A lot of us learn the definition of an unfamiliar word by reading its surrounding context. By using what comes before and what comes after, you, as the reader, are able to figure out how this new word is supposed to fit in. The next time you come upon that word, you’re able to rememberContinue reading “Learning Prefixes and Suffixes to Improve Your Vocab“
Category Archives: Blog
Real People
I had a thought, Maybe, That now this is over And I remember your real name Instead of the one I gave you, We could meet somewhere. Anywhere, dirt and all from that First night, For the last time, I swear, For a last look and a last kiss and A last everything And IContinue reading “Real People”
Your Hurricane
I am unstoppable And I carry some Reckless power. I think you knew You were not ready. You saw water And were so thirsty, That when you realized I wreck Instead of wash, You ignored it because Your quench ruled over your Caution. I have destroyed And my winds have Whispered unspeakable words Words thatContinue reading “Your Hurricane”
What we will find as women
Do not go gentle. Rage Because their words had forked lightning. “Good men” Crying, Frail deeds danced in a green bay. The light Grieved good night. Blind eyes blaze the dying. Bless me now, I pray. Do not go gentle. Rage against the dying of the light.
Finding Your Writing Niche
The heart of creative writing is passion, but many writers get stuck on what to do when they dream of making their hobby a career. Maintaining a love for writing with the expectations of modern work culture is daunting, but the craft is vital to the world. You can make a difference with your wordsContinue reading “Finding Your Writing Niche”
American Dream
my mother speaks in broken englishcarrying the broken pieces of her family back home on each flight she took to americaeach stamp on her passport back and forthfrom the home she left to the home she made my father speaks in broken englishmending the broken piecesthat his parents left behind when they moved each transaction from hisContinue reading “American Dream”
Inspiration is Everywhere
Two words you dread hearing: writer’s block. Two words that have become a very familiar acquaintance, one that you simply can’t get rid of for good. I’ll start with the good news—you’re not alone! We’ve all been there, and I have actually been there for the entire past year! Now for the bad news: inspiration,Continue reading “Inspiration is Everywhere”
Importance of Literature in All Forms
Now no matter how old or young an individual may be, we’ve all held a book at some point in our lives. When you do, you are either one of two people: The person who falls in love with it instantly, delving into the story, imagining yourself in a virtual reality or you are theContinue reading “Importance of Literature in All Forms”
5 Amazing Reads By Minority Authors
Think of your favorite book. Now think about the author of the book. Especially think about which continent their family descended from, their physical appearance, and their gender. Chances are that most of the authors that you are thinking of right now are European white males. I was asked to do the same exact taskContinue reading “5 Amazing Reads By Minority Authors”
Book Review of The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin
N.K. Jemisin pulls no punches in the conclusion of her epic trilogy, set in a world where every couple of centuries, a natural disaster spontaneously plunges civilization into a post-apocalyptic nightmare. The questions that readers have been puzzling over for hundreds of pages are finally answered in The Stone Sky as Jemisin interrogates oppression, motherhood,Continue reading “Book Review of The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin”
Creative Writing is About Breaking the Rules
I have wanted to be an author since before I even knew how to pick up a pencil, but high school creative writing is the worst class I’ve ever taken. But don’t get me wrong. As an aspiring author, avid consumer of literature, and a lover of stories, I relish every moment I get toContinue reading “Creative Writing is About Breaking the Rules”
Words Are Mirrors
Words are often mirrors. Rewinding even as far as nine years ago, I read things that reflected facets of myself. That’s not to say that I only read the genre or the same kind of plot. Most of the books I picked up had one thing in common: I knew the character because they wereContinue reading “Words Are Mirrors”
Language Changes. Its Meaning Shouldn’t.
