As I said in last week’s post about managing personal finances, it’s important to build a monthly budget when you’re beginning to track your spending and figure out just how much you can and should spend each month. Budgets are useful tools if you’re having trouble figuring out what your “needs” and wants” are because when you crunch the numbers and see how much you have to spend on something like rent, it’s easier to see where you need to be spending less, like on clothes or groceries or cellphone bills. You might even find that you need to eliminate some expenditures entirely because you simply can’t afford them without going into debt or just making it by each month. The goal should be to save as much of your money as possible, and by creating a budget, you can see where that money should be coming from.

At the end of this post, I've included a Microsoft Excel example budget that can be downloaded. Feel free to use it as a template to create your own budget! I've also attached a photo of the budget so that you can see a visual example while reading the steps to create a budget below.

Step 1: Determine how much money you have
In any bank accounts and in cash. This includes your checking and savings accounts. In order to know how much you can and cannot spend, you first need to know what you’re starting out with as a base. You should always be trying to build up your savings, if possible, so keep tabs on what you add or subtract from all of your accounts.

Step 2: Know how much you earn each month
Take into account any money coming your way each month from full-time and part-time jobs, allowances, and any other forms of income you might have. These will all factor into what you have available to spend each month.

Step 3: Know how much you already owe
If you’re behind on payments for anything, you’ll need to know this so that you can start paying off debts as soon as possible. The “debt” section of your budget requires the most attention because debt has the ability to build so quickly that while you might be able to afford it one month, it might be double or tripled the next. Interest rates vary on every form of debt, so make sure you know what you owe, how much you can afford to pay off each month, and how much you absolutely need to pay off to keep yourself from falling into even more debt.

Step 4: Keep track of bills/payments
Include any payments that you make every month, including cellphone, utility, and internet bills, and rent payments. If you’re trying to save for any these things, you can also use your budget to do so. If you’re looking to rent an apartment but can’t afford it yet, for example, you can add an “apartment” payment to your budget and use that to save a certain amount each month specifically for an apartment.

Step 5: Evaluate monthly expenses
In addition to your monthly payments that are always relatively the same, you need to look into how much you spend on items that aren’t stagnant. Expenses for transportation, clothing, cellphone add-ons, entertainment, groceries, personal care, and eating out are all included in this. To figure out how much you spend on each of these categories each month, you’ll need to keep your receipts and bills for everything you buy or pay off. Once you know how much you spend in one month, you’ll have a rough idea of what you’ll typically spend in following months. You’ll need to do this at the end of every month to determine whether you spend more or less than you intended on each category.

Step 6: Create a visual budget
There are several online resources to help you create a budget and stick to it. There are countless online platforms that you could use to create your budget, but the most basic way to do this is by using Microsoft Excel. If you’re looking for something more sophisticated that will track your spending and progress on savings goals and then provide visuals like graphs to match, you might consider using an online platform. However, Excel has these abilities as well, so if you have some experience with the program, you could create your own graphs or use a budget template to get started. If you’re just looking for an organized way to track your spending yourself with the ability to quickly add numbers, Excel is your best bet, and you can use the example I've provided to get started.

When you leave high school, you’re going to be thrown into a world where money is much more important and complicated than it’s ever been before. You’ll enter the professional world and need to know how to manage your own finances, cut expenses, and live within your means. If you don’t know how to keep track of your money or build a savings instead of living paycheck to paycheck, you need to learn. All of this is difficult enough already, but if you have no guide to help you get started, it might seem impossible. Below are ten things that I think every high school student should know before graduating so that they can begin their independent lives successfully and without facing avoidable financial hardships.

1.  Know the difference between what you need and what you want

Up until a certain point in our youth, most of us only spend our own money on things that we want like games, candy, movie tickets, clothing our parents won’t buy us, and random tiny things that people don’t really have any need for. However, at some point, we all begin to spend our money on things we need like food, electric bills, clothing for the real world, shoes for when ours are completely worn out, and the boring things our parents always seemed to somehow provide for us when we were younger. When we reach this point where we begin paying for our needs, it’s important to remember that we can’t always afford the “wants” on top of those “needs.” In order to be smart with your spending, you’ll have to identify your needs and wants, determine which are most important, and use your money accordingly.

2.  Take cheap transportation

An example of a “want” versus a “need” is the debate over whether to take a bus, subway, or taxi. If you’re someone who chooses the most expensive option most frequently, try to cut down on your spending slowly but surely by choosing cheaper modes of transportation. If you can take the cheapest option every time, you’ll save more money than you could imagine, and you’ll be able to spend it on something way better than transportation.

3.  Create a budget

You’ll probably find, once you start paying for your needs and trying to add a few wants onto your tab as well, that you’re running out of money faster than you can keep track of where it’s going. When you begin thinking about your money regularly and try to pinpoint where you spend too much or where you can spend less, a budget will be extremely useful to you. Start by saving receipts for a few months straight, and once you’ve accumulated enough, you can go through them and see how much you spend on certain things each month.
A budget usually consists of categories of spending that can be as specific or general as you’d like, such as “food,” “clothes,” “transportation,” “insurance,” “entertainment,” and “phone.” You’ll also have categories of income like “part-time job,” “full-time job,” and “allowance.” Once you look through your receipts and bills, you’ll be able to determine how much you spent on each category per month and estimate how much you will spend on those in the coming months. For example, if, in one month, you spend $400 on food and the next you spend $500, you can look at why you spent more one month and less the other. If you find that the $500 can be chalked up to several expensive meals, then $400 might be a more desirable goal to set for upcoming months. However, if you think you usually eat expensive meals and the $400 month was an anomaly, set your budget for $500 a month and try to wean yourself off of your extravagant spending. If you simply set a lower budget for yourself right away, you probably won’t be able to stick to it, and you’ll end up with much less money at the end of a month than you intended.

4.  Start building a cushion as early as possible

Everyone who give financial advice will tell you that saving money now will help you immensely in the long run. If you tuck away a little money after each paycheck, week, or month, you’ll see a small savings turn into a large sum of money. Some people call this a “rainy day fund” to be used when you run into financial hardship. If you lose a job, have to take a trip unexpectedly, have unexpected medical costs, need to move, or run into any situation that might require a large chunk of money, you’ll be so grateful that you had the foresight to save some of what you’ve earned rather than spending it all each month. If you keep even $20 a week for a year, you’d have a little over $1,000 by the end of that year, and if anything goes wrong or if you have any unexpected expenses, you’ll have a way to easily pay for them. The more you set aside, the larger your “rainy day” can be, and you might even be able to afford some “wants” you’ve been trying to save up for. However, it’s best to save more in preparation for big purchases in addition to an emergency fund so that you don’t spend your cushion money on a flat screen and then have nothing left when you need it most.

