I’ve been staring at blank cover sheets for years now, and I still get that peculiar feeling every time I start one. It’s not quite anxiety, not quite anticipation. It’s something between knowing exactly what needs to happen and wondering if I’m overthinking the whole thing. The cover sheet sits there, this single page that […]
I spent three years reading student essays before I realized something uncomfortable: most of them sound like someone apologizing for existing. There’s this tentative quality, a hedging of bets, a constant retreat into passive voice and filler phrases. I see it everywhere, from first-year undergraduates to graduate students preparing for comprehensive exams. The question itself […]
I’ve written more essays about books than I can count. Some were brilliant, most were forgettable, and a few made me cringe when I reread them years later. The thing nobody tells you about writing an essay on a book is that it’s not really about the book at all. It’s about your ability to […]