Want to Get Ahead? Here’s How to Set Effective Goals

Setting goals and seeing them come to fruition can be difficult.  A way to make sure goals are achieved is to set goals that are measurable, meaningful, realistic, and that have a timetable.  Below you will find tips on how to set effective goals. How to Set Effective Goals By taking the time to look …

Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird: My Favorite Writing Manual

Short Assignments, False Starts, Shitty First Drafts, and Index Cards – what do these three things have in common? They are all chapters in Anne Lamott’s Bird By Bird (affiliate link, if you purchase the book, I will receive a small payment). This book is a great reference whether you’re writing a report on birds (Lamott’s younger …

How to Create a Story Arc for Your Fiction Project

If you want to create a successful short story or a novel that has a great story, you’ll likely want to create a story arc. This is another way of saying “story structure,” but this term goes back to Aristotle’s conception of what makes an aesthetically pleasing story in Poetics.  What Is a Story Arc? A …

Showcase Academic Work in Undergraduate Journals

The semester has come to an end, now what do you do with that research paper you received excellent feedback on?  You may want to consider submitting it to one of many undergraduate journals for publication.  If your paper is published, it will look great on graduate school applications and in personal statements.  Several undergraduate …

Research Note-Taking Methods Part 1: Taking Notes on Paper

It is vital, when writing, to document any material you used during the research phase. Developing a system for taking and making notes is key. Being able to report quotations and paraphrases accurately depends upon careful research note-taking methods. Here are classic paper-based note-taking methods that work well for any research project. Note: This post …