5.  Open checking and savings accounts

If you don’t already have one, you should open a checking account as soon as you can. It’s nearly impossible to save money if you keep it somewhere that you can immediately access, and it’s much safer to keep your money in a bank than in rolls under your mattress or in a shoebox. You’ll also need a bank account in your professional life in order to cash and deposit paychecks, and some companies actually deposit paychecks into bank accounts automatically each payday, so you’ll definitely need an active checking account if you’re getting paid regularly. You should also consider opening a savings account so that you have a place to put your money that you want to save each month. This way it will be separate from your checking, so you won’t accidentally dip into the money you’re trying to save, and it will accumulate interest over time, making your balance go up slightly more each month. At first, the interest will not be substantial, but over time, and the more you place in your account, the more “extra money” you’ll receive simply for having money in savings.

6.  Know how to balance and use a checkbook

A lot of people require payments in the form of check if they’re trying to get paid directly into their own bank accounts. If you’re paying rent or bills, you might end up needing to know how to write checks, and that means that you’ll also need to know how to balance your checkbook. This simply means that you should keep track of how many checks you write each month and for what amounts so that you can make sure it all adds up at the end of each month. There are instances of fraud where people cash fake checks using your bank information, and if you only look at your bank statement, you might not notice that a check has been cashed that you never wrote. To avoid fraud and keep tabs on your checks, make sure you keep a book or make a digital document to track them and compare the list you make with your bank statements.

7.  Protect your information

Your banking information can be stolen easily and at any time, so be cautious when doing anything with your money. If you use a debit card, be wary of pin pads at stores. They’ve been hacked countless times and on massive scales, so if you can avoid it, don’t put in your pin number. Instead, if you have a debit card, you should be able to choose “credit” when checking out rather than “debit,” and you’ll need to sign rather than punching in your pin. The only time that I use my debit card is for ATM withdrawals, but even still, I used it once at a store when I didn’t have a credit card or cash on me, and a month later, my account was hacked, and I was missing more than $400. The bank reimbursed the money, but you should know that this happens to almost everyone at some point, and not using a debit card to make any purchases is a good way to avoid it. Nothing is fool-proof, though, so just as you do with your checkbook, check your bank statements each month to make sure that there isn’t any unauthorized activity.

8.  Use cash instead of cards whenever possible

In addition to avoiding using debit cards to make purchases, if at all possible, you should avoid using credit cards as well for a different reason. Studies have shown that when we use credit cards, we’re less aware of the tangible cost of what we’re spending, so we’re more likely to spend more when swiping a card than if we use cash. Cash allows you to see exactly how much you’re spending, and the total sinks in much more when you’re handing over three $20s rather than a piece of plastic that you don’t need to worry about paying off until later. Be careful when spending, and be aware of how much something actually costs and whether you can afford it. You should also use cash on small purchases as much as possible. A credit card bill can seem manageable until you forget to factor in the ten times you spent $15 here and there, so don’t get caught off guard by putting small items on your card and seeing them add up at the end of the month.

9.  Pay off credit card bills on time – and pay more than the minimum

If you decide to have a credit card, make sure that you know everything you need to know before you apply for one or start using it for purchases. Credit cards are great to have because they’re safer than debit cards, and they give you the opportunity to build credit. Your credit score is determined by a number of factors, but in terms of credit cards, if you pay your credit card bill each month without missing a payment, your score goes up. You can pay a percentage of your bill, or you can pay it in full, and if you pay it in full, your credit score goes higher. You’ll need a good credit score when taking out loans, and buying real estate, cars, and other high-priced items. The better your credit score, the more likely you are to get a better price for these types of items because the people selling them to you will trust you to pay them everything you owe just as you’ve paid off your credit card bills each month. Your credit score is essentially your trust score – the more trustworthy you are to pay off debts, the higher your score, and the higher your score, the more people will trust you to continue paying off your debts.
Just remember that credit cards are not money. They’re a safe way to pay for things without using information directly related to your bank account because they don’t take money from your account. They’re just debt that you need to be able to pay off each month, so use them wisely and only if you have more money in your checking account than you’ve spent with your credit card.

10.  Pay your bills on time

Just as with your credit card bills, be sure to pay off your other bills on time each month. These can also impact your credit because companies will keep records of your payment history, so if you’re not paying on time, your score can go down. You might also begin being charged more for services if you’re an unreliable client. A bonus of paying on time each month is that you can periodically call to negotiate new prices if you’re unhappy with how much you’re paying or if a service’s price goes up. If your cable bill goes up $20, for instance, if you’ve been making regular and full payments, you might be able to talk your cable company into leaving your service at the old price. Your payment history also gives you a bargaining chip in that you can threaten to shut off your cable unless the company gives you the price you want. It doesn’t always work, but it can, especially if they’re counting on your regular payments.
 
-Hope Swedeen
 
What are some methods that you use to try to save money? What are some questions that you still have about finances?

In a previous post, I talked about several tips to help you study effectively. However, I never talked about how you should actually be studying. There are several studying methods that are widely used, and most of them require help from someone or something else, whether it be flashcards, someone to ask questions or list vocab words, or games to help with memorization. The best studying method will vary by subject, so what works for one class might not work for another. No matter what method you choose, be aware that there are countless resources available to help you online.
Websites designed to help students study all have different approaches and offer different forms of assistance, and some are more helpful than others. Below, I’ve listed five websites that I have found helpful in the past and that I prefer to other websites I’ve tried. Each offers different studying methods as well as unique features that can make them more helpful than others when studying for different subjects.
 
1.  GoConqr

GoConqr offers several different methods of studying, which is ideal if you have multiple subjects to study for. When you create a free account, you can create flashcards, mind maps, quizzes and slides, and share them with other users. The website hosts a huge database of information generated by users, so every set of flashcards, slideshow, quiz, etc. created by other users will be available to you to use as well. While this database of content hosts fairly general information that might not all apply to what you need to study, you can also create groups to share information more easily with students who are studying the exact same content as you. GoConqr is also a great website because it allows you to set goals and events and see your progress as you study.

