The Importance of Supporting Your Claims with Evidence

When writing an essay it's not enough to simply make claims; you need to support your claims with evidence.  Supporting evidence can take many forms, but it often comes in the form of embedded quotations.  English courses typically rely on MLA standards when using quotations in papers.  While many students are aware that they need … Continue reading The Importance of Supporting Your Claims with Evidence

The Problem with Five Paragraph Essays: Understanding they do Not Exist in the Wild

The Five Paragraph Essay is an artificial construct that does not exist in the wild.  No one will ask you to write a five paragraph essay outside of high school.  No author sits around writing five paragraph essays.  It doesn't matter if you call them hamburger essays, or nacho essays.  The five paragraph essay does … Continue reading The Problem with Five Paragraph Essays: Understanding they do Not Exist in the Wild

Making Projects Meaningful: Creator Spotlights

When focusing on taking student work OUT OF THE CLASSROOM in an effort to make it meaningful, it's important that students have an opportunity to hear from real-world creators who have gone through the creation process. Learning that published creators don't start that way, reaching those heights only by going through their own trials, is … Continue reading Making Projects Meaningful: Creator Spotlights