Education Universe College writing, High School Writing

Unlocking the Power of Thesis Statements: A Brief Guide

Thesis statements are the backbone of any academic paper. They briefly summarize the central argument or position you will defend throughout your essay or research paper. A strong thesis statement is essential for effectively communicating your ideas and guiding your readers through your writing. In this article, we’ll explore the different types of thesis statements and provide examples to help you master this critical aspect of academic writing.

1. Analytical Thesis Statement:

An analytical thesis statement breaks down a complex issue into its key components and evaluates them. It doesn’t make a specific claim or argument but analyzes a topic or idea. Here’s an example:

“The portrayal of gender roles in classic literature reflects societal norms and expectations during the time of its publication.”

This thesis statement focuses on analyzing how gender roles are depicted in classic literature and what this reveals about the cultural context of the time.

2. Explanatory Thesis Statement:

An explanatory thesis statement explains a concept, phenomenon, or event without taking a stance. It aims to inform the reader about the topic rather than argue a point. Here’s an example:

“The Industrial Revolution had a profound impact on the economic, social, and political landscape of the 19th century.”

This thesis statement introduces the topic of the Industrial Revolution and suggests that it had far-reaching consequences across multiple domains.

3. Argumentative Thesis Statement:

An argumentative thesis statement presents a claim or position on a controversial issue and provides reasons or evidence to support it. It aims to persuade the reader to adopt a particular viewpoint. Here’s an example:

“Social media has a detrimental effect on mental health due to its addictive nature, promotion of unrealistic standards, and facilitation of cyberbullying.”

In this thesis statement, the position is that social media negatively impacts mental health, and three points (addictive nature, promotion of unrealistic standards, and facilitation of cyberbullying) are provided to support this argument.

Argumentative Example:

“Despite their convenience, online education platforms cannot fully replace traditional classroom learning due to limitations in interpersonal interaction, lack of hands-on experience, and disparities in access to technology.”

In this thesis statement, the position is that online education cannot fully replace traditional classroom learning. Three points (limitations in interpersonal interaction, lack of hands-on experience, and disparities in access to technology) support this argument.

Counter Argument:

While online education offers flexibility and accessibility, it may not adequately address the need for face-to-face interaction and hands-on learning experiences. Additionally, disparities in access to technology may exacerbate educational inequalities rather than mitigate them.

In conclusion, college-level students must master the art of crafting effective thesis statements. Whether you’re analyzing, explaining, or arguing a point, a well-crafted thesis statement will clarify your writing. By understanding the different types of thesis statements and practicing with examples, you’ll be better equipped to articulate your ideas and engage your readers in meaningful academic discourse.

Education Universe Biases

Why it is Important to Understand Implicit Biases

Defining Implicit Biases

Implicit biases are unconscious attitudes, beliefs, stereotypes, or preferences that individuals hold towards certain groups or categories of people. These biases operate automatically and influence perceptions, judgments, and behavior without conscious awareness or intentional control. Implicit biases can be formed through societal messages, cultural influences, personal experiences, and exposure to media. They may manifest in various contexts, such as social interactions, decision-making processes, and professional settings. Despite being unintentional, implicit biases can have significant impacts on individual attitudes, behaviors, and societal outcomes. These impacts often contribute to systemic inequalities and discrimination. Recognizing and addressing implicit biases is crucial for promoting fairness, equity, and inclusivity in diverse environments.

Benefits of Understanding Implicit Biases as a Writer

  • Enhances Critical Thinking: Understanding implicit bias fosters critical thinking skills among college writers. It encourages them to question their assumptions and perspectives.
  • Improves Writing Quality: Awareness of implicit bias helps writers identify and mitigate potential biases. This leads to more balanced and inclusive content.
  • Enhances Communication: Writers who understand implicit bias can communicate more effectively. They do this by crafting messages that resonate with diverse audiences. This approach minimizes unintended harm.
  • Promotes Diversity and Inclusion: Recognizing implicit bias promotes a culture of diversity and inclusion within academic settings. This fosters a more equitable learning environment.
  • Builds Empathy: Grasping implicit bias cultivates empathy. Writers become more attuned to the experiences and perspectives of individuals from different backgrounds.
  • Encourages Ethical Responsibility: College writers with knowledge of implicit bias are better equipped to uphold ethical standards in their writing. They avoid stereotypes and promote fairness.
  • Supports Research Integrity: Awareness of implicit bias helps writers acknowledge potential biases in their research methodologies and interpretations. This promotes integrity in academic inquiry.
  • Prepares for Professional Settings: Understanding implicit bias prepares college writers for professional environments. There, sensitivity to diverse perspectives is essential for success.

Why it is Important to Understand Personal Implicit Biases

  • Self-awareness: Recognizing your implicit biases helps you become more aware of your thought patterns, attitudes, and behaviors. This enables you to understand better how these biases may influence your perceptions and actions.
  • Improved Decision-Making: By understanding your implicit biases, you can make more informed decisions. You consciously consider and mitigate their effects. This leads to fairer and more equitable outcomes.
  • Enhanced Relationships: Awareness of your implicit biases allows you to engage in more empathetic and respectful interactions with others. This fosters stronger relationships and promotes understanding across diverse groups.
  • Reduced Prejudice: Acknowledging and confronting your implicit biases can help reduce prejudice and discriminatory behaviors. This leads to a more inclusive and harmonious social environment.
  • Personal Growth: Addressing implicit biases involves ongoing self-reflection and learning. This process can contribute to personal growth and development. It fosters a more open-minded and empathetic worldview.
  • Professional Success: In professional settings, understanding your implicit biases can improve your effectiveness as a leader, team member, or decision-maker. It promotes diversity, equity, and inclusivity. These efforts ultimately contribute to organizational success.
  • Positive Social Impact: By actively challenging and addressing your implicit biases, you can contribute to positive social change. Advocate for fairness, equality, and justice in your community and beyond.

Conclusion

Know thyself – the best advice to addressing implicit biases is to understand that you are human and have them. Acting on them is the problem. Knowing them and addressing them can contribute to personal growth.

Education Universe Research Writing

Understanding Scholarly Sources and How to Evaluate Them

When instructors ask students to use scholarly sources, the request can feel vague or intimidating. Many students wonder what actually counts as scholarly, how scholarly sources differ from regular articles found online, and how to know whether a source is reliable enough to use in an academic paper. This article explains what scholarly sources are, shows examples of what scholarly writing looks like, and introduces a simple method called the CRAAP Test to help evaluate sources. By the end, you should feel more confident identifying and using scholarly sources in your own academic work.

What Are Scholarly Sources?

Scholarly sources are works written by experts for other experts or students in a specific academic field. These sources are usually published in academic journals, university presses, or professional publications. Their purpose is not to entertain or persuade a general audience, but to contribute to ongoing research, discussion, or knowledge in a discipline.

Most scholarly sources share several key characteristics. They are written by authors with advanced degrees or professional expertise. They are based on original research, experiments, or detailed analysis of existing research. They include citations and references that show where information comes from. They are usually written in formal language and follow a structured format that may include sections such as an abstract, literature review, methodology, results, and discussion.

Peer review is another defining feature of scholarly sources. Before publication, many scholarly articles are reviewed by other experts in the same field. These reviewers evaluate the research methods, arguments, and conclusions to ensure the work meets academic standards. This process helps reduce errors and bias and adds credibility to the source.

Common examples of scholarly sources include academic journal articles, scholarly books, conference proceedings, and government or institutional research reports.

How Scholarly Sources Differ from Popular Sources

Understanding what scholarly sources are also requires understanding what they are not. Popular sources include news articles, blogs, magazines, and many general websites. These sources are written for a broad audience and often focus on accessibility rather than depth. While popular sources can be useful for background information or current events, they usually do not meet the standards required for academic research.

For example, a magazine article about climate change might summarize recent findings in simple language. A scholarly article on the same topic would present original data, explain the research methods in detail, and situate the findings within existing scientific literature. Both have value, but they serve different purposes.

Examples of Scholarly Writing

One way to recognize a scholarly source is by how it sounds on the page. Scholarly writing is careful, precise, and evidence based. The tone is often neutral and cautious rather than emotional or opinion driven.

Consider the following excerpt from a scholarly psychology journal article:

“The results indicate a statistically significant correlation between sleep duration and cognitive performance among undergraduate students, suggesting that chronic sleep deprivation may impair executive functioning” (Hershner and Chervin 74).

This excerpt shows several features of scholarly writing. The authors refer to data and results rather than personal opinions. The language is specific and measured. Terms like “statistically significant” and “executive functioning” signal that the authors are writing for an academic audience familiar with the field.

Here is another example from a scholarly education journal:

“Prior research demonstrates that formative feedback, when provided consistently and aligned with learning objectives, can significantly improve student engagement and academic achievement” (Hattie and Timperley 88).

Again, the authors are referencing previous research rather than making unsupported claims. The sentence connects the current discussion to an ongoing scholarly conversation.

In contrast, a non scholarly source might say something like, “Getting enough sleep is really important for college students because it helps them think better.” While this statement may be true, it lacks evidence, precision, and citation.