2.  Quizlet

Like GoConqr, Quizlet allows you to create study tools like flashcards and practice tests, and with the information you input, the website creates study games for you. There is a large database of public study tools created by other users just like on GoConqr, but these are generally more specific and less helpful than on GoConqr because sets of information are typically created for specific chapters of a book covered in a class. Because of this, Quizlet is really only useful for inputting your own information or connecting with a group of people in your class to create and share information and study tools.

3.  Study Blue

This website’s main function is collaboration. Just like Quizlet, the information created by other users is very specific to classes and chapters, so creating content individually or in groups is really the best way to use the site. You can also chat in groups, save notes, and track your progress as you study. There is also an app available for Study Blue, so you can track your progress and send messages to groups more easily.

4.  Study Stack

Study Stack is primarily a website for creating flashcards. You input your information just as you would on all of the other sites, and it will generate flashcards that you can flip through and track which answers you know and which you don’t. The cards that you press the “don’t know” button for are set aside and will repeat once you get through the set so that you can spend more time on the ones you don’t know. This is my favorite site for flashcards for this reason because I like to review information more if it’s difficult for me to remember. The site also builds several games based on flashcard sets, including hangman, crosswords, matching games, and more. As with the other sites, you can use information provided by other users, but it’s most helpful for creating your own flashcards.

5.  Study Guide Zone

​Study Guide Zone is completely different from the other four websites. It’s not made for collaboration or inputting information or providing any flashcards, games, or other memorization tools. Instead, this website is simply a resource for taking practice standardized tests, including the PSATs, SATs, ACTs, LSATs, MCATs, and so many more. If you’re gearing up for a standardized test, this is the place to go. They break the tests down into parts so that you don’t have to do them all at once, which is super helpful, and they explain what each part of the test will entail and how much of the test it is worth. I’ve used this a few times to study for the SATs, and I’ve begun using it for the LSATs, and, if nothing else, it gives you a feel for the test’s format, which is crucial to know before you actually take the test so that you don’t waste any time and you know what to expect.
 
-Hope Swedeen
 
What websites or tools do you use to make studying easier and more effective for you?

When you leave high school, you’ll probably realize that you didn’t spend enough time thinking about what comes next. Even if you’re a senior making plans for after graduation to work at a certain company or travel somewhere, there are things that you should be doing before you leave this chapter of your life behind for good. Even though it might not seem so finite now, everything you know about life, yourself and your friends will begin to change the more time you spend outside of school. So while you have the chance, do these last few things to ensure that you make the most of your last few months or years of high school.
 
First, you need to be able to survive independently in the real world, so get a handle on these four things before you leave high school and begin your independent life. Whether you leave home right away or not, these will be things that you’ll be expected to know and do once you are officially an adult.
 
1.  Learn how to cook healthy meals

Although you might not be leaving home right away, you should at least start learning how to cook and making a list or cookbook of recipes that you know you’ll want to make in the future. Starting now means that you’ll have a better chance of making healthy meals for yourself and of knowing how to make them cheaply.

2.  Know how to do your laundry

By the end of high school, if you can’t do your own laundry without turning everything pink, you’re going to have a rough time being on your own. You need to know enough about washing clothes that you can survive without going back home to have your professional clothes washed every weekend by mom or dad.

3.  Understand how to manage your finances

The extent of most people’s knowledge of finances is how to check their account balance and swipe a credit card. You should know, though, how to open accounts and deal with banks in person, apply for and cancel credit cards, write a check, and budget money. All of this takes time and experience, but if you start your professional life without any idea of how to budget money or open a savings or checking account, you’re going to be in for a difficult ride.

4.  Know how to find and apply for jobs

It seems obvious that you need to know how to look for a job once you set out to get one, but a lot of people have no idea where to look or how to apply. It’s always good to ask an adult for help with this one because they’ve probably been through the process plenty of times by now. A guidance counselor might be your best resource for this because they will be able to help you find websites with job postings, and teach you how to search for specific jobs and apply for a job in a professional way that makes it seem like you know what you’re doing.
 

These next few “must-do’s” are meant to help you take memories and people with you beyond graduation. You’ll find that, once you graduate, things are more different than you expected they’d be. So take advantage of what and who you have now so that you don’t regret wasting any time later.

5.  Take a day off with your closest friends. You might never be this close again

If you’ve been absent from school too often or don’t want to miss a day, take a trip on a weekend. Do something you’ve never done together, and make memories that will last beyond graduation. The sad truth is that you might not be close with all of your high school friends a few months after graduation, so take the time to make memories that you can hold onto for years.

6.  Look closely at your passions and figure out how to pursue them

If you don’t know what you want to do after graduation, take the time now to figure that out. Even if you don’t know exactly what you want, you should try to form an understanding of yourself and what you want to give to and get from life. Once you discover your passions, research where they can take you. Find out what jobs you’d be good at, and think about what you want your life to look like in a few years.

7.  Make a game plan for after graduation and schedule events

Once you’ve finally graduated, you’ll probably want to spend the summer relaxing and spending time with friends who are all going their separate ways. You should definitely make time for this because you’ll never be the people you are now, but you also need to have an action plan for beginning your own future. Plan get-togethers and end-of-year parties in advance so that you know when you’ll have time to begin applying for jobs or moving forward on professional plans.

8. Clean up your social media

Employers don’t want to see anything on your social media that is unprofessional (or illegal), so make sure that you have a “clean” social media presence when you leave high school and begin applying for jobs or making your way into the real world.
 
9. Tell the people who have had an impact on your life how important they are. And get their contact information

Your favorite teachers might not know how much they have shaped you or informed your ideas. Before you leave, let them know that they’ve had an impact on you. They will feel grateful to have a student who appreciates the work they’ve put in year after year, and your relationship with them might grow into a friendship that will continue after graduation. Make sure to get contact information, though, so that you have a way to stay in touch if you’re hoping to remain close.

10. Be prepared for huge changes

Everyone always says that everything changes after high school, but this is an understatement. You expect to drift apart from friends and teachers, you expect for your passions and understanding of life to change, but you don’t expect everything that’s been a part of your life since you can remember to be gone suddenly. No matter how much you prepare yourself for it, graduation brings changes that you can’t plan for. You’ll be faced with challenges you’ve never imagined, lose friendships you thought would last forever, and find yourself becoming someone new, barely recognizable as who you thought you were. It happens to everyone at some point, whether it be right after high school or years down the road; eventually, everything will be different, for better or worse. So take the time now to do what you haven’t had the chance to, get closer to people you may have taken for granted, and figure out who you want to be.
 
