Graduate / Some movies and TV programs are showing a negative trend in guiding young people' behavior [5]

It would have been better to analyze this essay if you had provided the prompt :-) So I will give an overview review instead. Some advice regarding grammar and content for you to consider :-) I will present a better way for you to have said the paragraph below the original. This is just for your consideration. Take it as advice and nothing more :-)


- Your introductions is lacking a hook that can reel in the reader. A hook is a statement that interests the reader into finding out what you have to say about a certain topic.

- Do movies and television shows have more negative than positive influences on the behavior of young people? Some people will disagree and say that movies and television helped them become better people. Medical professionals will tell you that the results of research on the topic is inconclusive. I say, television and movies both have good and bad influences on a young person's behavior due to his impressionable age and desire to emulate everything and anything he sees and considers "cool".


- This is a good argument. You started with the positive influences before going into the negative. It would have been better if you also mentioned a positive television show as a sample. The nightly news shows and other news broadcasts are not really a good point of comparison because young people do not tend to watch those kinds of programming.

- There have been a number of positive movies that came out of Hollywood in the past years. Movies like Forrest Gump teach us that being different does not mean a person is worthless. While Titanic taught us the value of self-less love.


- Make this the closing sentence of your previous paragraph. It will serve as your transition statement.
- While there are truly some positive lessons to be learned from television and movies, it does not erase the fact that the negative images overpower the positive aspect it provides.


- This is a good example of how movies negatively affect young people. Where is your television show example? Develop the statement further with reasons coming from parents and guardians, teachers, or even child psychology experts.

- Movies such as The Expendables series are highly violent films that are PG rated. That means that boys like my 12 year old brother were allowed to watch the movie. What was the first thing that he did after seeing it? He tried to imitate Sylvester Stallone's style of shooting using a toy gun. He once climbed the stairs and shouted "I am Jet Li!" then jumped. Needless to say, he broke his leg. Bad behaviors can also be attributed to the rise of disrespectful reality shows like Bad Grandpa and Keeping up with the Kardashians. Where being mean to other people and making fun of them seems to be the norm emulated by kids in real life. This makes me believe that no further evidence is needed to prove the negative effect of television and movies on young people.


- merge this statement with your previous one since it deals with the same discussion.


- This is an unnecessary statement that deviated from the prompt. It should not be in this essay. The discussion should only center on television shows and movies.


- You present a good conclusion that is underdeveloped. I am sure you can repeat some of the important points you made just to summarize it for the reader.

-Based upon the aforementioned reasons, I truly believe that movies and television shows have a tendency to influence the behavior of young people in a negative manner. Without proper guidance coming from family members and friends, and government regulation of violence and behaviors in movies and television, young people will tend to be negatively influenced by these media outlets until they learn to analyze what is right and wrong for themselves.

This is a solid start. However, the grammar problems and lack of coherence will require you to revise the essay.

Writing Feedback / which one have an important role in order to success of students in school?classmate or parents? [9]

Some notes and suggestions for you to consider :-)


- School is almost a second home for students. Their classmates become almost an extension of our families. We spend as much time with each other almost as we do our own siblings. We learn from each other and support each other. However, our parents are still the most influential people in our lives. It is their support and influence that helps us to succeed in all our undertakings. That is why I believe that the family and the support they offer is more important than that of our classmates.

- Hamed, you are definitely improving in the way you present your ideas. It is becoming quite clear and you have also learned to present your thesis statement in your introduction paragraph.


- Parents unconditionally support their children in all aspects of their lives, including the undeniable expense of their education. Children would not have access to these foundations of success if their parents were not willing to undertake the preparations for them, regardless of the cost.

- Please develop this idea some more and do not mention anything about self supporting students because that deviates from the prompt.


- Parents are always the biggest supporters of their children in anything the child wishes to succeed in. Whether it be emotional or moral support, the parents give everything they have in order to make sure their child feels that love and support whenever they need it. The do this much more so when it comes to supporting their academic needs and quests. They provide the extra hours of study with a tutor, remedial class fees, participation fees, and cover any other expense that the academic needs of their children require. They work with the teachers, coaches, tutors, instructors, and anyone else who can help their child academically achieve.

-Hamed, the idea is nice but the presentation is too simple. You need to learn to develop stronger paragraphs that pick the strongest arguments to support your case.


- You missed out on comparing the influence of friends and classmates on the success of a child. You should have mentioned that in comparison to the parents as a separate paragraph. This conclusion introduces a new idea at the end, which you know is not acceptable in any essay form. You need to revise this to only deal with your summary of facts and reiteration of your stand.

Writing Feedback / [TOEFL] Parents are our teachers from the very early time in our life. [6]

Lian, don't feel afraid, be disheartened, or lose hope when it comes to your essay writing skills. You are just beginning to learn the rudiments and the methods of essay writing. You will feel comfortable and gain proficiency in your writing skills over time. Everything that relates to essay writing comes with practice and time. In addition to that, you also need to widen your intellectual horizons by reading more English materials. For the TOEFL test, I would advise you to read about American current events, their popular culture, and a little bit about their history. These are all sources of information that you will find useful as instant reference material when practicing your TOEFL essays. In fact, I would go so far as to suggest that you try to write opinion papers based upon any English based reading material that you come across. It could be an online newspaper or an entertainment magazine, or even a newspaper in your native tongue. What is important is that you can write an opinion essay based upon what you just read. After the only prompt for those self assigned essays will be "Do you agree or disagree?" That way you can build up your confidence with your English writing skills without having to worry about passing the TOEFL grading rubic. Of course we will still assist you whenever you want our advice in relation to your self assigned essays :-)

Writing Feedback / [TOEFL] Parents are our teachers from the very early time in our life. [6]

Lian, I like the thoughts and point of view that you present in your paper. However, the grammatical errors take away from the pleasure of reading it. So I will offer my comments on revising the essay below. I'll also restate some of your paragraphs so you will have an idea about how to better present the paper in the revised version:


- When we are born, we do not know anything about life. We are taught everything we know about survival by our parents. That is why they are known as our first teachers. But does that necessarily make them the best teachers? After all, we go to school to learn most of the things we need to know. But school cannot teach us everything. That is why I believe that our parents still make the best teachers.