Why Instructors Require Scholarly Sources

Instructors require scholarly sources because they want students to engage with reliable, credible information. Scholarly sources show how knowledge is created and debated within a field. They help students learn how to analyze evidence, evaluate arguments, and build their own claims based on research.

Using scholarly sources also helps prevent the spread of misinformation. Because these sources are reviewed and documented, readers can trace ideas back to their original studies and judge the quality of the evidence for themselves.

Evaluating Sources with the CRAAP Test

Even scholarly looking sources should be evaluated carefully. One widely used method for evaluating sources is the CRAAP Test. CRAAP stands for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. This test offers a quick but effective way to assess whether a source is appropriate for academic work.

Currency refers to how recent the information is. In fast changing fields like medicine or technology, sources may need to be very recent. In fields like history or philosophy, older sources may still be valuable. Checking the publication date helps determine whether the information is up to date for your topic.

Relevance asks whether the source actually fits your research question. A scholarly article may be credible, but if it does not directly address your topic, it may not be useful. Consider the intended audience, level of detail, and scope of the source.

Authority focuses on who wrote the source and why they are qualified. Scholarly sources usually list the author’s credentials and institutional affiliation. An article written by a university researcher in a peer reviewed journal generally has more authority than an unsigned web page.

Accuracy examines whether the information is supported by evidence. Scholarly sources typically include citations, data, and references that allow readers to verify claims. If a source makes bold statements without evidence, that is a red flag.

Purpose looks at why the source exists. Scholarly sources aim to inform, analyze, or contribute to research rather than sell a product or push a political agenda. Understanding the purpose helps readers identify potential bias.

The CRAAP Test does not guarantee a source is perfect, but it provides a clear framework for making informed decisions about credibility.

Using Scholarly Sources in Your Writing

Once you have identified strong scholarly sources, the next step is using them effectively in your writing. This means integrating quotations, paraphrases, and summaries smoothly into your own arguments. It also means citing sources properly so readers can locate them.

In-text citations show where information comes from and give credit to the original authors. For example, after discussing the effects of sleep on learning, a student might write, “Research indicates that insufficient sleep negatively affects attention and memory in college students (Hershner and Chervin 76).” This citation allows readers to find the full source in the Works Cited list.

Conclusion

Scholarly sources are a cornerstone of academic research. They are written by experts, grounded in evidence, and designed to contribute to knowledge within a discipline. Learning to recognize scholarly writing, understand its purpose, and evaluate its credibility using tools like the CRAAP Test helps students become stronger researchers and writers. While scholarly sources may seem dense at first, practice and familiarity make them easier to navigate and more rewarding to use.

Works Cited

Hattie, John, and Helen Timperley. “The Power of Feedback.” Review of Educational Research, vol. 77, no. 1, 2007, pp. 81–112.

Hershner, Shelley, and Ronald Chervin. “Causes and Consequences of Sleepiness Among College Students.” Nature and Science of Sleep, vol. 6, 2014, pp. 73–84.

Jones, Jacqueline. “Evaluating Sources: Research Foundations for Building Strong Research in the Information Age.” Education Universe, 13 Oct. 2025, https://educationuniverse.org/2025/10/13/evaluating-sources-research-foundations-building-strong-research-in-the-information-age/. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.

Merriam Webster Dictionary. “Scholarly.” Merriam Webster, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scholarly. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.

Education Universe Uncategorized

Suspense and Psychological Depth: How Literature Pulls Us Inside the Human Mind

Suspense and psychological depth have long been two of the most compelling forces in literature. They shape how we experience a story not only through what happens but through how it feels from the inside. When a writer uses suspense, the reader senses uncertainty or anticipation. When a writer develops psychological depth, the reader gains access to the characters inner world. The strongest works combine these two qualities so that the atmosphere of the text becomes inseparable from the emotions and perceptions of the figures at its center.

Two well known examples that show how these forces operate are The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe and Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. One is a story of guilt, panic, and confession. The other is a poem of vision, dreamlike imagery, and creative longing. Even though one presents a frantic narrator and the other presents an imaginative and symbolic landscape, both create strong emotional effects through careful control of voice, pacing, rhythm, and imagery. By studying how these works achieve their power, students and readers can sharpen their analytical skills and become more attentive to the craft of literature.

This article introduces the concepts of suspense and psychological depth, explains how they operate in both works, and offers strategies for identifying them in any text. The goal is to help readers move beyond simple summary toward a more insightful understanding of why these works continue to resonate.

Understanding Suspense

Suspense grows out of uncertainty. A reader feels drawn forward because a question hangs in the air. It might be a question about what will happen next or about what a character will reveal. Sometimes the suspense is tied to action, such as waiting for a confrontation. Sometimes it is tied to emotion, such as waiting for a confession or a shift in understanding. Suspense can be loud and dramatic or quiet and psychological. It can rise from small details that unsettle the reader or from major events that change the course of the narrative. In every case suspense has the same effect. It keeps the reader alert.

Writers often create suspense by withholding information, slowing the pace, repeating a detail, or narrowing the point of view so that the reader sees only what the character sees. When suspense appears in a work that also contains psychological depth, the tension becomes stronger because the uncertainty comes from inside the character rather than from outside events.

Understanding Psychological Depth

Psychological depth refers to the sense that a character has an interior life shaped by memory, imagination, conflict, or desire. Instead of a character who simply performs actions, we see a mind at work. This can appear in the form of self questioning, emotional intensity, or unusual perception. It can also emerge through symbolism or imagery that reflects a characters inner state.

A text with psychological depth invites readers to notice how thoughts and feelings shape experience. Sometimes the writer makes this explicit through first person narration. Sometimes the writer conveys it more subtly through tone or word choice. In all cases psychological depth allows us to understand the emotional stakes and to enter the characters consciousness.

The Tell Tale Heart as a Study in Inner Pressure

Poe’s story is frequently described as a portrait of obsession and guilt. Although plot events occur, the intensity of the story comes from the mind of the narrator. The story opens with a claim of calm reasoning, yet the rhythm of the narrator’s speech reveals agitation. By using a first person point of view, Poe places readers inside an unsettled mind whose thoughts rush and repeat.

One of the most important techniques in this story is the connection between sensory detail and emotional turmoil. The narrator claims to hear sounds that ordinary people cannot hear. He focuses on the eye of the old man with an exaggerated sense of dread. These details are more than physical descriptions. They are clues to the narrator’s distorted perception. The reader senses that the problem lies not in the eye itself but in the narrator’s fixation on it.

Suspense arises from the contrast between the narrator’s confident tone and the disturbing nature of his thoughts. The pacing of the story increases as the narrator describes each step of his plan. The night scene where he slowly opens the door is filled with tension even though very little action occurs. Every motion is slowed so that each moment becomes heavy with expectation.

The heartbeat that grows louder becomes the climax of the psychological tension. Whether the sound is real or imagined is less important than the fact that the narrator believes it to be real. The pounding reflects his own fear and guilt, and the final confession arrives not because of external pressure but because his own mind cannot bear the weight anymore. The suspense is resolved through psychological collapse rather than through physical threat.

Kubla Khan and the Tension Between Vision and Mystery

Coleridge’s Kubla Khan creates a different kind of tension. Instead of a frantic narrator, the poem presents a visionary landscape that feels both beautiful and ominous. The poem describes a pleasure dome built by the ruler Kubla Khan in the land of Xanadu. The river Alph flows through caverns that seem limitless, and the scene blends the human world with a world that seems natural yet mysterious.

The imagery carries much of the poems power. Bright domes, deep caverns, sacred rivers, and a sunless sea create contrasts that feel symbolic. The pleasure dome suggests order and control, while the deep chasm suggests forces that lie beyond human command. The reader senses creative energy but also danger. This balance produces a form of suspense, not because of plot but because the poem hints at depths that cannot be fully known.

Another important aspect of psychological depth in this poem is the shift in perspective. In the second half of the poem, the speaker reflects on the act of creation itself. The poem becomes less about the landscape and more about the desire to recreate a vision through art. This interior turn allows readers to consider the emotional and mental labor behind imaginative work. The poem becomes an exploration of inspiration and longing.

The fragmentary nature of the poem also creates tension. Coleridge famously claimed that the poem reflects an incomplete vision. Whether or not this account is literal, the poem feels like a glimpse rather than a full narrative. Something remains unsaid, and that sense of incompleteness invites readers to imagine what might lie beyond the borders of the text. The suspense therefore arises from the poem’s embrace of mystery.

Why These Techniques Matter

Suspense and psychological depth allow literature to echo the complexity of human experience. When stories and poems rely only on external action, they can be entertaining but limited. When they draw readers into a characters mind, they open new ways of understanding fear, desire, imagination, and memory. By studying how writers build these effects, readers develop stronger analytical habits. They learn to notice tone, imagery, pacing, and point of view instead of relying only on plot summary.

This approach also offers greater insight into the larger themes of each work. The Tell Tale Heart becomes a study of guilt and self deception rather than simply a story of crime. Kubla Khan becomes a reflection on creativity and the power of visionary imagination rather than a simple description of a palace.