-Hope Swedeen
 
What are some things you'd like to do before graduating from high school?
 

When you begin a research paper, the most difficult task you’ll have is conducting the actual research. If you’ve written one in the past, you’ll know that finding somewhere with reliable sources is tricky in and of itself, but then you have to look for sources that actually address the argument you’re posing in your paper. It can seem impossible when you’re looking at a 40-page scholarly article to decide whether it will be useful to you, but hopefully by using these tips, research will be made easier for you, and you’ll be better able to determine which sources you should and shouldn’t use based on content, reliability, credibility, and accuracy.

Tips for conducting research

1.  Have an idea for a thesis

Although you might not have a completely solidified idea starting out, you should at least know the general topic and know why you’re interested in that topic. Knowing why you’re interested in a general idea will lead you to finding that “seed idea” inside of your “watermelon idea,” as my teachers used to say. The more specific your topic, the easier it will be for you to know what to search for, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll be able to find information on that topic either, as it could be too narrow to have been written about by scholars. Make sure you are flexible when formulating your idea, and don’t be afraid to let the sources shape your thesis, especially if your original idea isn’t yielding results.

2.  Use Wikipedia to get started

Your teachers have probably told you from day one that using Wikipedia is strictly not allowed when writing a research paper. However, it’s an extremely useful tool starting out to help you either find a research topic or get a basic understanding of what your topic involves and what exactly you should be looking for in more scholarly sources.

3.  Use quotation marks to search an exact phrase

You might know this already, but if you want to search for a phrase rather than individual words, put your search in quotation marks. For example, if you’re searching for information on monarch butterflies, the search engine will automatically look for the words individually, so you might get some results that are only about monarchs and only about butterflies but not both.

4.  Use online databases for reliable, scholarly information

Your school likely has access to online databases full of research materials. These are excellent places to find the majority of your sources because you can be sure that they are reliable.

5.  Read through abstracts and summaries for article content

It’s difficult to say whether an online article will hold the information you’re looking for based on the title alone, and it might be too long for you to look through in its entirety just to see if you need it, so read the summary or abstract if there is one before diving into the actual text.

6.  Control-F is your friend

If you’re not sure if a source includes information that you need, search for keywords within the text using the command key shortcut Control-F. This will open the “find” window for you to search for words throughout a document. If you want to know if an article on benefits of exercise specifically mentions eating habits, try typing in words like “eating,” “food,” or “diet.”

7.  Use the bibliographies of a reliable source to find more sources

If you find a source that holds reliable, accurate, and crucial information, look to its bibliography to find more sources like it. One great source probably uses other great sources, so doing a little “bibliography mining” will help you find more information about topics that are specifically within the original source.

8.  Use library resources…

On top of databases provided by your school, you might be able to access some free databases at a public library. You should also look for books about your topic to use as sources, as these are also guaranteed to be accurate and reliable. Although it takes more time to read through books, there are ways to quickly figure out if you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for within a book. Start by reading the preface or introduction to get an idea of what the book contains, and then look over the table of contents to see whether there are specific sections that reference your topic. This takes a little more digging, but once you find the information, it’s typically concise enough for you to get a few good quotes and chunks of information.

9.  … including human resources

All libraries have librarians or research aides, so if you’re stumped on how to find the information you’re looking for, talk to someone. Even if you’re just starting your research, it’s a great idea to ask what databases and online resources you can access through the library so that you can cover all of your bases.

10.  Don’t disregard sources that hold the same information as others

Even though you might look at a source and think that it holds almost exactly the same information as another source, that doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable. Information is given quickly and concisely, so there might be one key piece of information that you don’t see anywhere else even though everything else about the source seems familiar. You should also be looking for quotes to use in your paper, so getting as many sources as possible can’t hurt in helping you get more voices and ways to phrase something.

11.  Figure out how you prefer to read sources

Print or digital? Once you know your reading preference, make sure you have a way to take notes and store your sources. You should be taking notes as you read and highlighting quotes so that you don’t forget where any information is or why you want to use it. I prefer printed sources over digital because it’s easy to take notes right on the paper rather than using separate sheets, notecards, or a word document.

12.  Find a way to organize your sources that works for you

As soon as you begin looking for sources, you’re going to need a way to keep track of them whether they’re printed or saved digitally. Organize them in whatever way makes the most sense to you. In the past, I’ve tried a few methods of organizations for printed sources, and I’ve created a mildly-chaotic, though helpful, system. I use different highlighters to color-code sources based on the topics each source covers. This works best if you have an outline for your paper already determined because you already know how many topics/colors you’ll keep track of, and you can see that you have enough information for each point. If you don’t have an outline or an idea of what topics you’ll be covering, this can still be helpful as a way of marking the similarities between sources. You can also highlight specific information within the articles using this system so that you know where in your paper each piece will fit. If I know, for example, that I want a paper on gun control to include pros, cons, statistics, and solutions, I can color code all information I find for each of those sections.

13.  Get both sides of an argument

When you’re writing a research paper, you need to take a stand, but you also can’t entirely write off a point that diverges from your own. You can either agree with part of an opposing argument or disagree with all of it, but whatever you choose, talk about the arguments of the opposing argument. Your paper will be more credible and seem less biased than if you only talked about the evidence to support your own point. If you’re writing that gun control paper, make sure you include the pros and cons so that you can show you’re not just someone with a political right- or left-wing agenda.

Tips for determining a source’s reliability, accuracy, and credibility

1.  Check the publication date and the dates of sources in the bibliography

If a source is from 2000, it’s probably not as accurate as something published in 2012. Information about any given topic changes over the years, so anything that’s more than five years old might not be accurate anymore. Be wary of using anything too old, and be sure that everything seems up-to-date or at least not proven false in later articles. Also make sure that an article doesn’t use old resources for its own information. Even if something was published last year, if it relies on information from 1990, it’s probably not accurate.

2.  Cross-reference information for accuracy

Make sure that you double-check every piece of information you intend to use in your paper. Especially if you’re using sources that don’t come from a database or website hosting scholarly articles, you should keep an eye out for inaccuracies. If something seems questionable, look it up using a different source.

3.  Check for the author’s or publisher’s credibility

If you can’t find an author or publisher anywhere, you’re probably not looking at a credible source. If you can find a name or publisher, search it in Google to see what else may be published by that person or publisher or what people are saying about their work.