- As I previously mentioned, our parents are our first teachers. They taught us how to eat, walk, and speak. As we grew, they began to teach us about interacting with other people, how to make friends, and learn from mistakes that caused us pain. Before we learned how to drive, our parents were the first people to teach us how to travel on wheels using our bikes.

- Perhaps you can mention other specific examples as well. The paragraph too short, which means it is underdeveloped.


- We learn academic things in school. We learn about life and responsibilities from our parents. The minute school is out and we head home, our parents take over our practical and social education through family time and trips. Our parents teach us everything we need to know in order to survive. The school takes care of our academics, our parents take care of our practical learning and skills.

- It will be beneficial to this paragraph if you can further explain the lesson that your parents taught you. It shows the practical and social education that I believe you should mention.


- Parents love their children unconditionally. That is why they never tire of guiding and teaching us in our lives. We can turn 50 or 70 and our parents will still try to teach us something new because they have lived longer than us. Thus, they have more advanced practical knowledge that they can pass on to their children.

- This sentence can use a personal experience again.

You need to work on a good concluding paragraph. Your points are really good and should be noted by the readers :-)

Writing Feedback / [TOEFL] 'Firstly, people want to have more knowledge' - why attend to college or university? [3]

Hi Lian :-) Please let me offer some suggestions on how to further strengthen your discussion. I will also offer some revisions when necessary :-)


- This is a very good introductory statement. However, the clarity is somewhat missing. So I will try to restate this for you just to show you how it can be done better: " Almost every high school student across the world dreams of attending a college or university. Whether it be a local or international institution of higher academic learning, the point is that students want to attend higher learning institutions because of the life altering experience that the college or university studies offer. There quite a number of reasons that students want to attend college or university, and I will be discussing more of those in this paper."


- Good reason. But it can be stated differently. Try this " People are curious by nature. Therefore, they want to learn about their world and their specific interests. College education can help them achieve that. College offers them a more focused learning experience when compared to high school studies. Therefore, people are more eager to attend college." There is actually more room for discussion so I suggest you further develop this statement.


- "People look at college as a key towards unlocking their future. Without the guidance of their parents, college will be first time some students will be in complete charge of their lives and education. Therefore, they learn more from the academic and campus community that they become a part of. Once completed, the world becomes a very big place where one cannot be held back from achieving their dreams. College gives people that kind of confidence."


- This paragraph does not relate to any of your previous reasons. This is actually a different essay prompt. So you should delete this statement in your next version.

By the way, you lack a proper conclusion with which to close your discussion. I suggest you develop a strong one that will drive your point home :-)

Writing Feedback / Informations from books or from real life?; unexpected things happening everyday [2]

Let's not worry about your grammar problems for now. Let's get the message of the essay cleaned up first. Then we can worry about the grammar problems and how to correct it :-) I will try to restate your paragraph sometimes in order to show you a better way of presenting your ideas.


- But what is your opinion on the matter? You need to point that out in your introductory paragraph in order to create your thesis statement.

- The modern world demands that we learn both from the traditional sources of education, such as books, and from real life experiences. Now some people argue that books are the perfect way to learn about life. While those who come from the "school of hard knocks" say that life is the best teacher because experience cannot be gained simply by reading books. I believe that (insert your opinion here). But that is not to say that the opposing side is wrong. So I need to consider all sides of the issue in order to decide if I am right or wrong in my belief.


- Information and knowledge are also the plural form of the words.I believe that it would be best for you to do a comparison of the information gained from books and then from real life in this paragraph. That is because learning is a naturally occurring process that you can point out in this portion.


- You need to add more information to this sentence in order to make it relevant to the topic. Otherwise, this is just a redundancy that can be omitted in the next draft of your essay.


- You have more than discussed the learned information that come from books. You need to discuss the lessons learned from living life already. Without that discussion, your essay is really imbalanced and fails to properly respond to the prompt.


- This is a prejudiced conclusion because you failed to discuss the life experience lessons that can be learned. So you need to revise this part as well.

Writing Feedback / Friendship does not have to be limited to people living and working around you anymore - CLEP Essays [2]

Rucha, let me offer you some words of advice in order to help polish your essay. You have written some very good points. You just need to be guided on how to make it even better :-) I will restate your paragraphs in a way that I hope you will find to be a good example of how to better express your thoughts. After reading my suggestions, you can revise your essay using my guides so you can come up with a 2nd draft of the essay that we can further review. Don't worry about your grammar at this point. We will just concentrate on the message of your essay and how to deliver it :-)


- The 20th century has brought a whole new era of socializing to our world. Actual physical contact and proximity are no longer a requirement in order to build friendships. The internet has allowed people to transcend those previous barriers through its social media abilities. These days, everyone, even a complete stranger, can become a friend because you will be able to bond over something you have in common. Even if he is halfway across the globe.

- Rather than going direct to the point, it is always best to follow the basic rule of writing an essay, I-B-C. Introduction, Body, Conclusion. What I just wrote is your introduction to the essay.


- This is a good first paragraph. You gave a general observation of how people interact in the age of the internet. However, It would be more effective if you can quote acceptable, and verifiable sources. Use academic journals if possible and be sure to quote the citation properly. This is a requirement that is stated in your essay prompt.


- There is a lot of room for discussion development in this paragraph. You can mention your personal experience if you wish to as an example of how friendships are now built and are quite solid even though there is no actual presence involved in it.


- Since this is your concluding paragraph, you need to build it up by restating your thesis and reminding the reader of the reasons supporting your stand.

Essays / FUNNY Vs SERIOUS; Need help with writing an introductory paragraph! [2]

Hi Leena. We are happy to have you here. Unfortunately, it will be hard to help you develop an introductory paragraph unless you provide us with the full essay prompt. However, I will try to come up with something for you based upon the quote you provided. Here is my take on an opening or introductory paragraph you might be able to use :-)

]Do you believe that some people are born with a serious outlook in life and some are born with a funny bone meant to tickle everyone for no apparent reason? I believe that there are some people born in those ways, and there is nothing wrong with that. Being funny and being serious are two different outlooks in life. But the reason people look at life that way all boils down to the same reason. We all want need to deal with our life issues. So problem solving can be either a funny or serious process for a person, depending upon his outlook in life. In the end, whether he solved his problem with humor or with seriousness, his problem still gets resolved. So what exactly is the difference between being funny and being serious? That is what this essay will try to explain in the next paragraphs.