Readers who practice this kind of analysis can apply it in many contexts. In any text, you can begin by identifying a moment of tension or emotion. Then you can ask how the writer created that moment. Which details were highlighted. How does the structure support the feeling. What clues reveal the inner state of a character or narrator. After identifying these techniques, the next step is interpretation. You ask why the writer shaped the text that way and what the effect means for the larger work.

This method works for stories, poems, essays, and even films. It transforms reading from passive consumption into active engagement. It also helps students build stronger writing skills, since learning how writers create emotional impact prepares students to try similar techniques in their own work.

Suspense and psychological depth continue to appear in literature because they speak to universal questions. How do our fears shape our choices. How does imagination shape reality. How do guilt, desire, or mystery influence what we see and what we remember. Writers who tackle these questions invite readers to look inward as well as outward. That is the true power of these techniques, and that is why these two works remain essential reading.

Works Cited

Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Kubla Khan. Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43991/kubla-khan

Poe, Edgar Allan. The Tell Tale Heart. The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore. https://www.eapoe.org/works/tales/tthrt.htm

Litcharts. Kubla Khan Summary and Analysis. https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/samuel-coleridge/kubla-khan

Litcharts. The Tell Tale Heart Summary and Analysis. https://www.litcharts.com/lit/poe-s-stories/the-tell-tale-heart

Education Universe Uncategorized

Growing Up the Hard Way: Two Stories About Coming of Age

Coming of age is one of the oldest and most relatable themes in literature. Everyone has to grow up, but the process rarely looks the same for any two people. Sometimes the transition from adolescence to adulthood is slow and subtle, a gradual accumulation of responsibility and understanding. Other times, it is sharp, sudden and painful. In Joyce Carol Oates’s Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? and John Updike’s A & P, coming of age looks very different, but both stories offer a powerful snapshot of what it means to leave innocence behind.

Each story follows a young character standing at the edge of a major turning point. Their stories are short, just a few pages each, but they capture a specific emotional truth about growing up that lingers long after reading. These are not feel-good tales about teenage triumph. They are quiet, tense and in some cases disturbing. But that is what makes them honest. They capture the confusion, recklessness and fear that often come with crossing into adulthood.

Connie’s Story: The End of Illusion

In Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?, Oates introduces us to Connie, a 15-year-old girl whose life is split in two. At home, she is dismissive of her family, annoyed by her mother, and often compared unfavorably to her older sister. Out in the world, she tries to embody a confident, older version of herself. She sneaks out to meet boys, experiments with flirting and sees her looks as her most valuable trait. In her mind, being noticed by men is power. She wants to be grown-up, though she is still very much a teenager.

One summer day, her parents and sister leave for a family barbecue, and Connie stays home alone. She lounges around the house, listening to music, lost in her thoughts. Then a strange car pulls into the driveway. Arnold Friend steps out, who says he met her once before. He is older, maybe thirty, and he speaks in an awkward, sometimes forced way that mimics teenage slang. He calls her “sweetheart” and “blue-eyed baby.” Something about him feels off, even as he flatters her.

Arnold tells her he is there to take her for a ride. When Connie hesitates, he becomes more insistent. The conversation shifts from flirtation to menace. He knows her name, her friends, where her family is. He even knows things about her house that he should not. The longer they talk, the more obvious it becomes that Arnold is dangerous. He threatens her in subtle but chilling ways, telling her she has no choice but to come with him. He warns that if she calls for help, her family will suffer.

Connie is terrified. She is paralyzed by fear and confusion. In those moments, all her earlier confidence vanishes. She realizes how powerless she truly is. In the end, she opens the door and walks out toward him. The story ends there, leaving readers to imagine what happens next. It is likely not good.

This story is not about empowerment. It is about illusion being shattered. Connie starts off believing she understands how to act like a grown woman, but she is still a child in many ways. She thinks she is in control because she knows how to attract attention. But that control is only surface deep. When faced with real danger, she has no tools to protect herself. Her coming of age is brutal. She does not get to choose it. It is thrust upon her.

Oates uses this disturbing situation to show how vulnerable teenage girls can be, especially when the world reduces them to their appearance. Connie is not foolish for wanting to grow up, but she is unprepared for the dangers that come with being seen as an adult before she is ready.

There is also something deeply unsettling in the way Arnold speaks. He tries to imitate teen talk, but he keeps slipping. His language is too smooth, too rehearsed. It makes him feel like a predator trying to blend in. This false familiarity makes him even more threatening, because it shows he understands how to manipulate young girls.

The blurred boundary between childhood and adulthood is at the heart of Connie’s story. Her family still treats her like a child. But men like Arnold treat her like an object of desire. Neither view allows her to be a full person. Her coming of age is about losing that in-between space where she could still pretend to be in control. It is about realizing that the world will not always wait for you to grow up on your own terms.

Sammy’s Story: The Price of a Bold Move

In John Updike’s A & P, the narrator is a 19-year-old grocery store cashier named Sammy. On an ordinary summer day, three girls walk into the store wearing bathing suits. They are clearly out of place in the fluorescent-lit aisles of canned food and checkout counters. Sammy is instantly fixated on them, especially the one he nicknames “Queenie.” He imagines her as upper-class, confident, self-assured. She becomes, in his mind, a symbol of something freer and more exciting than his small-town job.

As the girls wander the store, Sammy watches them closely, narrating his impressions with a mix of humor, judgment and fascination. But then his manager, Lengel, sees them and scolds them for being improperly dressed. He tells them they need to show respect for the store. Sammy is offended. He thinks the manager is being petty, and he wants to stand up for the girls. So, in a spontaneous act of protest, he quits his job.

He expects a reaction. Maybe the girls will notice. Maybe they will thank him. But by the time he gets out to the parking lot, they are gone. He is alone. The gesture, bold as it was, means nothing to them. But it means everything to him.

Sammy’s coming of age is not traumatic like Connie’s, but it is quietly painful. It is about realizing that doing the right thing does not always feel rewarding. That people may not care about your principles. That standing up for something can leave you alone.

Still, his decision matters. It marks a turning point in how he sees himself. He knows he cannot go back to who he was before. Quitting the job is not just about the girls. It is about pushing back against conformity, against authority, against a life that already feels too small.

What makes this story resonate is how ordinary it is. Sammy is not a hero. He is a bored teenager with a decent sense of humor and a restless mind. But in a single moment, he chooses discomfort over ease. He steps into adult life not with fanfare, but with quiet resignation. He learns that independence often comes with loneliness.

Updike captures the messy, in-between moment when someone starts thinking for themselves but still wants recognition for it. Sammy thinks he is making a grand, romantic gesture. But the real lesson is that sometimes, doing what feels right leaves you standing alone in the heat, watching the world move on without you.

Two Young People, One Common Truth

Connie and Sammy could not be more different. One is a teenage girl trapped in a dangerous situation. The other is a teenage boy trying to make a statement. But both stories reveal how quickly the ground can shift beneath you when you are young. Both characters are pushed into adulthood in uncomfortable, irreversible ways. They each come to see that their illusions about life, control and self-image are just that – illusions.

Growing up is not a clean break or a clear line. It often happens in moments that feel strange or unsettling. Sometimes you do not realize it is happening until afterward. These stories are valuable not because they show perfect growth, but because they show real growth, which is the kind that comes with pain, confusion and the uncomfortable awareness that the world is not what you thought it was.

Works Cited

Oates, Joyce Carol. Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? First published in Epoch, 1966.
Updike, John. A & P. First published in The New Yorker, July 22, 1961.
Quinlan, Kieran. “Connie’s Tambourine Man: A New Reading of Oates’s ‘Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’” Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 23, no. 2, 1986, pp. 219–224.
Pritchard, William H. Updike: America’s Man of Letters. University of Massachusetts Press, 2005.

Education Universe College writing, Literature

Love, Desire, and Relationships in Literature

Love is one of the oldest and most enduring subjects in literature. Across time and culture, writers have used stories, poems, and essays to explore how people connect, fall apart, yearn for more, or settle for less. Whether the focus is on romantic idealism, quiet longing, emotional imbalance, or heartbreak, the theme of love and desire continues to evolve. It takes on different shapes depending on the genre and the lens through which it is told.

Literature does not only show us what love is. It shows us how people feel it, misunderstand it, and express it. It also shows us what happens when love is unspoken, unreachable, or unreturned. Through literary devices such as imagery, symbolism, metaphor, tone, and point of view, authors reveal the many layers of human relationships.

To understand this more deeply, we can begin with two specific texts: William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 and James Joyce’s short story Araby.

Idealized Love in Sonnet 18

In Sonnet 18, the speaker begins with a question that has become one of the most famous lines in English poetry:
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

The speaker uses extended metaphor to compare the beloved’s beauty to nature, and then argues that the beloved surpasses that beauty. While summer is brief and sometimes rough, the person being praised is portrayed as more gentle and more lasting.

