SteveOH is a personal blog of Steve Hernandez, a programmer, systems engineer, and overall technological guru. As this is primarily a personal blog, entries included a wide variety of topics, from personal to academic advice, as well as entries on technology, which constitute the bulk of the author?s writings.
The ups
The writing style of the author can be characterized as narrative, so even people who are not particularly well versed with technology parlance will find his blog entries readable. His entries are not too technical and can be appreciated by those who may want to follow the latest in technology but do not have the know-how or the patience to really understand techie language.
Among the common entries in this blog are his dealings with technical support agents. An entry entitled Comcast Outage gives the reader an idea how Hernandez is as a person and as a writer. His deadpan humor is usually mixed with a hint of sarcasm. A number of other entries that may prove really helpful are his entries on graduate school survival and leading people. However, these posts were actually written by other authors. As for other features, such as links, tags, comments, blog rolls, and other blog staples, they are present.
The downs
For the downside, people may find Hernandez?s blog to be a drab, since the page is all in black (even the green heading fades into black), and the blog entries are in white font. There are no pictures, as in zero. A visual reader may find the blog too text-heavy. Even the ordinary reader will not find anything he can rest his eyes on; there is only a black background and white text. Moreover, the entries that fit on the main page are published in their entirety, making it difficult to scroll to the next entry, especially if one entry is extremely long.
The Interfolio blog is part of a website of the higher education, online portfolio service and credentials company Interfolio. The blog has two content writers, Mike Lovell and Frank Fessenden, with most recent entries attributed to Lovell. What this blog is basically all about are entries, tips and news items about tertiary and higher education and how technology plays a crucial and helpful role in its advancement. The target audience is academics, people who are interested in pursuing a career in the education field, or people who just want to find out about the latest news on how advanced technology is being utilized in the field of higher learning.
What you’ll like about this blog
The entries that make up the blog are quite brief and straightforward. For example, there is an entry about the significance of social media to an academic?s life is pretty much an overview of the topics. The same can be said with all of the entries: a brief presentation of the facts related to the topic and a short paragraph or two of related information and developments on the entry topic. Upon reaching the blog, you will get the sense of it being a no-nonsense, clear-cut site. There are a number of pictures placed to add dynamics. The presentation is quite streamlined, with link to monthly archives, information on the two blog authors, links to Interfolio?s Twitter and Facebook page, and tags of the more prominent topics. There is also a link for signing up for Interfolio?s services.
What’s lacking
Anyone looking for in-depth discussion of the topics presented in the blog might be left wanting. That is to say that the blog is very informative, but only to a point. Opinions and thorough analysis of information are not really the blog?s strongest points. In an effort to make the blog more interactive, there are links for the readers to put their comments in, although there seems to be a lack of entries in the comment links. All in all, this blog serves its purpose satisfactorily and is a passable information source for its target audience.
The Diversity in Education blog is a site dedicated to the Diversity in Education program of the Mayo Clinic?s educational arm. Written by Jessica Silva, a Mayo Clinic College of Medicine student, most of the entries in the blog profile staff and students of the Mayo Clinic are racially diverse. Interviews focus on the experiences, work, specialties, and goals of Mayo Clinic?s staff and students that have racial affiliations ranging from African-American to Hispanic and even Native American. There are also a number of entries on the writer?s personal experiences, particularly with her academic life.
What the blog is all about
An entry entitled American “City Indian” Physician Research Scientist: Dr. Judith Kaur profiles Dr. Judith Kaur, one of only two Native American Indian medical oncologists in the United States. As with all the interviews, questions include how Kaur started working for the Mayo Clinic, her work, how she feels about the diversity of the Mayo program she is affiliated with, how her cultural diversity has helped her in her career, and how diversity plays an important role in the workplace and her continuing learning process.
The blog is successful in profiling how a seemingly all-American institution such as the Mayo Clinic has diversified itself through the years. The interviews are quite informative and even inspirational. Its targeted audience can be people who are interested in finding out about the success stories in the institution?s Diversity in Education program. However, it can also be a good read for anyone who is involved in programs that promote racial equality and diversity. The blog is well-organized with its tags, archives dating back to April 2008, recent posts and comments, links to other programs of the Mayo Clinic, a calendar, and an RSS feed link. Also, the interviews have pictures of the subjects that will give readers a face to relate to the interview subject.