I hope this statement of mine can help you get started :-)

Writing Feedback / TOEFL Essay: How does advertising influence people's behaviour? [5]

Hello Haydi and welcome to the forum :-) You have written down acceptable reasons related to the way advertising influences people's behavior. But the way you stated it needs coherence. It needs to be understandable to everyone who reads it. Please allow me to show you another way of presenting your arguments in order to create coherence in every paragraph along with some writing suggestions.


- In the modern consumer market, countless brands compete for similar purchasing sectors of society. Due to vast array of products and services to choose from, advertisers need to create gimmicks that will help them stand out on the shelves. They often do this through advertising. It is the gimmick in the advertisement that the product manufacturers hope will influence the consumer's purchasing behavior. That is why I believe that advertising has a direct influence on the choice of product that the consumer will purchase.

- Your introductory statement lacked a hook that would interest the reader in finding out what the essay is about. You also did not present a thesis statement based upon your opinion of the essay prompt. Note that I presented all of that in the revised version.


- While we consciously know that a good commercial does not equal a good product, we are often influenced by the gloss of the advertisement and the model being used to sell the item. Most specially if a celebrity spokesperson is used. Big companies can create the kind of advertising influence that they need because they have the money to hire the people that can make it happen. Small companies, not so much. So, even if the smaller company has a better product, people will think twice about buying it because of the endorsement gimmick attached to it.

- While it is acceptable to use numerical connotations in your paragraph, you don't necessarily have to do that. Not unless the prompt specifically mentions a set number of reasons. In which case, the count is more to help you keep count than for the reader to use. The numerical count does not really add anything of value to your argument so it is best to avoid it if possible.


- Well made commercials can influence people to buy things they never thought they needed nor anted. All because the sales talk in the advertisement was quite convincing. So we end up buying a product because the power of suggestion told us we cannot live without it. Hence, the negative effect of advertising on people's behavior. Advertisements seem to have a hypnotic effect regardless of the media it is presented in. We end up being influenced to buy products we don't need because they make it seem like it is a product we cannot live without. The mind conditioning involved in the advertisement then has a negative effect on the consumer psyche... (Add the Huxley comment here)

- You know what you want to say, you just need to develop your communication skills so that you can express yourself in a coherent manner :-)


- You should have a separate paragraph to discuss your beliefs about the negative effects of advertising. Never discuss a new idea in the closing statement. The closing statement is only used to repeat your thesis and summarize major discussion points.

One of the main problems of your essay is that you left the mentioning of your stand for the last paragraph. That is wrong. Your stand in agreement or disagreement should have been among the first mentions in your introductory paragraph because it will lay the foundation for the thesis of your essay. That is because it will set the tone for the rest of the discussion. Try to revise the essay using the guides I mentioned. Then compare it with your old version. You will see a difference in the way you expressed yourself and be able to decide which version was clearer in discussion for you and in effect, to your reader :-) Keep practicing and we will keep helping !

Writing Feedback / IELTS TASK 2: the positive and negative effects of the increase in the elders [2]

Crystal, the prompt begs you to discuss the topic in the manner of a compare and contrast essay. That is why although you argued your position well, it lacked information and a comparison to prove that you have the right point of view about the increase in elders. While there are grammar issues with your paper, I believe that those should not be corrected until you have fixed the discussion contained in the essay. Only when you have revised the content satisfactorily should attention be paid to cleaning up the grammar problems. I have included my notes regarding the shortcomings of your discussion points below. I hope it helps you in revising the paper :-)


- You could expand this to a full paragraph by mentioning the point of view of young people about the increased number of elderly in society is. How they either consider it a good thing or a bad thing and why. Then mention, in passing how you feel about the increase in the number of elders as your thesis statement.

- There is a side to this reasoning that you have not discussed. That the fact that the young people do not want to seek medical advice from doctors who are over 60 because they feel that those doctors will be too familiar with the illnesses but will not be updated in knowledge about the modern treatments available. Thus making the increase in elderly medical professionals a negative thing.You can even further explain that this concern carries over to all aspects of employment and specialized occupations as well.

- Again, you failed to consider that although they are retirees, they contribute tremendously to the economy through their disposable income. They spend their pensions, which are notable in size, in order to support themselves and enjoy their retired life. They have a specific lifestyle that benefits the economy. Making the increase in older people a positive gain on the economic side.


- Don't present new ideas in your conclusion. Simply restate your thesis and give a summary of your reasons.

Writing Feedback / Young people and their participation in helping their communities [3]

I agree with xatutik. While you presented a well thought out essay. There was a failure on your part to fully understand and respond to the requirements of the essay prompt. The prompt required you to discuss ways and means by which young people participate in helping their communities. The help that they provide could be in the form of community service, such as volunteering at the local hospital to help entertain the patients. Or helping an old neighbor with her chores. Maybe even joining a local charity organization or Big Brother / sister program to help watch over the younger members of the community. Even their help during disasters and calamities could be a good point of discussion for this essay. Instead you make very vague references to ways that the youth "might" be able to participate in helping the community. I have given you an insight into how you can revise your essay to better suit the prompt. I suggest that you use these as a guide when doing so in order to properly align the content of your discussion with the prompt :-)

Undergraduate / "Why Caltech" - 3:1 student-to-faculty ratio - Supplement essay last question idea? [8]

Anouar, in order to properly answer that question, you need to do an internet based research on Caltech. Get to know the university that you are applying to. You need to set yourself apart from the other students based upon your reasons or desires for attending Caltech. You need to learn what the mission and objective of the university is and then relate that to your own goals. Then you should find out what the school is known for in terms of scientific research. Explain to them how you have a planned scientific study that you hope to undertake while at Caltech because you feel that their excellent facilities and mentors will help you achieve the objectives for the study / experiment. Research the names of the notable graduates of Caltech and their specialization. Then discuss how they inspired your love for science or whatever. Knowing that they went to Caltech gives you strong hopes that you too will be able to achieve such a status. Find out what the university is interesting in currently in the various scientific fields. Choose one that appeals to you and discuss it. Basically, everything you say must relate to the reasons why you feel Caltech will be the perfect school for you graduate from. I hope my ideas help you develop your supplementary essay :-) Good luck with your application.

Writing Feedback / GRE: It is very responsible task to create school nationwide curriculum [2]

Xatutik, while you present an immediate and effective body paragraph to the prompt, you still need to establish your point of you and thesis statement in an introductory paragraph. Kindly create one before launching into the statement that you wrote below.