One of the key literary devices here is metaphor, supported by rich imagery. The use of summer as a symbol for fleeting beauty allows the speaker to elevate the subject’s qualities beyond the limitations of time and nature. The poem also uses personification in the lines
“Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade”
to suggest that even death cannot claim the beloved.

Another important device is the shift in tone. The sonnet moves from admiration to a claim of immortality, stating that the beloved’s beauty will live forever in the poem itself. The closing couplet offers this idea plainly:

“So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”

The speaker’s desire is not only to praise but to preserve. The poem expresses romantic admiration, but it is also about the power of poetry. The love in this sonnet is idealized and eternal, untouched by time or imperfection.

This portrayal, while beautiful, invites reflection. Is this a real person being described, or a constructed idea of perfection? How often do we fall in love with the idea of someone more than the person themselves? The sonnet leaves that question open, but it is one worth asking in any discussion of love in literature.

Disillusioned Desire in Araby

In contrast, James Joyce’s Araby shows a very different kind of love. This short story focuses on a young boy in Dublin who develops an intense crush on his friend’s older sister. His desire for her becomes a kind of obsession. He watches for her at the door, thinks about her constantly, and imagines buying her a gift from a local bazaar called Araby.

The literary devices in this story are subtle but powerful. Joyce uses first-person narration to immerse the reader in the boy’s inner world. This perspective allows us to feel his excitement, his nervous energy, and eventually, his crushing disappointment. Imagery is used to convey the drab, gray surroundings of his life, which contrast with the colorful fantasy he builds around the girl and the bazaar.

As the story progresses, time works against him. He arrives at the bazaar late. The stalls are closing, the goods are unimpressive, and the romantic possibility he had imagined disappears. The last lines of the story reveal the depth of his realization:

“Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.”

This is not a declaration of love. It is a moment of self-awareness. The narrator understands that his desire was not truly about the girl, but about what she represented to him. His motivation was to escape his dull reality, and she became a symbol of that hope. This is a perfect example of character development through emotional revelation.

Unlike Sonnet 18, where love is permanent and pure, Araby shows us how desire can distort reality. The story challenges us to think about the ways we project meaning onto others and how disappointment can be part of growing up emotionally.

How Genre Shapes the Theme of Love

Genre plays a major role in how relationships are portrayed in literature. Poetry often compresses emotion into a concentrated form. It focuses on rhythm, metaphor, and image to deliver a snapshot of feeling. Fiction, especially short stories or novels, allows for more narrative space. We see characters change, make choices, or suffer consequences. Nonfiction essays may approach relationships through reflection or argument, using a personal or analytical tone.

Here are some examples of how different genres treat love and desire:

• Poetry: In Pablo Neruda’s Sonnet XVII, love is described as quiet and natural. He writes, “I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul.” The metaphor here expresses intimacy that is not loud or showy but deep and instinctive.

• Fiction: In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Gatsby’s love for Daisy is grand and obsessive. The green light at the end of her dock becomes a symbol of unreachable desire. His entire life is shaped around winning her back, but the relationship is hollow. Desire here is tied to illusion and identity.

• Nonfiction: In essays like Leslie Jamison’s The Empathy Exams, love and relationships are dissected with intellectual precision. Jamison blends personal experience with cultural analysis, exploring how emotional closeness is linked to performance, vulnerability, and the need to be seen.

Each of these genres gives us different tools to explore emotional themes. Together, they help readers reflect on their own experiences and beliefs about love.

Thinking Critically About Love in Literature

When reading literature about love, it is helpful to ask the following questions:

  • What motivates the characters’ actions? Are they seeking love, avoiding loneliness, trying to feel seen?
  • How do the literary devices shape our understanding of those emotions?
  • What expectations are being created or challenged?
  • Is the love shown in the story realistic, idealized, manipulative, or honest?
  • How does the form of the piece affect how the emotion is communicated?

These kinds of questions encourage deeper discussion and help uncover meaning that is not always stated directly. Whether in poetry or fiction, the way a relationship is portrayed tells us as much about the characters as it does about the author’s perspective on love.

Conclusion

Love in literature is not one idea. It is a spectrum of experiences and emotions. Sonnet 18 shows us love that is elevated, eternal, and preserved in art. Araby shows us love that is confused, one-sided, and tied to disillusionment. Both works use careful structure and language to shape the emotional experience.

By comparing genres and examining literary techniques, we gain insight not just into the characters but into the way we as readers interpret and respond to love. Some stories comfort us. Others challenge us. All of them offer a way to think about the most human of emotions with greater awareness and empathy.

Literature does not promise us perfect endings, but it does offer us deeper understanding. That alone makes every love story worth reading.

Education Universe College writing, High School Writing, Research Writing

Drafting Your Essay: How to Get from Ideas to a Strong First Version

Writing a solid essay starts not with a perfect paragraph, but with getting your ideas down and giving them shape. The drafting stage is where you move from planning to actual writing. It is not about flawless prose; it’s about exploring ideas, seeing how they fit, and building something you can revise into something great.

Whether you are writing a short reflection or a longer research paper, drafting matters. Without it you’ll often find yourself stuck, rewriting the intro fifty times or never getting the body off the ground. Let’s walk through effective techniques you can use to draft smarter.

Start Wherever You Feel Comfortable

Many writers think they must begin with the introduction or the first paragraph. But that is only true if it works for you. In fact, a tip that shows up in writing‑handbooks is to start with the part you know best.

If you already have a strong idea for one body paragraph, write that first. If you are clear on one example or one argument, dive there. You can always write the opening later. Writing a chunk you know is easier than staring at a blank page. Once you have that, momentum builds.

Example: Suppose you are writing an essay about effective study habits. You might know your strongest idea is about “active retrieval” (testing yourself rather than rereading notes). Write that paragraph now. Later you can write the intro frame that leads into it.

Keep Your Purpose and Audience in View

Good drafting keeps two questions in mind: Why am I writing this? Who will read it? A writer from one online resource noted: “Keep your purpose and audience at the front of your mind as you write.”

Purpose drives which ideas you include, how you explain them, and how you structure your essay. Audience determines what you assume they know, what you need to explain, and the tone you adopt.

When you draft with purpose and audience in mind, you are writing for someone, not just for yourself. That helps your writing become clearer, more direct, and more engaging.

Use an Outline, But Don’t Be Bound by It

An outline gives you a map of your essay: introduction, main points, evidence, conclusion. It is a powerful tool, but during drafting you should allow for flexibility.

One handbook warns that while you follow your outline, you should try writing in places you did not expect: “Writing the introduction last may help … since the body will shape your introduction.”

Start with your outline, but treat it as a guide, not a cage. If a new idea emerges during your writing, let it in. Adjust your outline or refuse it, but don’t ignore it.

Write in Chunks: One Paragraph at a Time

Large writing tasks can feel overwhelming. A key strategy is to break your draft down into manageable pieces. Write one paragraph at a time. One idea. One set of support. One clear link back to your argument.

For each paragraph, you might ask: What is the main idea of this paragraph? What evidence or example supports the idea? How does it link to the larger argument? A writing center guide explains that each paragraph should “argue one aspect of your larger argument” and have a topic sentence, evidence, analysis, and connection.

Example: In your study habits essay you might write a paragraph whose topic sentence is, “Retrieval practice improves memory because it forces your brain to reconstruct information.” Then you include an example or study, followed by your reasoning and a link back to the essay’s claim.

Don’t Expect Perfection in the First Version

The word draft signals that this version is not final. It is work in progress. One draft manual warns that the first goal is simply to get your ideas on paper.

If you try to make every sentence perfect in the first round, you will slow yourself down and reduce your creativity. Accept that you will revise. Accept that you will rewrite. The draft is about exploring, testing, and shaping.

This mindset frees you: it allows you to write boldly, try things, make errors, and then refine. It also helps avoid what some call “empty page syndrome” or the fear of staring at a blank screen because you feel you must produce brilliance instantly.

Use Time and Space to Your Advantage

Writing a draft is more than sitting down and typing. It is also about pacing and giving your mind room. A practical tip: set smaller goals (one paragraph, one page) and take short breaks rather than working nonstop.

Another tip: after completing a draft section, step away. Let yourself rest. When you come back, you will see your work with fresh eyes. A writing center article recommends “putting your draft aside for a little while” before revising.

Example: You write two paragraphs. Then you step away, do something else for twenty minutes. Return and examine them. You might spot where a topic sentence is unclear, or where a piece of evidence needs explanation.

Clarify Your Thesis As You Draft

Your thesis may start as a tentative idea. During drafting it might shift. That is normal and healthy. One resource tells us to keep comparing your thesis statement to what the essay says. If things diverge, revise the thesis.

That means in your drafting you occasionally pause and ask: Am I still saying what I thought I was saying? Or have I wandered? If I changed direction, how can I adjust my thesis to reflect that? Or should I change what I am doing so it aligns with my original claim?

Example: You began by writing on general study habits, but as you write you find yourself focused on retrieval practice specifically. Perhaps you adjust your thesis from “Study habits matter” to “Retrieval practice is the most effective study habit for deep memory.”

