minutes or so studying, 5 minutes away from studying can make an enormous...
View ArticleRecommended: Anne Lamott’s Great “One-Inch Picture Frame” Strategy
In her entertaining, down-to-earth writing guide, Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott describes keeping a one-inch picture frame on her desk. She does this, she says, so that when she feels overwhelmed by a...
View ArticleEditing Your Writing: Its or It’s?
Confused about when to write its and when to write it’s? You are not alone! Here is a way to think about the difference. ITS (no apostrophe) is possessive. Use it when you mean: something belonging to...
View ArticleSwim before heading for the shore…
While watching Jane Campion’s film “Bright Star,” I thought about writing papers and how, sometimes, a kind of premature focus of energy on wanting to produce a finished draft can distract from the...
View ArticleStudent Success and “The King’s Speech”: Imagine a Friend Listening To You as...
Last night, I was lucky enough to go to the screening of the People’s Choice Award Winner, “The King’s Speech,” at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film played to a full house at the...
View ArticleA Question a Day: Fun-Enough Grammar and Vocabulary Lessons Online
Although “The Official SAT Question of the Day” is not meant as a teaching tool for university students, it happens to offer excellent exercises for testing and improving your knowledge of English...
View ArticleFresh Start 2012
I had “fresh starts” on my mind this morning when I picked up Mary Oliver’s Blue Pastures. Even though I was thinking about “fresh starts”–the New Year, the start of a new semester, the return to...
View ArticleGenerosity: Students and Sharing Notes
Recently, Erin, a blogger with UpbeaT, wrote about why she makes a point of sharing notes with fellow students when they ask. If whether to share or ask for notes is something you find yourself...
View ArticleExam Anxiety? Here’s What You Do…
…write about what’s making you anxious, for 10 minutes, immediately before you take your exam. Really! Speaking recently to a number of students worried about the anxiety that might derail their...
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