-While you present an agreeable statement, there is an important portion that is missing in your discussion. The part of educational competition among schools. Remember, the reason that schools have varying levels of curriculum at present is because the public schools run on a specific format, regulated by the government, while the private schools have their own non-government regulated curriculum to use. The reason being that the private schools believe that their curriculum is better and produces brighter and more capable students than public schools.

I noticed that you presented a discussion based upon the assumption that the students will have a uniform curriculum to choose from. That is not what the prompt is saying. The prompt is speaking of a uniform curriculum that the students will be required to study until they enter college. Therefore, you argument that it is alright to have a uniform curriculum as long as the student can choose the class he wants to enroll in is wrong. I suggest that you revise the essay to better reflect the requirements of the prompt. You also need to make your agreement or disagreement clearer by stating it in the opening paragraph as part of the thesis statement.

Writing Feedback / TOEFL: Making relationship with pet means readiness to bear huge responsibility [3]

Mariana, you are showing such remarkable improvement with every essay. Your grasp of the prompt provided and your method of discussion is betting better with every paper you have us review :-) That said, there are still some things you should note in order to polish this essay.


- Before you enter into this part of your statement, you should first present reasons as to why families create personal relationships with pets that bring them to treat the pet more as a family member than anything else. It will be a fitting opening statement that will be followed up by this statement as a thesis statement.


- Don't forget to present the opposing side of this statement. Otherwise your discussion will lack a balanced point of view. Always argue the opposing side as well.


- This is true. But dogs are territorial by nature. So even if they are not treated as family members, they will guard their area. Don't forget, that is an opposing argument that you have to discuss in this statement in order to prove your own statement true.


- Good statement. But it can still be polished with other reasons. Try to talk to other people who have pets that they treat as family members and use their personal input as part of your closing statement.

Writing Feedback / Is homeschooling a good alternative to public education? [2]

Faith, I would advise you to please create an introductory statement that gives an overview of the topic being discussed and some basic supporting and non supporting points of discussion that you will deal with in the paper before you go into your personal point of view. That is because this paper lacks a hook with which to entice a reader to find out what you have to say about something.


- Is this supposed to be a research paper? What format is it supposed to be in? APA? MLA? I need to know the format so that I can tell if you are referencing sources in the correct format.

- This discussion can be further developed depending upon the source of the information. Try to use a pro and con approach in every statement. That way you discuss both issues simultaneously. This will make for a highly informative research paper.


- Try to support this statement with verifiable academic evidence. Peer reviewed journals would give this statement a factual appearance.


- Again, I need to know the research format for this paper so I can double check the in-text citation format.
This is a very good topic for discussion specially with the rise of school violence. That said, I noticed that you did not write a closing statement to wrap up your discussion. It would be in your best interest to write a strong closing statement in support of your stand so that the paper can be considered well researched and your professor can fully understand if you grasped the meaning of the prompt and the research material you quoted.

Writing Feedback / Telling truth has been a debatable issue among people from the past till now [2]

I listed my comments and suggestions below :-)


- You need a hook to reel in the reader. Something along the lines of" "The truth is over-rated". That is what most people who believe dishonesty gets them farther believe. They are the people who love to debate the merits of telling the truth. Sometimes, a lie does work. Sometimes the truth works better. Both sides have its reasonable pros and cons. Let's look at both sides of the argument. It's worth a look even though I believe that one can never go wrong by telling the truth."


- You should present at least one paragraph in support of lying before you launch into the reasons you don't believe in it in order to create a balanced discussion.

- ... I believe that not lying among friends preserves the friendship. While white lies may be told to avoid hurting a friend's feelings, that small lie has the opposite effect on the friendship. In trying to avoid confrontation, the lies help to build up anger and resentment of one another instead. It promotes back talking and rumor spreading.

- Try to tell another story, the one you used does not show how the lies affected the friendship. Your statements should always prove the harm that lies bring to friendships.


- While this a good point of view, you need to discuss it in a better manner. I would suggest something like this; "The truth helps build trust among people. It allows us to rely on one another in times of need. Lies tend to build walls that separate people. Consider this; would you rather have a friend who says yes to everything you want to do and then during an argument, have her tell you that she never wanted to do those things but she just wanted to please you? Or would you rather have a friend who says no to some things you say or want to do and opposes you when needed? The latter remains a lifetime friend to you because you always know where you stand with each other while the other leaves you because she does not consider you a friend anymore. "


- For those reasons, I believe that telling the truth plays a significant role in friendship and relationship building between people. We need to tell the truth so that we can trust each other. Without the truth, there won't be any secure and steady relationships.

- This is a first person essay so, while you can use second person in the body, the introduction and conclusion must be in first person form.

Writing Feedback / TOEFL-ETS Some people believe that automobiles are useful and necessary. [2]

You present an interesting position on the topic provided. However, there is a lot more you can do to develop the answer. I will provide my suggestions below.


Tareqkh, your answer is not an acceptable TOEFL answer. All answers to the prompts given need to be in essay format. That means your answer should be comprised of at least 5 paragraphs with a minimum of 3 sentences per paragraph. Your answer is too straight forward and does not offer an insight for the examiner to judge how well you understood the prompt and how well you can discuss a topic in English. Therefore, I suggest that you revise this essay in order to better discuss it. I would advice you to do it this way.

1. Create an interesting introductory statement to the topic. Then state your stand at the end of it.
2. Discuss the side that opposes the stand given in the prompt. ( 1-2 paragraphs)
3. Discuss the stand that supports the prompt. (1-2 paragraphs)
4. Prepare a closing statement.
5. Conclude your essay summarizing the important points and thesis.

Don't lose heart Tareqkh. This is a very good start for a practice essay. You just need to further develop your reasoning skills in a written form. I am sure you can do it. We will do our best to help you get to that point before your test :-) Just keep writing and practicing.

Writing Feedback / People go to college because they need to learn more things about the world - TOEFL [4]

Don't worry, we won't bite :-) We are here to help you out and build your confidence towards your skills in taking the TOEFL. So expect us to be gentle with you :-) I have some suggestions and revisions to offer for the improvement of your paper. Here we go :-)


- This is a good opening statement. However, it could be stronger if you provide other reasons for attending college aside from your own. That is because the prompt asks you about the reasons other people want to go to college. By combining both, you will create an excellent hook to reel in the reader. Don't forget to pick a focal point for your discussion and reasoning that will help you give direction to your paper.