Minor glitches
There aren?t really weak points in the blog, except that the blog entries come in sporadic intervals. Sometimes, the blog is only updated twice to thrice in a month. Other than that, this blog should be a good read for people interested in the cultural and racial diversity of Mayo Clinic in particular and the medical profession in general.
The capsGRAD blog is part of the website for the Graduate and Professional Student Services division of the University of California San Diego?s (UCSD?s) Student Services department. As one of the blogs under the Graduate and Professional page, CAPS, which stands for Counseling and Psychological Services, provides its target audience (graduate and professional students of the university) information on a number of topics particularly affecting them.
What to say about the blog
There are currently only seven entries in the blog written by the teaching staff and officers of the university?s graduate school. The seven topics are as follows: advisory relationship, completing your thesis or dissertation, promoting optimal functioning, social adjustment, stress management, time management, and transitioning out of graduate school. As obviously seen in the topics, the entries are primarily for graduate school students of the UCSD. A number of the topics may be helpful and applicable to graduate students in general. The first entry, The Advisory Relationship, is written by the graduate school liaison officer, Dr. Christina Castro. This entry, like the others, are well-written with expert opinions and particularly sound and helpful advice.
The blog is only one page long, so you can actually read all its content in one scroll, although there is a list of links at the top of the page that will lead you to one of the seven entries that you may be probably most interested to read. The sidebar on the left side of the blog page is filled with links to other graduate school pages, such as the home page for grad services and grad campus and community resources. On the top portion of the page are links to CAPS pages such as emergency assistance and information on their staff.
A few glitches
The blog is in its primary stages, so the content is still quite limited so far to psychology-related topics. More content will be very much appreciated. The blog may not be most appealing and eye-catching, but it is quite effective in its goal of assisting graduate school students of the university with valuable advice on how to manage their post-university studies.
Choosing the perfect approach and just the right style for your graduate school personal statement can have great impact on your application. That is why it is important to carefully plan your essay to achieve a clear, clean, concise, and precise style of writing. As they say, it is never sufficient to just write. You must know the techniques to make successful essays.
Impact of your writing style on your chances of getting admitted
If you write a coherent personal statement, one that is clean and clear from any grammatical or spelling error, then you have better chances of getting admitted. A well-written admission essay should highlight not only your skills and expertise, but also your personal attributes such as your determination, sense of motivation, persistence, and many others. You can also discuss personal experiences and points of view, so that your readers will get to know you better.
Choosing the best approach and style for your graduate school essay
To come up with a creative admission essay that will stand out, choosing the most appropriate writing style is a must. After this, you can tailor-fit your ideas and the essay theme to the requirements of a good writing style. Avoid lengthy sentences that will only leave readers confused with what you’re trying to say. Instead, focus on clarity, coherence, and unity of thought.
Tips in improving your essay’s style
There are helpful hints that you could use to remedy your writing problems and improve your writing style. A big no-no is imitating another writer’s style. The admissions committee can easily sense if applicants are pretending to be someone they’re not. This defeats the real purpose of writing a personal statement. The main objective of this requirement is for you to be able to represent the real you and not the ideal candidate you can think of. Create several drafts and never get tired of revising and proofreading your essays. Have someone read your essay for a more objective review.
Related links:
Barriers to writing – Common barriers when writing a graduate school essay
Grad school application – Discussing college internships in grad school essays
Essay topics – Writing about relevant interests in your essay
Business schools – Discussions about business schools
MBA admissions – All about the MBA school admission
It would be very helpful to incorporate some sense of imagery in your personal statement for graduate school. Using imagery is proven to capture the attention of the admissions panel who’s reading your essay. This is one creative way of presenting yourself to the school you’re applying to.
Imagery as an effective tool in hooking your readers
Imagery can be an effective tool when trying to connect to your readers. Though it may be difficult for some writers to form a compelling introduction, imagery can be used as supporting details or evidence that would back up the main idea of the essay. With imagery, you let readers view the world through your own eyes.