4.  Watch out for one-sided or biased arguments

Just like you don’t want to only include your argument in your paper, you don’t want to use sources that focus too heavily on one argument. While there’s no problem with taking a stance, if an article appears biased or completely ignores the opposing side of the issue, it might not be reliable or objective. Instead, look for sources that address the opposing view, as you should be doing in your own paper.

5.  Understand a source’s tone and intended audience

You should know who an article is meant to target so that you can tell that the information is of a high quality. If the information seems to be written for a younger audience, it probably isn’t scientific enough for your purposes. If it’s meant to sway someone in a certain direction, it will probably form its argument accordingly, so watch out for the way an author writes. If he or she seems to be trying to convince you of something with which you disagree, you’re probably not the target audience. If you seem to agree with almost everything, be aware that you could be the target audience, and you might be liable to believe information that isn’t actually reliable but just fits into what you’re used to thinking is correct.

6.  Is there enough evidence to support an argument?

Looking for specific evidence to support a point goes along with searching for biases, tone, and audience. An article needs to be factual rather than opinionated, and if it doesn’t offer enough evidence to back up its argument, then whatever point it’s making might not cover all of the information that’s necessary for it to be deemed reliable. Be sure that each source you choose to use provides sufficient evidence to support its argument, just as your own paper should incorporate sufficient evidence as well.

-Hope Swedeen

How do you organize your research? What are some tricks you use to figure out which sources are reliable and which aren’t?

It’s the time of year when classes start wrapping up, and teachers assign review work to help you prepare you for tests. If your teachers are anything like mine were, they’ll be asking you to also create some New Year’s resolutions that may or may not have to do with improving your work ethic or motivation after you come back from break. When you’re assigned these tasks, it’s tempting to think the question doesn’t deserve your time compared to the “real” work you’re doing, but if you’re not happy with your performance in one area or another so far this year, it might be worth taking a serious look at some possible resolutions for the New Year. Even if it’s not school related, it’s worth your time.

Having this “assignment” for almost every class always seemed like a nuisance to me. I would be studying for tests, and teachers would be asking me to write a practical New Year’s resolution. What could be the use of figuring out what I should do next year when this year isn’t over and I still have a biology test to study for? Well, the answer is in the question. Next year is almost here, and what we do now is already impacting our success next year. For all intents and purposes, it is next year, and it will be over again before we know it. If we’re not careful, though, it might also be over before we have a chance to improve.

If you’re like me, writing a New Year’s resolution might seem like a waste of time at first, but think about everything you wish you could change about this first half of the year. Maybe you never left yourself enough time to study before a big test. Maybe you didn’t prioritize your homework and aren’t doing as well as you’d like in one or two of your classes. Maybe your challenge lies outside of the realm of school work. Whoever you are, chances are you have room to grow, as we all do, and a resolution for the New Year can actually help, despite what you might think. It wasn’t until I finished high school that I truly realized what a new game plan every year could do for me, but now I set a resolution every year. More often than not, I set a list of resolutions to talk myself into improvement.

If you’ve written down what you need to change about your habits and why, you’re already a step closer to making changes. Sure, there’s no guarantee that you’ll follow through, but at least you have a better understanding of yourself, what’s holding you back, and what you need to do to combat your personal obstacles. Some people say it’s best to set only one resolution, but it depends on who you are. If you’re trying to figure out your own challenges, make a list.

If you’re really striving to change something specific that you already know needs to change, focus on that. If you’re considering writing one of these resolutions (or a list of them), make sure to make them SMART resolutions so that they’re more likely to meet a successful end. In a previous post, I talked about setting goals for a new school year, and this relates closely to New Year’s resolutions. No matter what type of resolution you’re setting, whether it be school-related, work-related, or otherwise, always make them SMART resolutions. SMART resolutions, just like goals, should:

Include specific tasks to be accomplished.

Have a measurable objective and outcome to verify that you’ve followed through on your resolution.

Be realistically attainable so that you don’t set out to accomplish the impossible.

Be relevant to your needs in specific areas of your life, including your school, work and personal life.

Be time-based so that you give yourself a set date to have your resolution(s) fulfilled.

For a great guide with tips and information on New Year’s resolutions, check out this guide created by a Virginia medical center’s staff. It has tips to creating resolutions, common pitfalls, and examples of SMART goals that all pertain to healthy living. Even though your resolution(s) might not deal with being healthier, it’s a great guide to look through for ideas and advice.

-Hope Swedeen

What are your New Year’s resolutions for 2016? How do you plan to follow through on your goals?

As the calendar year comes to and end and schools prepare for winter break, teachers are throwing around that word that no student likes to hear; “test.” We all dread them, whether we think we’ll pass or not, but during the weeks before winter break, we are not only responsible for preparing for tests, we are also expected to keep up with every-day classwork. If you’re like me and countless other students all over, it can be challenging to balance study and homework time, especially when you try to factor in free time as well (which is important, by the way).

If you’re someone who never seems to have enough hours in a day to finish what needs to be done, consider evaluating how you manage your time. You might not manage your time at all, which isn’t uncommon, and this could mean that you simply need to work on planning ahead more often. If you’re someone who makes lists and tries to think ahead, you still might be struggling to follow through on your plans. Whatever the case, it’s always a good idea to evaluate your time management techniques once in a while to see how you can improve them or what you can do to make them more effective.

1.  Find out where you are wasting time

Everyone wastes time, but it’s important to be aware of when you’re doing it so that you can monitor the amount of time you spend distracted from getting things done. If you can figure out what your main distractions are or make a list of some things that you need to prioritize less when you have a lot of work to do, this will help you focus on what’s most important to accomplish.

2.  Create a daily and weekly schedule

If you have a syllabus for your class or you know when you have tests and assignments due, make up a schedule for each week, breaking down assignments by due dates or dates to be completed. If you have sports or clubs, factor those in too. You want to write down as much of your weekly schedule as possible so that you can get a good estimate of how much time you’ll have leftover for work, studying, free time, and anything else each day.

Calendars come in all shapes and sizes, and they’re made specifically for different types of software. If you’re looking for a free calendar for iOS devices, Sunrise Calendar can be used on an iPhone or iPad, and iStudiez can be used on an iOS device, including a computer. It can also be used on windows computers, but you’ll have to pay $9.99 for it. If you’re looking for something for a windows pc, you’ll probably get the best result by using a calendar in your email. Windows Live, for Microsoft Outlook, and Google mail offer calendars that are easy to use, and, as they’re linked to your email, you’ll be able to access them on your phone as well. If you don’t see yourself using any of the options I’ve listed, shop around online for other calendars. There are tons of platforms to use that aren’t listed here.

