| How to Write a Good College Essay Posted: 13 Sep 2018 05:00 PM PDT Writing a college-level essay can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn't need to be overwhelming. Instead, break it up into steps. First, read your prompt carefully, then start compiling your research. While an admissions essay is typically on a personal topic, a college academic essay is formal and usually requires scholarly sources. Before you start writing, carefully research your topic and narrow your focus. Then make an outline, which will help you avoid tangents. After you're finished writing, there's still a little work left to do. Take the time to revise and proofread your essay to ensure you're submitting your best work. EditEssay Template and Sample Essays EditBeginning Your Essay - Read your assignment carefully. Review the prompt and ensure you clearly understand the assignment. Look for keywords such as "analyze," "explain," and "compare and contrast." These words will let you know exactly what your essay needs to accomplish.[1]
- For example, "analyze" means to pull apart. The prompt "Analyze a poem by Charles Baudelaire" is asking you to divide a poem into specific elements and explain how they function.
- Note any details such as "Compare and contrast 2 short stories not discussed in class." Discuss the similarities and differences of your examples' literary devices, and be sure to choose stories that weren't covered in class.
- Your assignment instructions may include a breakdown of how your work will be graded (e.g., a certain number of points may be awarded based on organization, spelling and grammar, or the strength of your sources). If the grading criteria aren't clearly explained in the instructions, ask your teacher or professor to explain their rubric.
- If any part of the prompt seems unclear or confusing, don't hesitate to ask your professor for help.
- Compile your sources and evidence. An academic essay needs to support its claims with solid evidence. Head to your library, hit the books, and surf the web for credible, authoritative sources on your topic.[2]
- You'll likely need to include primary sources, such as the poem or story you're analyzing, or letters written by the historical figure you're discussing.
- Secondary sources, such as scholarly articles or books, are publications by experts on your topic. Cite secondary sources to back your argument, or mention a source in your counterargument to refute the claims of its author.
- If you have trouble tracking down good sources, ask a librarian or your professor for help. Your course syllabus likely includes useful texts, too. Check their reference or further reading sections for additional leads.
- Your school or university library likely subscribes to academic research databases like EBSCO and J-STOR. Log in to your library's website to access these resources. You can also use free online resources like Google Scholar.
- Brainstorm to come up with ideas. Now that you've done your research, you're ready to put together some ideas for your essay. There are lots of ways to brainstorm, and you'll probably find that you prefer one over others. In any case, it's best to jot down your ideas by hand when you brainstorm instead of keeping them all jumbled in your head.[3]
- You could write down main ideas or keywords in bubbles or clouds. Draw lines between connected concepts and make smaller bubbles for terms connected to larger ideas.
- Bullet point lists could help you gain a bird's-eye-view over your material. For a literary analysis, you could list examples for categories such as "Literary Devices" or "Key Events."
- Try journaling or free-writing to get your creative juices flowing. Write what you know about the topic for 15 or 20 minutes without censoring your ideas.
- Organize your ideas into an argument. Review your prompt, brainstorming materials, and research notes. Write down a few main ideas you want to focus on, then revise those ideas into an assertion that responds to the essay prompt.[4]
- Try to find an overarching argument or idea that encompasses all the major points you want to address.
- Suppose you need to compare and contrast 2 literary works. You've analyzed each example, and you've identified how their elements function. They both employ nostalgic appeals to emotion, so you'll assert that the works use similar persuasive strategies to advance opposed ideologies.
- Come up with a concise thesis statement. Refine your argument into a clear and concise sentence, which will serve as your essay's thesis. While your thesis will help you stay on track through the drafting process, bear in mind you'll likely tweak it as your essay evolves.[5]
- You'll include your thesis in the introduction. It lets the reader know exactly what you're trying to prove. Note that you should just write your claim; don't start your thesis with "I will prove that," or "It will be shown that."
- Early in the drafting process, your working thesis could be "Charles Baudelaire's experiences of city life and travel abroad shaped his poetry's central themes."
- As your essay takes shape, refine your thesis further: "Drawing on experiences of urban life and exotic travel, Charles Baudelaire reinterpreted la voyage, a primary theme of French Romantic poetry."
EditDrafting Your Paper - Outline your essay's structure. Write out your thesis on the top of the page, then list Roman numerals (I., II., III., IV.) or letters (A., B., C., D.) for the body paragraphs or sections. Add each paragraph or section's main idea, write bullet points or numbers (1., 2., 3.) under the section, then fill in supporting details next to the numbers.[6]
- It's also helpful to plug in your sources and citations where you plan on using them. For instance, next to section III-B-3, write the source you plan on citing, e.g., "Smith, French Poetry, p. 123."
- Outlining your essay will make it easier to write. You'll just need to fill in the structure you've created, and you'll be less likely to go off on tangents.