Write Fast, Then Edit Later

Starting slow and perfecting too early can stall your progress. Instead, write a fast first version. Let ideas flow. Then during revision you can slow down and polish.

As one drafting handbook says: when writing your first draft, “do not stop to hunt for perfection. Get your ideas down and mark places you need to revisit.”

Use temporary placeholders if you need: [insert statistic] or [need quote here]. That keeps momentum going. You will return. The key in drafting is motion.

Invite Feedback Early

After you have a draft version, even if incomplete, share it. Tell a friend, a tutor, a peer: “Here’s where I’m going. Does it make sense? What jumps out as unclear?” A guide notes that outside readers are valuable because they bring fresh perspective and can spot what you may not see yourself.

You might share one paragraph first, ask for topic sentence clarity or connection to purpose. Using feedback in the middle of drafting, not just at the end, gives you more time to adjust.

Reserve the Introduction and Conclusion for Later

As noted earlier, you might write the body before you write the introduction. That gives you clarity on what the essay actually says, which then guides a stronger opening and ending.

Writing centers often stress this: “Write the introduction last.”

Once you have drafted the core, you can craft an introduction that introduces the argument you actually developed (not just the one you planned). And you can write a conclusion that reflects where the argument ended up.

Putting It All Together: A Short Example

Imagine you are writing an essay about time management for college success. Here is how you might apply these techniques:

  • You decide your main point is: Using structured time blocks with breaks leads to more focus and better learning than marathon study sessions. (That is your thesis in progress.)
  • You outline: intro, three body points (why structured blocks work; why breaks matter; how to set up your own system), conclusion.
  • You do not start with the intro. You begin writing the body point you feel strongest about, “why breaks matter, “ including examples from studies and personal stories.
  • While drafting you insert [need quote] where you know you’ll gather a supporting source. You move on.
  • After writing two paragraphs, you take a ten-minute break. You return and read them aloud. You hear a sentence that sounds awkward, so you adjust it.
  • You notice your thesis needs a tweak: you are really arguing not just for structured blocks, but for combining blocks with breaks. You rewrite your working thesis accordingly.
  • You send those paragraphs to a peer and ask: “Is it clear how this supports the main argument?” They note your example feels disconnected. You adjust.
  • Once the body is drafted, you write your intro: you open with a brief scene of a student studying five hours in a row, then introduce the argument you ended up making.
  • You then draft a conclusion that links back to the scene and suggests how this strategy applies beyond studying and  perhaps to early career work.

Following these steps you use purpose, audience, mobility, and revision while drafting. You give yourself a roadmap, but you allow yourself freedom to change direction. You build, you test, you refine.

Conclusion

Drafting is not optional. It is essential. It is the stage where your ideas start to become real. If you skip it, you risk writing too slowly or too rigidly. If you embrace it you give yourself space to think, experiment, and grow.

So next time you face an essay assignment, remember: start somewhere comfortable; write with purpose; allow your thesis to evolve; use one paragraph at a time; write a quick version; get feedback; hold off on the intro and conclusion until you know what you are doing. Use your draft as a tool for discovery, not just as a first cut.

When you write this way, you give yourself room to be creative, reflective, and effective. Your final version will thank you for the work you put in early.

Works Cited

“Drafting – Writing for Success.” Writing for Success, edited by Linda Lee and John Eastwood, ML Publishing PressBooks, 2021.

“Strategies for Essay Writing.” Harvard College Writing Center, Harvard University.

“23 Ways to Improve Your Draft.” George Mason University Writing Center, revised July 3, 2024.

“Writing a First Draft.” Earlham College Academic Support Center, February 2021.

Education Universe Argument Writing, College writing, High School Writing, synthesis

What Is Synthesis in Writing? A Real Explanation

The word synthesis gets thrown around a lot in academic settings, but it’s not always clear what it actually means. People hear it and immediately think of something technical or complex. When it comes to writing, synthesis just means this: bringing together different ideas to create something new.

Synthesis is not just quoting sources. It’s not stacking summaries on top of each other. It’s a way of combining viewpoints, making connections, and using them to support your own ideas. At its best, synthesis is thoughtful, clear, and original.

If you are new to synthesis writing, or you have tried it before and struggled, this guide is for you. Let’s walk through what synthesis really looks like, why it matters, and how to actually do it.

Click here to see a video on synthesis.

Synthesis Is More Than Just Summary

A lot of people confuse synthesis with summary. But there’s a big difference.

Summary tells what someone else said.
Synthesis shows how different people’s ideas relate to each other and what you think about that.

Here’s what a non-synthesis paragraph looks like:

Johnson argues that climate change is caused by human activity. Rivera focuses on government policy as the key to climate solutions. Ahmed talks about the role of technology in reducing carbon emissions.

That paragraph just lists what three people said. There’s no connection between them. No analysis. No point.

Now compare that to this:

While Johnson and Rivera both agree that addressing climate change requires action at a national level, they focus on different strategies. One highlights the need for behavior change and the other calls for top-down policy reform. Ahmed shifts the focus to innovation, suggesting that neither approach will succeed without major advances in technology. Taken together, these views show how complex and multi-layered the issue really is.

That is synthesis. The writer isn’t just reporting. They are comparing. They are making links. They are thinking.

Why Synthesis Matters

Synthesis is a key part of academic writing, but it also shows up in everyday thinking. Any time you are reading, researching, or trying to understand a big issue with more than one side, you are doing the early work of synthesis.

Here’s why it matters:

  • It shows you can think critically. Instead of just repeating what someone else said, you are analyzing and connecting ideas.
  • It helps you make stronger arguments. You’re not relying on just one point of view. You are bringing in different perspectives to support your position.
  • It makes your writing original. You are not just borrowing from other people. You are building something of your own using their ideas as building blocks.

In short, synthesis is how you move from research to real thinking.

What Synthesis Looks Like in Practice

So how do you actually synthesize when you write? Let’s break it down.

Start With a Clear Purpose

Synthesis is not about throwing together a bunch of quotes. You need to have a goal. Maybe you are exploring a question. Maybe you are building an argument. Whatever it is, you need to know what you are trying to say.

Ask yourself:

  • What topic or problem am I focusing on?
  • What ideas or themes am I seeing across my sources?
  • How do these ideas relate to what I think or want to argue?

Without that kind of focus, synthesis quickly turns into summary.

Read With Relationships in Mind

As you read your sources, don’t just take notes on what each one says. Look for how they connect.

Questions to guide you:

  • Do any authors agree with each other?
  • Are there any disagreements?
  • Are some sources expanding on or challenging others?
  • Do they focus on the same thing from different angles?

When you start spotting patterns, you’re ready to begin connecting the dots.

Organize by Idea, Not by Source

This is one of the most important parts of synthesis writing: group your paragraphs by ideas, not by author.

Instead of writing one paragraph per source, try to bring multiple sources into the same paragraph, based on a shared theme, issue, or tension. That is where the conversation happens.

For example:

Both Lee and Chen argue that schools should focus more on emotional development, not just academic performance. While Lee emphasizes mental health support, Chen pushes for social-emotional learning as part of the curriculum. These ideas point in the same direction, but with slightly different solutions.

That is what you want. Your writing is now doing more than listing points. It is showing connections and giving your reader something to think about.

Keep Your Voice in Control

Here is a common mistake: relying too heavily on quotes and paraphrases. When that happens, your own voice starts to disappear. The essay becomes a report instead of an argument.

Your job is to guide the reader through the conversation. After every quote or paraphrase, you should be adding something – explaining, analyzing, or pushing the idea forward.

Try this rule: after every time you bring in a source, ask yourself “So what?” Why does this matter? What does it show? How does it support your larger point?

The goal is not just to include sources. It is to use them.

A Simple Structure for Synthesis Paragraphs

If you are struggling to organize your thoughts, here’s a basic outline you can try:

  1. Start with a clear topic sentence. Make sure it reflects an idea, not a source name.
  2. Introduce two or more sources that relate to this idea.
  3. Show how they connect. Do they agree? Disagree? Expand on each other?
  4. Add your own analysis. What do you want the reader to take from this?
  5. Link back to your larger purpose. Why does this point matter for your essay as a whole?

This is not a formula you must follow every time, but it can help you get started.

Conclusion

Synthesis is not something you master in a day. It takes practice. It asks you to slow down, think carefully, and take responsibility for the ideas you are presenting. But it is also one of the most powerful tools you can develop as a writer.

It shows that you can look at an issue from more than one angle. It shows that you are not afraid of complexity. And most importantly, it shows that your writing is not just repeating others. It is building something meaningful.

So when you sit down to write, do not just ask, “What did each author say?”

Ask, “How do these ideas fit together?”
Ask, “Where do I come in?”
Ask, “What do I want to say that brings it all together?”

That is synthesis. That is writing with purpose.

Works Cited

Barrett, Brandon. “Climate Change, Human Health, and Epidemiological Transition.” PMC Free — PMC3145948, National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2014, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4342988/.

“More than 99.9 % of Studies Agree: Humans Caused Climate Change.” Cornell Chronicle, 19 Oct. 2021, https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2021/10/more‐999‐studies‐agree‐humans‐caused‐climate‐change.