3.  Create a to-do list and add it to your schedule

In addition to any assignments you might have or anything happening routinely, keep a general to-do list of non-school-related things so that you don’t forget anything you’re supposed to be doing and so that you can factor everything you plan on doing into your weekly and daily schedules. A great platform for creating organized lists is Trello, which allows you to create lists and add or move around items. It can be used interactively with multiple people, so if you have a group project or a study group, you could easily make task lists, tag people on lists and list items, and communicate with comments on tasks. You can create any type of list you want, so if you have a “To-do” list and a “completed” list, you can move items around as you finish them. You’ll also need to sign up using an email, so if you have your calendar linked to the same email, you can get all of your notifications in the same place.

4.  Say “no” to time commitments that you can’t fit in

Unfortunately, there is seldom a time when we can do everything that we want in a given day. Particularly during tests time, you’ll probably find yourself pressed for time with more commitments and plans than you can keep. To avoid the stress of trying to come through on everything, say “no” to some things in advance. Having a schedule will help you with this, as you’ll be able to look at your to-do list for each day and figure out how much time you’ll actually have for extra things. If you find your day is filled, including the free time you’ve set aside, don’t add on more to your day. Just say “no,” and you won’t have to feel bad for either backing out or ignoring your work to do it later.

5.  Figure out what time of day you’re most productive

You’ll want to schedule homework and studying into your schedule at a time when you feel you can accomplish the most. If you work best at night, schedule a few hours spread out in the evenings. If you’re more of a morning person, set aside your morning hours for work instead.

6.  Know your work/study habits.

Just like understanding when in the day you’re most productive, you should get to know your study/work habits so that you can use them to your advantage rather than trying to work against them. If you’re someone who needs a week to work on a lengthy assignment, give yourself a week. If you work better under pressure, spend your week focusing on smaller assignments closer to their due dates and tackle bigger projects as they come. Think about what sort of atmosphere you work best in, and try to find a space like it. You might prefer somewhere quiet, which could lead you to work in your room, but that also might lead to easy distractions or even falling asleep (guilty).

7.  Set Time limits

If you leave yourself with four hours to do work one evening, don’t just add a block of time to your schedule that says “do work.” Make sure that you specify how much time you’ll be spending on each assignment you plan to work on. You could give yourself 30 minutes for math homework and then another 30 minutes to study for a math test, for example. Make sure that you follow your time limits fairly closely so that you don’t burn out doing one thing for too long or end up not having time to do everything that needs to get done.

8.  Be realistic – some things take longer than others

If you have to write a two-page English paper and do five simple math equations, the paper will most likely take you longer. Don’t leave yourself 30 minutes for each task, as you probably won’t be able to finish them both within the same amount of time, and the paper will probably take you about two hours. Instead, think about how long each assignment should reasonably take you, including how long you need to study for each subject you might have a test in, and plan your schedule accordingly.

9.  Set goals

Even if you’ve made a schedule, it helps to have goals in addition to deadlines. If you want to finish an assignment by a date earlier than when it’s due, that can be a goal to work toward. If you set aside a certain amount of time to complete tasks, aim to fit in one other task if you find you have the time. Anything that will help you feel more accomplished and positive will only help you keep working hard.

10.  Don’t think about your entire to-do list. Just focus on the task at hand.

Even though you might have 15 things to do in a week, don’t think of them as a bundled package. If you think of them as individual assignments rather than as clumps of homework each day, you’ll feel much less intimidated by it all. Focus on one thing at a time, slowly chipping away at the larger to-do list, and make sure you’re always thinking “one down!” rather than “14 to go.”

11.  Complete assignments in order of importance

While you have to finish everything at some point, it helps to give yourself some kind of order to begin with. Decide on an order of importance for assignments based on due dates/times, difficulty, or any other criteria, and complete work in that order. This way, you have a plan to stick to and can transition between assignments quickly without too much distraction. That being said…

12.  Give yourself a break between tasks

Switching from one thing to the next right away can be exhausting and easily make you fed up with doing work. Instead, take small breaks when you finish assignments, but don’t let yourself get so distracted that you realize you’re still on Facebook 30 minutes later. The length of time you spend on each task should impact the length of your break, so the longer something takes you, the longer you can justify taking some time to relax. If you’ve just finished 15 minutes’ worth of math homework, you probably don’t need to take a 30-minute break before moving on. As a rule, I allot 10 minutes of break time for every hour spent on an assignment. Try to avoid social media while you’re taking these breaks, though, as you’ll probably find yourself taking a longer break than you might have initially intended.

13.  Don’t procrastinate – start working immediately

It’s easy to get caught up in setting up your work, getting on a computer, or any other pre-homework rituals you might have. Instead of procrastinating, get started on your work as soon as you decide to begin, and don’t let yourself get distracted before you even accomplish anything.

14.  Always take some work with you

If you’re leaving home for a few hours, take some work with you to do if you find you’re not doing anything else. If you’re on a bus or train, you can easily pull out a book or flashcards.

15.  Make time to sleep

Although you need to finish your work, you should always make time to sleep well each night. If you’re tired at school or when you’re supposed to be doing work, you’ll likely be much less productive than if you’ve had a good night’s rest, so don’t forget to add sleeping to your daily schedule in ample supply.

-Hope Swedeen

Do you keep track of your daily and weekly tasks? What calendars or platforms do you use to stay organized and ensure that you're using your time efficiently?

When you have a break from school – whether it be a three-day weekend or a full week off – you have the opportunity to do anything that you want during those free days. You can catch up on some TV shows you’ve gotten behind on, spend time with friends, get a little extra sleep, and pretty much anything you find you don’t have time for in your average week. Consider, though, what it would benefit you to be doing in your free time. Yes, everyone needs a break, and I am all for making the most of whatever free time I have. This Thanksgiving break, I hope that everyone spent time with their loved ones and had much less stress to deal with (school-related stress, at least) than usual. At some point during Thanksgiving break, though, I hope that everyone made time to keep up with school work.

