The Common Application (also known as the Common App) can make the application process easier. Instead of writing many essays, you can register on the website of this not-for-profit organization and submit the same admission essay to any of 456 member colleges in the United States and other countries.
 
Now you can apply wisely using only a few clicks of a mouse. However, it makes the quality of common application essays extremely important. Take a closer look at top secrets of perfect writing and learn how to make application essays truly brilliant.

Common application essay: 6 options

You can choose between these six topics for your common application essay:

1. Evaluate an important experience, challenge, or ethical dilemma you faced; discuss how it affected you as a person.
2. Discuss a problem of personal, local, national or global importance and its significance to you personally.
3. Write about a person who has influenced you greatly; discuss that influence.
4. Choose a fictional character, a historical figure or an artwork (painting, music, literature, etc.) that has influenced you; discuss that influence on you.
5. Describe an encounter that illustrates the importance of diversity in a community from your point of view.
6. Your choice.

Common application essay format

Note that each of the above options focus on you as a person. Surely, your writing skills are important for writing a winning college application essay. However, proper presentation of your personal qualities is even more important. No matter which category you choose, make certain to relate it to your personal experience and development.
 
For example, if you choose the second topic and decide to write about global warming or AIDS orphans in Africa, make sure to make it your personal reflection and explain why this issue is important to you. Tick the box you have chosen in the application form to avoid confusion of application officers. Kindly note that one variant of your essay will be sent to all colleges. No specific versions for different colleges or universities are permitted. Actually, this is what is meant by a “common” application essay.

Common application essay: word count

Pay attention to the requested word count of a common application essay, since for 2011-12 the limit was set to 250-500 words. It does not mean that the assignment has become easier to write. It means that college commissions prefer quality over quantity. Try to make your admission essay clear and succinct. Try to express more ideas using fewer words. Even though most college admissions officers promise to read all of your essay up to its 501st word, you should not put your papers at risk. Members of most commissions agree that nearly all common application essays exceeding 700 words would be better if made shorter. So, cut unimportant words whenever it is possible.

Common application essay: avoid redundancies

Check this list of redundant pairs of words and see how you can easily make your common application essays shorter and clearer:
 

Read more

Poetry analysis is something that many students struggle with, even though they may actually like poetry. One of the best ways to solve this problem is to give a good example of poetry analysis. This article will provide you with useful tips that you can always rely on, when writing your papers.

Poetry Analysis Example: First Steps

Byron’s lyric poem She Walks in Beauty is a good example that students can use when practicing poem analysis. At first, you need to read it aloud. Only in this way you will appreciate the beauty of its rhyme and meter. Here it is:
 
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow’d to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
 
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
 
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
 
(Byron)

Poetry Analysis Example: What You Should Do Next

So, at this point, you have probably already noticed the powerful imagery that Byron uses to describe a beautiful woman that he probably met. Your professor may ask you to focus on different aspects of this poem. A good poetry analysis example has to include the following things:

Read more

Looking for interesting but simple science project topics to make your papers stand out from the crowd? Got tired of boring science related topics repeating in all academic papers year after year? Here is the solution to these problems.
 
Now you may give a sigh of relief because finally you found this list of 25 most fascinating ideas for science research topics which will become an inexhaustible source of inspiration for you.
 
Science topics: Earth and Climate

1. Can global warming lead to Armageddon in the nearest future?
2. There was a lot of snow on the planet during recent years. What happened to global warming?
3. Isn’t a warmer climate better for the planet if cold territories become fertile and plants grow faster?

 
Science topics: Anthropology

4. Can homosexuality be explained with evolutionary processes?
5. Does evolution of humans continue today?
6. Paradox of plenty: countries with an abundance of natural resources experience lower rates of economic growth than countries with fewer resources.

 
Science topics: History

7. Is history cyclical or linear?
8. What are the main hypotheses on why Maya Indians disappeared?
9. Can bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki be justified?

 
Science topics: Law

10. Should wearing trousers below waist to reveal much of the underwear (sagging) be banned in public places?
11. Should educators conduct searches at colleges whenever they consider it necessary?
12. Should death penalty be abolished?
13. Should marijuana be legalized?

 
Science topics: Sociology

14. Should people be charged with attempted murder if they know that they have AIDS and do not tell their sex partners about it?
15. Should all handgun ownership be illegal?
16. Should the father of a child have the right to prevent a woman from having an abortion?

 
Science topics: Health Care

17. Should surrogate mothers have the right to change their mind?
18. Can aborted fetuses be used for clinical research?
19. Should pregnant women who are on drugs be obliged to have an abortion?

Read more

Just as writing practice improves writing skills, brain training is the best way to improve the capacity of your brain and use more of its full potential. Regular exercises can become your road to improved memory, attention, and performance and academic achievement. Wondering how this can be possible? Let’s scrutinize what the main benefits of training your mind are, and some simple practices that seem effective.
 
Brain training: True or false?
 
Although some scholars remain skeptical of the positive effects of brain training, there is a substantial body of evidence of its helpfulness. In light of this, exercising the mind seems like a worthwhile investment of time.
 
Comparing the brain to muscles is a bit simplistic, but it seems clear that there are parallels. Doing computational or verbal puzzles, such as crosswords, keeps those skills sharp. Doing something that imparts new knowledge or demands new competencies is going to help you learn new material quickly, focus on what is important, and avoid mistakes.
 
Brain training is what everyone needs
 
Even if you can already boast of good memory, focused attention, and swift reaction times, don’t ignore the potential benefits of training your brain. What if A+ grades and career success are only a few simple steps away? Can you afford to ignore this option?
 
Brain training program
 
There are plenty of brain training games and even brain training software which can be easily found on the web. However, you can start training your brain without specialized programs and a personal coach. If you understand the principles of effective brain exercises, you will be able to develop your own program and start benefiting immediately.
 
Brain training: Main principles

Read more

Writing such kind of papers as criminology term papers requires a profound knowledge of the subject. Indeed, in order to write a successful paper of this sort, one has to be aware of all the burning issues in the sphere of criminology, which often involves a deep research.
 
In order to make it easier for those who need to write a term paper on criminology, this article presents a set of sources where all the most important issues of the modern criminology are discussed. These sources can serve as generators of ideas for criminology term papers.
 
For those who have an access to numerous books, criminology term paper ideas are easy to find. For instance, in a library one can ask for the following books:

• Forensic Victimology: Examining Violent Crime Victims in Investigative and Legal Contexts (by Turvey, B., Petherick, W.)
• Cultural Criminology and the Carnival of Crime (by Presdee, M.)
• Environmental Criminology and Crime Analysis (Crime Science Series) (by Wortley, R.)
• Crime and Criminology (by White, R., Haines, F.)
• Crime and the Lifecourse (Criminology and Justice Studies) (by Benson, M.)
• Globality, Crime and Criminology (by Cain, M.)
• Gender and Crime: A Reader (Readings in Criminology and Criminal Justice) (by Evans, K, Jamieson, J.)
• Global Criminology: Crime and Victimization in a Globalized Era (by Ronel, N.)
• Law and Crime (Key Approaches to Criminology) (by Johnstone, G.)
• Criminal Profiling, Third Edition: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis (by Turvey, B.)

Every of the mentioned books contains an endless range of ideas for your paper. A good way to form the term paper on criminology ideas is to browse the names of book chapters and to choose the ones that are interesting for you personally.
 
Read more