“Four score and seven years ago…”  They’re famous words that resonate with almost every American.  But would the Gettysburg Address have been the same memorable document if Abe Lincoln had started out by writing, “87 years ago” and left it at that?  Definitely not!  Knowing how to write numbers in words – or when you should use numerals instead – is more than a matter of personal taste.  Depending on what you’re writing, it can make the difference between an outstanding grade and one that’s only so-so.

Are you in college? Perhaps preparing for the SATs? Either way, you will most likely need to know how to write a 5 paragraph essay. There’s just one problem: these essays are often timed, leaving students with limited minutes to plan and structure their writing. Even if you aren’t writing the essay as part of an exam, the task of organizing all your thoughts into just 5 paragraphs can be daunting, to say in the least. Luckily, there is a simple secret to crafting a killer essay. Here’s how to write a 5 paragraph essay outline that will provide you with the key to successful compositions throughout your college career

Imagine that every book you picked up was titled with a single word. “Cats.” “Recipes.” “Clothing.” Pretty boring, right? You’d probably never read again in your life. But what if the titles were five sentences long? That wouldn’t be very interesting either! The truth is that crafting an essay title is trickier than it seems. You can spend several hours writing an essay, and then find that you can’t submit it because you just can’t get the title right. Have no fear, though; I’m going to walk you through 5 basic rules for writing essay titles that will wow every professor.

If your professor has never talked to you about writing vocabulary, she should have. Too many students work for hours on their grammar, spelling, and sentence structure, but they still turn in mediocre papers because their language simply doesn’t meet college expectations. It’s no surprise, really – switching from high-school level terminology to college words can be quite a feat! In order to help struggling students out, I’ve compiled a list of college words that can help bring your writing from meh to ‘mazing.

Finished your paper?  That’s great news!  But wait – before you turn it in, make sure you run it past an essay proofreader to ensure that you haven’t made any preventable mistakes that could cost you grades in the long run.  If you’re worried about what you can do to make sure your paper is proofread and as perfect as possible, quit worrying.  You’ve got a lot of choices.  Let’s look at a few of the best options to ensure your paper is as good as it can be before you turn it in.

250 word essays are a huge challenge to students. Not only do they require an incredible amount of structure and organization, these mini-essays also involve condensing a large amount of material into just a couple of short sentences. Think of the last 10-pager you’ve written, and then imagine squishing that information into little more than 2 paragraphs. Ouch! Also, 250 word essays aren’t uncommon at all. Many long-answer questions on exams require short essays, and online discussion boards almost always limit posts to 250-300 words. Since you’re most likely going to have to write a 250 word essay at some point during college, you should learn how to structure these babies in a way that’ll get you a sure A.