Paraphrasing is essential when using sources in writing, but it’s challenging when a source uses difficult language. You can still use the source. However, you need to break down the steps for writing an effective paraphrase. The four steps are to look up difficult words, rewrite the passage ...

You take for granted your understanding of when to left-click and to right-click until you interact with someone who doesn’t know the difference. As I’ve tutored nontraditional students, many of whom come from low-income families, in writing, I’ve grown to realize how disadvantage ...

Some of the so-called rules of writing you learned from rigid English teachers and professors might not apply well to business writing. At the same time, some companies are complaining that new employees fail to communicate professionally, in essence, formally. Business writing, especially when onl ...

Why are you studying English?If you try to answer that question you’re not going to satisfy the person who asked it, because what they’re really asking is “what job are you going to get after you finish this expensive degree that is taking up four years of your life?” Thankf ...

As English as a second language (ESL) students build their language skills, the day will come when they’re ready, with guidance, to read passages of a few paragraphs. Guidance is important because it will maximize students’ success and prevent the frustration that comes from having a bo ...

We need to be clear concerning what we mean by sexism in language before dealing with the classroom and how teachers can deal with this issue. The expression covers at least three areas of concern:It refers to the area of sex differences in language use; in other words, women speak differently from ...

You don’t have to be as obsessed with logic as Mr. Spock is, but you should know enough about flawed logic to be able to avoid it in writing. Writers make points in various ways, some of which are better than others. Here’s an explanation of the following fallacies to avoid: strawman, f ...

A common but often perplexing assignment is an analysis paper. In general, an analysis breaks something into parts. For example, a process analysis is another name for a how-to paper. That specific assignment breaks down the steps in doing something. Being able to see how parts make a whole concept ...

Citing information from journal articles adds authority to writing assignments, but without knowing how to read these sources, you’ll struggle to use them. Some students, unfamiliar with journal articles’ organization, glance through them, feel bogged down by the citations and numbers, ...

In order to obtain a GCSE qualification, all students need to pass two vital subjects: Mathematics and English. Students find it hard to pass the English examination as it requires a good command over the English language which can only be acquired by a lot of reading and writing. Here we have prov ...