Blog about Essay
“I need a make-up exam.” He said it to me casually, as though he were asking me for the attendance sheet or a copy of assignment instructions. “Excuse me?” I said. “I wasn’t at the midterm, so I need a make-up exam,” replied this first-year student in my history class, again with the implication that this was…
B- This was not what I’d expected. It was my first essay in my first year of university. I was a music student at the time and had enrolled in the course, “U.S. History 1945-68,” out of a passion for history and interest in the time period. I’d entertained fantasies of the professor reading my essay and…
There are over 1.5b people learning English in the world. Let’s put that number into perspective: that’s roughly 20% of the world’s population learning English. Right now. That’s a really big number. I mean, China, the most populous country in the world, has around 1.3b people, and India, the close second in terms of population, has about…
“The language of the university is English.” These words were spoken by a senior professor in my department. I had just begun my MA and was at an orientation for teaching assistants. The graduate student leading the session had described the university’s multicultural, international community. He encouraged us to take international students’ difficulties with English…
I studied abroad twice as an undergraduate. After graduating, I spent a year in Germany with a Fulbright scholarship, which was administered by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, a division of the Institute of International Education. As a Ph.D. student, I spent another year in Germany researching for my dissertation. As an instructor, I advised many students in…
You’ve studied hard, received good grades, completed graduate school, and then you find yourself out there trying to convert essay writing skills and exam taking skills into professional skills in the workplace. So are all those academic skills relevant to your professional life? I’d definitely say, “Yes!” In fact,I wrote about my own transition…
“I need to talk to you about something.” Toward the end of a semester, I always had a handful of conversations with students that started this way. Students who hadn’t turned in any term work, or who hadn’t attended class, or who had earned low marks came to my office to confide in me. /…
It’s important to note that research shows that “A” students in high school are most likely to suffer grade shock or a drop of nearly two grade levels when they transition from high school to university. Grade shock can lead to anxiety and depression. And it can produce serious financial consequences, including the loss…
It’s very easy for teachers and professors to complain about “kids these days” who seemingly can’t write or look up from their phones. It’s easy to shake our proverbial canes at the younger generation and bemoan their lack of skills. But there’s more to it than that. Research suggests that students aren’t learning how to…
Recently a professor friend of mine whom I used to work with posted a query from a student who was looking into which section of a required English course to take. The student writes: “Don’t want to actually learn anything in english, just want a high mark and get my communications course over with. Minimal work…