As far as quotes from Enlightenment philosophy go, common-place grammatical stylistic conventions would have concluded that masculine personal possessive pronouns really referred t
20 Journaling Prompts to Spark Your Creativity
I’m guessing that I’m not alone when I say that a blank page in a new journal can be really intimidating. For a long time, I thought of journaling as being an obligation where you’re forced to write about what you did each day. I soon realized, however, that while many people do this, theContinue reading “20 Journaling Prompts to Spark Your Creativity”
Our Escape from Time
Fictional stories are an escape from our everyday lives. Many people dream of living in another place or in the past, which we can only achieve through reading books. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres because it plunges you into a new and unknown world where you are able to experience life throughContinue reading “Our Escape from Time”
The Art of Poetry
Written by Anam Siddiqi Poetry is a favorite writing form for many, and for several reasons. Some enjoy the various usage of poetic devices, others the pleasing layout. But the common theme is the expression of feelings in a unique and beautiful way. It allows your heart and soul to speak, without uttering a word.Continue reading “The Art of Poetry”
An Introduction to the Satire Genre
Fantasy, science fiction, poetry, and more are the most commonly brought to mind in reference to literary genres. Satire is a type of genre as well, or often used as a literary device, and my personal favorite. Most of us are already familiar with satire even if we aren’t aware of it. Often political inContinue reading “An Introduction to the Satire Genre”
Five Must-Read Books
In the winter months, when it’s cold outside, there’s nothing I like to do more than curl up inside with a good book. Reading is perfect for literally any occasion — for instance, when I’m sad, I’ll read something light to cheer me up and when I’m in the mood for something exciting, I’ll pickContinue reading “Five Must-Read Books”
Valentine’s Day Gifts
Valentine’s day is not the only time you can show your friends or family that you care for them, however, it is a great chance to do so! It can be difficult to verbalize or share your emotions without feeling uncomfortable but it is important to show your loved ones that you appreciate them. AContinue reading “Valentine’s Day Gifts”
I Can Relate: The Relationship Between Reading & Empathy
Why do you read? No, seriously, think about it. Why do you read? Do you read for school, because you have to and you’ll get behind on your classwork if you don’t? Do you read to stay informed with current events? Or do you read for fun? Do you read because you want an outletContinue reading “I Can Relate: The Relationship Between Reading & Empathy”
Writing the Perfect Birthday Card: Dos and Dont’s
It’s your best friend’s birthday soon, and you know what that means: you need to write them a birthday card. Some people are naturals at writing cards while others aren’t as great at turning their appreciation for their friend into written words. If you are part of the latter group, don’t worry! Today we willContinue reading “Writing the Perfect Birthday Card: Dos and Dont’s”
Five Words You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
Language is wonderful and unique. Each one brings something new to the world of communication and has words for situations we didn’t even know we encounter every day. I doubt you’ve rarely visited dictionary.com for anything other than finding the meaning of a new word but there are a plethora of words that we wouldContinue reading “Five Words You’ve Probably Never Heard Of”
Newsworthiness in Journalism
When considering the options in styles of a written piece, there are plenty to choose from; poetry, short stories, biographies, screenplays, informational texts, etc. But the one I’m most familiar with is journalistic writing. Journalistic writing is a type of writing that helps report news stories. It is the kind of writing that makes yourContinue reading “Newsworthiness in Journalism”
When You Mean to Say One Thing — But End Up Saying Another?
Has this ever happened to you? You’ll be talking, maybe in a bit of a rush, and after saying something you realize it wasn’t what you had meant to say at all. Turns out, you’ve flipped two words! Or maybe, you said a different word entirely from what you had intended! People mixing up wordsContinue reading “When You Mean to Say One Thing — But End Up Saying Another?”
Three-Story Thesis Time!
Throughout my academic career, the one thing I’ve always struggled on writing, until recently, was a thesis. Personally, I never learned how to write one until my freshman year in high school, each teacher seemed to push it off to the next year. Before that, my essays were messy. There wasn’t a singular point thatContinue reading “Three-Story Thesis Time!”
Writing Children’s Fiction
So you want to write children’s fiction! But it’s way out of your comfort zone and you don’t know how to start… the shorter lengths are overwhelming… what do you do? Don’t worry, my friend. I have some tips that will hopefully help you get started on this exciting adventure. Themes and morals A classicContinue reading “Writing Children’s Fiction”
The Art of the Body Paragraph
Body paragraphs are the paragraphs in your essay that follow your introduction but precede your conclusion, and are used to explain your argument in detail. The body paragraphs are one of the most important parts of an essay — they do make up the majority of it, after all! You will most likely have toContinue reading “The Art of the Body Paragraph”
How to Brainstorm
By Elina Mohan The hero is faced with a huge—potentially insurmountable—challenge. A random event or object sparks their creativity, and suddenly they devise a brilliant solution to save the day. Wouldn’t it be amazing if ideas struck us like this too? However, this is highly unrealistic.In order to write a creative piece, it is importantContinue reading “How to Brainstorm”
Take a Minute to Reflect
If you weren’t aware, we’re living through a global pandemic. It’s definitely been a rough time adjusting to our new normal, but we are also in a unique position. It’s on us– every single person– to remember what happened this year. I am a bit of an optimist (I practically live in the silver lining),Continue reading “Take a Minute to Reflect”
Banned Books: Is the Harry Potter book series encouraging Witchcraft?