Tips in using imagery in your essay
An image is a vibrant and dynamic portrayal that appeals to the mind of those reading your essay, in this case, the admissions committee members. While different images are normally found in poetry and other pieces of reading materials, they can also be used when writing a personal statement
for graduate school. Just make sure that the essay won’t come out as too poetic. Keep your descriptions short, direct to the point, and attention-grabbing. If you really want to impress the admissions officers for them to approve your application, try to create a brilliant personal statement using detailed examples as well as images. Using illustrations to support your essay will be more than a welcome to the admissions panel.
What to keep in mind when using imagery in your essay
Bear in mind that using imagery in your essay is like adding one more chip of chance to getting that desired school admission. Imagery can help highlight your qualifications and convey a clearer message to your readers. Just be sure not to overdo it, or your admission essay may get too personal than intended. Use imagery only when needed and as support to your claims or the message you’re trying to get across.
Related links:
Writing persuasive essays – How to write persuasive essays
Essay topics – Writing about relevant interests in your essay
Sample graduate essays – How to use sample graduate school essays to your advantage
Graduate students – About becoming a graduate student
Grad school application – About applying to graduate school
Creatively discussing very ordinary details in your graduate school admissions essay can be appealing to your readers. These can make a good introductory paragraph. Just make sure to use them to grab the interest of the readers from the very start up to the end. Expect that the admissions officers will spend one to two minutes each in reading your essay. So, you better write these ordinary details in a very creative way.
Use the right descriptive words
When you write your personal statements or admission essays, selecting the right words to use can lead to a dramatic change in the tone of your essay. Sometimes, changing a few words can make your essay come off as a vibrant and energetic piece of article to your readers. Therefore, you must check if you are using more suitable words and phrases where they should be.
Use imagery in writing your essay
Use imagery and clear, vivid prose when writing your admission essay. Using an imagery to support your essay is very helpful in convincing the admissions committee for your approval. It will be very appealing for the admissions officers to read an essay with imagery included, so make sure you learn how to use it.
What to avoid when getting creative with your essay
When you are writing an admissions essay, bear in mind the things that you have to avoid such as submitting an essay where there is too much repetition of information. Do not waste your time crafting a personal statement only to put so much cliches on the introduction or conclusion. Also, never ever get the name of the school wrong. Make sure that the essay you are submitting is tailor-fit to the school you are applying to, that your goals match the vision and mission of the school.
Related links:
Winning college essays – Discussions about writing a winning college essay
Best application essays – Discussions about the best application essays
Barriers to writing – Common barriers when writing a graduate school essay
Essay writing tips – Essay writing tips on compare and contrast
Graduate essay topics – Discussing research skills in your essay
The Benchfly blog offers interesting reads for people who are interested in science, in pursuing further education and a career in the scientific field, and to know how a person who works in the scientific field lives. This blog is written by a group of authors, including Alan Marnett. The authors? writing styles are somewhat informal and very lively in tone, and effectively comes to play whether they are writing entries about the difficulties of one?s last year in graduate school or how better mechanisms have made the transport of bananas possible all year round. His blog entry writing is characterized by crisp and smart language with a slight dash of humor.
What’s so mighty about Benchfly
A particularly interesting entry is an article written by Australian writer Joanne Gibson about how she survived on the Indian staple dahl while she was in school. This entry even has a recipe for dahl. These entries, among others, give the blog a truly entertaining quality to it, making its audience not strictly confined to science enthusiasts or graduate school students. The blog?s readability is quite high.
The blog entries include a comment link that is usually populated with a couple of entries, testifying to the popularity of the blog. The layout of the blog is very clean and refreshing, with clean lines and the nifty use of green and orange in the subcategory headings. There is a search facility allowing readers to look at previous entries that relate to a particular topic, links to top channels or categories, Benchfly?s Twitter, Facebook, and RSS feeds, and the most popular entries, plus a poll. The blog is well-maintained and has new entries almost every day.
Some suggestions
Owing to the good maintenance of the site, there is not much to say about any bad points. Perhaps the blog can use the addition of an archive, where readers could click on links to previous entries by date.
Although there is no perfect formula for good writing, you could say that drafting one?s essay would be a good start to create an effective written article. Keep in mind that every time you need to draft your essay, you will always gain the knowledge of hindsight. In revising your draft, check if the main topic you used for writing the essay is a little bit more complicated than necessary. Remember, doing revisions when writing your own essay is very important.