Shen, Yi, et al. “Impact of Digital Technology on Carbon Emissions: Evidence from Chinese Cities.” Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, vol. 11, 2023, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2023.1166376/full.

Tan, Wei, et al. “Can Green Technology Innovation Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions? Evidence from Panel Data.” PMC Free — PMC10256825, 2023, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10256825/.

Xin, Daleng, Manzoor Ahmad, Hong Lei, and Shoukat Iqbal Khattak. “Do Innovation in Environmental‑Related Technologies Asymmetrically Affect Carbon Dioxide Emissions in the United States?” Technology in Society, vol. 67, 2021, https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/teinso/v67y2021ics0160791x21002360.html.

“Evidence — NASA Science.” NASA Science: Climate Change and Global Warming, NASA, 23 Oct. 2024, https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change/evidence/.

Education Universe College writing, Drama, Literature

Family Conflict and Resolution in August Wilson’s Fences

August Wilson’s Fences is a play about family, responsibility, and what happens when love is complicated by pride, pain, and disappointment. The story follows Troy Maxson, a man who is trying to take care of his family while struggling with the regrets and bitterness from his past. At the heart of the play is a set of deep family conflicts, especially between fathers and sons, husbands and wives, and dreams and reality. These conflicts drive the story forward and help show how hard it can be to find peace and resolution within a family.

Troy Maxson and the Center of the Conflict

Troy Maxson is the main character and also the main source of tension in the play. He once dreamed of playing professional baseball but was held back by racism. Now, as a middle aged garbage collector, he carries a lot of anger and disappointment. He tries to protect his family, but the way he does it often causes pain.

His relationship with his son Cory is one of the strongest examples of this conflict. Cory wants to play football in college and is being recruited. But Troy refuses to let him. He says it is because he does not want Cory to be hurt by racism the way he was. But there is more going on. Troy cannot let go of his own past. He is afraid that his son might succeed where he failed. Instead of supporting Cory, he blocks him.

In one important scene, Cory asks, “How come you ain’t never liked me?” Troy answers, “It’s not my job to like you. It’s my job to do for you, to make sure you got clothes on your back.” This shows how Troy thinks love and duty are separate. He believes he is doing enough just by providing. But Cory wants more than that. He wants respect and connection.

Troy’s hard view of the world is shaped by how he grew up. He had a rough childhood, with a strict and violent father. Now, without meaning to, Troy is passing down that same kind of parenting to his own children.

Rose Maxson and Quiet Strength

Rose is Troy’s wife and the heart of the family. She believes in love, faith, and keeping the family together. She is the one who encourages Troy to build a fence in their yard. To her, the fence is not just wood and nails. It is a way to keep her loved ones close.

When Troy tells her that he has cheated and that another woman is going to have his baby, Rose is devastated. But she does not run away. Instead, she makes a strong decision. She tells Troy that from now on, they are not husband and wife in the same way. But when the baby’s mother dies, Rose agrees to raise the child, Raynell, as her own. She says the child is innocent and needs love.

This is one of the most powerful moments in the play. Rose does not scream or fight. She simply stands her ground. She shows what it means to be strong without being loud. She keeps the family together, even when her own heart is broken.

Cory’s Journey and the Question of Resolution

Cory changes the most from the beginning to the end of the play. At first, he is hopeful and excited about football. He wants his father’s support. But as the story goes on, the gap between him and Troy grows. After many arguments and disappointments, Cory decides to leave home and join the Marines. He needs to get away from Troy to find himself.

After Troy dies, Cory comes home for the funeral. At first, he says he does not want to go. He tells his mother, “You don’t count the dead. You count the leaving.” He still feels anger and pain. But something shifts when he talks to Raynell, his little sister. They share a memory of their father singing an old song about a dog named Blue. As they sing it together, Cory begins to soften.

This final scene does not give us a perfect ending. Cory does not say that everything is forgiven. But he starts to understand that he does not have to carry the same anger forever. He does not have to become like his father. In this way, the play shows a kind of resolution. Not one where everything is fixed, but one where there is a chance for something better.

The Fence as a Symbol

The title of the play is important. The fence that Troy builds in the yard is more than just a home project. It stands for many things. For Rose, it is a way to keep her family safe and close. For Troy, it is something he feels forced to build but never finishes. For Cory, it is a wall that separates him from his father.

The fence also represents the idea of boundaries. Families often struggle with when to hold on and when to let go. The fence can keep people in or shut people out. In Fences, it does both. And just like the relationships in the play, the fence is never quite complete. It is a work in progress, just like love, forgiveness, and understanding.

No Simple Endings

Fences does not offer easy answers. There is no happy family reunion at the end. Troy dies with many things left unsaid. But Wilson shows us that even when families are broken, there is still hope. Resolution does not always mean peace. Sometimes it means learning, growing, and doing better than the generation before.

Rose finds strength through her choices. Cory begins to make peace with his past. Raynell, the youngest, brings a sense of innocence and possibility. The family goes on. They carry the pain, but they also carry the lessons.

In this way, August Wilson tells a story that is both deeply personal and widely true. Family conflict is part of life. But through honesty, memory, and love, even the hardest conflicts can lead to understanding. That is the quiet power of Fences.

Works Cited

Wilson, August. Fences. With an introduction by Lloyd Richards, Plume, 1986.

Shannon, Sandra G. The Dramatic Vision of August Wilson. Howard University Press, 1995.

Education Universe Argument Writing, College writing

Understanding Synthesis Essays: A Complete Guide

A synthesis essay asks you to take multiple sources and use them together to explore, explain, or argue a topic. It is not just about collecting quotes or summarizing articles. A synthesis essay is about building something new from existing materials, like weaving together threads of different ideas to create a strong and connected argument or explanation.

This type of essay appears frequently in high school and college writing assignments, especially in advanced English, research-based writing, or AP Language and Composition classes. It is also a useful skill in professional and academic research work because it shows you can think critically, compare perspectives, and write clearly using multiple sources.

What is Synthesis?

Synthesis means combining elements to form a connected whole. In writing, synthesis involves comparing and organizing information from different sources to generate a new understanding or perspective. That new understanding becomes the foundation for your essay.

In a synthesis essay, you are not just restating what each source says. You are analyzing how the sources relate to each other and using them to support a central idea. Think of your sources as voices in a conversation. Your job is to moderate that conversation and guide the reader through it.

Two Types of Synthesis Essays

There are two main types of synthesis essays: explanatory and argumentative. They use similar structures but serve different purposes.

Explanatory Synthesis

An explanatory synthesis explains a topic in detail using multiple sources. You are not trying to convince the reader to take a side. Instead, you help them understand the issue more clearly by organizing information and showing how different sources contribute to the overall picture.

This type of synthesis is often used in background research, technical writing, or educational contexts.

Example Thesis Statement (Explanatory)
“Studies on neighborhood green space show that community gardens, tree coverage, and park access contribute to emotional well-being, lower stress levels, and a stronger sense of belonging.”

Notice how this thesis does not take a side. It simply brings together common findings to explain a phenomenon.

Argumentative Synthesis

An argumentative synthesis goes a step further. It uses multiple sources to argue a specific point of view. You are making a claim and supporting it with evidence from several sources. You may also address counterarguments and explain why your perspective holds up.

This type of synthesis is commonly used in persuasive essays, op-eds, and policy writing.

Example Thesis Statement (Argumentative)
“Given the clear mental health and environmental benefits of neighborhood green space, urban planners must adopt minimum green coverage requirements in new housing developments.”

This thesis takes a position and signals a plan to argue for it using evidence.

Step-by-Step Guide

Writing a synthesis essay takes time and planning. Here are the basic steps most students should follow.

Step 1: Choose a focused topic

Start with a subject you are interested in, but make sure it is not too broad. Narrow topics lead to stronger essays because you can explore them in more detail. For example, instead of writing about climate change, write about how rooftop gardens help reduce heat in urban neighborhoods.

Step 2: Gather and evaluate sources

Find at least three to five credible sources that relate to your topic. These may include research studies, news articles, expert commentary, or reliable websites. As you read, take notes on what each source says and how it connects or disagrees with the others.

Good synthesis comes from good reading. Look for patterns, contradictions, gaps, or supporting evidence across your sources.

Step 3: Develop your thesis statement

Your thesis is the heart of your essay. It tells the reader what you are going to explain or argue. Make sure your thesis is specific, clear, and based on your reading of the sources.

In an explanatory synthesis, your thesis will describe what the sources together reveal. In an argumentative synthesis, your thesis will make a claim that the rest of the essay supports.

Step 4: Create an outline

A well-organized outline will keep your essay focused and help you stay on track. Here is a simple structure that works for both types of synthesis essays.

Introduction

  • Hook or opening context
  • Background information on the topic
  • Clear thesis statement

Body Paragraphs
Each paragraph should focus on one idea or aspect of your thesis. Include multiple sources in each paragraph and show how they connect. Always follow up source material with your own analysis.

