Academic Writing Blog - Academic Writing Success

7 Simple Steps to Writing a Standout Professional Statement for Graduate School

by Suzanne Davis | Feb 29, 2024 | College and Graduate School

Does writing a professional statement scare you? Are you worried your writing won’t be good enough for graduate school? Maybe you’re confused about what to write. I’ve had many students worry about how to write a professional statement or statement of purpose for grad...

How to Find Scholarships You Can Actually Win!

by Suzanne Davis | Oct 19, 2023 | Scholarships

Billions of dollars in scholarship money! Every major scholarship search website or book has a headline about how much money all the scholarships listed add up to (usually millions or billions). Their math isn’t wrong. Those dollars are there waiting for...

5+ Avoidable ACT/SAT Test Preparation Mistakes That Hurt Your Score

by Suzanne Davis | Oct 6, 2022 | College and Graduate School

When I first applied to colleges, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t study for the PSAT or SAT, attend any SAT test preparation course, or take practice exams. I relied on an elective coursed offered in my school—Verbal English. Every week, we...

7 Sensational Essay Hooks That Grab Readers’ Attention

by Suzanne Davis | Jul 14, 2022 | Writing Essays and Papers

Do you want people to feel excited when they read your essay? The secret is to get them interested in reading your essay by making the first part of your introduction intriguing. The best way to do that is by using attention-grabbing essay hooks. So,...

6 Easy and Effective Ways to Create a Research Question

by Suzanne Davis | May 12, 2022 | Writing Essays and Papers, Writing Process

Do you need to create a research question? Can’t you start searching for sources without a research question? You could try that, but you would need to hunt for an idea among a maze of articles, books, and other research. The best strategy for finding...

The Top 9 Free Online Editing Tools For Writing Excellent Papers

by Suzanne Davis | Mar 10, 2022 | Writing Resources

I dread editing. Editing isn’t my superpower; it is my writing weakness. It’s painful and tedious, but it can transform a bad or ok research paper into an excellent one. And while no online editing tool can replace a human’s eyes for...

11 Fantastic Online Writing Tools for Free in 2022

by Suzanne Davis | Feb 10, 2022 | Writing Resources, Writing Technology

“Suzanne, I have the perfect online writing tool for you.” I receive many emails from people telling me about an excellent new app, tool, or website for writers or students. And since I tutor academic writing online, I try all kinds of writing tools and...

21 Insightful and Inspirational Author Quotes to Motivate You

by Suzanne Davis | Feb 2, 2022 | Writing Motivation

When I struggle with writing, I think of Fyodor Dostoevsky. I think of him waiting to be executed for his beliefs (he wasn’t). I imagine him freezing in a Siberian Prison Camp. He suffered, he endured, he didn’t quit, and he wrote amazing novels. Dostoevsky...

How to Create an Easy and Effective Writing Schedule (and Stick to It)!

by Suzanne Davis | Jan 6, 2022 | Writing Organization

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by writing? Your teacher or professor assigns a writing project, and you think “I don’t even know how to start?” Or do you struggle to begin any other piece of writing that seems large? Even experienced writers get nervous...

5 Key Steps to Writing an Exceptional Compare and Contrast Essay

by Suzanne Davis | Oct 25, 2021 | Writing Essays and Papers

It isn’t complicated. But writing an exceptional compare and contrast essay does take effort and planning. An excellent compare and contrast paper reveals something unique about a topic. It dives into the topic and reflects on the importance of what is...