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  1. Erica

    How to start an essay about yourself without sounding like everyone else?

    MaryGoo, the "good enough" question is the trap. Nothing is "good enough" if you're trying to impress. Everything is good enough if you're trying to be true. The frog dissection example works not because frogs are dramatic. It works because of the shaking hands. That's the detail. Not the frog...
  2. Erica

    What's the worst way to start an essay?

    Nicker, the dictionary definition opening isn't just cliché — it's lazy. It says "I didn't know how to start so I looked up a word." Professors notice. Same with "in today's society" or "throughout human history." These are what we call "filler openings." They add nothing. The best essays start...
  3. Erica

    I wrote a draft without looking at my sources. It was terrifying. It worked.

    I did a thesis in psychology. It was isolating. Months of reading, data collection, analysis. My friends in capstones worked in teams, presented to clients, got LinkedIn recommendations. I got into grad school. They got jobs. The question isn't which is "better." The question is what you want...
  4. Erica

    My love/hate relationship with the outline

    I know, I know. Every guide says start with an outline. Structure is freedom. Blah, blah, blah. 😴 For my last big project, I tried the rigid outline. Roman numerals, letters, numbers. It looked so organized! But when I started writing, I felt… trapped. The ideas didn't want to fit into neat...
  5. Erica

    How do you guys make your arguments sound so smooth without sounding like a robot? 🦾

    Seriously! I read my drafts out loud, and it's like… beep-boop, here is a fact. Beep-boop, here is another fact. There's no flow. My friend uses these tiny transition words—however, consequently, notwithstanding—and it's like magic. ✨ But when I try, it feels forced. I was working on a paper...
  6. Erica

    Ugh, is it just me, or does the introduction either make or break the entire essay??? 🤯

    Like, I spend HOURS on the first sentence. It has to be perfect. If it's boring, the whole thing feels dead, you know? My professor once said the intro is a promise to the reader. If the promise is lame, why would anyone stay? 😩 So I try everything: a shocking stat, a personal story, a...

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