- This statement could be merged into the introductory statement.


- I suggest you further develop this idea of yours from a pragmatic point of view. How does college satisfy this need to improve oneself? Can't he prepare for the labor market simply by learning on the job? After all, part-time workers are also preparing for the job market in a way.


- Clarify if you mean the description of marriage as a sample of a refrigerator target. It seems out of place in the essay.


- How does the need for human interaction drive people to go to college? This does not sound like a closing statement. It seems to be more of a body instead. I would discuss this more and then develop a closing statement that restates my stand on the issue and summarizes my main points.

Writing Feedback / IELTS: "Countryside resort"; Where would you like to spend you unforgettable holidays next summer? [5]

I've got some suggestions and revisions for you to consider in the revision of your paper. I believe that these changes will help improve the quality of the arguments you presented :-)


- Summer holidays are the best way to get away from the hustle and bustle... There isn't a person who does not ... As for me, I would like to spend next summer at a countryside resort . Simply because I can't get enough tranquility in my life, fresh air, and bonding time with my family.

-In my opinion, country side resorts, famed for their serenity, is the perfect summer vacation place for an acuosticophobic such as I... Most holiday takers, including myself, opt for rural spots because of the tranquility the place offers. It is a relaxing atmosphere where people can alleviate stress and clear their minds.

- You need to be careful and remember to check yourself for redundancies.

- Nobody is averse to getting some fresh air and relaxation during their vacation. The experience helps a person recharge and feel rejuvenated after spending time communing with nature. Some holistic health experts believe that countryside vacations actually have a healing and life prolonging effect on the vacationers.


- This paragraph is totally disconnected from the previous ones. Unless you can present a connection between the previous paragraphs and a countryside vacation your family took, this paragraph is misplaced.


- Surely you can further improve this statement in order to create an interesting conclusion for your paper. This kind of conclusion is boring and does not really help to tie the previous paragraphs into a solid conclusion for you.

Writing Feedback / GRE: Scandals are really a way of information spreading, yet it often spread unwarranted information [2]

I have a few suggestions and revisions that I believe you can use to further improve the content of your paper. I hope you will agree with my suggestions :-)


- While this is a good introduction to the topic, I believe that if you mention that the reason the scandals are not a good way of spreading information because the public, being the ones that the government serves, demand a higher code of conduct in all dealings of the government. You can also explain that some scandals are politically motivated so scandals may spread information, but it is usually tainted information meant to benefit the opposing party or remove the public's attention from some real government problem that concerns them. That said, you can then state your point of view on the matter as the ending thesis of the statement.

... spread information about a problem which needs attention and make people aware of it. It is partially true, scandals truly share some information. However mostly this information is exaggerated and contains some incorrectness . This erroneous information is being spread with facts in order to (...) and annoyed about some problem. However this incorrectness will mislead people who ...

They will not know what is truth and what is imaginary and eventually can not defeat the problemmoreover they can panic population .
... there are many online newspapers which does not care about truth much, their main purpose is to ...
Thus they often share superficial, unchecked or even incorrect information only to make people to read their news.

- ... about a problem that the public must be made aware of because it concerns their well being. This is partially true... However, most of this information is exaggerated and often falsified. This erroneous information is spread as facts... about the problem. Some rumor mongering newspapers even use scandals to instill panic in the public... online newspapers that do not care... much . Their main purpose...


- This is just a repetition of what you previously said. Avoid redundancy. Instead, you can discuss your point of view on the matter and begin to explain to what extent you agree or disagree with the previous comment.


- Your conclusion should only restate your thesis and reiterate the points of discussion in support of your statement.

The overall essay lacks a balanced discussion of the pro and con side. You did not really take a stand on the issue so you never actually answered the prompt. I believe that this essay should be revised to line up more closely with the prompt and incorporate my suggestions if you wish :-)

Writing Feedback / Toefl - Replacing old buildings is important for any city but it should not affect historic houses [8]

Having taken the TOEFL in the past, I can understand your concerns. The key to passing the TOEFL lies in your grasp of the English language. How well you understand it and how well you can express yourself in English. That is why these essay practice tests are extremely important. You need to be able to understand the English prompts and have an idea or knowledge of American culture and tradition in order to properly understand the essay topics that will be assigned during the test. I can suggest that you utilize the internet for this purpose. Familiarize yourself with current events in the United States and its history as a country. The landmark events of the country may also become part of the TOEFL test. Note some important key figures in both their historical and modern history.

Most of all, I would like you to practice writing your own thoughts in English. While the practice essays are important, you need to be able to properly express your point of view. So you can practice that by reading American newspapers and other materials online and then writing your own opinion paper (for or against) regarding what you just read. That will not only add to your knowledge base, but also help you gain confidence in expressing your thoughts and perspectives on modern issues. You can even do your own comparison paper essays based on things you read. Don't just rely on the essay practice tests.

The only way you will gain confidence in your English writing skills is through constant practice. Fluency in any language, written or spoken, is not gained overnight. You get to that point by practicing and over time. With the length of time that you have to practice before the TOEFL, we can help you gain the confidence and partial fluency in essay writing :-) Just keep practicing. There is no right or wrong way to write an essay. But there could be a problem in the way you express yourself. That is what we will try to help you fix and/or polish :-)

Writing Feedback / Toefl - Replacing old buildings is important for any city but it should not affect historic houses [8]

Hamedmas, I am not sure what you mean about organization statement. Do you want me to help you create a thesis statement that combines the economic and historical reasons for preserving the old buildings? Why do you need to memorize a statement? Do you meant you want to use a quote about historic architecture as a hook for your opening statement? That can also be done and used to further improve your paper.


This is a statement that is generally known and used as the reason for preserving old historical buildings by tourism organizations and historical societies. So yes, you can use it to describe any nation and the quest to preserve their historical buildings. You can cite the Old Washington Post office that Donald Trump is preserving and yet turning into a hotel for tourists as a clear example of that statement.

Don't hesitate to ask if you have other questions :-)

Writing Feedback / Opportunities to learn more about various aspects of life encourage people to watch movies [3]

Mariana, I believe that you should use the library comment at the start of the essay as part of your hook. After all, who would like to spend countless hours lining up at the library or reading materials about other countries when one can watch movies and learn more than books can ever offer about that country in the process?