Books are essential to life. Many people may scoff at this idea, but books teach lessons, inspire, and provide an escape from reality. Most of us have read a book in our lifetime and absolutely loved it. So why are some of these books being banned and removed from education systems? Well, I’ll tell you.Continue reading “Banned Books: Is the Harry Potter book series encouraging Witchcraft?”
How to Find Your Strengths (and Write About Them)
In a world where we constantly compare ourselves to unrealistic beauty standards and uncommon success stories, many of us have become our worst critics. We constantly push ourselves to do better and work harder. Nothing we do will ever bring us 100% satisfaction, because there’s always someone out there who can and will do itContinue reading “How to Find Your Strengths (and Write About Them)”
Three Common Grammar Mistakes to Avoid
While it’s the content of your writing that’s the most important, your grammar has the power to make or break your writing. Good grammar validates your credibility and makes your writing seem professional, while writing riddled with grammar mistakes gives off the impression that you’re careless and unserious about your writing. Unfortunately, it’s no secretContinue reading “Three Common Grammar Mistakes to Avoid”
Oxymorons and Idioms: Spice Up Your Writing!
Chances are, you’ve heard of similes, metaphors, personification a billion times. Since you’re probably bored of those, here are some more exciting literary devices! As you read, see if you can come up with your own examples! Oxymorons Oxymorons are a type of literary device that make two words contradict each other. Using oxymorons inContinue reading “Oxymorons and Idioms: Spice Up Your Writing!”
Diversity in Literature
Being a bisexual, female, person-of-color in the 21st century, the one thing I crave when reading books is diversity. In fact, there’s a pattern in all my favorite books: they include characters from various backgrounds that aren’t there just for namesake. You could say they add their own distinct flavor to the broth of theContinue reading “Diversity in Literature”
The Beauty of Constructive Criticism
Being the one judging is difficult. You want to be as frank as possible, but you don’t want any feelings to be hurt. It’s especially hard when the work you are judging is that of a friend, a classmate, or a young student. But we’ve all heard it time and time again: constructive criticism isContinue reading “The Beauty of Constructive Criticism”
Writing When The Words Won’t Come
As I sat there at my desk, foot tapping absentmindedly on the floor, cursor blinking on a blank Word document, I asked myself the same question for the third, fourth time. What am I going to write today? I had a blog article due that needed to be published on Monday—the very one you’re readingContinue reading “Writing When The Words Won’t Come”
An Intro to Introductions
The introduction of your story or narrative is arguably one of the most important parts of your overall writing. A good introduction hooks the reader into your story, has readers asking questions, and sets up the scene for the rest of your book. With that said, today I am going to introduce you to aContinue reading “An Intro to Introductions”
My Five-Step Process to Writing a Poem
For some people, poetry is a form of self-expression and is a resource to make sense of their thoughts, but for others, it can simply be a school assignment. Whatever the reason, the origin of poetry spans back to 1200 B.C. and has been a form of storytelling for people since the beginning of time.Continue reading “My Five-Step Process to Writing a Poem”
4 Free Resources to Enhance Your Writing
Stuck on how to take your first draft to the next level? Here are some of my personal favorite online resources to revise my writing to be polished and published! WordHippo Thesaurus.com has nothing on WordHippo’s wide expanse of vocabulary. With its grand array of synonyms to prevent drab adjectives, and word association tool forContinue reading “4 Free Resources to Enhance Your Writing”
Who Are We Talking To?
All fields of study are codependent on each other. Without math there would be no science; without English, there would be no history. But, the basis of every subject is writing. Around for more than 5,500 years, writing has allowed societies to civilize further, recording history and facilitating basic calculations. In our lives today, weContinue reading “Who Are We Talking To?”
Show Don’t Tell: The Golden Rule of Writing
Hi, everyone! Welcome to our first blog post. Every Monday, one of our amazing TWS teachers will be publishing a new post – from writing tips to quizzes and games. Make sure to be on the lookout for those in the next few weeks. Now, for the actual post. 🙂 After you’ve been writing asContinue reading “Show Don’t Tell: The Golden Rule of Writing”