I know it’s an unpopular concept – doing work over break – but, whether we like it or not, the work will still be due at the end of break whether we get it done or not. Maybe you didn’t have assignments due the first few days after break, but if you did, and you found yourself struggling to make time to get it done during the holidays, consider using a different approach to finishing schoolwork when your next break rolls around. Following a few suggestions, you just might find that completing your work over break isn’t as much of a drag as you thought.

1.  Make a to-do list

I cannot stay organized without lists, and I have one for every type of “to-do.” I have homework lists; shopping lists; wish lists; books, movies, and songs lists; and pretty much every type of list you can think of. It might seem lame, but lists really do help to keep everything going on in your mind organized. I forget that I have to do entire projects all the time, and if I didn’t have them written down, I’d honestly just not finish them. While your memory might not be as bad as mine, it wouldn’t hurt to make a list of assignments that you need to finish over break so that you have an idea of how much time you’ll need to spend doing work.

2.  Create a homework schedule/plan

After you’ve made a list of assignments, think about when you should try to finish them. If you have something due the day you get back to school, work on that first. If you have a project or paper that you know will take you a few hours or days, start that earlier in your break so that you don’t have to work for hours on end the night before it’s due. You also might find that your family has part of your days off already planned for you, so you’ll need to fit your work schedule to fit their plans as well. That said, homework is always a great excuse if you don’t want to participate in any particular family activities, especially if you’ve already planned out your homework schedule and try to stick to it for the rest of break. This will also ensure that you have some time to spend on your own during your days off.

3.  Do a small amount of work each day

It’s tempting to spend your entire break doing whatever you want and ignoring all homework and responsibility, but don’t give into the temptation. If you’re stuck doing all of your work the night before classes start again, you’ll be burnt out before your break is even over. This makes going back to school that much harder because you’ll already be looking ahead to the next break. Instead, plan a feasible work schedule, and stick to it. Set aside two hours or so each day depending on your work load, and make sure that if you skip a day, you make up for it gradually rather than letting it pile on to your last day. I like to schedule my day before school begins again as a completely free day, if I can, so that I don’t have to worry about doing work on my last day of freedom. Even if I do end up having to finish some work, it shouldn’t be more than I can handle, as it’s only “leftover” work that I didn’t end up fitting into one of my other days.

4.  Stick to your sleep schedule

You might be someone who goes to sleep 4 hours later over break than you would on a school night, but consider cutting down on your night owl tendencies. It’s difficult to wake up at a normal hour when you’re sleeping at irregular times, and by waking up later, you’re cutting out part of your days. Even if you try to get your work done at night, you might not be as productive as you could be in the morning. Consider going to bed and waking up at or around your normal times, and try to get some work out of the way in the morning so that you can enjoy the rest of your day.

In past blog posts, we’ve talked about tips for creating a LinkedIn profile, building a résumé, and preparing for an interview, but there’s a critical piece of applying for a job that everyone should be familiar and comfortable with. Writing a cover letter can be tricky, and there are some jobs that will require more inventive ways of introducing yourself to prospective employers, but for most jobs, employers will expect you to be able to write a cover letter that simply highlight who you are and why they should hire you. It’s sort of a preface to your résumé that gives you the chance to be more personal in how you present yourself and your accomplishments compared to your résumé. Below, I’ve listed 8 tips for writing a cover letter, and I’ve included an outline for your reference if you’re looking for a more visual explanation.

When writing a cover letter…

1.  Include the job title and keywords from the job description

When you’re applying for a job and you’re asked to submit a cover letter, it’s crucial that you take a good look at the job posting to see exactly what the employer is looking for. Make sure that you can offer what the job entails, and use keywords from the ad in your cover letter, just like your résumé, to make it stand out. Always be sure to include the position for which you’re applying as well so that the employer can easily see why they’re receiving your letter.

2.  Make it known how you became interested in the company

It doesn’t have to take up too much time or space, but if you can, let the employer know what made you apply for a job at this company. List what about the company appeals to you, how you first found it, and what you think makes the company different from others like it. Don’t confuse this with explaining why you want the job; employers want to know why you like their company, not why you need a job.

3.  Cut the formalities and give it some personality

This is a letter for a job, yes, but that doesn’t mean that you need to be overly formal when addressing whoever will be reading your letter. This is the first time you’ll be introducing yourself to a perspective employer, and you should make it count. Try to convey a bit of your personality, if possible, rather than writing a cookie cutter letter that just lists your qualifications. You want to tell employers who you are while you’re telling them what you can do because they’re not just looking for an employee – they’re looking for someone who believes in their mission and will become an integral part of their team.

4.  Don’t include everything that’s on your résumé

It’s easy to get carried away on a cover letter and say everything you feel an employer needs to know before hiring you. Don’t forget that you haven’t gotten the interview yet – this is a time to display your most valuable and marketable qualities based on the position you’re applying for. Be specific about what you can bring to the job, but don’t focus so much on how you built those skills – that’s what you’ll be focusing on when you get the interview.

5.  If you’re short on experience, focus on skills

It’s great to talk about examples of your accomplishments and your experience working in a field related to the job you’re applying for, and you should list any pertinent experiences in your cover letter if you feel that they are your best shot at getting an employer to give you an interview. However, you might not have a long list of experiences to showcase what you’ve done and what you’re capable of doing. The important thing to remember is that employers aren’t really looking for experiences; they’re looking for skills, and if you can show that you know what they want and you think you’ve got it, make it known. Don’t be shy about stressing your capabilities, especially if they’re in the job description that you’re applying for.

6.  Only stress the skills you do have

It’s easy to start criticizing yourself while writing a cover letter, and you might find that you’re talking about the skills listed on a job description that you don’t have. Instead of focusing on what you can’t offer, focus on what you can. Really try to paint as positive an image of yourself as possible.

7.  Brag, brag, brag. And then keep bragging

As I said in my previous post about writing personal essays, you need to be able to talk about your accomplishments without feeling like you’re bragging too much or you’re going to put someone off by talking about how many great things you’ve done. Just remember that whoever is reading this letter is looking to hire you, and the more honest and overt you are about your abilities, the more likely you are to stand out and be chosen for an interview. They’re pressed for time, and they want your letter to tell them, as quickly as possible, exactly why they should give you their time. That being said, don’t use this as a time to stress what makes you a great person or better than other people – Just talk about your most important qualifications in the most positive way you can.

8.  Edit, revise, and shorten

You might end up with a page and a half of content by the time that you’ve finished writing your letter and including everything that you think is important. If that’s the case, start cutting. Your cover letter should never (or rarely ever) be more than one page, and that’s with room for the entire heading and signature (I’ll explain further below).