- Write your introduction. Depending on your assignment, you might start off with an attention-grabbing topic sentence. However, it's common for academic essays to get straight to the point and put the thesis front and center. The sentences after the thesis then map out the rest of the essay, which lets the reader know what to expect in the coming paragraphs.[7]
- The road map should mention the evidence you'll use to prove the thesis. For example, "Analyses of the key poetic elements, along with discussion of autobiographical excerpts, will show how Baudelaire imagined la voyage as darker and more complicated than his Romantic predecessors."
- Some people prefer to write the introduction before making an outline. Do whichever feels more comfortable. Your outline could help you structure your introduction, or your intro might lay out a road map for your outline.
- Fill in your body paragraphs. Now comes the grunt work! Working section by section, put together the pieces of your argument. Transitions are key, so make sure your paragraphs and sections are logically connected.[8]
- In high school, you probably learned to write a basic essay with an introduction, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. That structure won't work if your argument calls for a more complex structure, or if your paper needs to be 10 or 15 pages.
- For instance, in the first 2 or 3 paragraphs after the introduction, you'd need to discuss how la voyage was a recurring theme in French Romantic poetry in the 19th Century.[9]
- After establishing how other poets handled the theme, the next logical step is to describe Baudelaire's conception, and to support this description by citing his poetry.
- Since the thesis argues that this conception owes to his personal experiences, you'd then discuss how city life and travel abroad shaped Baudelaire's poetry.
- Strengthen your claim by addressing a counterargument. While you won't always need a counterargument, including one makes your thesis more convincing. After building your argument, mention an opposing viewpoint. Then explain why that perspective is incorrect or fails to prove you wrong.[10]
- Suppose you've argued that a military conflict was caused by increasing nationalism and competition over resources. A scholar previously claimed that the conflict was solely instigated by the involved nations' authoritarian governments. You'd mention that this argument ignores the underlying tensions that set the stage for the conflict.
- Good ways to address a counterargument include refutation (where you provide evidence that weakens or disproves the opposing perspective) and rebuttal (in which you offer evidence that shows that your argument is stronger).
- Pull your points together in your conclusion. A strong conclusion does more than simply repeat the introduction's content with different wording. While you should restate your thesis and remind the reader of your evidence, you should also offer a resolution. Provide an insight, broader implications of your argument, or a practical way to apply the information you've gleaned.[11]
- For instance, if you argued about how a rising tide of nationalism led to a military conflict, you could write, "Unwillingness to find diplomatic solutions, bolstered by the belief of national superiority, led to this particular conflict. So too, on a global scale, rising tides of nationalism threaten the political and economic bonds of the international community."
EditRevising Your Draft - Read your essay draft out loud. As you read, listen for awkward phrasing, convoluted sentences, and abrupt transitions. Mark spots that seem odd or off to your ear, then go back and work on making them smoother.[12]
- As you read, consider whether each of your body paragraphs fully supports your thesis.
- It's helpful to print a copy of your essay so you can write notes and corrections by hand. Additionally, take a break before you begin revising so you can approach your work with fresh eyes.[13]
- Write a reverse outline. As you read, create an outline based on your essay as written. E.g., you might pull out or summarize the topic sentence of each paragraph, then write out the major supporting ideas as bullet points after each topic sentence. This can help give you a better sense of your structure and help you come up with ways to improve it.[14]
- For example, when you see your essay in outline form, you might realize that the essay would flow better if you changed the order in which you present your main points.
- Switch up your sentence structures. Look for any spots where your sentence structures get repetitive. If necessary, add variety to your phrasing to make your essay more engaging and readable.[15]
- The sentences, "The first author appeals to readers' emotions. The second author similarly employs pathos," are boring and repetitive. A better structure could be, "In terms of rhetorical strategy, impassioned appeals to emotion link the pair of short stories."
- Make sure you've chosen strong, clear words. Ask yourself if you've overused any words, and make tweaks if you need more variety. Additionally, look for any occasions where you should replace a word with a stronger, more precise alternative.[16]
- Be sure you've used strong, clear verbs. "The expert witness rebutted the defense's claim," for instance, is stronger than "The expert witness went against the defense's claim."
- Double check that you've used the active voice whenever possible. "Baudelaire defined our understanding of modernity," is stronger than the passive construction, "Modernity was defined by Baudelaire."
- Fix any typos, spelling mistakes, or grammatical errors. Do a final close reading of your essay, and correct any errors you find. Again, it's helpful to take a break before doing a final check. It's easy to miss minor errors after you've been staring at the essay for hours.[17]
- Be sure to spell check with your brain and not your computer. Your computer probably won't catch a "wear" used instead of "where."