For argumentative essays, include a paragraph that addresses and responds to a counterargument.

Conclusion

  • Restate the thesis in a fresh way
  • Summarize how the sources support your main point
  • End with the broader significance of the topic

Step 5: Write the rough draft

Using your outline, write your first draft. Focus on clear organization and solid integration of sources. Use transitions to guide the reader through your points. After each piece of evidence, explain how it connects to your overall purpose.

Avoid overusing quotations. Paraphrase when possible, and keep the source’s meaning accurate.

Step 6: Peer review and revise

If possible, exchange drafts with a classmate and provide feedback. Look for areas where the argument or explanation could be clearer. Ask yourself: Does every paragraph support the thesis? Are the sources well integrated? Are there any logical gaps?

After reviewing feedback, revise your draft for clarity, focus, and flow.

Step 7: Final proofreading

Before submitting your final draft, check for grammar, punctuation, and citation errors. Make sure your paper follows the required formatting style, such as MLA or APA.

Sample Topics for Synthesis Essays

These examples are designed to help students move past overused topics and toward issues that are more focused and research-friendly. Each can be explored from either an explanatory or argumentative perspective.

  1. How smartphone camera apps have changed eyewitness reporting in local news
  2. The effects of screen-time limits in early childhood development policies
  3. The use of body cameras in public schools for safety and transparency
  4. How eco-certifications influence consumer behavior in grocery stores
  5. The role of virtual museum tours in rural arts education
  6. Effects of algorithm-driven playlists on listener diversity in music streaming
  7. The rise of single-gender classrooms in public middle schools
  8. Benefits and drawbacks of gamification in workplace productivity apps
  9. How urban bike-share programs affect low-income communities
  10. The influence of minimalist design in mental health therapy environments

These topics can be adapted, narrowed further, or modified to fit specific class themes or personal interests. The key is to choose something that invites multiple perspectives and has available research.

Final Tips

A synthesis essay is more than a research paper. It is a thoughtful conversation between ideas. The best essays do not just repeat what sources say; they interpret, connect, and build something meaningful from the material.

Give yourself time to read deeply, plan clearly, and revise carefully. Whether you are explaining a concept or defending a position, the synthesis essay rewards clear thinking and strong organization.

Works Cited

Bellevue College Writing Lab. “What Is a Synthesis Essay?” Bellevue College, http://www.bellevuecollege.edu. Accessed October 2025.

Grammarly. “How to Write a Synthesis Essay.” Grammarly Blog, http://www.grammarly.com/blog/academic-writing/synthesis-essay/. Accessed October 2025.

Purdue Online Writing Lab. “Synthesizing Sources.” OWL Purdue, owl.purdue.edu. Accessed October 2025.

Study.com. “How to Write a Synthesis Essay: Definition and Example.” Study.com, http://www.study.com. Accessed October 2025.

University of Nevada, Reno. “Mapping a Synthesis Essay.” Writing and Speaking Center, http://www.unr.edu/writing-speaking-center. Accessed October 2025.

Louisiana State University. “Synthesis Essay Resources.” LSU University Writing Center, http://www.lsu.edu. Accessed October 2025.

Education Universe Argument Writing, College Courses, College writing, High School Writing, Research Writing

Developing Your Proposal and Research Plan

Writing a research proposal is one of the most useful steps in becoming a confident, organized writer. Whether you’re working on a formal academic paper or preparing to pitch a project later in your career, knowing how to explain what you want to study and why it matters is a skill that sets strong writers apart. This week’s focus on proposal writing and early research helps you think deeply before diving into the full essay.

What a Proposal Really Is

Think of a proposal as your essay’s blueprint. It’s where you sketch the big picture: What problem are you trying to solve? Who cares about it? What’s your plan to explore it? A proposal isn’t the final product. It’s the foundation that keeps your project organized and purposeful.

Too often, writers start drafting essays before figuring out what they actually want to say. The result is usually an unfocused paper full of last-minute research and weak arguments. A proposal helps you avoid that by forcing you to pause, think, and plan. It also gives you the chance to get feedback before you’re too far along, saving you time and helping you strengthen your ideas early on.

The Purpose of a Research Proposal

At its core, a proposal answers four questions:

  1. What issue or question are you exploring?
    You’re identifying a real-world problem or question that needs attention. Good topics aren’t just interesting. They’re investigable and debatable.
  2. Why does it matter?
    You’re explaining why this topic deserves space in the conversation. Maybe it affects your community, connects to a national issue, or relates to your field of study.
  3. Who is your audience?
    You’re identifying who needs to hear your argument. That might be students, professionals, local residents, or policymakers. Knowing your audience helps you choose the best tone, evidence, and approach.
  4. How will you research and present it?
    You’re mapping out how you’ll gather evidence and what kind of argument you plan to make – cause and effect, solution-oriented, comparison, or something else.

By answering these questions clearly, you show that your topic is not only interesting but also meaningful and manageable.

Choosing a Topic That Works

Picking the right topic can make or break your project. It’s tempting to choose big, well-known debates, such as gun control, abortion, or school uniforms, but those topics are so broad and saturated that it’s nearly impossible to say something fresh. A better approach is to look for a focused issue that personally interests you or that affects your community.

Here are some examples of strong, specific alternatives:

  • Instead of “Social media and teens,” try “How TikTok challenges affect high school students’ attention spans.”
  • Instead of “Climate change,” try “How community gardens reduce urban heat in small cities.”
  • Instead of “Mental health,” try “Why colleges should offer mindfulness training during freshman orientation.”

See the difference? Narrowing your scope gives you something doable. You can actually research it, analyze it, and say something original.

When choosing a topic, ask yourself:

  • Does this topic genuinely interest me?
  • Can I find credible sources about it?
  • Will my audience care?
  • Is the issue current or evolving in a way that allows for new insights?

If you can answer “yes” to most of those, you’re on the right track.

Turning a Topic into a Research Question

Once you’ve identified a topic, your next step is to transform it into a research question. A strong research question does three things:

  • It invites exploration rather than simple yes/no answers.
  • It hints at possible directions for argument.
  • It focuses your essay on a specific problem or group.

For example:

  • Weak: Should schools have dress codes?
  • Better: How do school dress codes impact students’ self-expression and sense of belonging?
  • Strong: How can schools balance dress code enforcement with students’ freedom of expression and cultural identity?

The strong version gives you space to research multiple sides and propose solutions. It’s open enough to explore but narrow enough to handle within one essay.

Locating Credible Sources

Once you have your question, it’s time to see what’s already been said about it. This is where research begins. For this stage, quality matters more than quantity. You need sources that are reliable, relevant, and current.

Here’s where to look:

  • Library databases: These contain peer-reviewed articles, academic journals, and studies. They’re the gold standard for credibility.
  • Google Scholar: A quick way to find scholarly articles and government or institutional reports.
  • Official organizations: Government websites, nonprofits, or educational institutions often publish trustworthy data.

Avoid sources that are biased, outdated, or opinion-based. For instance, blog posts, social media threads, or articles that clearly push an agenda won’t help you build credibility.

As you read, take short notes:

  • What’s the main argument?
  • What kind of evidence does the author use?
  • How might this information help me shape my proposal?

These early notes will later help you build your annotated bibliography and develop your argument.

Writing the Proposal

A well-structured proposal usually includes four sections:

  1. Working Title and Research Question
    Start with a clear, specific question that defines your focus. Your title doesn’t have to be perfect yet—it just needs to capture the essence of your project. Example:
    Title: “Unplugged Minds: How Digital Detox Programs Improve Student Mental Health”
    Question: How do short-term digital detox programs impact college students’ stress levels and academic focus?
  2. Purpose and Rationale
    Explain why this issue matters. What’s at stake? Who benefits if the problem is addressed—or who suffers if it’s ignored? This section shows that you’ve thought beyond yourself and considered real-world implications.
  3. Audience and Approach
    Identify your audience and describe how you plan to reach them. Are you persuading readers to take action? Informing them about a misunderstood issue? Reframing a debate? The clearer your approach, the stronger your proposal.
  4. Preliminary Sources
    List at least three credible sources and briefly explain how each connects to your topic. For instance:
    • One might provide background information.
    • Another could offer data or statistics.
    • A third might present an opposing viewpoint you plan to address.
    Keep your tone professional and concise. This section shows you’ve already started the research process and can back up your claims.

Peer Review and Revision

Once you post your proposal draft, feedback becomes your secret weapon. Peers often spot gaps or assumptions that you’ve overlooked. They can also help you test how your topic lands with an audience.

When reviewing others’ work, focus on:

  • Clarity: Is the main question or issue clear?
  • Relevance: Does the topic feel meaningful and specific?
  • Focus: Is the scope manageable for one essay?
  • Evidence: Are the sources credible and connected to the question?

When receiving feedback, don’t take it personally. Take it seriously. Revision is where good writing becomes great writing.

Why This Step Matters

Writing a proposal teaches you how to plan, argue, and think critically. It’s not just a school assignment. It mirrors how real-world writing works. In business, research, and even creative fields, professionals write proposals all the time to pitch ideas, secure funding, or outline projects. This exercise builds transferable skills: critical thinking, organization, and persuasive communication.