Importance of doing revisions when writing your essay
Doing revisions is necessary when writing your essay. You must check if your main topic is still accurate, as the main idea of the essay may depart from the original idea because of excessive revisions. A god writer will always know when to stop revising and if all the details in the essay are complementing the main idea. Through revisions of your essay, you will see if the essay is already strong enough to be submitted and read by the admissions officers.
What to keep in mind when revising your essay draft
Start by writing an idea off your head. Translate them into one main theme, and checking whether the supporting details need some revisions or not. Next thing to check when planning to revise drafts is how organized the ideas appear in the essay. Do they exhibit coherence and clarity of thought? After a series of revising and rechecking your drafts, refining and polishing each idea, you will finally have to decide if your written essay is already clear and ready for submission to the admissions committee.
Other tips when revising your draft
The stage of invention is also known as prewriting, which is where the crafting of the essay is conceived. Do not be like the others who ignore and neglect this stage of writing. Probe your topic, and understand the assigned question very well.
Check for coherence and unity. Do the supporting details back up your topic sentences and your thesis? Be careful with the manner by which you revise.
Related links:
Writing persuasive essays – How to write persuasive essays
Essay topics – Writing about relevant interests in your essay
Sample graduate essays – How to use sample graduate school essays to your advantage
Online MBA program – About choosing an online MBA program
Admission essay – How to put together attractive essays
Are you staring at a blank page for almost an hour now? Having trouble in writing your grad school admission essay is not uncommon. In fact, even professional essay writers encounter a moment of total inability to write something sensible. Some call it the writer’s block. The pressure placed on submitting a high quality application essay can also set you back a few days before you can write anything for your personal statement, while for some people, keeping their emotions at bay can be their biggest problem.
Let’s discuss these barriers to writing effective grad school essays, so you’ll know what to do when faced with any of these situations.
Writer’s block
The dreaded writer’s block happens when you spend hours trying to write an essay but just can’t find the inspiration or motivation to do so. No matter how hard you try, it seems like your efforts are put to waste. You can’t seem to find the right words or can’t express a sensible thought.
Instead of moping around, it’s best to identify what’s causing the writer’s block. It could be pressure to put out your best, depression, fatigue, or even certain conditions that make writing impossible for you such as insufficient lighting or cramped room space. All these can affect your mood.
Once you know what’s setting you back, you can then focus on the solution. Try to find a place with conditions that are ideal for writing. Some people prefer working in a quiet place; others work better with music as background. Find out what works best for you. Also make sure that you’re not too stressed out. Stress can affect the way you write and only add to the pressure. If you must, schedule a day that’s entirely dedicated to writing your essay. Have enough enough rest, eat well, and forget about the strenuous task before that day.
Do you know that drinking water can also improve concentration? According to some writers, walking can also help alleviate the pressure you’re feeling. A change in position every once in a while can also set the mood for writing or let thoughts run free. Other writers also advise that you should keep writing even without the best ideas, so don’t get trapped with a blank page. Eventually, you’ll be surprised to see that you’re making sense even with your random thoughts.
Lack of self confidence
Since it’s an essay for grad school, you think you should do better than your college application essay. While it might be true for some, there’s not much difference except, of course, for the requirements. Now that you have more experience, your essay should talk about your chosen field, your contributions, and your general interest in pursuing higher studies. Other than these, the rules in essay writing basically remain the same.
Lack of self confidence starts when you compare yourself to other people. Most of the time, this can only bruise your ego. Might as well focus on your accomplishments, what you can do better than others, and your sincere interest in entering grad school. Remember, nobody gets it right the first time. Even novelists had to go through several revisions and were once rejected by publishers.
Getting too emotional
You cannot let emotions control you. Entering grad school is a big decision, and so, you must show some level of emotional maturity if you want to make it through and earn your degree. Don’t let frustration get in the way. Instead, find your motivation. Going through several revisions is no reason for you to stop improving your essay. If you can find the inspiration, don’t be too hard on yourself. Take some time off, but never leave things hanging midway through. Try reading a sample graduate school essay. You may draw inspiration from this, and learn a few techniques in writing.