- You can merge the library comment into this paragraph.


- Good example and effective reasoning.But the presentation can be improved.
- "Erin Brokovich" is one perfect example of the learning argument. In 2 hours, the viewer learned about a landmark United States Supreme Court case, got to know a key legal figures and learn about their participation in the case, get involved in research work for the case, and more importantly, learned how the legal system works in the U.S. for class lawsuits. No reading material in the local library can claim to do that for any reader.


- On a personal note, I have to admit that everything I learned about the United States, its history and culture, all stem from the TV documentaries, and movies that I watched coming from the U.S. Without these sources of visual information, I would never have had a clear understanding of their Thanksgiving traditions and what July 4th Independence Day was all about. It is always easier for people to remember and understand facts that they can visualize. That is what makes these sorts of films more effective teaching vehicles.


- Nice closing statement but I feel you need to add something else to this statement to make it more effective.

Writing Feedback / Do you think it is necessary to take an entrance exam to enter a college or university? [4]

I tried to revise your opinion paragraph. Please look it over. I think I was able to keep the essence of your original paper in a better format. I hope you find it useful as a guide. Or feel free to use this version if you wish :-)


- While a number of students who fear failing college entrance exams will most likely jump for joy at not having to take an entrance exam in order to get into a university or college, the reality is that the quality of the education delivered by the educational institution will suffer if they just grant entry to anybody who wants to attend their university. Without entrance exams, the colleges and universities will not be able to properly assess the ability of the potential student to keep up with and accomplish the needs and demands of the major of their choice. This will also help to weed out the students who are just entering the university or choosing a major based upon the dictates and sentiments of their parents, who will be paying for their tuition fees. If they fail to pass the entrance exam, then their parents will realize that the future of their child does not lie in the occupation that they envisioned for him or her. That is why I believe that taking a college entrance exam will be beneficial to the student and the college or university in the long run.

Writing Feedback / The author's conclusion about woven baskets is based on the assumptions that are not very strong [5]


- Archeologists are trained to spot the age of riverbeds, therefore they would have been able to tell if there were pre-existing water forms and how that may have affected the exchange of culture, traditions, and goods in a particular area. Your reasoning is not sound and is not the evidence of proper research.


- This is a reasonable deduction on your part.


- But the fact is that the only way to travel to and from, according to the archeologists is by boat. They did not have boats. So your argument is weak.


- Excellent point!


- This is true. But you need to improve your argument and provide evidence as well to prove that the analysis of the archeologists are wrong or flawed.

My overall grade for this essay, based upon my own observations that I used for my own grading rubic would be a 5. Due to the fact that you did not present enough evidence on your part to disprove the assumptions of the archeologists.

Graduate / 'I decided to study in Germany' - Motivation Letter for Master Aeronautical [15]

This is ready for submission. You just need to correct a few grammatical errors I caught in this final version and then it is ready to be sent out :-) These are very minimal edits that you can apply in less than a minute :-)



- everyday I will exchange...

After applying those corrections, I would like you to read the completed final essay one last time. Just to make sure that you are truly comfortable with the content and do not wish to add or delete any information within the essay. Once you have done that, you can send out the paper :-) Good luck with your application !

Writing Feedback / IELTS: we can not forcedly put the same numbers of males and females into every subject [2]

Here's my take on your essay. I hope my comments can help you improve the essay in your 2nd draft :-)


- Before you launch into your personal opinion. you should present an introduction to the topic by providing an overview of both sides. Then informing the reader of your personal point of view as part of the thesis statement.


- How is this paragraph relevant to the ration or number of students accepted for study in a university? Are you saying that schools should only accept men in certain courses in women in certain courses depending upon their perceived academic activities?


- You speak of students being forced into courses they are not interested in due to their gender. But what if that is not the case? What if the university decides to have an equal number of enrolled students for each department? How does that affect the student? Do you still agree or disagree ?


- You need to clarify what you mean by this point.


- The prompt did not say that students of specific genders would be forced to enroll in particular courses. The implication of the prompt is than an equal number of male and female students should be accepted into their chosen courses instead. Therefore, your discussion and conclusion should only center on the positive and negative effects of having an equal number of male and female students in specific courses.

Undergraduate / I am a paranoid and sometimes I like to see other people suffer - Personal Description Pharagraph [5]

While your concern about your grammar is good to note, I don't want you worry about how you say things at this point in your essay. What is important is that you get your ideas and thoughts written, or in this case, typed out, so that you will have a starting point for your essay. Write down all of the information that you feel is necessary to properly answer the requirements of the essay the best way you know how. Then format it into the required essay format. Post it in this thread again so that it can be reviewed and revised by the forum members. Once you feel confident about the content of the essay, what I mean is, if you feel that the essay already best represents who you are in the context of the prompt, then we can start working on any grammar problems. The grammar problems should be the least of your worries. Those can be corrected and improved upon the minute you feel confident with the content of the essay as you wrote it. After all, what good is excellent grammar if you are using words that do not fit the meaning of your essay or lack essence in such a way that the words used does not enhance the overall content of the paper? Do your best and we will help you polish the rest :-)

Writing Feedback / Do you think it is necessary to take an entrance exam to enter a college or university? [4]

Your discussion is poorly developed and lacks any actual merit or basis overall. I am making some suggestions as to how you can improve this essay during its 2nd drafting stage.


- You need an introductory statement that will properly explain the essay prompt as per your understanding. Close the thesis statement with an indication that your stand is that students should take an entrance exam and that you will be discussing both the pro and anti exam points in the essay.


- An overview of these ideas should be presented in your introductory paragraph.


- Present this as an argument not in favor of taking entrance exams. Develop the ideas further using examples or personal experience.

For the next paragraph, you must present a discussion in support of entrance exams and then present supporting evidence as well.


- This is a good personal point of view. It has good assumptions to support your claim. However, the assumption should be reworded to sound factual in order to be acceptable as an argument. Restate this paragraph.

Writing Feedback / [GRE ISSUE] Government regulation in the economy. [3]

I'll try to help you by showing you how to better present your arguments within the essay. I hope my suggestions work for you :-)

-A capitalistic economy often finds itself debating whether government intervention is necessary in order to regulate the market's. One side is opposed to government intervention while the other, supports the intervention. This paper will attempt to factually discuss both sides of the issue in a manner that will allow the readers to make an informed decision and help them create their personal opinion on the matter.