Final Thoughts

This week’s readings and assignments are about slowing down and thinking strategically. Before writing the full essay, you’re learning to understand your own argument. The proposal stage helps you:

  • Turn vague ideas into focused plans.
  • Build a foundation for credible research.
  • Identify your purpose and audience.
  • Write with direction rather than guesswork.

Strong research doesn’t begin with typing. It begins with thinking. Your proposal gives you space to think clearly, structure your ideas, and prepare to write something that matters. Use this week to explore, question, and refine. By the time you move into your full draft, you won’t just be writing an essay. You’ll be writing with purpose and confidence.

Works Cited

American Psychological Association. How to Find Reliable Sources. APA Style, 2023,
https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reliable-sources. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.

Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say / I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. 6th ed., W. W. Norton, 2023.

Joy, Annamma, and John F. Sherry Jr. “Fast Fashion, Sustainability, and the Ethical Appeal of Luxury Brands.” Fashion Theory, vol. 16, no. 3, 2012, pp. 273–295. Taylor & Francis Online, https://doi.org/10.2752/175174112X13340749707123.

Niinimäki, Kirsi, et al. “The Environmental Price of Fast Fashion.” Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, vol. 1, 2020, pp. 189–200. Nature, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0039-9.

Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). “Developing a Research Question.” Purdue University, 2024,
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/research_papers/developing_a_research_question.html. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center. “Proposals.” The Writing Center, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2024,
https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/proposals. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.

Education Universe College Courses, College writing, Drama

Theater 101: Elements of Drama (Focus on Trifles & Fences)

Drama is one of the oldest and most powerful forms of storytelling. From the open-air theaters of ancient Greece to the intimate black box stages of today, drama has continued to evolve while holding onto a set of core elements that define the genre. These elements are the foundation of every play, whether it’s a tragedy, comedy, historical piece, or modern drama. Understanding the basic elements of drama – plot, character, setting, dialogue, theme, and conflict – helps us not only enjoy the experience of theater but also critically analyze and appreciate the choices made by playwrights and performers.

Plot: The Structure of Action

At its core, drama is about something happening. The plot is the sequence of events that unfolds throughout the play. It has a structure that includes exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. This structure gives shape to the story and helps the audience follow the progression of events.

For example, in Susan Glaspell’s short play Trifles, the plot is deceptively simple. A group of men and women visit a farmhouse to investigate a murder. While the men dismiss the kitchen and its “trifles” as unimportant, the women slowly piece together the emotional reality of the victim’s life. The plot’s quiet revelations build to a subtle but powerful climax when the women choose not to share their discovery, offering a form of silent justice. The plot does not rely on loud action or confrontation, but on the slow uncovering of emotional truth through observation and intuition.

A well-constructed plot keeps the audience engaged. It raises questions and withholds answers just long enough to create tension. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but it must be intentional and purposeful.

Character: The Heart of the Story

Characters are the people who inhabit the world of the play. They are not just participants in the action—they are the driving force behind it. Characters have desires, flaws, relationships, and histories that inform their choices. Through their actions and dialogue, they reveal the themes of the play.

In Fences by August Wilson, the central character, Troy Maxson, is a former Negro League baseball player who now works as a garbage collector. He is a man full of pride, bitterness, charm, and contradictions. His relationship with his son Cory, his wife Rose, and his friend Bono form the emotional core of the play. Troy’s decisions, shaped by his past and his perception of the world, ultimately lead to conflict and tragedy. Wilson presents Troy not as a hero or villain, but as a fully realized man shaped by social and personal limitations.

Characters don’t need to be likable, but they do need to be believable. The audience must understand their motivations and see the logic in their choices, even if they disagree with them. Well-developed characters are essential for creating drama that resonates beyond the stage.

Setting: Time and Place with Purpose

Setting refers to the time and place in which a play takes place. It includes physical locations, historical periods, and even the emotional atmosphere of a scene. A strong setting does more than just tell the audience where things happen – it adds depth, supports the theme, and can even act as a character itself.

In Trifles, the setting is a rural farmhouse kitchen in the early 1900s. This space is crucial to understanding the emotional world of the absent female character, Mrs. Wright. The unfinished sewing, the broken jars of preserves, and the damaged birdcage all speak to the isolation and emotional strain of her life. The kitchen is not just a backdrop; it tells a story that the men in the play are unable or unwilling to hear.

In Fences, the backyard serves as a symbolic space where much of the action unfolds. It is a place of work, conversation, conflict, and construction. Troy’s repeated attempts to finish building a literal fence reflect his emotional need to control the boundaries of his life, even as relationships around him begin to fall apart. The setting here supports the play’s themes of protection, division, and legacy.

A well-used setting reinforces the mood and helps the audience immerse themselves in the world of the play. It can suggest themes without needing explicit dialogue and offer insight into characters’ lives.

Dialogue: The Language of Drama

Unlike novels, where inner thoughts can be directly shared with the reader, drama must rely on dialogue to reveal characters’ thoughts, emotions, and motivations. Every line of dialogue in a play serves a purpose. It can move the plot forward, reveal character relationships, or deepen the theme.

In Fences, August Wilson writes with a rhythm and style rooted in African American vernacular. His dialogue is rich with metaphor, repetition, and emotional truth. In one memorable moment, Troy tells Cory that he doesn’t have to like him, he just has to take care of him. This short exchange speaks volumes about Troy’s worldview, shaped by struggle and hard-earned responsibility. It also highlights the emotional gap between father and son.

In Trifles, the women’s quiet observations and side conversations carry the emotional weight of the play. Their seemingly trivial dialogue slowly uncovers a history of neglect and emotional abuse. The restraint in their words creates a contrast with the louder, more dismissive talk of the men, underlining the play’s themes of gender roles and overlooked perspectives.

Strong dialogue reflects how people actually speak, but with intention. It must reveal character, drive the story, and avoid unnecessary filler. In theater, every word counts.

Theme: The Underlying Message

Every good play says something larger than the story it tells on the surface. The theme is the central idea or question the play explores. It can be social, political, personal, or philosophical. Themes give the story weight and make it worth remembering.

In Trifles, the theme centers on gender roles, justice, and the value of female experience. The play quietly critiques a society that dismisses women’s voices and the knowledge they carry. Through the unraveling of a domestic mystery, Glaspell raises questions about what counts as evidence, and who gets to decide.

In Fences, themes include race, fatherhood, loyalty, failure, and the burden of history. August Wilson’s play examines how personal dreams are shaped, and often crushed, by systemic limitations. The fence Troy builds becomes a central symbol, representing both protection and separation, connection and isolation.

Themes are not always spelled out. In fact, the most effective plays allow the audience to draw conclusions for themselves. A good theme lingers long after the final curtain.

Conflict: The Engine of Drama

Conflict is what drives the story. It is the tension between opposing forces, whether they are between characters, within a character, or between a character and society. Without conflict, there is no story, just a series of events.

In Fences, conflict is everywhere. Troy is in conflict with his son Cory, who wants to play football. He is in conflict with his wife Rose after his betrayal comes to light. He is in conflict with his past, his race, his lost dreams, and even death itself. These layers of conflict make the play emotionally rich and dramatically compelling.

In Trifles, the conflict is quieter but just as meaningful. It lies in the tension between what is spoken and what is unspoken, between law and justice, and between male authority and female intuition. The women’s decision to remain silent at the end of the play resolves the central moral conflict in a way that challenges the audience’s expectations.

Conflict creates stakes. It forces characters to make choices and deal with consequences. It keeps the audience invested, wondering what will happen next.

Conclusion

Theater is a powerful art form because it brings together so many elements such as language, movement, space, emotion to tell human stories in real time. The six essential elements of drama (plot, character, setting, dialogue, theme, and conflict) are the tools playwrights use to build these stories. Whether the play is ancient or modern, tragic or comic, these elements remain at the core of the experience.

By learning to identify and analyze these elements, audiences become more than just spectators. They become active participants in the interpretation of the play. They start to notice how a single line of dialogue, a pause, or a stage prop can carry deep meaning. And that awareness is what makes theater such a rich and rewarding experience.

Works Cited

“Elements of Drama.” Study.com, IXL Learning, https://study.com/learn/lesson/elements-of-drama-characters-setting-symbolism-parts-of-a-play.html. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.

“Elements of Drama – Literature for the Humanities.” FSCJ Pressbooks, Florida State College at Jacksonville, https://fscj.pressbooks.pub/literature/chapter/elements-of-drama/. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.

“Essential Elements of Drama to Know for Intro to Theatre Arts.” Fiveable Library, https://library.fiveable.me/lists/essential-elements-of-drama. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.

“37 Powerful Elements of Drama & Free Infographic.” The Drama Teacher, https://thedramateacher.com/dramatic-elements/. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.

“Decoding the 6 Aristotelean Elements of Drama.” Playwrights’ Center, https://pwcenter.org/article/decoding-the-6-aristotelean-elements-of-drama/. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.