- Have someone else proofread your essay. Once you're done, ask a someone else to review it, such as a friend or a tutor at your school's writing lab. A fresh set of eyes will prove valuable, and someone approaching your essay for the first time might see things you overlooked.[18]
- Ask the person to look for more than just spelling and grammatical errors. Have them offer feedback on your argument's structure, and ask them to point out any spots that seem unclear or under-developed. If necessary, revise your essay once more to apply their suggested changes.
- If you're having trouble with procrastination, break the assignment up into small steps. For example, brainstorm for a while, take a break, then make an outline. Give yourself a little reward when you accomplish a task.[19]
- Be sure to use academic language. Avoid slang, contractions, and other informal language.
EditRelated wikiHows EditSources and Citations __
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| How to Clean a Jade Roller Posted: 13 Sep 2018 09:00 AM PDT The resurgence of jade facial rollers highlights the increased focus on natural, holistic beauty products. They're designed to de-puff your face by massaging your muscles and increase the absorption of skin care products by clearing out your poses. But regardless of your reasons for using a jade roller, proper cleaning and sanitization is always key. EditWashing Your Roller - Pop the jade stone out of the roller. Use your thumb and forefinger to grip the right side of the roller bar with your right hand. Clutch the jade stone with your left hand and pull it to the left, making sure to hold the roller bar in place. Once there's enough space in between the stone and the bar, pop the stone out.[1]
- If you're left handed, hold the roller bar with your left hand and use your right hand to pop the jade stone out.
- Mix 8 parts water with 1 part ammonia and 1 part dish soap. Combine your ingredients into a clean large bowl and gently mix them together with a clean cloth until everything has dissolved.[2]
- Avoid harsh soaps and cleaners like alcohol and acetone whenever possible—the ornamental stones can be damaged by them.[3]
- Always clean and dry your roller thoroughly after cleaning it with ammonia. Failing to do so can cause skin irritation.
- Dip a soft cloth or brush into your cleaning mixture. Always make sure your cleaning tools are fresh and clean. For brushes in particular, make that they are unused—excess pigments caught in the bristles can contaminate the jade and clog up their pores.[4]
- You can use a clean, new toothbrush instead of a brush if you'd like.
- Apply the cleaning solution to the roller's surface. Use a light amount of pressure to apply your solution. Run the entire piece under warm water and continue gently applying soap. If you're roller is delicate or fragile, keep an eye out for scratches.[5]
- If you notice any scratching, stop wiping and look for particles on your cleaning utensil. Swap it for a new one to be safe.
EditSanitizing Your Roller - Sanitize your roller weekly. If you use your roller frequently, you should sanitize it on a regular basis so you don't spread germs or bacteria to your facial skin. If you use a jade roller in a professional setting, sanitize it after each use. You can either use rubbing alcohol or boiling water to sanitize the jade stone.
- Apply rubbing alcohol after cleaning your roller for a quick sanitizing. Although too much alcohol application can lead to fading, it's a cheap sanitizing product ideal for killing bacteria—especially if you're using your roller in a professional setting. Apply alcohol with a dry cloth after every session following soap application.[6]
- Keep a pack of alcohol wipes in your bathroom and use one to wipe down your roller after you clean it. Be sure to wipe your roller with a dry cloth after using your alcohol wipes.
- For casual use, you can skip this step or just apply alcohol every now and then.
- Place your roller in boiling water for 30 minutes for thorough bacterial removal. A pot of boiling water is a great way to kill bacteria that isn't accessible by cleaners. Heat up a pot of water on your stove and remove the stone from its roller as you wait. Make sure to use enough water that the stone is submerged. Once the water is ready, place your roller in it using tongs. After 30 minutes has passed, remove the stone with your tongs.[7]
- Always wear oven mitts when handling your tongs to avoid getting burned.
- Add 1 to 2 tbsp (17-34 g) of salt to the water. This will raise its boiling point, meaning it will boil slower and reduce the chances of sharp and potentially damaging temperature increases.[8]
- Some suppliers advise against immersing your jade in water in order to maintain its Qi.
EditDrying Your Roller - Rub the jade piece with a dry cloth to remove excess soap. After gently cleaning your roller, you need to remove any leftover soap. Skipping this step can cause soap to clog up the roller's pores and prevent it from cleaning properly.[9]
- Soft vegan cloths are ideal.
- Place the roller on a soft towel to let it air dry. Lay down a soft, clean towel onto a flat surface to give your roller a place to dry. Make sure that the room is well-ventilated with dry air. Lots of humidity will rust the metal mechanism of your roller. Avoid leaving it in a steamy bathroom or anywhere with improper air circulation. Some people even store their roller in a plastic bag in the fridge to increase depuffing and soothing benefits.[10]
- Heat your jade roller at in your oven for powerful drying. Place the jade roller into an oven-safe container. Afterwards, put it in the oven and heat it at a slightly warm temperature for about 5 minutes or until any signs of moisture on its surface are gone.
