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If ever there were a piece of literature that reflected the American Dream gone badly, it is Death of a Salesman. Willy Loman has all of the characteristics of a Shakespearian tragic hero – a man unable to find success and, in that despair, a man who descends into mental illness and suicide. Any student in an American literature or drama course will find this play required reading.

Appreciation of poetry is not something that most students have. In fact, of all the literary genres, poetry is usually listed as the least favorite by students – those who are majoring in literature and those who are not. Aside from epic poems (e.g., Beowulf, Iliad) and Shakespeare (poetic drama), most poetry is rather short in comparison with other literary forms.

Elementary teachers long ago developed a method of teaching the writing process for kids. By late elementary school years and certainly by middle school years, all students should have been taught this process and should have had lots of opportunities to practice that process by short essays they wrote. Things did not change much in high school.

You do not have to be a master commentator to write such an essay or paper – you just have to have a personal response or reaction to something. And that is just what a critique is – your response to something you have read or viewed. So, now that you have a critique definition, you are ready to learn how to write one, using a few standard steps.

Are you unsure of whether you need a resume or a CV? Do you wonder if you might need both? You are not alone. This is a confusing topic for many people. In this blog post, we will define what each document is, when you need each document, and finally, how to make sure your resume or CV is the best it can be.

Many students can write great essay introductions, thesis statements, and body paragraphs. Unfortunately, when it comes to ending their essays with a great concluding paragraph, these same students frequently have a hard time. In most instances, it is as if their essay starts off strong, builds up steam, but then fizzles out at the end. This may be due to the fact that writing instructors do not spend enough time teaching students how to write a conclusion.

Academia is a funny place. Sometimes, in its need to be highly intellectual, it makes things more difficult than they need to be. And this is certainly true at the graduate school levels, as students begin to produce their theses and dissertations.

You will spending a long time on your thesis. In fact, it will consume you for an entire semester at a minimum. So, when you begin to search for a topic, take your time.

Your thesis statement is not the same thing as your research question. This you must understand clearly. Your research question is what you begin your thesis with – it is the purpose for your thesis.

A lot of doctoral students settle in on ideas for their dissertation topics within their first year of their programs and never consider another topic after that.