Formatting:

There are countless ways to write and format a cover letter, but this is what I would recommend when applying for most jobs unless they’re unconventional and require something more creative.

Example cover letter format:

Date

Employer name
Employer job title
Company name
Address

Dear Employer Name,

List a small amount of background information about yourself, how you came to apply at the company, and why you’re drawn to this position. If you have a lot of skills and/or experiences to list, you might want to summarize them in a general way here as a form of introduction for the body section of your letter. For example, you could say, ‘I have a variety of experiences related to this position that have prepared me for (insert specific aspects of job description).’

In the body section, you’ll want to write all of your experiences and skills in a broad but detailed way. You want to talk about what you’ve achieved, but you don’t want to go into all of the details that you list on your résumé like job titles or dates of employment.

If you have a lot to say, and it won’t all fit into the first two paragraphs, you can write a third paragraph that further demonstrates your capabilities, but be weary of this, as it takes up more space, and you’ll be more likely to include unnecessary details if you give yourself more letter space to fill up.

Your final paragraph should invite the employer to contact you to ask for any materials or information that they might wish to see or know before inviting you for an interview. You might also mention that you’ve attached your résumé and any other pertinent information or documents. End your letter with a cordial “I look forward to hearing from you,” or something similar, to make it clear that you’re the one who will be lucky to hear from them, not the other way around.

Sincerely,

Your Name

For examples of finished cover letters, look at Quint Careers, or find industry-based samples at Resume Genius.

-Hope Swedeen

What can you do to make your cover letter even more effective? What are some dos and don’ts that you follow when writing a cover letter?

If you’re a high school student, there’s a good chance that if you haven’t already had to write a personal essay at least once, you’re going to be asked to write one soon. These essays are typically written for applications for membership in organizations, scholarships or awards, and colleges. Whether you’re applying for any of these now or not, you just might find yourself writing a personal essay one day and wondering just how to begin. What should you include? How do you write an essay that will show who you really are? As someone who has filled out several college, scholarship, and membership applications in the past few years, I can tell you that, like most things, it’s much easier to write a personal essay after you’ve done it once. It’s difficult to say what specifically you’ll need to say in your essay to achieve whatever you’re pursuing, but I can suggest some general tips that should help you no matter your topic.

1.     Follow directions and stay focused – Before you can even begin writing, you need to know the topic and word count for the essay. All personal essays are not the same, and while one might ask a general question about a significant experience, another might ask about how an experience provided a specific type of insight. A popular topic, for example, is how an experience has shown you the importance of diversity.

2.     Use the first person – This essay is all about who you are, what you’ve done, and what makes you “you.” The only way to write about yourself is to use “I,” “me,” and “my,” so disregard what your teachers have said about formal, objective essay-writing. This isn’t a research paper; it’s more of a story than anything.

3.     Open and end strong – Whoever is reading your essay will likely only spend a few seconds on it if they’re not immediately caught, and your conclusion will be what sticks with them once they’ve finished reading.

4.     Use an anecdote – Your essay will likely revolve around an anecdote, and this is generally the best technique. Using an anecdote, especially at the beginning of your essay, captures your reader quickly and has a better chance of showing your personality and history than just talking about your accomplishments.

5.     Don’t be afraid to get personal – It’s a personal essay; by definition, it has to be at least a little personal, and the more anecdotal it becomes, the more personal it will feel. If you’re not comfortable talking about the more private details of an experience, you can still stress its significance and how it has changed you without sharing everything.

6.     Choose an experience that matters to you – If you’re writing about something that is only slightly significant to you, whoever is reading your essay will be able to tell. Get creative, and stop trying to outdo everyone. Just be you. Don’t try to use an experience that affected you briefly and slightly like a week-long volunteer position or a summer job – these are obvious choices that everyone assumes can impress, but it’s what you gain from even the smallest experience that sets you apart, not the experience itself. That said, you don’t have to have saved someone’s life or had a traumatic experience to be a worthy applicant. As long as it’s important to you, the most ordinary experience can be the most significant.

7.     Balance humility with confidence – Whoever is reading your essay wants to know that you’re competent and have the qualities that they’re looking for, but that doesn’t mean that you should use your essay for bragging rights. Highlight your uniqueness and qualifications, but don’t try to assert your superiority over other applicants. In the same way, though, don’t undervalue your experiences and minimize the importance of what you’re saying. If you don’t appear to value your own experiences, why should someone else?

8.     Research your audience – Although your essay prompt might be specific enough to explain what people who read your essay will be looking for in your essay, it doesn’t hurt to do a little research to find out what specific qualities are important to them and their institution or organization. You should know what type of person will be reading your essay to know which aspects of yourself you should choose to highlight. For example, if an organization’s website lists a mission statement that values determination, teamwork, and hard work, then try to highlight those qualities.

9.     Show, don’t tell – Although you want to be clear about what you can offer your reader by explaining your qualifications in your essay, don’t outright tell them “I’m hard working and determined.” Show them examples of times when you possessed these qualities, and they can figure out how these examples apply to them on their own. This applies especially to when you’re working your research into your essay, as previously mentioned. Using anecdotes will help immensely with this, as stories natural “show” rather than “tell.”

10.  Start early – If you leave your essay for the last minute, you’ll find that it’s much more difficult to come up with anecdotes and draw out the most meaning possible from your experiences. Starting early will give you time to think about what you’ve written for a few days, go back and revise, and feel comfortable that you’ve said all that you want to say. You’ll also have ample time to fix any mistakes you might have made, which brings me to my final point.

11.  Check for errors! And then check again. And again – You get the idea. Make sure that your essay is as error-free as possible. Check punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and sentence structure over and over to be sure you catch any mistakes. If you’re not someone who excels at editing, or even just to get a fresh pair of eyes on your essay, ask you parent, teacher, or friend to read it for you. Having them read it out loud is even better, as you’ll be able to hear how someone other than you interprets what you’ve written, and you might change your mind about how you phrase something. At the end of the day, if you still have a few small mistakes in your essay, it’s not the end of the world. Putting in the extra effort just shows that you used your time wisely, and the big mistakes will have been discovered, so hopefully you’ll just have a few commas out of place, which isn’t at all unusual.

-Hope Swedeen

In what instances have you needed to write a personal essay? What are some tips you’d suggest for writing them?