- Those opposed to government intervention do so on the basis of a laissez-faire economy. Declaring that the public need for safety can be met by business owners and the market even as they pursue their self interests pertaining to profit. It must be noted however, that the prime objective of corporate interests are not always in the best interest of the consumer. Therefore, the quality of the products they produce remain suspect. Unless the corporations and private sector can prove that no harm will come to the public while using their products by making them liable for their product quality, these players will not have any compelling factor to consider public safety in their business movements and decisions.

- This is why there are those who believe that government regulation is a necessary evil in the business sector. The government's primary responsibility is to safeguard the welfare of the public. As such, they must ensure that the public is not deceived or harmed by business and market practitioners in the name of profit. Consider the case...

- Due to the government's mandated accountability to the people, it makes perfect sense for them to interfere in the business affairs of the private sector before something goes wrong. If something does go wrong, the government will have to be involved in the problem resolution anyway. The people can also demand that the government interfere in the private sector once they believe that the regulations of the companies involved are detrimental to the public interests. Rather than forcibly having the government enter the scene, it would perhaps be in everyone's best interests to have the public represented by the government early on.

- While the public may be concerned about government efficiency when addressing these problems. Corruption has also become a clear issue when it comes to the government dealings with the private sector. This is the main reason that the other parties wish to have the government stay out of the affairs of the private sector. If they are prone to be swayed towards the interests of business, regardless of its effect on the public, then the government does not truly represent the best interests of the people.But that is not to say that such a situation constantly exists for the public and private sector. Therefore, unless a perfect economy, free from corruption and with an assurance that all products manufactured in the private sector are safe and perfectly distributed to the people, the government needs to somehow be trusted by the public to protect their interests when it comes to issues of public health and safety.

I believe that you need to research more facts about this issue and work it into your next version. That way the essay will be further strengthened since it will be releasing opinions based upon verifiable public information.

Undergraduate / Library of Congress in Washington DC - it's a place where I was inspired by design... [2]

You present a very good essay here. But I agree with you when you say that it is a bit impersonal. I believe that the feeling of detachment comes from your only describing the architecture of the building and the story behind it. It lacks the personal touch. The essay should be further improved once you include your personal feelings about the designs that you saw. Surely the designs touched you emotionally and intellectually in a way. You should delve into that aspect and discuss in such a manner that you know will be appealing to the admissions officer of the university. You need to present an idea of how you personally connected with the building and its architecture during the tour in order to develop a more personal feel and point of view for the discussions that you presented. By doing so, you will present yourself as a future architect who knows how to translate emotions, feelings, and sentiments into your final design. Depicting yourself in such a manner will also offer an idea as to the kind of architecture that can be expected of you in the future.

You spoke of architectural designs from Paris in one of the sentences. Maybe you could compare how you felt and what you thought of those Paris designs which influenced your feelings and point of view relating to its American counterparts? This will show how you have a wide point of view when it comes to architecture and will further establish your points of inspiration when it comes to building design.

Undergraduate / My experience with religion - College essay [2]

Religion is normally an explosive topic to discuss in any essay. However, your discussion was in no way explosive. In fact, it was highly informative and gave both sides of the issue in a calm and logical manner. You should give yourself a pat on the back for being able to address the prompt in a very proper and agreeable manner. This is an example of an essay wherein the writer truly understood all the aspects implied in the single prompt and did his or her best o address these. That said, I would like to move on to advising you regarding some minor grammatical problems and giving you content suggestions which I hope will help you improve your essay :-)


- You can skip this statement because the central point of the paragraph is already the argument that you had with the girl on a daily basis. Therefore, your argumentative personality is established without additional words.

- Try to make this a separate paragraph so that you have an introduction portion to your essay. This part reads more like a part of its body than an introduction.

- ... to convert me. Whereas I...She seemed to not understand... she believed that one must believe in God...


- You can expand upon this portion by explaining what the circumstances of this conversation was and how it helped to make you both more open minded towards hearing each others side. How did the conversation end? That way you can give a basis for the actions that the girl took the next day.


- It gave me insight... how the Mormon girl thought ... Religion for me...
These very minor revisions should help to further strengthen your discussion :-) Keep up the good work!

Writing Feedback / Toefl - Replacing old buildings is important for any city but it should not affect historic houses [8]

Hi Hamedmas :-) I was wondering if you have a word count limit on the paper? This is really short paragraph wise because you have so many individual sentences involved. Those sentences are under developed in my opinion and could use more discussion in order to create a better point of view for your paper.

- There is a word confusion in this statement. Revolution means to embark on a war. Evolution means to embark on change. I am sure you mean evolution :-)

- Since this is your introductory statement, you should have a more solid thesis presented. You can do this by mentioning a few reasons why historic buildings are sometimes being torn down in favor of new buildings. That way you can present your point of view at the end with an overview of what discussion the paper will contain.

- This is a good paragraph. But I would like to make a suggestion, revise the statement in order to reflect a belief that the historic building should not be replaced because it holds the key to understanding the history of the people, it's traditions, and culture. These are also important aspects of traditional life and beliefs among a people which go hand in hand with the architecture of the building Architects have been known to build structures that pay tribute to their culture, traditions, historic events, or even folklore. I believe that should also be discussed as an important aspect of preserving the buildings.

- It would be good to mention the historic buildings of Rome, Egypt, Spain, Germany, etc. as some of the examples of preserved historic buildings that draw in tourists and historians eager to understand the seeds of culture and history in a nation.

- I suggest adding a sentence about how the historic buildings help the new generation of citizens look towards a brighter future because of the inspiration that can be derived from the preservation of old buildings. Make suggestions about how these buildings can be preserved in its original look but still bring in income for the country by turning it into libraries, cafe's, hotels, etc. Samples of the new purpose for historic buildings can be found via Google search.

I hope my suggestions help you :-) Each of your sentences can still be developed in order to make this already good essay even better. I look forward to reading the next version :-)

Undergraduate / The Perfectly Imperfect Woman - Your most important influence(s) [3]

For starters, I would like you to check the following to make sure that your paper follows the proper MLA formatting for essays:
1. 1 inch margins on the top, bottom, left, and right side of the paper.
2. The paper must be double spaced
3. Font size 10 (minimum) - 12 (maximum), Arial or Times New Roman fonts
4. The paper must follow the correct MLA referencing guide whenever quotes are used. You can do a quick search via Google for sample MLA formats to make sure you have the correct format for personal interview quotes. I personally prefer the Purdue OWL website for this purpose.