- Keep an eye on your and remove it when you can't see any signs of moisture on its surface.
- Be sure not to over-dry—this will remove the natural water content, which can lead to damage.
- Since jade is a porous stone, sanitize regularly to prevent bacteria from festering in them.
- Regular sanitizing is crucial so that the bacteria and oils from your skin don't reproduce.
- Ammonia is the safest cleaning agent to sanitize jade with.
- Jade is sensitive to warm acids like vinegar and lemon juice, so avoid cleaning with them.
- Wipe your roller with a soft, absorbent cloth for quick cleaning. If you're the only person using your jade roller, you don't have to clean or sanitize after every use. Just take a soft cloth to it to remove your sweat and body oils.[11]
EditThings You'll Need - Large bowl
- Dish soap
- Ammonia
- Alcohol
- Soft towel
- Clean dry cloth
- Soft, absorbent cloth
- Medium-sized cooking pot
- Tongs
- Over mitts
EditSources and Citations __
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| How to Remove Baseboards Posted: 13 Sep 2018 01:00 AM PDT Baseboard removable is a simple DIY project. You might find yourself attempting this if you're planning on remodeling your floors or installing new baseboards. Whatever the reason, with a little patience, you can remove your baseboards as easily as an expert carpenter. EditRemoving the Baseboard from the Wall - Kneel in front of the edge of a baseboard with your tools at the ready. You're starting at the edge instead of the center to give the pressure caused by prying an exit. If you start in the center, the pressure will be solely on the board, and you'll run the risk of snapping the board and damaging the drywall. You'll also prolong the removal process.
- A good place to start is where the door casting meets the baseboard.[1]
- Cut through the caulk binding the board to the wall. Take your utility knife and position it at the top of the edge of the baseboard. This is where the caulk is located. Slowly but firmly press the blade into the caulk and run it along the end of the baseboard. You want to break this adhesive so that, when you're prying, it doesn't pull your drywall away with the board.
- Return to your starting position once you have finished.
- Wedge your taping knife between the board and the wall to create space. Position your taping knife at the top edge of the newly made score. Grab your hammer and tap the knife in deeper to give yourself more of a hold. Flex the knife in the grove a bit to create some spacing.[2]
- If you have shoe molding, go ahead and remove it first with your taping knife using this same process.
- Find the nails in the space and place your taping knife above them. Take the taping knife out of the grove for a moment and check for any nails. If you don't find any, move along the board a little and repeat step 3. You're finding the nail so you have a place to position your crowbar and make pulling off the baseboard easier.
- If your baseboards are glued on, you can skip this step and move onto the next.
- If you have a trim puller, you can use that instead of the taping knife.
- Pull back the space between the taping knife and board with a crowbar. Place the claw of your crowbar between the blade of the knife and the board. Gently pull your end of the bar up to separate the board from the wall. Carefully apply more pressure if needed, but don't yank or force anything.[3]
- If you feel you're going to crack the trim or damage the drywall, you may need to settle a second taping knife in front of the first to further disperse the pressure.
- If you have a trim tool, you need neither the crowbar or taping knife for this step. The trim tool will do the job of both by itself.[4]
- Work along down the baseboard while repeating steps 3 through 5. You'll steadily free the baseboard from the wall while doing this. Stop once you make it to the end of the current board and the start of the next.
- Pull the board free with your hand if needed. If the entire board doesn't come off after step 6, grab the board by the edge where you started and pull gently. If your board still doesn't come free, it's probably behind the board immediately next to it. Remove this board if this is the case. Both boards should come free when you reach this step again.[5]
EditWrapping up Baseboard Removal - Pull the nails out of the back of the board with a pair of nippers. Clamp your nippers at the base of the nail and pull or rock them out. For safety purposes, make sure that you place every nail in a secure place away from you, and then set your boards aside.[6]
- Do not bang the nails out through the front of the board. This will put more holes in the trim than necessary and leave you with a mess of wood pieces to clean.
- Mark your boards if you plan on using them again. Now that your board is removed, you'll want to take a sharpie or some other type of marker and jot down a number on both the board and the portion of the wall that used to be immediately behind it.
- The number on the board should correspond with the number on the wall. This way, you'll know what goes where you're ready to reinstall.
- Scrape any remaining caulk off the wall. Take your taping knife and gently chip away at the caulk. Come at it from the side rather than from the top or bottom to avoid accidentally chipping the drywall.
- You can leave a dustpan underneath you while you work to catch the falling chippings.
- You may be kneeling on the floor for some time, so you might benefit from having some comfortable kneepads or a pillow.
EditThings You'll Need - Crowbar
- Taping Knife
- Utility Knife
- Nippers
- Trim Remover Tool
EditSources and Citations
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