Now for my comments/ revision suggestions about the essay itself:

The essay is quite short for an MLA formatted essay. An academically formatted short MLA essay is composed of at least 3 paragraphs. You only have 2 paragraphs. The maximum number of paragraphs you can fit on a single paper is 5 depending upon the number of sentences per paragraph.


- This is not an MLA formatted quotation. As an in-text citation, it should contain a parenthetical citation indicating the source of this quote.
- The punctuation marks should appear after the quotation marks.
- Indicate the author and page number where the quote can be found in the parenthetical citation.


- What makes you say that she is perfectly imperfect? Give examples to give the reader an idea of what you mean.


- What is imperfect about her in this statement?


- Again, a sample of her strength, be it physical or emotional would help this portion along. You are trying to explain why she is perfectly imperfect at this point. So an example of her being strong for the wrong reasons would be good.


- This is a good supporting sentence. Build upon it. Examples can be used here.
- You don't need to format this quote because it is from a previous memory.


- Why did this happen and how did she accomplish this? Why did you decide to turn around because of her?


- Did her imperfections influence you do accomplish these things? Why did her own imperfections inspire your?

Finally, I believe you close your essay with a paragraph explaining and reiterating your belief in and support of your grandmother as a perfectly imperfect woman.

You still have plenty of room to discuss the theme of your essay. Supporting examples from your personal experience with your grandmother will provide solidity to your comments as well. I suggest you revise the essay to reflect these things.

Scholarship / 'how to apply and what to write?' - Self introduction essay for KGSP scholarship [8]

Leigh, unfortunately the rules of the forum do not allow us to share our email accounts with you. This is an open forum where all the uploaded essays are open to the registered forum participants. Instead of asking for our email accounts, you should just upload those papers here so that we can have an open discussion / suggestion table that can help you finalize your essay content. We can also verify your essay for plagiarism if you wish us to do that for you. This forum is equipped to handle such requests. Remember, we can only offer essay advice, we cannot do the work for you. If you need that kind of work, you should seek a professional writing service :-)

Student Talk / Suggestions for getting recorded interviews transcribed [6]

You can send the transcript of the student to the international school in its current format. But you will need to attach a grade conversion chart to it just so the school can have a point of comparison between the grading systems. I am sure you can find someone in the administrative office who can help you find a conversion chart. It may seem overwhelming for you to be dealing with international schools but you don't have to be afraid. They are pretty understanding of the different educational styles worldwide and make room in order to understand those differences. If you are confident that the student has the high marks to be considered for admission, then go ahead and send the transcript in the format that your school creates it in. But I suggest that you do your best to find the conversion chart just in case the other school has never received an application from a student from your school or country before. You can also ask the student to email the international school authorities to inform them about the grading difference and ask for their advice regarding the matter in relation to his application.

Graduate / SOCIAL WORK - Yy SOP for Applying MA [4]

Here are my further suggestions / revisions that I hope will help you out :-)


- I believe that the role of a social worker is to help people who have experienced any form of injustice, abuse, and inequality in life. As a social worker, I must help them overcome these experiences that negatively impacted their lives in order to help restore their self-respect, sense of humanity, and well-being.


- Rather than using this paragraph, I believe that the essay will benefit more from your telling the reader how your current work experience is relevant to your MA in Social Work. That way the purpose for your application becomes implied, in which case you can explain it more. Or obvious in which case it becomes self explanatory.


- I seriously suggest that you merge this paragraph into your current introductory statement. The strength of your SOP is practically centered in this paragraph. Add your Social Work ideology from the first paragraph and you have created an immensely strong SOP. Put this at the beginning of your SOP introduction then proceed to the currently existing first paragraph in a merged form.


- The sentences I struck out were irrelevant to your SOP and will not serve any purpose towards your being considered for admission.

I look forward to reading the next version. I truly believe that you are slowly perfecting your SOP :-) Keep up the good work! We will always be here to offer our assistance :-)

Letters / Professor is asking to recommend an International student via common Application - College [14]

Don't panic. Don't worry. There is a way to do this even though your country does not offer those educational courses. All you have to do is explain in the letter that your country does not have equivalent courses so you will just be recommending the student based upon the classes that you taught which he/she participated in and base any grading comments upon your own country's standards. That way you can deliver an acceptable recommendation letter without having to lie about the course that the student took under your tutelage. Just be honest, tell them you are not familiar with those courses but that you feel that the student should be considered for further studies based upon your observation of his/her study habits and academic performance. That should work just fine.

Writing Feedback / 'Arctic deer live on islands in Canada's arctic regions' - GRE Argument Essay [2]

You wrote a very good argument that could refute the claims of the author. However, your arguments also lacked supporting evidence in order to support your claim. Thus, your refuting evidence is also weak. I would suggest that you try to use factual data, which can be found via Google search in defense and support of your position. You can also do the same to refute his statements. By presenting hard evidence regarding the migratory habits of the deer, you will definitely be able to strongly support your claims and in the process, nullify the claims of the author. Don't get me wrong, the paper is good as it is, but with the factual information from reputable sources, the paper could have been even better :-)

Writing Feedback / People care more about public recognition than about money [4]

The statement implies that people will still get paid but not rewarded for extra accomplishments on the job. In other words, no bonuses for model employees :-)


- ... individuals to work . Therefore, when the... working passion even if they don't get...


- Money matters more in a commercial society . People have to pay for. Individuals need their salaries to pay for ... houses and cars . ... They expect a higher...

- Your last statement does not help establish anything related to the prompt. Never deviate from the prompt.


- work in the short term... Social recognition must convert into real economic benefit for the workers. Otherwise, the lack of balance in their public and financial status... there are more competitive jobs on the market...


- Merge this sentence with the previous paragraph to create your closing statement.


- This is a better opening statement. You should definitely use this hook instead. I just have some adjustments to suggest.
- ... stronger motivation for people to work but getting paid

I hope my suggestions work for you. By the way, you present very good arguments in support of your stand. It is obvious that you considered all the angles of discussion and gave the pro and con reasons for each.